Christmas in Denver

 After we had our family Christmas at home, we flew to Denver for Christmas part 2 with my side of the family. We left on Thursday, December 23rd and got home on Wednesday the 29th. It was a slightly confusing mid-week to mid-week trip, but traveling at those times was the most economical and gave us a cushion of at-home time on both sides of our trip, to relax and recover. Our direct flight from Pasco to Denver was so sleek and easy. There was a little turbulence, but other than that the 2 hour 20 minute flight was smooth--always a relief to my motion-sickness-prone constitution. 

On Christmas Eve, I helped Amber build and decorate a gingerbread house first thing in the morning. Rose did her own; both were from a kit. Mom, the 3 kids, and I went on a 1.5 mile walk together in the 50 degree weather. My Mom baked three different cakes in one day, all delicious, because that's how she rolls. We watched our mid-1990s favorite Hallmark Christmas movie Borrowed Hearts-- Mom, Mel, Rose,  Amber, and I watched it together and my daughters loved it! YES!!! I foresee future Christmas chick flick mother daughter bonding time!

We went to Kyle and Alivia's house for Christmas Eve dinner and nativity and singing, and it was so fun! It was easy going and sweet and Alivia made some super good lasagna. I played piano while Jeff and the kids sang Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant (in French), and it went relatively well. The kids had fun acting out the nativity while Kyle read it. 

Since we had already had our own family Christmas before heading to Denver, the kids weren't up at dawn on December 25th. We didn't even get around to the gift-giving and opening until after 10am! Jeff and I went on a Christmas date run together at 8am. It was cold and fun running together, and also strange to be out and about so early on Christmas morning when we usually do gifts first. My hammy and piriformis (etc.) were still sore but felt the least painful that they had felt in a month, so I took this run as a sign that my YouTube physical therapy was working. Wahoo! A Christmas miracle.

We couldn't find Amber anywhere on Christmas morning. Rose looked around my parents' big house, but she said Amber was nowhere to be found. Finally I peeked in the girls' bedroom. The crumpled blanket on the bed was moving slightly, so I lifted it up and there was Amby, fast asleep. She cracked an eyelid and slowly woke up. It was 8am! We didn't really do bedtime at any normal hour while we were in Denver. I found myself once again appreciating how nice it is having kids old enough to actually sleep in after a late night. This sleep-in phenomenon has only been happening for less than three years, and after all of those years of early early early wakeups with the little kids, it still feels new.

After our small gift opening session, we all hung out and talked and ate in the kitchen while Mom and various others made more food. Mel, Mom, and I played Christmas songs on violins (Mel and me) and cello (Mom). It was fun! We had to do some serious violin rehab to the neglected instruments before we could play them (tighten strings, replace a string and some major tuning). The G string on the violin I borrowed kept slipping out of tune and killing my intonation. We laughed about it.

All three of my local siblings and their families came over in the afternoon for some quality Christmas time. Only one of my siblings was absent! (Em and her family, who live in Missouri.) The kids played with their younger cousins while the adults stood around the kitchen eating and talking. It was a classic Brown Family gathering, with us standing around in the kitchen most of the time. The kitchen is our favorite place in the house! That night us girls (including Rose and Amber) watched While You Were Sleeping together. Another Christmas classic and absolute favorite that I love watching with my mom, sisters, and daughters. 

For the remainder of our stay, we did a LOT of quality family socializing, plenty of eating, and watched three Spiderman movies (two at home, and the third in the theater). Mel and I went on a sister run and did yoga together one morning. Mom, Alivia, and I painted with our new watercolor sets that Mom gave us for Christmas while Mel sewed a quilt project. We listened to music and talked while we waxed artsy, and it was such a fun cozy afternoon. We also celebrated my niece Della's 2nd birthday with cake. Mom and I went shopping for socks together--quality wool socks at REI--and found some divinely warm ones. We played games and ate lots of cookies. Jay, Rose, and Amber loved Grama Meri's Christmas cookie policy, which amounts to no permission required. It was probably good for them to get a chance to self-regulate when it comes to treats because I tend to project my sensitive stomach and nutritional needs onto my children and limit their sugar intake drastically, haha. 

Our flight home was easy breezy--another United direct flight from Denver to Pasco. I loved spending Christmas with my family. It was perfectly low key and I stayed up late every night to squeeze in as much quality time with my people as I could to charge up my family batteries for the next few months. 

Driving to the Pasco airport, only 55 minutes from our house.

Not a soul in the security line at the five-gate Pasco airport.

Zero security line meant a longer wait at the gate, so I went on a walk in the airport, pacing back and forth across the entire airport until my watch recorded a mile of walking. It was almost a tenth of a mile from end to end of the airport, haha.

The frosting took a long time to harden enough to support the house, so Rose got creative after several collapsing gingerbread house attempts.

For the first few days we were in Denver, it was in the 50s and felt so warm! We enjoyed an easy 1.5 mile walk together in the sunshine.

Hot chocolate and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Christmas Eve at Kyle and Alivia's house! The kids wore various scarves and blankets for their costumes to act out the nativity.

As the oldest cousins present, Jay and Rose played dual roles in the nativity, jumping in as wise men following the star at the end after playing a shepherd and an angel at the beginning.

All three of us wore red and black on Christmas Eve.

Christmas date run! My favorite! That Denver sunshine was medicinal, and it felt so good to run again after so much time off, even in the thin air of the mile high city.

Running shadows with long legs.

Grama and Grampa gave Amber a rock painting set, which she adored and dove right into painting as many rocks as possible on Christmas.

Our string trio--we actually sounded pretty good between slipping strings and my rhythm issues!

The three wise men. Mom gave her sons and sons-in-law these hilarious fuzzy robe blankets.

Mel and Mom labored for hours creating these beautiful Paul Holladay sausage wreaths on Christmas. Yum!

Braxton is the best uncle, sharing Yu Gi Oh cards and playing endless games with the nieces and nephews.

My mom hung evergreen garland on the sweeping dual front bannisters of her house and it looked so majestic, Jay looked like a king at the top of the stairs.

Since none of the cousins spent the night at my parents' house, Amber enjoyed having a queen sized bed all to herself.

Rose opted to sleep in the closet rather than share a bed with Amber, haha.

I managed to snag a Sunday afternoon picture of my parents being missionary-ific in their nametags.

Mother daughter art time!

Games with Mel and Braxton.

Sister run! It was so cold, like in the 20s when we ran.

Rose giving Della a birthday hug.

Running felt so indulgent while I was in Denver because of my long break. I'm so glad my injuries are healing, even if they are taking longer than I'd like them to.

Sneaky card game with Ezra.

Riding the train in the Denver airport--that place is huge.

Amber and Rose loved the moving walkways in the Denver airport. Even after our three stop train ride, we still had to walk on at least five moving walkways to get to our gate. I found the contrast between Denver's massive airport and our tiny Pasco airport amusing. I also felt very grateful for the generous gift of Christmas plane tickets that my parents gave us. Family time at the holidays is irreplaceable!