Hiking in the snow!

Sunday morning Jon and I drove up to the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was "good weather" - but when we got out of the car, I was freezing! While we were driving through the park, we came across several cars pulled off to the side of the road. We quickly realized the reason - there were about 300-400 elk grazing right by the road! We stopped to take pictures with everyone else. Suddenly, something startled the elk and they decided to run across the road. The whole herd slowly made it across the road - in groups and singly, walking and sprinting, and one elk even turned backwards and recrossed the road! We took lots of pictures, and even a few short videos. We pressed on and ended up at the Bear Lake trailhead. We ate a quick lunch of turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches in the car. The trails were covered with snow and ice, and the lake was completely iced over. Lots of people were out - many with snoeshoes. We hiked about 2-3 miles, until the ice became too much for me and my running shoes. Next time I'm renting snowshoes! We drove into Estes Park, looked around at the shops, and bought yummy treats from one of the chocolate shops. It was a great trip!

Our own Saturday Thanksgiving dinner

Since we had to leave Dallas right after Thanksgiving dinner, we didn't get to keep any yummy leftovers. So while I was at work Saturday afternoon, Jon baked a turkey (about 12#). When I got home, we made stuffing (Stove Top of course!), Grandma's gravy, brussels sprouts, roasted potatoes and onions, cranberry sauce, and salad. It was super-yummy, and we got our leftovers!

A Texas Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving - we certainly did! I was able to take a couple of days off of work, so we flew down to Dallas Sunday morning. Jon's parents picked us up and we went to his grandparents' house for an early dinner. It ended up being a big family gathering - Jon's uncle Mark was there from Ohio, and his aunt Lynn came over for dinner. Uncle Mark made "Cinncinatti chili" - chili on top of spaghetti with raw onions on top. I had mine sans onion, but it was still quite yummy. We spent Monday morning with Jon's parents, and they took us to eat lunch at La Hacienda Ranch. It was great to have real Tex-Mex food again (Denver doesn't do Mexican well).

We headed up to my parents' house Monday evening. We ate dinner at 3 Forks for a late birthday dinner for Dad - super-yummy steaks! Tuesday and Wednesday were spent getting ready for Thanksgiving. Jon and I made 7 desserts (lemon chess pie, regular pumpkin pie, Splenda pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cranapple pie, chocolate cheesecake, and chocolate-peanut butter Buckeyes). I love the prep work for the dinner!


Thursday morning Jon, Daddy, and I left the house at 7am and drove to downtown Dallas to meet up with family friends for the Turkey Trot. We did the 3 mile walk/run. It's always a fun time - especially seeing all the dogs in the walk! Thanksgiving dinner was great - we got together with the family friends who we usually spend the holiday with - great food and great friends can't be beat! Unfortunately, Jon and I had to leave early to catch our flight back to Denver. We did have time for a game of Mexican Train dominoes before we left though! =)

Short!

So I finally got my hair cut - it's been over a year! Since moving to Colorado, I haven't known where to go, so I just kept putting it off. Today at lunch I finally made an appointment for after work at a salon right by our apartment. I had a few inches cut off, and I love it! Don't you just love the feeling of your hair feeling so much lighter right after a haircut? And I love the whole salon process - having your hair washed and massaged while you lean back in the chair, the yummy smelling products, and having it blow-dried and styled while you relax. Fun! I really think guys miss out on the whole experience!
We're spending the rest of the evening packing and setting the cats up with extra food, water, and an extra litter box. Because we're heading back to Dallas tomorrow! I'm taking Tuesday and Wednesday off from work, so we'll be in Dallas from Sunday to Thursday afternoon for Thanksgiving. We're both excited to see friends and family!