Seeing My Life Through A Lens: Christmas in Colorado 2015

I have been so incredibly busy that I haven't had the chance to post my photos from my Christmas Trip to Colorado! It was quite the trip!

Our flight out there was the day before my birthday and it started out just fine. Suddenly on the flight my ear started hurting really bad. I didn't think anything of it, I was sure I just needed to pop my ears. Here in South Carolina, we live below sea level, so my body needed to adjust. I tried to pop my ears, but everything I tried didn't and finally after a little while of trying, I decided to just take a nap. I woke up slightly before we landed and now not only was my ear hurting, but that side of my jaw started hurting. I figured that it would getting better as soon as we landed. I was far from right! We landed and the pain did not go away, it rapidly got worse as time passed that day. Finally when we got to the hotel I was in some of the worst pain I have ever felt. This is coming from someone who has broken/fractured multiple bones (including my skull); I am far from a baby when it comes to pain. I tried everything I could but it continued to get worse. Finally, I caved and decided to go to the emergency room. When we got there, of course it took FOREVER for them to get me in. I was literally in tears by the time they took me in. I was so frustrated and when the doctor came in the look at me, she said that the inside of my ear was so swollen that it could have burst if I didn't come get help. They had to give me a steroid shot, numbing ear drops, and Ibuprofen 800mg before it finally went away. Apparently the allergies I had been having that Fall had caused a fluid build-up in one of my ears. They sent me home with a lot of different things to take. I have never had so many medications to take in my life. Unfortunately, that was not the end of it, we still had to drive up the mountain the next day to get to our cabin.

The next day (my birthday), we traveled up to the cabin. I have to say, it was not nearly bad as the day before, but it did hurt. As soon as we got there, I crashed out on the nearest bed. I spent pretty much the whole day sleeping. We had a little dinner made by my wonderful sis-in-law and they sang "Happy Birthday" to me with a cheesecake (my favorite). I got to blow out my candles with my niece and nephew and eat a little dessert before heading back to that comfy bed. My 21st birthday weekend was definitely my most memorable birthday so far!

As our trip went on, it definitely got better. We stayed in this beautiful house right on the ski run at Breckenridge Ski Resort. I learned how to ski, which was A LOT of fun! I definitely like skiing more than snowboarding, even though I am still a scaredy cat when it comes to both. I am not exactly sure why, but I am! Maybe next time I will get a little better! This was my first Christmas away from home, which was a lot harder than I thought. I FaceTimed with my family Christmas morning so that I could see them open my presents. As soon as we got done, I just balled. I didn't think it would be that hard. But what was so wonderful is that it was my first Christmas with my Johnson family! I absolutely loved seeing my nephew and niece open their presents. There is something so wonderful and magical about being around children on Christmas morning! I made my mom's famous cinnamon rolls and we spent the day relaxing! Growing up in California I never got a snowy Christmas and it was so cool to be able to have that! Through my horrible earache and everyone getting sick at the cabin, it was still an amazing trip! I hope the next time we are able to go, we can scratch out the pain and sickness! Haha!