My whole family likes to ski. We all learned to ski around here in Indiana and West Virginia and despite that, we all still enjoy the activity. Skiing in this area involves a lot of ice. We long for some nice snow under our skis. My Mom and Dad gave us the
opportunity for some great skiing when they offered to take us all to Colorado for a ski trip the week before Christmas. We had some details to iron out, but eventually we all were able to agree to the trip. We couldn't wait to get there!! This isn't the first ski vacation we've taken. Way back in 2006, we went skiing in Breckenridge and had an awesome time. Maura was only nine months old at the time!
She wasn't much for snow back then, but she was way more into it this time around. We left on the 18
th of December and drove out to Beaver Creek, Colorado for a whole week of fun. We loved Beaver Creek the last time we visited and we weren't
disappointed this time. We rented a really nice six bedroom house that
accommodated everyone and settled in for a great time. Dad, Mom and I ready to hit the slopes on our first ski day at Beaver Creek. It was 11 degrees at the bottom of the lift when we arrived, and I'm sure it was much, much colder at the top of the mountain, but we were all dressed for the weather and it rarely bothered us.
Emily, Lorie, and Katie, excited about skiing. Emily's jacket was florescent pink and Lorie's hat was florescent green, so it wasn't difficult to keep track of them while skiing. We all skied together for the first run of the day, but realized quickly that the more novice skiers were really holding back the more advanced skiers and broke off into groups accordingly. All of us
sibs: Jeff, Katie, Emily, Lorie and I. I'm not sure why Jeff looks so enormous in this photo. He's taller than us, for sure, but here he looks like a giant!! Jeff is our most experienced skier, and I think he was the most
disappointed in the lack of snowfall in Colorado. They had only
received 20 inches of snow for the year so far, so most of what we skied on was manufactured snow. None of the back bowls were open and only a few of the black and double black slopes were open.(Not that it mattered much to me!!)
Beautiful views of Colorado. This is a good example of what I skied on for most of the week.
Strictly speaking, pregnant women are not allowed to ski. It's a general warning, I think mostly to keep 3rd trimester women off the slopes. I decided to give skiing a try, even though I am pregnant. I was only 12 weeks along when we skied, so the baby was still pretty far down in my pelvis and protected from trauma if I should fall. I tried to stick to green and blue slopes so that I wouldn't put myself in any
unnecessary danger. Despite all my caution, I did have a few sticky situations, but I just skied slowly and in control and I felt safe ALMOST all of the time! I will say that skiing is hard on a pregnant, out of shape women's body. I HURT on the second day, but the third and forth days were awesome! I love the mountain vistas. I enjoy going up in the chair lifts so that I could see views like THIS one.
My honey and I enjoying the skiing. Brent was awesome with me on this trip. I know that I'm not the most exciting skiing partner. Like I said, I ski slowly. I often found him at the bottom of the run, waiting on me. He stuck with me all morning and when I tired out, usually around 2, I'd head back to the cabin so that he could join the more exciting skiers! We took Maura with us on our second day of skiing. I enrolled her in the half day ski school for three year
olds. I only paid for one day initially, because I wasn't sure if she was going to like it. We just had to take her dressed and ready to ski and they took care of all the rentals and logistics. It was wonderful!! She was so excited about skiing. She'd been telling people for weeks that she was going to go whooshing down the mountain. I think she liked being with the big people as we headed out on the shuttle that first morning.
Brent, Mom and I skied all morning and then hurried over to the ski school at 11 to watch Maura's lesson. I was a little worried that she might see us and get upset, but I
needn't have worried. She was concentrating so hard on walking in her ski boots that she took absolutely no notice of what was going on around her. I was only about five feet from her when I took this photo and she didn't even notice!! Trying on skis for the very first time. They initially put only one ski on each child and let them slide around that way for a few minutes. I think it was good for Maura to get the feel of only one ski on her foot.
Pretty soon, they had her all geared up and ready for a ride up the magic carpet for her first ski experience. I'm so sad, but for some reason, I didn't take any pictures of her actual first ski! She did awesome. They instructors get them all set up, then grab the tips of their skis and run backwards in front of them while the kids ski down the hill. I can't imagine the back pain they must have. Maura did so great on her first run--hardly even wobbly and a huge smile at the end. I was so proud of her!! We picked her up after her lesson, got her a little lunch($10
hot dog and drink...ouch!), and took her up to the beginner ski area a little higher up the mountain.
It was so fun to get to ski with my girl!! We
initially started skiing with her between us, holding our hands, but soon found that she did better holding onto Brent's ski pole with him skiing beside her. I wish I'd skied to the bottom to get a photo, but once again, I sadly did not! My girl was so proud of herself and so worn out by the time we headed home. She loved the gondola ride and she loved skiing with Daddy!
I'm so proud of my big girl. She did so great that we took her back to ski school the next morning. You would have thought that she was
Picabo Street the way she talked about skiing. I think that next time, she'll be big enough and confident enough to strike out on her own.
The long awaited snowfall finally happened on Wednesday while we were there. The clouds rolled in and dumped about five inches of snow on the mountain, leaving us to ski on powder over ice. It was exhausting! One happy skier!! I'm so glad I chose to go ahead and ski, despite the pregnancy. It was such a fun experience!
The kids were most excited on this trip about playing in the snow. I had told Maura that the snow would probably be above her knees, so we were a little
disappointed when it was just to her ankles, but they had fun anyway! Momma and her little
snow bunny. I could hardly get the kids to come back inside, despite the dark and the cold! Tristan loved the snow, but had a hard time walking in it. He was fine as long as someone kept him upright. He loved throwing snow and this is a great example of his little stinker face when he knows he's up to no good! He fell in the snow a few times and ended up looking like a snowman. He didn't like that very much!!
Me with some tired kids! Maura was exhausted after her first day of skiing. She laid down and took a three hour nap, which I had to wake her up from. Tristan just played hard with his babysitter all day and crashed in the evenings. We took a babysitter with us and it was so great to be able to leave the kids and not worry about them at all. The sitter, Katy, took awesome care of them all week. Tristan and I with the Beaver. We WERE staying in Beaver Creek after all!
I think the kids pretty much ate continuously while we were there. They were constantly asking various family members for food and recieving it. They went through an entire gallon of apple juice on the first full day! Helping Aunt Katie in the kitchen. Each family took one night of cooking, so none of us had the burden of cooking all the time. We had some awesome food while we were there!!
On the next to last evening, we tried to get some family photos. Note to self...never try to get family photos in the evening, past bedtime, with a two hour time difference!! Katie and Scott. This trip was only the second skiing experience for Scott, but he did great.
The girls, Katie, Me, Emily and Lorie. Lorie, Micah and Alex.
The whole family!! It was so fun being there with everyone! Emily and Brad. He was able to fly in for the last two days of skiing.
All the Bridge siblings. We don't all get together very often, so it was great getting to spend time together. We all got to experience more than enough family togetherness on the ride home. Storms were predicted through Kansas, so we left the evening before we had intended to, attempting to beat them. It was a grueling 26 hour ordeal that involved lots of snow, ice and wind. I hope I NEVER have to repeat that drive home, but we finally arrived, safe and sound, at 1am Christmas morning. I've never been so glad to be home in my life!! We had a great trip and I'm already looking forward to the next time we get to ski in Colorado.
She wasn't much for snow back then, but she was way more into it this time around. We left on the 18th of December and drove out to Beaver Creek, Colorado for a whole week of fun. We loved Beaver Creek the last time we visited and we weren't disappointed this time. We rented a really nice six bedroom house that accommodated everyone and settled in for a great time. Dad, Mom and I ready to hit the slopes on our first ski day at Beaver Creek. It was 11 degrees at the bottom of the lift when we arrived, and I'm sure it was much, much colder at the top of the mountain, but we were all dressed for the weather and it rarely bothered us. 
Emily, Lorie, and Katie, excited about skiing. Emily's jacket was florescent pink and Lorie's hat was florescent green, so it wasn't difficult to keep track of them while skiing. We all skied together for the first run of the day, but realized quickly that the more novice skiers were really holding back the more advanced skiers and broke off into groups accordingly. All of us sibs: Jeff, Katie, Emily, Lorie and I. I'm not sure why Jeff looks so enormous in this photo. He's taller than us, for sure, but here he looks like a giant!! Jeff is our most experienced skier, and I think he was the most disappointed in the lack of snowfall in Colorado. They had only received 20 inches of snow for the year so far, so most of what we skied on was manufactured snow. None of the back bowls were open and only a few of the black and double black slopes were open.(Not that it mattered much to me!!)
Beautiful views of Colorado. This is a good example of what I skied on for most of the week. Strictly speaking, pregnant women are not allowed to ski. It's a general warning, I think mostly to keep 3rd trimester women off the slopes. I decided to give skiing a try, even though I am pregnant. I was only 12 weeks along when we skied, so the baby was still pretty far down in my pelvis and protected from trauma if I should fall. I tried to stick to green and blue slopes so that I wouldn't put myself in any unnecessary danger. Despite all my caution, I did have a few sticky situations, but I just skied slowly and in control and I felt safe ALMOST all of the time! I will say that skiing is hard on a pregnant, out of shape women's body. I HURT on the second day, but the third and forth days were awesome! I love the mountain vistas. I enjoy going up in the chair lifts so that I could see views like THIS one.
My honey and I enjoying the skiing. Brent was awesome with me on this trip. I know that I'm not the most exciting skiing partner. Like I said, I ski slowly. I often found him at the bottom of the run, waiting on me. He stuck with me all morning and when I tired out, usually around 2, I'd head back to the cabin so that he could join the more exciting skiers! We took Maura with us on our second day of skiing. I enrolled her in the half day ski school for three year olds. I only paid for one day initially, because I wasn't sure if she was going to like it. We just had to take her dressed and ready to ski and they took care of all the rentals and logistics. It was wonderful!! She was so excited about skiing. She'd been telling people for weeks that she was going to go whooshing down the mountain. I think she liked being with the big people as we headed out on the shuttle that first morning. 
Brent, Mom and I skied all morning and then hurried over to the ski school at 11 to watch Maura's lesson. I was a little worried that she might see us and get upset, but I needn't have worried. She was concentrating so hard on walking in her ski boots that she took absolutely no notice of what was going on around her. I was only about five feet from her when I took this photo and she didn't even notice!! Trying on skis for the very first time. They initially put only one ski on each child and let them slide around that way for a few minutes. I think it was good for Maura to get the feel of only one ski on her foot.
Pretty soon, they had her all geared up and ready for a ride up the magic carpet for her first ski experience. I'm so sad, but for some reason, I didn't take any pictures of her actual first ski! She did awesome. They instructors get them all set up, then grab the tips of their skis and run backwards in front of them while the kids ski down the hill. I can't imagine the back pain they must have. Maura did so great on her first run--hardly even wobbly and a huge smile at the end. I was so proud of her!! We picked her up after her lesson, got her a little lunch($10 hot dog and drink...ouch!), and took her up to the beginner ski area a little higher up the mountain.
It was so fun to get to ski with my girl!! We initially started skiing with her between us, holding our hands, but soon found that she did better holding onto Brent's ski pole with him skiing beside her. I wish I'd skied to the bottom to get a photo, but once again, I sadly did not! My girl was so proud of herself and so worn out by the time we headed home. She loved the gondola ride and she loved skiing with Daddy! 
I'm so proud of my big girl. She did so great that we took her back to ski school the next morning. You would have thought that she was Picabo Street the way she talked about skiing. I think that next time, she'll be big enough and confident enough to strike out on her own.
The long awaited snowfall finally happened on Wednesday while we were there. The clouds rolled in and dumped about five inches of snow on the mountain, leaving us to ski on powder over ice. It was exhausting! One happy skier!! I'm so glad I chose to go ahead and ski, despite the pregnancy. It was such a fun experience!
The kids were most excited on this trip about playing in the snow. I had told Maura that the snow would probably be above her knees, so we were a little disappointed when it was just to her ankles, but they had fun anyway! Momma and her little snow bunny. I could hardly get the kids to come back inside, despite the dark and the cold! Tristan loved the snow, but had a hard time walking in it. He was fine as long as someone kept him upright. He loved throwing snow and this is a great example of his little stinker face when he knows he's up to no good! He fell in the snow a few times and ended up looking like a snowman. He didn't like that very much!!
Me with some tired kids! Maura was exhausted after her first day of skiing. She laid down and took a three hour nap, which I had to wake her up from. Tristan just played hard with his babysitter all day and crashed in the evenings. We took a babysitter with us and it was so great to be able to leave the kids and not worry about them at all. The sitter, Katy, took awesome care of them all week. Tristan and I with the Beaver. We WERE staying in Beaver Creek after all!
I think the kids pretty much ate continuously while we were there. They were constantly asking various family members for food and recieving it. They went through an entire gallon of apple juice on the first full day! Helping Aunt Katie in the kitchen. Each family took one night of cooking, so none of us had the burden of cooking all the time. We had some awesome food while we were there!!
On the next to last evening, we tried to get some family photos. Note to self...never try to get family photos in the evening, past bedtime, with a two hour time difference!! Katie and Scott. This trip was only the second skiing experience for Scott, but he did great.
The girls, Katie, Me, Emily and Lorie. Lorie, Micah and Alex.
The whole family!! It was so fun being there with everyone! Emily and Brad. He was able to fly in for the last two days of skiing.
All the Bridge siblings. We don't all get together very often, so it was great getting to spend time together. We all got to experience more than enough family togetherness on the ride home. Storms were predicted through Kansas, so we left the evening before we had intended to, attempting to beat them. It was a grueling 26 hour ordeal that involved lots of snow, ice and wind. I hope I NEVER have to repeat that drive home, but we finally arrived, safe and sound, at 1am Christmas morning. I've never been so glad to be home in my life!! We had a great trip and I'm already looking forward to the next time we get to ski in Colorado.
1 comment:
OK, now I'm homesick... and a little jealous!
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