The Felix Family Website

So…as most of you know…my brother and his family came to Colorado over Christmas break. What you may not know is that they are vegetarians. I tried my best to be a good hostess, not only having fresh sheets and towels, but also having vegetarian food for them to eat. We made Black Bean Chili and Pasta Felix with tofu sausage (both meals were excellent if I do say so myself) and we ate out at several vegetarian restaurants.

I started thinking after they left how much healthier we had eaten while they were here. So last week I made my usual meals, but substituted my regular meat for vegetarian meat. I was very impressed with how well it tasted as well as the lack of grease. This morning we even tried the meatless bacon…unfortunately it was not a hit at our house. Does this mean we are vegetarians? No (I ate steak at Chilies the other night and it was good!), but it is nice to try and eat more healthy at home. Here is a photo of Tris making “bacon” this morning.

On December 26th the McClure Gang (Michael, Juli, Mikayla, Kennedi, and Julian) traveled to Denver for a visit. Everyone stayed at our house. Michael, Juli, and Julian slept in the basement and Mikayla and Kennedi slept on the air mattress in Jackson’s room. Jackson slept on the top bunk of his bed. We saved the bottom bunk for Nana Sawny who arrived the next day.

The adventures started right way with everyone heading to Cherry Creek Mall. We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and then started shopping. The kids and the men hung out at the playground in the middle of the mall. Michael said he would rather shop than hang out at the playground. As you can see from some of the photos…the playground was a zoo!

The next day we split up. Michael, Juli, Mikayla, Jackson, and Tris went skiing/snowboarding while Nana Sawny, Kennedi, Julian, Benjamin, and Amy went to the children’s museum. Jackson tried to bail on the snowboarding before he left. Luckily he has nice parents that forced his to go. As you can see from some of the photos, Jackson is still pouting during his snowboarding lesson. Everyone had a great time at Loveland Ski Resort. I have a feeling the McClure’s will be coming back soon to ski! Meanwhile, we were at the children’s museum playing in all the different areas. They had a fire station, grocery store, bubble makers, trains, underground forests, painting stations and more. Here are the photos from the Ski resort and the children’s museum.

The last full day was spent eating at City ‘O City (a vegetarian bar) and visiting the Denver Aquarium. The vegetarian bar was quite the adventure for us animal lovers, but we had fun trying new foods. The Aquarium was a great place to visit. The adults liked it just as much as the kids. Here are the photos of the aquarium. 

The Felix family really enjoyed Christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve with Richard and Doak going to church and eating Chinese at our new favorite Chinese restaurant. Afterwards we came home to read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and open one present. The boys both got Christmas pajamas.

The next morning we woke up to Jackson running into our room at 7:00 screaming “Santa brought me a Wii.” How he was able to get up at 7:00 is beyond me. The rest of Christmas break he has be getting up after 9:00. Santa was very good to us this year. As mentioned earlier, Jackson did get a Wii, Wii accessories, and clothes (he was not excited about the clothes). Benjamin received clothes and a Fisher Price zoo. He loves watching the animals go round and round. Tris and I were also good this year too. Tris got new work clothes (unlike Jackson, Tris was happy about the clothes) and a new snow shovel. I got a new computer in hopes to keep this website updated every week. After opening presents, Tris’ family came over for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Here are some pictures of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house.

PS  The Christmas cards are coming!

Jackson is playing basketball for the YMCA in Littleton. The Denver Nuggets (NBA Team) sponsor the YMCA basketball teams. The teams get light blue YMCA jerseys that resemble the jerseys worn by the Nuggets. Tris has volunteered to be the head coach and Doak is the assistant coach. Several of the boys on our street are playing which makes it a lot of fun for Jackson. Did I mention that the team is co-ed? And it’s a good thing too because the girls scored most of the points in the first game. Here are some pictures of Jackson playing his first game with Tris and Doak coaching. There is also video (coming soon) of Jackson bringing the ball up the court.

Richard turned 70 on October 17. To celebrate his birthday he rented a house in Vail for the weekend. We left Friday after school and headed for the mountains. It took us about 1 1/2 hours from our house. The four bedroom house Richard rented was very nice with granite counter tops, heated floors, private hot tub, and a great view of the stream behind the house. The men took Shelly and the kids fishing. Lance and Shelly each caught one fish. Everyone brought their bikes and went biking around the area. The kids loved going to the park near the house. At night we sat around and played Mexican Dominoes. I think I lost every game I played. Click here to view photos of our weekend in Vail.

Jackson was very excited about the Boy Scouts this year. A scout leader came to his school and told the boys all about the fun they would have if they joined. It’s all he talked about on the way home from school. Tris and Jackson went to the informational meeting and came back as official boy scouts. I’m not sure who was more excited, Tris or Jackson. Being a boy scout is very involved. They have meetings on the first three Tuesdays of every month, plus outings to earn badges. Jackson has officially earned his first badge, the “Bobcat” badge. He is very proud of his first badge. To see photos of Jackson receiving his first badge and attending his first activity (visit to a fire station) click here.

The boy scouts have already had their yearly fundraiser. Jackson sold popcorn in September. If you’re thinking you got lucky and didn’t have to buy popcorn…think again. We signed some of our dearest family members up to buy popcorn without them knowing. So get your check books out because Jackson will be delivering some overpriced popcorn to your door during Thanksgiving break!!