I spent the first leg of my Christmas Zoom in snowy western Colorado, joining a dozen of my dear friends who have spent time working together in Nicaragua with incredible organizations including Love Light & Melody, Manna Project, International Justice Mission, and Discover the Journey. We spent three days tucked away in a log cabin on Mount Crested Butte, about four hours west of Denver in a high alpine valley surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks and four feet of fresh powder. It was epic. We shared stories from across the globe (Congo, Iraq, Nicaragua, Birmingham), laughed till it hurt, ate amazing homecooked food (everyone in this group can cook, let me tell ya), danced in our pjs, reflected by the fire, caught some priceless video moments, sang Christmas carols, swapped secret santa gifts, sat in the hot tub while it snowed (and/or attacked the current 'tubbers with snowballs), and flew down the slopes on sleds, skis, and boards.

And then with a quick drive back through the mountain passes, we each said our goodbyes and headed across the country to continue our celebrations at home. Next stop: Virginia!

Follow my trip on Flickr, Dopplr, and Twitter. Update: Jonathan made a short film about our adventures. And we launched our own Flickr Group to share everyone's pics.