Last week Noel’s parents and sister, Vanessa Joy, paid us a visit for a few days. Glenna and Mike had hoped to get away from the harsh Alaskan winter, but the whole time they were here the temperature never managed to get above 12 degrees.

We tried not to let the weather put a damper on our plans and we all bundled up to go on an adventure.

We took the light rail into downtown Denver and had lunch.

Cooper thought it was the best adventure ever, but Ellen wasn’t so sure. Guess she’s not a huge of fan of freezing temperatures. Weird.

Back at home, Ellen decided to get into the spirit of Christmas by opening presents that we’d accidentally left out. When she opened all of my birthday gifts a few weeks ago we quickly realized we wouldn’t be able to put any presents under the tree until Christmas.

One of the many indoor activities we did was decorating our Christmas tree. Cooper would put ornaments on and Ellen would take them off. Such a symbiotic relationship.

After being spoiled with over a week of family visiting and entertaining the kids we were a little sad to be on our own again and no longer have anyone around to distract the kids while we prepare meals. Really though, we’ve enjoyed being able to see so much of our families lately.