We left Cruces early Thursday morning and caravanned with John and Sara (Colin's parents) who had a hotel room reserved in Durango. We arrived at our condo late that afternoon, just in time for Thanksgiving Dinner with my parents (whom we were sharing the condo with) and my brother and his family (who were just there for the day). The very sad part is that my Gramma was supposed to join us for the trip, but came down with pneumonia just days prior to leaving. We missed her terribly and know she would have had a wonderful time with us and especially her great-grandkids!!
The condo was at the Glacier Club Resort, about 10 minutes outside of Durango towards Silverton. It was beautiful!!
It was so nice to be able to spend time with Jeff, Tammi and the kids. Wish we could've spent more time with them over the weekend, but very grateful for the time we spent together on Thanksgiving!
It was also a treat for Colin and I to have his parents there with us. It has been very rare in the almost 14 years we have been together to have both sides of our family together at one time! We did miss his brother and sister and their families, though, who are both in Washington State!
Mom and I tried to get a picture of the four cousins on the spiral staircase leading up to the loft and master bedroom, but this is the best we got:
It was a wonderful day of stuffing ourselves, watching the Cowboys win, playing cards and just spending time with loved ones! We got going a little late on Friday, but when we did, we went into Durango and did a little shopping at Walmart and Home Depot before heading to their little mall and spending some time there. We then went downtown for some lunch and a little shopping before heading back to the condo where we watched movies and enjoyed leftovers for dinner. Mom, Colin and I also took the kids down to the swimming pool for a while that evening. It was a beautiful (and big) pool that went both indoors and out. There was also a little hot tub that Colin and I enjoyed for 15 minutes while Mom entertained the little ones (thanks, Mom)! 
Mom and Dad took the master bedroom, Colin and I were in the comfy loft and Colton and Cady slept on the sofa bed downstairs. This is our view of them from the loft:
Saturday morning we took time for some family pics before leaving the condo:
Then we drove up to the pass where there was lots of snow for the kids to try out their new snowboots in:
Mom and Dad took the master bedroom, Colin and I were in the comfy loft and Colton and Cady slept on the sofa bed downstairs. This is our view of them from the loft:Saturday morning we took time for some family pics before leaving the condo:Then we drove up to the pass where there was lots of snow for the kids to try out their new snowboots in: After dragging the kids from there (literally) we met John and Sara downtown for somemore shopping. We love their downtown area - such great shops!
We found gifts for Christmas, gifts for Gramma Mary since she couldn't join us, and had a great time! We also walked down to the train depot to pick up our tickets for the Polar Express that night! Out in front is where we found this ginormous "Ho Ho" (what Cady has called Santa since she could talk) and these horse statues:
It was then time for all of us to eat lunch at Serious Texas BBQ, a place Colin and I discovered there while on our summer vacation this past May/June. Below is the best thing I have ever eaten - a Texas Taco:
It is a flour tortilla stuffed with bbq brisket, potatoes, carmelized and raw onions, cheese and green chile. All of us adults had one and they all agreed with us that they were pretty amazing!! The kids just ate regular brisket and potato chips but each drank a Zuberfizz Root Beer, which is brewed locally and also pretty delicious:
We then said goodbye to John and Sara for a few hours and headed back to the condo to rest and then get ready (kids in pjs) for our big night aboard the Polar Express! On the way, we drove down a road where we found a huge elk herd in the summer to show my parents and see if we could find any wildlife. We had just been driving on it for a minute or so when Colin spotted this monster buck:
It was so beautiful and huge! I was on the wrong side of the pickup to take pics so I handed my dad my camera and he did a great job. It is mating season there for deer right now and he was with a doe. I love this shot my dad got of the "lovebirds":
We also found the elk, but they were further off the road. Still beautiful, though!
We found gifts for Christmas, gifts for Gramma Mary since she couldn't join us, and had a great time! We also walked down to the train depot to pick up our tickets for the Polar Express that night! Out in front is where we found this ginormous "Ho Ho" (what Cady has called Santa since she could talk) and these horse statues:It was then time for all of us to eat lunch at Serious Texas BBQ, a place Colin and I discovered there while on our summer vacation this past May/June. Below is the best thing I have ever eaten - a Texas Taco:It is a flour tortilla stuffed with bbq brisket, potatoes, carmelized and raw onions, cheese and green chile. All of us adults had one and they all agreed with us that they were pretty amazing!! The kids just ate regular brisket and potato chips but each drank a Zuberfizz Root Beer, which is brewed locally and also pretty delicious:
We then said goodbye to John and Sara for a few hours and headed back to the condo to rest and then get ready (kids in pjs) for our big night aboard the Polar Express! On the way, we drove down a road where we found a huge elk herd in the summer to show my parents and see if we could find any wildlife. We had just been driving on it for a minute or so when Colin spotted this monster buck:It was so beautiful and huge! I was on the wrong side of the pickup to take pics so I handed my dad my camera and he did a great job. It is mating season there for deer right now and he was with a doe. I love this shot my dad got of the "lovebirds":We also found the elk, but they were further off the road. Still beautiful, though!
We arrived back at the condo just in time to watch a snow storm come in. This was taken from the deck:
Here it is just an hour later when it finally hit us:
It was so exciting, but we had to get ready and leave again because it was time to board the train bound for the North Pole!!! The kids wore their pj's (with long johns underneath and heavy coats, hats and gloves over) and the adults just bundled up. Here we are in the station waiting to board:
It was so awesome that the kids had both sets of grandparents witht hem for this magical journey!
It was so exciting, but we had to get ready and leave again because it was time to board the train bound for the North Pole!!! The kids wore their pj's (with long johns underneath and heavy coats, hats and gloves over) and the adults just bundled up. Here we are in the station waiting to board:It was so awesome that the kids had both sets of grandparents witht hem for this magical journey! Finally, it was time to board! We were each handed our golden ticket as we boarded.
Colin and I sat facing Mom and Dad with Colton and Cady right across the aisle from us, facing John and Sara. Colton snapped this picture of Grampa and Grammy right after boarding:
We traveled for about 30 minutes and were served hot cocoa and cookies by the chefs in our car while listening to the Polar Express storybook being read and then playing a fun game of "Santa Says". We ten arrived at the North Pole where Santa, his reindeer and elves were all outside waving to us! It also began to snow as if it was cued by a director!!!
We were then told Santa had boarded the train and we headed back to Durango while singing Christmas carols. Cady loved it when we sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and sang her little heart out:
After about 4 or 5 songs, Santa was in our car! The looks of excitement on the faces of not only our kids, but all the kids aboard was just priceless and definitely the best part of the entire trip!!
Colin and I sat facing Mom and Dad with Colton and Cady right across the aisle from us, facing John and Sara. Colton snapped this picture of Grampa and Grammy right after boarding:
We traveled for about 30 minutes and were served hot cocoa and cookies by the chefs in our car while listening to the Polar Express storybook being read and then playing a fun game of "Santa Says". We ten arrived at the North Pole where Santa, his reindeer and elves were all outside waving to us! It also began to snow as if it was cued by a director!!!We were then told Santa had boarded the train and we headed back to Durango while singing Christmas carols. Cady loved it when we sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and sang her little heart out:
After about 4 or 5 songs, Santa was in our car! The looks of excitement on the faces of not only our kids, but all the kids aboard was just priceless and definitely the best part of the entire trip!!Mr. Claus went from seat to seat visiting with all the kids and giving them each a jingle bell -just like in the movie!!
He then sat with them and we got a picture, but even "Ho Ho" isn't immune to the bright flash!!
Here is Cady with her bell:
We had a girl chef and a boy chef in our car and they did a great job entertaining us and keeping us all excited! Here is the girl chef witht he kids:
Here is Grampa Mac with the elf that was assisting Santa in our car:
For the last half of the trip, everytime the male chef passed Cady's seat, he would pull her hat down over her eyes and you could tell she just loved it!!
After fixing her hat each time she would watch for him with a big smile and you could tell she was hoping he would come back and do it again!
This is him witht he kids after getting off the train:
Here they are with the conductor:
After deboarding, we went into the Train Museum where the kids got their picture with Santa in front of a real train engine! Colin and really believe he was the real Santa. He was so good with the kids and took so much time to visit with them and even asked them to tell him TWO things they wanted - not just one! When there was a kid who was kind of scared of him, he would get down on the floor, on their level and just talk to them and let them take their time. It was so awesome (our kids weren't scared by the way).
Definitely worth the long wait to get this priceless photo! Also in the museum were many real train cars and other equipment for the kids to climb on and play on:
He then sat with them and we got a picture, but even "Ho Ho" isn't immune to the bright flash!!Here is Cady with her bell:We had a girl chef and a boy chef in our car and they did a great job entertaining us and keeping us all excited! Here is the girl chef witht he kids:
Here is Grampa Mac with the elf that was assisting Santa in our car:
For the last half of the trip, everytime the male chef passed Cady's seat, he would pull her hat down over her eyes and you could tell she just loved it!! 
After fixing her hat each time she would watch for him with a big smile and you could tell she was hoping he would come back and do it again! This is him witht he kids after getting off the train:Here they are with the conductor:
After deboarding, we went into the Train Museum where the kids got their picture with Santa in front of a real train engine! Colin and really believe he was the real Santa. He was so good with the kids and took so much time to visit with them and even asked them to tell him TWO things they wanted - not just one! When there was a kid who was kind of scared of him, he would get down on the floor, on their level and just talk to them and let them take their time. It was so awesome (our kids weren't scared by the way). 
Definitely worth the long wait to get this priceless photo! Also in the museum were many real train cars and other equipment for the kids to climb on and play on:
They were also holding their Durango Festival of Trees and this was our favorite - a Coca Cola tree of course:
It was a great experience and we highly recommend it to everyone!!
It was a great experience and we highly recommend it to everyone!! The next morning was Sunday and we were all sad to have to leave. There was an inch of fresh snow on the ground and everything was so beautiful! I took some time to snap a few more pics of the kids around the condo. Here they are in the loft:
They loved both the big bear and the big moose that were there:
The view from the deck was even more breathtaking that morning with all the snow:
Then it was time to load up the vehicles, which meant more time for Colton to play in the snow!
They loved both the big bear and the big moose that were there:The view from the deck was even more breathtaking that morning with all the snow: Then it was time to load up the vehicles, which meant more time for Colton to play in the snow! One more family picture before heading home (John and Sara had already left from their hotel, so we didn't get to see them yesterday):
It was so hard to leave and we are already trying to plan a time that we can all go back!!
The golf course was covered:
Bye bye, Glacier Club!
We settled in for the long drive home!
It was a wonderful weekend! Thanks to all our family who made it so special!!
The golf course was covered:Bye bye, Glacier Club!
We settled in for the long drive home!
It was a wonderful weekend! Thanks to all our family who made it so special!!