We flew to Florida on Sat Dec 10 to go to Disney World with Mema, Aunt Deb, Uncle Ed, and cousin Joey.  We spent 3 days at the Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Epcot, and 1 day at Hollywood Studios.  The kiddos LOVED it, which made the rest of us love it too (even if pushing 70 pounds of kiddos in the stroller at day 5 was farily tiring...).  Below are a few highlight pictures.  I am also going to create a new page showing many more pictures.  When it is done you will be able to access it on one of the tabs below the above picture. 

The whole family at the entrance to the magic kingdom on our first  day.  It truly was the trip of magical memories!

Sammy patiently (!) waiting for the tea cup ride to begin.

Lizzy meeting Cinderalla.  She also met Ariel and Belle.

Mema, Aunt Deb, and cousin Joey on the tea cups.

Mema, Lizzy, and Sammy at the "Finding Nemo" exhibit at Epcot.

While we have enjoyed traveling many times to visit family, it was great to finally go on our first family vacation to some where other than visiting family.  The four of us packed up the Jeep and drove to Vail, CO.  It took us 14 hours with stops and at times was challenging, but the drive really went better than expected.  The weather and Vail itself were gorgeous!  I will post many pictures here (more to come) with brief descriptions underneath.  However, for the most part the scenery and the smiles will speak for themselves!

There are four wonderful playgrounds in Vail, and we made it to all of them at least once. 

Riding the gondola to the top of the mountain.  The kiddos loved the ride up and down!
Earlier that day Tim took his big up the gondola and rode down the mountain.  The second time down he took a few tumbles.  However, besides getting dirty he and his bike were fine.

The family at Piney Lake Ranch. 
Piney lake is in Vail, however it took us about an hour of driving to get there since we had to drive up the mountain on a windy and narrow dirt road.  However, it was worth!  While there we went for a hike and ate lunch at the lodge.

Still snow on the mountains!

The kiddos resting during our (short) hike around Piney Lake.

The kiddos at lunch at Piney Lake Ranch.

Sammy and Lizzy playing in one the many awesome kids playgrounds.

Every Sunday afternoon in the summer there is a farmer market and art show in Vail Village. 
The kids loved it because they got a free balloon.

Samm "hiking" the way home from the market. 

Shopping at nearby outlet mall.

At the top of Loveland Pass (we drove there...).  Wile Sam and Tim played in the snow,  Liz and I took pictures and then dropped and broke our camera.  That night we went to Walmart to buy a new one.

At the top of the Loveland Pass.

Still at the top of the pass.

For Christmas we drove to Austin, TX to send the holiday with Deb, Ed, Joey, and Mema (she flew in from MI).  Sammy and Lizzy both did great on the drive.  They played and were very happy.  The drive there was relatively uneventful, however on the drive back we hit some crazy weather!  Most of New Mexico was very windy and large tumbleweeds were constantly crossing our path.  We avoided most of them, but a couple hit us, including one that wedged into the grill!  Then, shortly before we crossed the AZ/NM border snow started to fall!  We spent ~ 30 minutes driving through snow in the desert.  We did get out and play in it a bit - however, Lizzy said it was "too cold" to play with...   That was a strange weather day!

Liz and Sam smiling in the car.

The tumbleweed that barely missed our radiator!

Snow at the southern AZ/NM border.

A view of the snow from our car. 

Liz, Sam, and I flew to TX for a short weekend to help Deb make the final preparations before the baby arrived.  We had a nice time visiting with Deb, Ed, and Mema.  Lizzy was still not feeling well and most mornings were spent comforting her, but by afternoon she would feel better. 

Aunt "Dub" helps Lizzy makes friends with the neighbor girl.

Lizzy and Sammy enjoy some bongo drum music on the backporch. 

Sam's favorite toy on the trip was the dust bucket...  He would spend an hour or more just dragging the thing around the backporch!

Sam enjoyed the fall display in his aunt and uncle's front yard.

Lizzy takes a ride on the pony at the outlet mall (50 cents instead of a penny like at Meijers in MI!).

Mema enjoying the fresh air in the front yard.