Christmas in New Mexico

Jack and Claire discover that Santa came:Rosy-cheeked from the fire:
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Collecting pine cones to decorate the tree:Stringing popcorn:

We drove to Ruidoso, NM for Christmas. It's a long drive from Austin, so we broke the trip up, heading first to Ft. Worth for a couple of nights visiting family, then to Lubbock and finally on to New Mexico, arriving on the 23rd. I am going to resort to bullet-points to mention some of the highlights, good and bad:

• Our van got broken into in Lubbock. Thanks to the man with the pants that nothing was stolen since all the presents, my computer, even my set of keys to the car (oops) were in plain view. Someone must have come out of the restaurant and scared off the thieves. Uncle Mo didn't notice and "sat in the glass like an Uncle-head" (what Claire heard..I am pretty sure he called himself a knucklehead) Took a few hours the next day to get the glass replaced but considering nothing was taken we were damn lucky.
• The cabin was comfortable, if a little small. The owners decorated it nicely for the holidays and it had the rustic feel we were looking for.
• We had 3 kids, a Granny, 4 other grown-ups, 2 dogs and a bird...and everyone remained civil.
  
• You can get Christmas trees cheap at Walmart on Christmas Eve. $7.50. Who knew?
• The girls had a great time decorating the tree with minimal supplies...popcorn string, paper chain and glitter-glued pine cones. I liked the homemade look.
  
• Santa managed to find us in the mountains and everyone was spoiled rotten.
• Shane had his telescope and the number of stars visible from out there was insane. It almost made me dizzy. Makes the telescope view in the cul-de-sac look extremely pathetic.
• We went to Winter Park, a snow tubing tourist destination. Fun for the kids. Cold and too crowded for the grown-ups (and Gavin)
• It snowed! We got about 4 inches - just perfect for the girls to make snowmen, throw snowballs, make snow angels etc etc. We used the cookie sheet from the cabin as a makeshift sled. Hey - it worked just fine...no need for a fancy-pants toboggan!
• We managed to leave the van on for 2 days and ran it out of gas and battery. Just a simple mistake but, for once, not mine! (then we got a huge crack in the windshield...not a good trip for the vehicle!)
• Gavin had his last hurrah with his pacifier on this trip and he hasn't used it since.
• It was a Merry Christmas. Claire talks most about the Uncle-head.