Anytime I get the chance to travel, I jump at it. Even when it entails packing up and moving an entire house. Reid and I traveled to Colorado for the week between Christmas and New Year’s to help my aunt and uncle pack up their house in Manatou Springs (in the Colorado Springs area) they had just sold. Even though most of the time was spent cleaning, packing, sorting and keeping an eye on my 4-year-old cousin, we still managed to squeeze some fun in.

On New Year’s Eve, Reid and I snuck away for a while to go see a movie. What movie did we see? Why, “New Year’s Eve”, of course! It was only fitting. I’ve heard it called the American version of “Love Actually”…well, in my opinion, it didn’t really come close to being as good as “Love Actually” (one of my favorite movies), but it was really sweet and cute and had some laugh-out-loud funny bits.

We got home right at 10pm just as Kelly and Neal were getting ready to celebrate the new year. Wait…at 10pm?? We were celebrating New York time 🙂 We had all grown up on the east coast, after all (minus Reid…he’s a Montanan through and through). The ball had just dropped in NYC, so we went out onto the back porch with sparkling cider, horns and an iPod with 6 different versions of Auld Lang Syne in hand as we yelled “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” at the top of our lungs. The neighbors in the hot tub must have thought we were crazy. We shouted even louder. As soon as our fingers began to freeze, the four of us went back in and had the most groovin’ dance party ever.  Neal has some crazy moves. We jumped, slid, and shimmied around for almost an hour to Michael Jackson songs. It was So. Much. Fun. That kitchen has never seen so much boogying.

On New Year’s Day, we went to the adorable downtown Manitou Springs for brunch at a lovely spot called Adam’s Mountain Café, where they serve fresh, organic, made-to-order food. The place doesn’t even own a microwave. Legit. I had the most delicious huevos rancheros and Reid had yummy whole grain pancakes with real maple syrup and fresh fruit. Then it was back to packing.

This was the view from Kelly and Neal’s bedroom of the Garden of the Gods. Pretty stunning.

Reid and my aunt Kelly. They’re so fruity 😉

Reading “The Paris Wife” about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife…it was beautifully heartbreaking. It was the kind of book you just can’t put down, even though you know from the beginning tragedy is going to strike in the end. I highly recommend it if you’re in search for a good book.