La Famille Kelly: January 2014

At least that's how it started...

We are back from a week long glorious vacation to Telluride, also known as "to hell you ride", and for good reason apparently. The trip started out on the wrong foot with one of the top 5 worst travel days we've collectively experienced. Highlights include:

- barely making our flight to Denver

- flight to Telluride cancelled

- argument at rental car counter over car

- lost one of 6 bags; caused hour long delay and argument at baggage counter

- blinding snow squalls on 7.5 hour drive over mountain passes

- accident in Eisenhower tunnel shutting down highway

- herd of deer crossing dark highway in front of our minivan

- almost driven off road by car trying to avoids an obstacle in his lane

- getting caught behind a snow plow traveling at 15 miles an hour for the last 5 miles of the journey

Alas, we arrived in one piece and are happy to report that it was well worth the effort. Telluride is awesome. Beautiful beyond words. Wonderful weather. Great snow. Amazing house. Great restaurants. We woke up everyday to incredible views of the mountains, walked ten feet to the slopes outside our door to ski 6 days in a row (unheard of and only made possible by a wonderful babysitter and Nana who watched Gus during the day). Hank attended ski school every day and loved it. He learned all about pizza wedges and french fries and will be skiing down the hills faster than us in no time. My parents came up from Arizona on Christmas Eve to celebrate with us and we had a lovely time with them.

A Christmas break to remember for sure.

Our trip home was luckily much less eventful. We spent our 6th anniversary (also known as New Year's Eve) with some good friends over a good dinner and then headed up to the cabin to finish out the week. All in all, a great break from our crazy schedules and a much needed recharging of our batteries.

We'll need all the energy we can muster for January. We travel to Chicago next weekend with the kids to celebrate Whitney and Ryan's engagement with the whole fam (and we'll get to squeeze in a visit with the Auntie Alice and Uncle Brian). The following weekend sees Matt and I back on the slopes in Park City with some London-based friends to celebrate a 40th birthday. Not too shabby!

Wishing you all a happy new year! If you have time to kill, click here for our entire Christmas album. I've included some highlights below.