Ski Trip: Day 5 and 6

We made the most of our last day of skiing by being up and out of the condo first thing.  Again, the kids were all eager to go and happy to be on the mountain.  

I kept joking, but was totally serious when I said that the most stressful part of this trip was making sure everyone got on the ski lift without any mishaps.  Just getting them all through the lines was exhausting, but actually getting up the line and being ready to hop on the lifts was tricky.  Thankfully, all of the staff working the lifts were super helpful and would gladly grab the kids and help hoist them up if needed.

We did a few runs on our go-to green and the kids got to do the "Haunted Forest" a few times. It was a trail through the woods that they absolutely loved.  There were tunnels and little obstacles through the trees.  

After that we decided to give the blues another go-round and this time the kids did amazing!  I think everyone was rested and refreshed and ready to go!  I'm still amazed when I think about the fact that they were skiing blues on their 4th day ever skiing.

That evening we walked into the downtown area of Breckenridge for pizza.  While we were eating it had started to snow and on our walk home it was pouring snow.  It was a cold, but fun walk back to our condo.

As soon as we walked in the kids were happy to warm up by the fire in the lobby.

The next day it was time to head home, but since our flight wasn't until later that evening, we spent the day exploring.  We visited Dinosaur Ridge just outside of Denver.

Here you can see real dinosaur bones and footprints!  It was really interesting to all of us, but Hudson loved it most of all!

Right across the street from Dinosaur Ridge were the famous Red Rocks.

A quick drive over and we were up close and personal with these giant formations.

There is an amphitheater there, which I'm sure would be amazing for a concert venue and lots of gorgeous views.

It was fun to show the kids around and get their perspective on things.  The layout and geography of the land is so different in Denver, so I'm happy we got to take some time exploring before heading to the airport.

Unfortunately, our flight was delayed a few hours so between that and the time change, we didn't arrive home until after 2 AM.  All that being said though, the kids did amazing during our travels and we could not have asked more of them.  It was such a fun trip and we all made tons of memories that will last forever.  Now we can't wait to go back skiing again next year!

Ski Trip: Day 3 & 4

On Tuesday morning the kids were all excited and happy to be going skiing again.  When it was time to drop them off with their instructor, Hudson got a little upset (I think because he really just wanted to ski with Robby again), but we promised we would see them at lunch and then he seemed OK. We loved Coach Chris and he was so great with the kids.  

 While the kids were off skiing with Coach Chris, the adults in the group took advantage of getting to ski together!

We broke off for a little while to explore more of the mountain and do some more challenging runs.

After lunch when we saw the kids again we were just amazed by how much they had learned and how well they were doing.  They followed along in a line like little ducks, waiting at each spot they were supposed to for everyone to catch up and to get instructions from Coach Chris. 

The next day we did a little more of the same, but this day we were on our own with the kids. Robby and I had a new appreciation for Coach Chris on this day.  Skiing and keeping up with 3 kids on the mountain is a challenge.  Especially when they are all pretty fearless and like going fast!

Right before lunch we took them to a blue run and it was a big mistake.  Everyone was tired and hungry and grumpy and falling and upset and just not having much fun.  The views sure were pretty though.  

It was on this run we decided to call it a day and stick to our original plan to take a break from skiing and do a little tubing instead.  

It was a good idea and we all had a lot of fun!  It was really warm on this day so the snow was melting a lot and the tubes wouldn't go as fast or as far as they said they normally would. We didn't know any different though, so we still had fun.  

You rode a little magic carpet thing up a hill with your tub and then lined up on one of the lanes to get  launched down. You could go individually or hold on to each other's tubes to go in a group. 

That evening we let the kids stay home with our friend's nanny while the adults enjoyed a nice dinner out. It was a great evening and fun to walk around the down and see everything lit up.  There were lights in all of the trees lining the main street area and it all looked so pretty in the snow!

Ski Trip in Breckenridge: Day 1 & 2

Last week the kids were on Winter Break and we took our very first every family ski trip.  We've been waiting for Hudson to be old enough to ski and enjoy it and this was the year.  Robby picked Breckenridge as our location to go and it could not have been more perfect.  It was so family friendly and the perfect resort for us.

Our flight was Saturday afternoon and the kids were very excited about flying on a plane to go on our big trip!

We arrived on late Saturday night and grabbed dinner before checking into our hotel for the evening.  Sunday morning we wanted to see our nephew on his birthday!  The kids loved playing together and we had fun catching up, too!  While the kids were outside playing we discovered that Harper had lost one of her boots in waist deep powder snow.  Four adults helped her search, but it was nowhere to be found.  That happened to be the only pair of shoes I brought for her on this trip, so we went in search for some new boots for her.  We needed up at Wal-Mart and found a pair that would serve as her replacement for the week.  Right after that she ended up loosing a tooth, too!  It was an eventful day for her.

That afternoon we checked into our condo that would be our home for the week and headed off to rent our skis.  I loved seeing how cute the kids' skis were and Hudson's were just tiny!  Seriously the cutest thing ever.

That evening we met up with our friends/neighbors that were on the trip with us and the kids kicked off the week tougher with a snowball fight at the hot tub.  The kids loved going from the snow to the hot tub!

The next morning came bright and early, but we were all excited about our first day of skiing.

We signed the kids up for ski school with a private instructor that would be teaching all 5 kids.  It was the best decision we made.  Having Coach Chris know how to teach them and know how to manage the kids on skis was such a bonus, and in our opinion, worth every penny.

 We enjoyed skiing in the morning while they were leaning and we met up for lunch.

They were all still happy and in good spirits so after lunch they were ready to say goodbye to the learning hill and head up the mountain.  I couldn't believe when we saw them how great they were doing. Hudson was a little upset and was nervous by the big mountain and some of his falls, so we decided to take him with us for the afternoon and let the older kids continue skiing with Coach Chris.  They were all so proud to show us what they had learned.

Well, all it took was a quick afternoon of Hudson skiing with Robby, because by the end of the day he had gotten his confidence back and he was doing awesome!  We were so proud of all of the kids and couldn't believe how much they had learned in just one day.

I'll share more about our trip in the next few days, but it was so much fun and we all had the best time.