Christmas in New York 2006

We arrived in Colorado on December 28, 2006, nearly a week after a tremendous blizzard. Things were apparently just getting back to normal, as we could tell at the airport that many travellers stranded from the earlier storm were finally getting on their way. Not ten minute's drive away from the airport, it began to snow...and over the next twelve hours over another foot and a half of snow fell! This was to become a theme of our trip!

On Friday the 29th, Peter's brother, Elliot, and his sister in law, Megan, were due to arrive in time for the Kirk Christmas dinner. We were anxiously looking forward to their arrival, being mindful of the weather and reports from the airport. In the meantime, Brenda suffered a mis-step, severely rolling her ankle. We spent a good portion of the day at the hospital awaiting news on her injury. The bad news was that Brenda had a "distal fibula fracture;" the good news was that all else appeared to be just fine.

In the meantime, despite the weather, Elliot and Megan made it to Colorado without much delay, which was something of a miracle. We were all concerned for Brenda, but moreover, we were happy to be together and to celebrate both Christmas and Brenda's birthday.

On Saturday, December 30, we moved forward with previous plans to have a party at Tom and Brenda's home to celebrate our wedding with Coloradoans, and to simply celebrate the family being together: snow, broken leg, and all! Family and friends filtered through all afternoon and evening...Peter and I had a spectacular time! This was the first time we had seen any of our dear friends since we left the state in July after barely even saying goodbye, as we thought we'd be back in a few weeks. Saturday was also the first time we've seen most of Peter's extended family in far, far too long.

It was amazing to catch up with so many people. We can't thank Tom and Brenda enough for hosting this party...despite Brenda's broken leg, and we can't thank Megan and Elliot enough for all their hard work keeping things going and cleaning up as the day went along. THANK YOU!

Thank you so much to everyone who came to support us and enjoy some leisure time with us!

Gatsby's turn...........Heather's turn.

Thank you Joanne and Rusty!

Joanne presented us with an amazing gift of wine - she really knows my passion! It was such a treat, as true dessert wines are difficult to come by in Grenada. We thoroughly enjoyed sipping this exquisite moscat in front of the fire.

I encourage all to visit Joanne's fantastic wine shop at 777 Pearl Street in Boulder, or check them out online at www.westendwineshop.com. They specialize in wines from around the world for under $18, and you can ask them anything...they know what they're talking about and are happy to share - even if you're not an expert!

A quiet evening out in snowy Boulder...just the two of us!

We spent a fantastic evening with Dave and Jeannie. They treated us to dinner at a favorite restaurant...yummm!

Then we went back to Dave's house to check out their photos from an amazing September trip to Kauai...and to enjoy Dave's fabulous 220 gallon reef aquarium.

Our last night together. Peter had to return to Grenada in time for classes to begin on January 8, 2007. Heather stayed an extra week in order to try and get business issues in order and to start collecting data for tax day. -sigh-

The morning Peter took off toward New York on his way to Grenada, another snow storm hit! Nevertheless, he was able to make it out and spend some time with his best friend, Marcel, before departing to Grenada the next morning.