Taos for the New Year

We had a lovely week in Taos after Christmas. Getting there was horrible. A storm had come in the night before and a tornado had hit our gateway city of Dallas. Flights were delayed and cancelled, we sat on the tarmac for long periods of time and it was one of the bumpiest flights of my life once we were airborne. Still, we made it and Holly was good for her first plane ride. My poor sister and her family weren't so lucky and had to drive to Dallas and still spend two days at the airport before they could get out. Eventually we all made it and were extra happy to be there!
My dad did very well on the trip and spent most of his time sleeping in the recliner chair by the fire. Bruce came with us and was on hand to help with dad which was great.
My mom and I did some shopping one day, just the two of us and had such a lovely time. Michael had taken the boys up to the Taos Ski Valley for snowboarding lessons. Mom and I wandered around and looked at art and then stopped at the Adobe Bar for calamari and margaritas. We were going to keep going, but Samuel had altitude sickness and we needed to go back to the house to take care of him after Michael brought him home. The boys ended up doing two days of lessons and Davis snowboarded his first black diamond run!
We grocery shopped and cooked a lot. Tiffany and Keith and Kade arrived and we spent lots of time lying around the living room visiting. Everyone played with Holly. The grownups played Settlers of Catan and the kids played Life.
We had two Family Foundation Meetings and accomplished quite a bit.
Tiffany and Marcie and Mom and I went one day to a cooking class in Arroyo Seco where the boys had done cooking camp this summer. Mom and Tiffany and I spent a few hours before hand shopping in the snow and met Marcie there. We were making Turkish food and had a blast. We spent the whole afternoon cooking things we had never made before and sipping wine and laughing and enjoying the beautiful home where the cooking class was held.
Marcie and Ann came and brought the trailer and the kids on New Year's Eve morning.. We went sledding that lovely afternoon after a great brunch at Gutiz. The weather was perfect and we all raced down the slopes on our sleds. In the early evening the Carnes headed for the slopes to watch the fireworks on the mountain and Marcie's family and mine went out to the Plaza for the first ever NYE party there. They had fire pits and a laser light show and a DJ. They roasted a whole pig and had free food, but we left before that started. They also were going to do a balloon release and fireworks, but it was too cold for us so we headed back home. We all spent the evening together in the Taos house, eating posole and crab legs and drinking champagne and playing Things. The kids roasted s'mores in the fire place and did sparklers and poppers on the porch and watched a movie and we all made it to midnight if just barely. It was lots of fun. We were all thrilled to be done with 2015 and are hoping for a much better 2016.
Davis and Samuel hosted a playdate with a friend they made this summer. We ate at Taos Mesa Brewery that afternoon and enjoyed the fish tacos there very much.
On our last day we took the boys to town and ate lunch at a new find just off the plaza called Cuevas. It was warm and cozy and I had an excellent frito pie. Then we went and hung out at Twirl for a couple of hours, letting the kids play upstairs in the playroom and in the courtyard.
I love Taos best in the summer, but it is wonderful in winter too. The luminarias dot the plaza and the trees are silver and white. The mountains wear the white coats and the evergreens stand out on the snow. I love curling up on the sheep skin rug in front of the fire and looking at the cold outside. I love being with my mom and dad, Tiff and Keith and Kade, Marcie and her whole family all snug in the house that is full of laughter.
We had a really good time.