Way back when, there was a Christmas holiday and we took a little family vacation to Red River, NM. The five Settlemeyers along with Mimi, Papa Jud, Uncle Jason, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Bud, cousins Dustin and Denton all drove the 15 hours to the beautiful snowy mountains. It. Was. Great!
I may or may not have downloaded all of the pics and videos, but here is what I was able to gather.
On the way there. We were packed to the brim. There was little wiggle room and we definitely weren't seeing out the windows!
We stopped off in the Dallas area to pick up Uncle Jason. We met him at a hospital, and this Christmas tree was in the lobby.
On the way to Red River, snow was dumping on us making it very hard to see. It was a bit nerve racking, but we made it and it was beautiful! The view from the front of the house.
First full day, the cousins hit the slopes!
Connor and Reid in ski school
With their instructor
I decided to be brave and go up to the top of a very tricky mountain with Josh, Dustin and Denton. These three guys are great skiers; I needed more practice. So despite what this photo looks like, I did not enjoy the way down the mountain!!
Back at home all the boys built a snowman. They named it Gerber
Poor Drew bug spent the first few days crying a lot, not sleeping...finally we took him to the local doctor and he had ear infections. We got him on some meds which thankfully helped.
Reid trying to make a snow angel
Ready for tubing!!! It was so cold and windy but oh so fun!!
Here is one of the boys on Josh's back
And now one on Denton's back
Down goes Uncle Jason
Though I don't have video of it, apparently, Aunt Cindy took out Mimi going down the mountain!! Lol!!!
I decided to ride on Josh's lap!
Back at home, nice and cozy!
Time to feed the ducks from the back porch!!
Next adventure: snowmobiling!
Reid rode with Bud. Apparently, Reid has a need for speed. Bud drove fast, but Reid kept yelling "faster! faster!!"
I rode with Josh
Mimi and Papa Jud rode (and flipped) together!
Uncle Jason with Connor (who is opposite of his brother and kept telling Jason to slow down! That's my boy!!)
It was a BEAUTIFUL day!!
The Settlemeyers minus one
Mimi and Papa Jud
There was a hill for sledding. It was a blast!!!
We were missing Reid and Bud (I guess they were going too fast to slow down for a pic!)
Mimi brought and set up a Christmas tree for us
Love this pic!!!
Opening presents Christmas morn
Santa wrote a note that back at home, two bikes were left under the tree
Santa also gave them a tablet, which they had no idea they were getting. I love their reaction!
Trying on one of the gifts
Denton, Josh and Reid decided to do a little Christmas skiing
Reid rocked it and did much better than his momma! He was skiing all the blues and greens with no problem!
In the evenings, Reid and Uncle Bud always played Battleship
We also tried our hand at egg nog. Denton and Josh mastered it!!
When we got there, Josh found a plastic cup and someone had written "Ken" on there. No one knows a Ken so it became a joke all week. So on my cup, I wrote "Ken's wife."
I made socks for everyone. Here are the guy's socks. For the ladies, I made them to see "If you can read this...bring me coffee, bring me wine, rub my feet!" They were fun.
The last full day was spent fly fishing.
Then, sadly, it was time to head back home :(
Connor put a blanket over his head, but Drew kept playing peek-a-boo with him!
Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!
The boys said it was the best vacation they'd been on! Hopefully there are many more skiing/snow filled vacations to come!
