A Forsman Family Christmas (and more)!

I know, I know, it's a week and a half late. And I also realize I haven't been posting very much. Sorry about that. When your life is sort of upside down and your camera is missing, posting goes waaaaay down on the priority list. I'll try to be better...but no guarantees. So let's just skip all the past few months and head straight to the holidays!

I've gotten to spend lots of MUCH needed time with my family the last two months. My mom came up for four days in November to surprise my aunt for her 50th birthday...but mostly I think she just wanted to meet my new puppy (shhh...don't tell Aunt Linda). :) It was GREAT to see her and spend some time with her, and she helped me with my apartment, which was pretty much a giant crazy mess. You see, my apartment is tiny and I don't have a lot of money, so it's been a work in progress to get it to a point where it is more or less functional. Mom helped a lot.

Then, a week and a half later, she was back, this time with my dad, to spend Thanksgiving in the great Northwest. It was fun to see them and they spoiled me A LOT in helping get my apartment set up a bit more (apparently they don't think it's acceptable to live in an apartment with only three chairs, and two are kitchen chairs). I am now the proud owner of an awesome sleeper couch! :) Merry Christmas to me! My parents are so generous and wonderful (and I think they also understand the last few months have been pretty tough on me).

So a crazy few weeks later, Allee and I hopped a plane and headed to Denver. (Side note: Can I just say I have the BEST puppy in the WORLD?! She's amazing--I was totally nervous to fly with a 5 month old puppy, but she seriously didn't make a single peep in the airport, on the plane, anywhere! She was INCREDIBLE. I decided to fly with her because it was waaaay cheaper to just pay to carry her on than it would have been to leave her in a kennel, plus my sister wanted to meet her, since she picked her out for me! And this way I knew she was safe.) My sister is just finishing up her third set of clinical rotations for PT school, so she didn't have any time off; we decided to go to her for Christmas. Amy and Sterling were very generous and hosted my mom and dad and I and our two dogs for Christmas--and it was awesome! :) Amy had their little house decked out for the holidays and it was lots of fun to spend them in a new place. Minus the fact that I've been alternately fighting it and being sick for most of the past several weeks, we had a fantastic time. A few days I feel great, then the crazy coughing thing comes back--weird cycle. :/

Anyway, I didn't take a single photo, but I am stealing a few of my sister's to show you one of the coolest things we did--a sleighride!

Amy and I and our cute and incredibly generous Dad!

Amy called me a few weeks ago and said she had always wanted to do this sleighride up at Breckenridge, CO, so we talked our dad into taking the five of us the day after Christmas as a fun family outing. It was AWESOME. I was feeling pretty crappy that day (as evidenced by the photos...eek!), but it was so much fun. We went and loaded up the sleighs pulled by mules, and they took us up to a sheep camp where they served an amazing dinner and had live music provided by this guy:

He was a fantastic entertainer and a great singer--he did incredible impersonations of Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Elvis, Willy Nelson, and threw in a few Christmas songs, too. :) It was great. The food was incredible (I kid you not), and even though it was FREEZING outside, the inside of the sheep tent was nice and toasty warm. Amy and I even got to drive the mule team on our sleigh (go Ada and Agnes!). :) It was a total blast, and an awesome, Christmasy memory that we'll have forever. Thanks, Dad! :)

My cute sister and her hubby munching on the delicious caramel apple pie--one of the photos I DID actually take! :) Aren't they adorable?

My mom and dad and I on the sleigh! Just hear those sleighbells jingling...

Amy and Sterling, right after we got to the sheep tent. Their rosy faces tell the story of how cold it was outside (aren't you glad we convinced you to bring a coat, Ster?!).