Richard's favorite holiday tradition

Roosters!

Roosters is a Grand Junction wing restaurant that is known for its dozen amazing sauces of varying heats and "all you can eat" wing deal. In the beginning of our relationship, I tolerated us going there. I was a girl, after all, and normally ordered things like a grilled chicken sandwich with a salad (and then just surreptitiously ate Richard's fries). But I have grown to love and hunger and salivate after Rooster's wings almost as much as Richard.

Here is the wing sauce menu. The tame sauces are at the bottom, and the hot sauces with kick are nearer the top. The hottest sauce is not even on the menu. You have to just know about it and request it by name. Richard once got into an argument with a waitress who refused to give him a glass of milk with his "insanity" wing order, because she was afraid the milk would curdle in his stomach and he would get sick and sue her.

Do you see how excited I am for this! You can order two baskets of wings at a time, and you get a side dish with each basket. They have the worlds best thick cut french fries (perfect for sopping up all that glorious sauce), but I always order a basket of "rabbit food" (aka, carrots and celery with blue cheese) because I like having a foil for the hot wings. I don't know if I should be proud of this, but I can eat almost as many hotwings as Richard. We both ordered 5 baskets of hotwings! (and then didn't eat for the next 12 hours)

This is Richard about to experience sauce Nirvana. This is his happy place, his sacred grove, and the place where all his dreams come true.

Biggest snowman ever

During our week in Grand Junction over Christmas break, Anna finally got to meet snow for the first time. Snow only exists in Seattle in people's nightmares, so there has never been an opportunity for her to make snowangels (though we do practice on the carpet sometimes, kind of like a firedrill, just in case), or to build a snowman, or catch a snowflake on her tongue.

Grand Junction happened to get some really good weather while we were there, but there was still enough evidence of snow to satisfy Anna's fascination with it.

See, we even got her a bonafide snowsuit. She wanted to take it off after a half hour. She takes after her father and seems to be immune to the cold.

Richard made an impromptu snowman by putting three small snowballs together.

Anna promptly proclaimed it "the biggest snowman ever!" (and to her, it was)

"nice to meet you snowman, my name is Anna"

Just a little '80s flashback

My brother and sister in law threw an '80's style Christmas party and this is the result. I can't claim to have the hippest moves (unless you count having the hips to move-- which I do), but I would like to say that my Michael Jackson moves are accurate, if a little less "thrilling" than the original. Shown also are my sisters Katie and Carly who can hold their own with the best of them.