First Day of SKI SCHOOL!!! - Keystone CO, Dec 6-7, 2019

Since we are now residents of Colorado, we decided we wanted to sign the girls up for ski school so they could try out skiing.  We have been planning this...and shopping for it...since we moved here.  Literally...we started buying used ski equipment in August during the kids ski sale.  Colorado has a great program that gets kids a 20 free ski passes to 5 different CO resorts and a free lesson for their first time.    It was a long anticipated day.

We drove from CoSprings to Dillon on Friday night and spent the night in a hotel. It is a 2.5 hour drive and we didn't want to have to get the kids up and out the door at 5 am to be in time for a 8 am ski lesson.

We checked them onto ski school at 8:30 

and they went up the mountain on the Gondola at around 9:30.  

We didn't see them again until they came back down the mountain at 3:15 pm.  Well, James was also skiing that day so he spied on them a little but wasn't able to get any pictures. 

They both had a great time and LOVED it!  They definitely want to try again and both progressed to a level 2 since they have mastered stopping and turning. Our next lesson in in January at Arapaho Basin.  

Over the River & Through the Woods - Ignacio - Nov 27-30, 2019

For Thanksgiving this year we were able to travel to be with my family in Ignacio and we literally went over the river and through the woods.  We left on Wednesday morning so we could be there by late afternoon (6 hour drive).

The three littles were so happy to be together again.

On Thanksgiving (Thursday) while dinner was cooking we all piled on the couch to watch Elf.

Here's the zoomed out version...Apparently James forgot his deodorant that day.

We also had cute turkey cake pops as a pre dinner snack.

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.

We took a few family pics after we were done eating

and had some cute photo bombers.

 The rest of the holiday we relaxed and visited.

On Friday the girls took Diva for a walk.

Then we took all the kids (+ James) bowling.

And let the girls play and play.

We headed back home on Saturday morning after our cinnamon roll breakfast (my Mom makes THE BEST).

What a nice holiday.  It was the first time in about 10 years that we have celebrated Thanksgiving with family so it was especially nice to be home.

Maija

Two COLORADO trips - Ignacio (September) and Estes Park/Indian Springs (October)

I seriously can't seem to keep up to date on this travel blog.....so, here are our two most recent trips.

September 2019

Since I now live within driving distance of my parents, the girls and I decided to make a quick 3 day trip to Ignacio for Labor Day in early September.  My sister Leina, and her son Noah, also came from Salt Lake City.  We had a nice weekend of visiting and playing.

Oldest to youngest: Noah, Deekon, Lincoln, Elin, Anikka, Mia (and Diva)

We went swimming everyday in Oscar's pool.

Got popsicles from the ice cream truck.

Went to the park.

Made Smore's and did some planet watching.

Plus they got to see Diva, their favorite dog and Mia, their favorite cousin.

Perfect quick trip with loads and loads of fun family time.

OCTOBER 2019

The girls had a few days off of school in early October so we decided to take a 2 day family trip and explore our new state.  We have a free national parks pass this year (4th graders can get the free pass) so we planned to go to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Because I love old historic hotels and national park lodges, James booked us a night at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.

When we got into Estes Park we were able to go to a nearby park to see the Elk that invade the town every October in what is called the Elk Rut.

Then, we checked into the Stanley Hotel.  We didn't tell the girls, but this hotel is haunted by several ghosts.   And no, we didn't see any or have anything weird happen.    It is a very beautiful hotel. It reminded us of the Hotel Coronado in CA.

It is also the hotel that inspired Stephen King to write the novel The Shining. The story is as follows (taken from wikipedia):

In a 1977 interview by the Literary Guild, King recounts, "While we were living [in Boulder] we heard about this terrific old mountain resort hotel and decided to give it a try. But when we arrived, they were just getting ready to close for the season, and we found ourselves the only guests in the place—with all those long, empty corridors." King and his wife were served dinner in an empty dining room accompanied by canned orchestral music: "Except for our table all the chairs were up on the tables. So the music is echoing down the hall, and, I mean, it was like God had put me there to hear that and see those things. And by the time I went to bed that night, I had the whole book [The Shining] in my mind."^[8] In another retelling, King says, "I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of The Shining firmly set in my mind."

We woke up the next morning to a beautiful sunrise.

We had intended to spend the whole day in Rocky Mountain National Park and drive over the Trail Ridge Road then stay a night in Steamboat Springs.

But....as Colorado will do....the weather changed very quickly and it was snowing as we started into the park and Trail Ridge Road was closed indefinitely.  Since we are only a few hours away, we will definitely be back.

We drove as far up the road into the park as we could. It was still very very beautiful.

I have a small obsession with national parks and I have my girls do the National Parks Passport stamps with me.

We had not booked a hotel for the 2nd night since we weren't sure if the road would be open.  So, we amended our plan after leaving the park and booked a night at Indian Hot Springs which was just a few hours up I-70 and through some beautiful mountain country.

We stayed at Indian Hot Springs Resort. They have their own warm mineral pool so after a delicious pizza dinner in town at Beau Jo's...

we relaxed in the mineral springs that evening, 

and again the next morning before heading back to Colorado Springs.

 We always enjoy spending time as a family and we have seen a whole lot of Colorado the last couple of months with many more fun places to explore.

Maija