We celebrated Christmas Day with my family in Rowlett. The presents under the tree quickly accumulate when there are 11 people, 2 of which are the grandchildren. Most of the household was up in the 7 o'clock hour in anticipation of Mini J waking up to find what Santa left. Ironically, she didn't get up until 9AM, so we entertained ourselves with Baby A and drank coffee.
When Mini J did get up, she wanted to run down the stairs, but everyone wasn't ready with their cameras, so her present-tearing-into was slightly delayed.
It took her no time at all to get through her presents, and here is her loot.
Baby A enjoyed opening up the stocking I made for her.
But needed a nap halfway through the morning.
Someone might have mistaken her for a present!
Kendall's new puppy got some chew toys that she thoroughly enjoyed.
And we had our annual fashion show.
Nicholas got lots of tools, including some new sawhorses.
He also enjoyed playing with his new football.
This is a good picture of the aftermath.
The boys all got flashlights so now they will no longer be in the dark.
Mini J enjoyed her new bike.
Baby A enjoyed her new tummy toy and all the pretty colors.
Nicholas ventured the grocery store on Christmas Eve and was only missing canned pumpkin, and then we pulled together a pot luck dinner for family.
We visited with family...
and had a lot of fun playing with Baby A (now 4 months old)!
until she got tuckered out...
Then we played white elephant with my siblings.
There were some really neat gifts.
poker chips
a nerf gun
a box of kleenex with dollar bills interspersed
The mattress went down swimmingly.
And so did the couch...
Once in the Denver airport, we had to take the train to baggage claim where we were overloaded with half full suitcases. Since Southwest Airlines lets 2 bags fly for FREE, we maxed out our bag limit in order to fill up suitcases with Jeremy's clothes.
Jeremy's apartment complex had a "guest suite" that they rented out to friends/family of residents. It was two bedrooms/two baths, had a kitchen, living room, dining room, and laundry room. We stayed there for 3 nights because the 4th night was already booked by someone else. It was nice to have another place to stay that was close to Jeremy and way cheaper than a hotel. The second bedroom only had a twin bed, so Nicholas was forced to sleep in the laundry room.
Last week was a good week for Texans to visit Colorado. It was dry (a little too dry), no snowfall, and there were even a few days where you just had to wear a light jacket. The previous week saw lots of snow and single digit temperatures, so there was a lot of snow on the ground. Here are some of the views from Jeremy's balcony.
And the volleyball court...
We also celebrated Jeremy's 23rd birthday. He received a nice Canon Rebel digital SLR camera. 
We had dinner at a restaurant called Austin's in "Old Town" Ft. Collins.
Jeremy's birthday was early in the week, so it was still pretty chilly...
Wednesday night we visited with BJ's cousin that just moved outside of Ft. Collins this Fall. Thursday night, we all stayed at the Holiday Inn Express after moving everything out of the apartment into storage. The "move" will be chronicled in another post. Nicholas, Jeremy, and I went back to Old Town and had Colorado Style Pizza and visited Jeremy's college (Natural Resources).
Friday morning, Nicholas and I visited the reservoir in the Foothills, a short drive from Jeremy's apartment.
This is where CSU plays football.
As of tonight, all 5 members of the Dertien/Shank family are safely back in Austin for a little while.
