New Mexico Family Snow-cation 2015(Sunday)

Looks like the grown kids are going to go skiing today.
Seems that Cash is too young, by a couple of weeks, to get a good ski lesson.
Cooper isn't interested in skiing, so Chuck and I will stay around the house with the grands, and let mommy and daddy go have some fun.

We meet the skiers at the base of the mountain, to have some lunch.
It is nice and warm today.
Not really that perfect for skiing a mountain, but hey, at least they are skiing.
Our food from the little restaurant was really good.
We sat outside and enjoyed the weather.










Anthony & Heather were getting ready to go take a lift up the mountain, so they could ski down the mountain for the kids to see them.
Cooper's new Mood Ring decided to jump off her finger, and wouldn't you know it, it fell between the cracks of the deck that we were standing on.
The look on her face was so sad.
She really loved her new mood ring.
Tears flowed, and I assured her that we would find her another ring.
I felt so bad for her.
As the kids ski down to us, it appears that this is their last run.
They are going to hang up the skis and come and spend time with the kids.

There is a little candy store that we hadn't gotten to check out, and the word "candy" got the kids ears perked.





We also made a run to a little store that has t-shirts.
Heather had found Cooper a cute pink hoodie at the ski rental store, but had yet found something for Cash.
I am so glad we made this stop, because believe it or not, they had "Mood Rings".
Our granddaughter was smiling again, and not only that, but Cash the grandson even got one.
These are adjustable ones.
They have little animals on them.






We head back to the house, and play in the snow.



Cooper built the cutest snowman.






Cash got buried in the snow.

Snow Angels were made.

Sledding  down the side of the mountain, again...I even tried it!!!


We had a grand time enjoying the snow.

We had hot chocolate with big ole marshmallows in it.
Yes, we did all of this and more.
Making memories, and isn't that what its all about anyway.
The memories.

What a wonderful trip this has been.
We will head back to Oklahoma first thing in the morning.
So glad we were able to spend the time with the kids and grands.
Sometimes you just have to unplug and enjoy life.

New Mexico Family Snow-cation 2015(Saturday)

Have to say the steroid shot seems to be working.
Heather is feeling a lot better today!
The big kids have decided to wait another day to go and ski.
Plans are made to take the grand kids to a sledding hill over by the country club.


We get there right after they open and we are the first ones on the hill.
The lady gives the kids a briefing and explains the rules and before you know it they are heading down the hill.
The first few runs were really great.










Cooper went all the way to the end of the hill.
Bad part of all this is they have to walk back up the hill to do it again, but you now, they are young!
The next run that Cooper did, she got going towards the barriers, and ended up hitting them pretty hard.

Well, to say the least, she was done.
Felt sorry for her, but she had really done well to this point.
Cash on the other hand, decided he would just drag his feet to slow himself down.
Cracked me up to watch him....he wasn't going to get going too fast!
A lot of people have shown up now, and the hill is alive with little people.
The kids have decided they are done....so we return the sleds and they decide to go back to the house.



Chuck is desperate to find Wifi, so we go to a little coffee house and get on theirs.
The Angel Fire area is very limited....meaning that we aren't able to use our AT&T phones here.
We have already been "cut off".
Seems AT&T has a rule and if you use over a certain amount of data, they can turn it off.
Since the house has no wifi and we had no idea of our exclusion with AT&T, seems we are all "cut off"....
Chuck is frustrated with the very slow wifi, and I text the kids to see if they would like me to bring them back some lunch.
Lucky the coffee shop was also a deli.
We place an order and get it to go.
Back at the house we sit and eat our lunch.
Heather has been reading about a sleigh ride that sounds really fun, and she calls the number to see about booking it for the afternoon.
Looks like we are going on a horse drawn sleigh ride at 3:00pm!

Heather says the lady that she has talked to is a little "different"....we are informed if she isn't at the Elk Horn Lodge at 3 she will be there shortly, as she is getting the horses down to the sleighs.

We had notice some red sleighs as we drove through town yesterday, and it looks like these are the ones we will be riding on.

Nancy, the lady that is the owner of this sledding business, is a hoot.
She is a sweetheart, and yes she is a bit quirky...but who isn't.
She and her man, Bill, have the horses ready, and we make our way to the area.
It is about a 3 block walk to the staging area....Nancy's 3 huge dogs follow us there.
One of the dogs is blind.
He is so funny and friendly.

We load up into the sleigh that is drawn by two beautiful Percheron Draft Horses.
As Bill leads the horses down the white covered ground the kids enjoy the ride.
The trip wasn't that long, and we make a turn back towards the staging area.
We pick up Nancy this trip, as she had to make a detour and look for her blind dog.
Come to find out, he had made his way back to the Elk Horn Lodge, aka, his home.  :)
Nancy tells us some facts about herself.
She has lived in Angel Fire for over 30 yrs. and owns the Elk Horn Lodge.
She also owns a slew of horses.

We mentioned Bob Funk, and she perked up...she knew him as well.
I think the locals are very happy with the land that Bob has purchased, and how he is contributing to the New Mexico landscape.
Nancy said he had just bought the airport in Raton, NM.
Can you imagine having that much money...just sayin!!!!


We make our way to the turn around area, and as Nancy had promised, we get off the sleigh, and get out the snow sleds.
It is time to do a little sledding down the side of the mountain.









There is a lady that is with us, and Cash decided he would ride with her down the mountain as well.
The kids seemed to have more fun on this little sledding expedition than the one earlier today.
It just wasn't as intimidating.
Heather picked a really good sleigh ride for us to go on!

Anthony and Heather had a little snowball fight...the kids enjoyed watching them.
Cash made a snow angle...so as you can see they enjoyed playing in the snow!













Back at the end of the line, we get off the sleigh and walk back to the Lodge.
Nancy told the grand kids she had hot chocolate and cookies for them.
You didn't have to ask them twice if they wanted any.





We really did enjoy meeting our new friend "Nancy and Bill".
I am sure they could tell you some stories.

I think this is the evening we go to the "local" restaurant and have dinner.
We have two tired kids with us, but they are still grinning.
The margarita's put smiles on the adults faces as well!
What a great day!

New Mexico Family Snow-cation 2015(Friday)

We awake and start moving around and find that Heather didn't have a very good night.
She is really hurting, and since there is a little medical clinic close by, we all get dressed and head to the ski resort.







The clinic sits at the bottom of the ski run.
Not knowing where it actually was at first, we let Heather off at the hotel entrance.

Thank goodness for texting, as she text my son and says she has found it, and they are
going to give her a steroid shot.
We walk to the base of the ski slope and watch the people get on the lifts to take them to the next ski area.
The kids are enjoying watching all this.
I was so surprised as to how empty the slopes were.
There are just not very many people skiing.
By this time it has started to warm up and we are shedding coats.










Heather meets back up with us, and it is decided we will take a little road trip and drive into Taos for lunch.
The roads are all clear and it makes for a nice drive through the twisty roads.






Taos is it's usual mess of traffic.
Amazing that there is only a 2 lane road going through the main part of town.






We park the car and walk to the little area of shops.
Of course we have to go into a few.
The kids found some special treasures they had to take home with them.
Cash walked by and saw this lama stuffed toy, and was calling it an Alpaca.
Of course he had to have it.
Cooper got a pretty music box doll, that played the tune of Swan Lake.

There was a little deli like restaurant we saw as we came in so we make our way back to grab some lunch.
It was so cute to see the grand kids ordering their own lunch.
The waitress was very impressed as well!






Lunch is over and we make our way back to the square.
The children's toy shop was so much fun.
The play area was Divine.
Heather got Cooper a Mood Ring, and she was checking it every minute to find out what kind of mood she was in.
Reminds me of when I got my first mood ring...LOL














We stopped and rode the horse ride.....don't see very many of them anymore.











The adults make their way to a shop or two.

I walked into this little store, and Cooper and Heather come in as well.
We find Cooper some "dangle" earrings.
It is her first pair, and she is so excited.
She had learned her 10's in school, and mommy said she could get some dangle earrings for her accomplishment.
What better place to get her first pair but in Taos New Mexico!!!!

Our time is running out on the parking spot, so we make our way back just in time.

We start our drive to Questa, so we can say we drove the Enchanted Circle.
As we get outside of Questa, our son, Anthony says "what the heck".....and as I look up I see the back end of a Long Horn Sheep crossing the road right in front of us.
Gosh I knew they were big, but wow!!!
Pretty exciting!

We drive into Red River and didn't see anymore wild life.
There is a little coffee shop on the main stretch of town, so we stop and grab something to drink.

The "local" says that their business has been down this year, even with all the snowfall.
Amazing to see the town this quiet as when we are here over Memorial weekend, it is filled to the brim with bikers and vendors.

We finish our drive around the Enchanted Circle and make our way back to the house.

Ready to go play! 

 The kids get on their snow gear, and take a ride in the 4 wheeler, then back to the house to play in the snow.  































Fun was had by all, and Chuck & I stood on the porch and watched it all..  :)

Of course you have to have hot chocolate and big ole marshmallows after all that fun, and I didn't mind fixing it!










Another fun day is coming to an end.
We enjoyed dinner at home again this evening.

Cooper had to show off her new "dangle" earnings.  One happy girl!
Mood Ring, musical doll and dangle earrings all in one day.
Cash on the other hand made a bed for his new friend "Alpaca".
Great day was had by all.  :)

New Mexico Family Snow-cation 2015 (Thursday)

Our kids were going to Angel Fire NM to enjoy a little snow with our grand kids.
We will be tagging along.  :)
I think we are all excited to see how the grands will enjoy the snow.
Our accommodations was a home on the side of the mountain.
The beautiful home we are staying in belongs to our daughter in laws great aunt and uncle.
The ride to Angel Fire was a nice one.




We stopped in Cimarron, NM to eat lunch at the haunted hotel...The St. James Hotel to be exact.
Our neighbor Mr. Funk owns this beautiful hotel, and he has done so much with it since he became the owner.
We have always had breakfast, but today was are going to have some lunch...since it is that time of day.

The food didn't disappoint any of us.
The grand kids got to check out all the memorabilia that adorns this very old hotel.
It is time to get back in the cars and make our way to Angel Fire, and get settled in for our little vacation.
Of course I get razzed for wanting to take a picture of the kids in front of the St. James Hotel sign. (something I always do!)















I had no idea the home was this high up on the mountain.
I think we decided it was about a 4 mile ride to get there.
As we curve and turn on the roads, we see quite a bit of wild life.
There are deer on the side of the roads eating and just look at us as we drive by.
One particular area there is a very large group of Elk.
As we explore this further, it looks like the homeowner is feeding them.
No wonder they are all gathering here.

Our home away from home is really nice.
The three story, 5 bedroom, 5 bath home is just perfect.
Everyone finds their rooms and we are ready to enjoy some snow.



















Only problem we have is our daughter in law has come down with strep throat.
She was lucky enough to get some antibiotics called in and was able to get the prescription filled in Amarillo earlier this morning, but she is not feeling well at all.



The kids want to get into the snow, so they go out on the deck and have a little fun.






My son and I go back down the mountain and go to the local grocery to pick up some supplies for the next few days.






We eat at the house this evening and just enjoy the surroundings.
Time to get some rest and see how Heather is feeling tomorrow...but I think skiing will be put on hold for another day since she is feeling so badly.
Good night world from Angle Fire, NM.

Galveston Family Vacation 2014 (day 3&4)

Seems everyone slept quite nicely last night, so after we finish breakfast we put on our swimsuits and head back to the beach.  Who knows what we might find out there today!

We make our way to the beach, and I wish I could say the seaweed had disappeared but it didn't.  It's there and maybe a little taller piles.

The kids play in the sand and we walk the beach looking for shells. The treasures of the sea just aren't out there this morning.

Chuck walks back to the house as he has a conference call to take today.  Wish he was having a vacation like we are, cause we are enjoying every minute of this so far.

We play  a little more and decide to pack up and go back to the house.  We loaded up in the truck, and Heather and the kids were going to walk back, until I offered them a lift on the tailgate of the truck. Wish you could have seen the smiles those kids had on their faces.  Another first for them.

Riding the Ferry, looking for dolphins  

A few more first for the grand kids were, ice cream truck that came by, golf cart ride from a few girls that were neighbors, a ride on a ferry.
We ate lunch out on a pier....just all those great thing a person gets to do with the ocean as your backdrop.








I didn't mention rain because it really didn't rain that much more.









I could write on and on about the little things we did, but going to cut it short and just say that this was one of those vacation moments that will stay in my mind and heart for a very long time.
I love our small family so very much and feel so lucky to spend quality time with all of them.






I just wish my husband could have had a little more vacation instead of work, but sometimes that just doesn't work out.

By the third day Chuck had nicknamed Cash " Seaweed" and Cooper was "Mermaid".
Cooper experienced a lot of " first" and she accepted them with open arms.

Our Abode for a few days

Cash & his Shark Necklace  

On "The Strand" 

Pops with Seaweed & Mermaid

Final evening!!!  

What a smile!  

Cash, wasn't real sure about all his firsts, but he was getting the hang of it by the time we said goodbye to the ocean and seaweed.





Enjoyed this chapter in my life and had to share. ;)

Galveston Family Vacation 2014 (day 2)

We wake to more rain.
There is a new McDonalds on the seawall, so we head there for breakfast.
It is nothing short of a washout at this point.
The rain has really decided to come down, and people are scrambling this morning to stay somewhat dry.
Chuck has some work to catch up on, so the wifi worked out perfectly for that.
I am sure most of you can understand when I say, we just sit there....but it was a nice sit!












We meet up with the "the kids" around 2pm.  The  storms keep rolling in.




The Spot was busy as usual, and we found a couple of tables upstairs, where you could be outside, but covered from the weather.
The food was as good as it always is.
No surprises!!







We can't check into the house until 4, but we go ahead and drive out to it.
It is about 7 miles from 61st Street.
My son found the home we are renting through VRBO.
So far so good, as we drive up.
We try the code to get in, but looks like the door will not open until 4pm sharp!

There was a nice street level place to park both cars and tables and chairs to sit at as we waited for the time to pass, and yes it was still raining!
Finally 4pm, and we get access to the house.
It is nothing short of "nice".
Just as it was pictured on the site.
Lots of stairs and unloaded is done in the next 30 minutes.

The grandkids have found their bunk beds and are quite happy with their accommodations  :)
My mom and Louie get the master suite.
More stairs for them, as they are on the 3rd level.
Heather and I get our shopping list ready, and we leave everyone to go shopping at the Walmart back in town.

The rains continue as we load the truck with our purchases.






As we return to make some dinner for the hungry travelers the rain starts to let up.
We finish up and get changed into beach clothes, and head to the beach.
Time to get some sand between our toes and find some sea treasures.

First time the kids have ever been to the ocean!

The seaweed didn't agree with Cash, our 3 yr old grandson.  He didn't like "seaweed", and truthfully it really didn't feel that great as it wraps around your feet!




But, hey, we are here, and by golly we are going to have some fun!










The outdoor shower is really nice, as we all clean off the sand we brought back.
The kids thought that was just about the coolest thing they had ever seen.






Day 1 at the beach house is about over, and although not a complete day, it has been a lot of fun and very busy.







The kids played with the Jinga game we brought back from our grocery shopping trip.
Enjoyed today and all the "new" experiences the grand kids had.
More to come tomorrow. ;)