Fort Collins, CO

Christmas 2023

To celebrate Christmas this year Jake, Kathryn and I went out to Fort Collins to visit Brittany and Josh from the 23rd to the 27th

We are staying at an Airbnb we stayed at a couple of years ago. 826 Blondel St #101. It has two bedrooms, two baths, a nice big kitchen, a dining area, a big living room with lots of comfortable seating, a gas fireplace, a TV with all the streaming apps, and just a couple of blocks from the Poudre river trails. Perfect for a family Christmas stay. We will be back!

Saturday, Dec 23

Travel Day

We were expecting O'hare to be slammed just before Christmas so we left early (3 1/2hrs prior to flight). When we arrived O'hare was empty! Drop off was totally open, no line to check our bags and we got through security in about 5 minutes and gave us plenty of time to get lunch before our flight.

Flight was uneventful and arrived about 20 minutes early. But, unfortunately, it took us over 2 hours to get our Dollar rental car...arg.. which got us to the BNB around 6pm.

Brit and Josh met us a few minutes after we arrived with pizzas in hand from their favorite pizza place! We ate pizza, visited and watched our favorite Christmas movie, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. A nice night with everyone together.

Sunday, Dec 24

Weather Mid 30s no snow but very windy.

Brit came over early and we got breakfast sandwiches from Panera. After breakfast Brit, Jake and Mom went grocery shopping to stock up for the rest of the trip and I went for a long walk along the Poudre river just a few blocks from the BNB. Windy but nice.

In the afternoon we went over to their apartment which Mom hadn't scene yet. After the tour we all took a walk in the prairie right outside their back door.

Christmas Day Eve Hike

Christmas Eve

Kathryn and Brit had planned lots of tasty Hors d'Oeuvres for tonight so Mom started making everything. We played Christmas music and had a nice fire.

Early in the evening Brit and Josh came over bearing gifts and even their Christmas tree with all the ornaments transforming our Bnb into a cozy Christmas place!

They also brought over a challenging Christmas puzzle Jake, Josh and I worked on while Mom and Brit finished all the Hors d'Oeuvres. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, eating, drinking wine and watching Christmas movies and a game of scrabble. A really nice Christmas Eve with family.

Monday, Dec 25

Weather same mid 30s and windy.

Christmas Day Presents!

Brit and Josh came over in the morning and it was time to dig into the presents! Check out the pictures! We had lots to open. We had Brittany's presents sent to her house (she had to wrap her own gifts), Josh's parents and grandparent also had their gifts sent to Fort Collins and Jake, Kathryn and I brought most of our presents in our luggage.

We had a great time listening to Christmas music and opening all our presents. (sorry for the poor photo quality!)

After opening our gifts we feasted on a delicious casserole Kathryn had prepared for us. We decided this dish is going to be a new family tradition for Christmas Day.

After brunch we all went out for a walk along the Poudre River. Chilly but nice.

Gingerbread House

Brit and I had started a tradition of making a gingerbread house at Christmas time when she was six years old with the YMCA Adventure Princess group. After adventure princesses we continued the tradition every year even through her college days until we finally missed a couple of years just recently. Today we're back to the tradition, this time having Jake and Josh joining in too! Fun and tasty!

While we were having fun, Kathryn was busy in the kitchen making our Christmas dinner. Later in the afternoon Brit and Josh went back to their apartment and we all had a late afternoon nap!

In the evening Brit and Josh came back and we had our Christmas dinner with all of our favorites (ham, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, rolls and wine). I can't believe I didn't take any pictures it was delicious! Then, more Christmas movies. A really nice Christmas Day.

Tuesday, Dec 26

Weather 30s and winds 20-40 mph!

Relaxing Day

Josh had to go back to work but Brit had the day off so she came over for lunch and we all hung out. Later in the afternoon Brit and Kathryn did some power napping, Jake went to the gym and I got blown around walking along the Poudre River.

Jessup Farm for Dinner

In the evening we all met up at Brittany and Josh's favorite restaurant, Jessups Farm. We had a nice time on our final night in Fort Collins with a delicious meal. Brit had fried chicken (her go to), Josh had short ribs, Jake had New York Strip, Kathryn had risotto, and I had Grouper. For dessert we shared bread pudding. Excellent dinner!

Wed, Dec 27

Weather30s and windy

Brit and Josh's place

Our flight was not until early evening so after we checked out of the BNB at 11:00 we headed over to their apartment for a couple of hours. Josh was at work but Brit was able to work from home. Naps, leftovers for lunch and a walk. Then it was time to say goodbye (always a little sad) and head back to the airport.

The Denver airport was busy, as we had expected, but they move people fast through security so we had no problems getting to our flight plenty early. To our surprise, the flight was half empty and we were able to stretch out (a luxury these days). The flight back went fast with the extra room and we arrived back at our house around 10:15pm.

Home Sweet Home.

Summary

Weather: was mild but really windy all week but it did not stop us from a nice walk everyday.

Airbnd: As mentioned above a great place to celebrate Christmas in Fort Collins.

Family: Spending time as a family for a few days for Christmas was the best. Reminded me of earlier years and I hope we can all be together every Christmas in one place or another. It was great that Josh was able to spend a lot of time with us. We all got to know each other better well. Everyone had a good time.