It has been a busy few weeks here at the Staalsen home and I've had a wonderful vacation. I'm back to work, but thought I'd give you a little glimpse of what life has looked like over the past month.

We had a special Christmas together with our family! We hosted 18 for dinner on Christmas Day, which was a ton of work but so much fun. Getting all the food on the table hot was a chaotic challenge, but we did it.

Because there were so many of us, I opted to use paper plates which made all the teen dishwashers happy. I found these gorgeous paper gold chargers. I used clear plastic plates for the food and it looked amazing.

My favorite part of hosting is setting up the main table and the buffet tables. This year I used one of my sari's from India on the dessert table.

For bringing in the New Year, we took 20 college kids camping. We were the cooks! I was glad to be in our "home away from home " with my heater, Keurig and shower.

The kids were brave and slept in their hammocks. Brrrrrrrr

Thanks to Kennedy with Perspectives Photography for the pictures below.https://www.facebook.com/perspectivepics/

We brought the New Year in around the fire with sparklers and lots of loud fun.

We made memories and continued our tradition from last year.

Life is about these moments! Community with those we love, even the crazy ones.

There is something about being around a roaring fire that makes us bring life back to the basics. It is the imple things in life that makes it so rich.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EACH AND EVERY OF YOU.

My 2 words for this year are BE PRESENT.

Life is too short to not be in the moment with those we love. I challenge you to think on these words as you continue with your goals for the year.

Be present and be connected!

I have lots of fun things to announce in the next few weeks so stay tuned!

We just returned from Colorado after being there 10 days with family and friends.

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We traveled with 6 other families (26 of us in all). We all have RV's and it was such fun to be on the road together.

Even our doggie Ava loved the ride.

We stayed at Castle Lakes RV & Campground in Lake City, Colorado. What a gorgeous place.

I thought I'd share some of my favorite captures my eyes took in.

This was the view from our RV site. It was breathtaking. It was a great place for coffee in the morning. Nice and cold too.

The water was like glass most days and we had spectacular weather all week long.

I just loved how the mountain reflected in the water.

Can you believe how gorgeous this is?

We took walks around the lake and admired the wildflowers and beauty.

Hanging baskets were overflowing with color at the lodge.

I was tempted to bring this fabulous piece of driftwood home!

I'm sure the beavers would have been sad to see it go.

This bridge was perfect for fishing.

All 6 families rented jeeps from the lodge one day. We drove in convoy right up into the mountains. It was an amazing day of adventure and fun!

I just couldn't believe this view. The color of the water in this valley took my breath away.

See what I mean?

Waterfalls everywhere.

Sheep grazing.

but lots of dust flying everywhere too.

Loads of belly laughter around the fire each evening. Loads of memories were made! Some of these friends have been in our lives since high school so the stories that were told were absolute hoots.