Post-Christmas Skiing at Mary Jane/WinterPark

Having Monday and Tuesday off.... the Colorado Lane's decided to 'bail' to the slopes. We opted for two more days at Winter Park and Mary Jane, with an overnight stay in Grand Lake at the Big Horn Lodge. As you can see, from the pics, it was an amazing couple of days. Audra was thrilled with the opportunity to view, three bull moose from about 100 yards.

Grand Lake was a lot of fun. Pizza for dinner and a walk down main street the next morning, in negative seven temps for a coffee.... are memorable.

Great time with the Fam!

Christmas

Celebrating the birth of our Christ, surrounded by our kids and exchanging gifts was big fun.



Growing up in a home, where the song... the 12 Days of Christmas is a big deal... we couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up some party plates and coffee cups.

Keeping with tradition, the kiddos were allowed to open gifts from Aunts and Uncles... and a memorable gift from Audra and I... a framed, family pic.

The kids surprised us with an outstanding Christmas gift.... Broncos Jerseys. Audra got Tebow and I got Bailey.

It required little arm-twisting to ask the boys to load up in the Touareg, drive up to Rampart Range... to have fun with the new pistols.

Pre-Christmas Ski Trip to Winter Park

Having Bryce home from Texas for the Holiday Season, we gathered together up at Winter Park for two days of skiing. This was our first trip to Winter Park and we found a winner!! Most notably, is the Mary Jane portion of the mountain that provided phenomenal bowl and tree skiing.


The first day, only Bryce and Katie could join Audra and I, as Cassi and Tyler had to work. After work, Tyler drove up to Boulder, spent the night with Cassi at her apartment and then drove up the next morning. For the night, we piled into a local Best Western and enjoyed some wonderful, local Italian.



The ski conditions were pretty darn good, despite.... no new snow in the past couple of days.

Saturday Ski

On December 18th, we drove up to Denver to pick up Cassi and head up to Copper Mtn for some incredible skiing and riding. When we arrived, there was about 6" of fresh powder and the snow throughout the day added another 6". The skiing was awesome, but with the fresh snow, the bumps were amazing. This was probably the best day of skiing we have had in the past 4-5 years. Tyler couldn't join us because of work and Bryce was in Texas.

Deer Meat and a Quick Trip to Texas

As I pondered the notion of making a trip to Texas, back down to Mom's, only two short weeks since being there over Thanksgiving.... I added up the reasons to drive the 1,500 mile round trip. #1. We forgot and left 10 dozen San Antonio Tamales in Mom's freezer. #2. The locker plant had made the sausage and was ready to be picked up. #3. I wanted some more deer meat in order to make a big batch of Pan Sausage. #4. Tyler got the days off from work and wanted to spend some time with Mimi and enjoy her property. So it was decided..... we departed Monday morning.





Mom on the back porch.
Tyler and I figured out a great use for the new tractor!!!!

Mom's famous venison meal, with biscuits and gravy.
Evenings on the back porch, sipping a nice Chardonnay, while watching the sunsets and wildlife.
Mother and I exchanged gifts and opened while we were with each other.

New Smoker!

Gary and Judy sent our Christmas Present to Colorado early and encouraged us to begin using it. Knowing that it would take a couple 'tests' to begin to understand it and conduct some quality smokes.... I got started this weekend.

First, the smoker was coated with oil and heated up for half a day to 'season'. Next came the Baby Back Ribs, which were awesome. The Ribs were seasoned with my homemade Fajita Seasoning and then subjected to Mesquite Chips. Today, Sunday, a Turkey is smoking away, with Hickory Chips.

Click on the arrow at the bottom to watch the video.