December 23 - January 28 was a difficult stretch for us...too much death in our lives. More on that later when I can express it, but for now I will say that the first of week of February brought with it a much needed trip to Colorado. To us, Colorado is Heaven on earth...or least the attainable Heaven in America. Tahoe is sublime, but the water too cold. Elk River is divine, but too unrealistic for this stage. So off to our "possible right here, right now" we flew....childless (which has its pros and cons, naturally).

Dody and Grandaddy kept Andrew and Margaret happy as can be in Richmond:) Both sported new haircuts by the end of the week and Margaret got a new pair of shoes! We hear Mexican after church on Sunday was a special treat, too!

Our two nights in Vail were delightful (mountains, views, hot tubs, naps, and massages!), but the snow was lacking, to say the least. Never before had we seen completely dry roads up there, with no signs of fresh powder. Rather than fork over a small fortune for rentals and lift tickets, we opted for Snow Shoeing. Get out in the fresh air? Check. Get our hearts beating? Check. Get some elevation and wonderful views underneath Colorado blue skies? Check. It may not have been the adrenaline rush that down hill skiing is, but it accomplished our goals. There is not a picture of me peeing in the woods in my snow shoes:)

Ironically, we had to drive back to Denver to get out snow fix. An unexpected 2' snow storm hit the city the Friday that we arrived...and by unexpected I mean that it was forcasted AFTER we packed out bags in VA Monday night!

Emily was kind enough to host us again, so the least I could do was my share of shovelling.

After reaching the table on her patio...

we were able to measure 19" at her house.

After an awesome meal at a new restaurant in the Highlands that Em was up on, we all split directions on Saturday afternoon. Michael scalped a ticket to the Avs game, Emily went to a baby shower, and I went shopping ('cause there are REAL shops in Denver!!!).

After I picked them both up Saturday, we hit a sky bar of sorts downtown---since NEITHER of them had been drinking at ALL yet:)

Views from the Hyatt...

Sunday we enjoyed a beautiful service at Wellshire, as usual, and then were fortunate enough to join our Family Ties crew for a Super Bowl party. How much fun to have both parents and kids together in such a great atmosphere! The McQueen's, whom we had criss-crossed paths with, were kind enough to include us and the entire crew for a wonderful chaotic evening. It was the perfect way to catch up with our old peeps.

After sleeping only a wink Sunday night, we departed Em's not-so-bright-but-indeed-early at 4:30. Sadly, it was still after 5:00pm ET before we were reunited with our completely content kiddos at Dody & Grandaddy's in Richmond. We need to take the kids out/back, but it was perfect timing for us to have some adult time...some time to reflect on life....some time to decompress from the realities of life...and death.