The Perfect Black Friday

I managed to resist Black Friday, which isn't much of a surprise. We spent the day in Ouray, Colorado. We hiked behind a waterfall, we ate dinner at a nice little local restaurant and we capped off the day at the Ouray Hot Springs. It was a perfect family day. The kids had a wonderful time. My favorite memories from today:

1. Watching Benny run down the trail. He wasn't too keen on hiking (even an incredibly short hike), but as soon as he started the decline, he was in heaven! He even go to sit behind a waterfall. What four-year-old gets to do that?

2. Swimming with Lila. She loved the warm water in the hot springs. She doesn't typically like to swim in pools - she mostly just shivers. But she loved floating in this warm bath tub. She did end up pooping in the pool (shhhh, don't tell anyone).

3. Witnessing both kids interact with the extended family. Nate's mom passed away a few years ago and it's been hard knowing that our kids will never know her. A strange, positive spin to the whole situation is that Nate's dad remarried a lovely woman. We spent the holiday with the extended family and I think we can all say that we've had a great time. Both kids bonded with everyone. I just finished watching Benny draw with Nate's stepbrother's wife (there's a bunch of degrees of separation there). It was touching.

Ouray, Colorado - Image source.

There's a reason Thanksgiving is such a perfect holiday - it's the magic of family. And we didn't buy anything but lunch. The perfect Black Friday. We didn't save any money, but the memories are priceless.