Ski Trip
Last year Lewis wanted to go skiing and we didn't. There was a lot of job upheaval (as there is this year too, but apparently that's going to be our new normal every time it's EOY). So when we had to cancel the Christmas ski trip and he said "I'm booking a hotel in Colorado on points" I felt like this was one of those defining situations where if I said we couldn't swing it, I'd have a sad panda for a husband.
No one wants a sad panda for a husband.
This past weekend was our trip. And like all of our trips of late, it was magical. G missed three days of school (his teacher wrote him the sweetest note telling him to have a great time and gave him a lollipop - she is the sweetest).
Friday we took the second flight out (a later 7:40AM flight) and landed still in the morning in Denver, got the rental car (minivan!) and drove to our hotel 4 hours into the mountains. We got in and our room wasn't ready, so we walked around town and found dinner.
I have never been to Aspen. It's a small kind of boutique-y town. There are no chains. There is no starbucks.
There is nothing inexpensive. It was a new experience for me. It was lovely staying in a hotel a block from the main square and the bus stop. We walked to breakfast and dinner every day. We rode the bus to the mountain every day. We were at the base of mountain but it's a blue/black and to steep for learning. Also the well reviewed childcare was at Snowmass (not Aspen Mountain) so we took the 30min bus ride over there every day.
The boys did two days of ski school. My day 2 Grady had it and was skiing great. He's going to quickly be better than me. We were hoping that D would get it well enough to ski some greens with us but his instructor said he needed another day before he could make turns well enough to ride a lift.
I'm not a brave skier anymore. As soon as I had kids and realized I could get seriously hurt I just can't go fast. I used to bomb down blues and greens pretty regularly, not with great form or anything but I could to do. Now I just get panicked. I'm good on an easy blue or a green but if it gets too steep I get scared. I fell late in the day on Saturday and got gun-shy. Also, I like being near my kids.
So we stayed near where I knew the kids were skiing and we checked in every once in a while. I loved watching them ski. It's so fun to see them learn to love and appreciate something Lewis and I also love doing. We are both super excited for the trips we can take that we can all ski together. (Side note: ski trips are something my family has always done. we used to do one yearly before I had kids!)
On Sunday we caught up with G and skied with him and rode the lift up a bit. His instructor was amazing, and G loved him. The ski conditions weren't awesome - no snow, just manufactured and groomed runs with a base - so the mountain was really just ours. No lift lines. And very few kids in ski school, it was practically a private lesson. G was with one other girl his age, Hayes, who he really, really, really had a good time with. G is so easy going and loves people. I never worry about him making friends or getting along with instructors. Him and Hayes were cutting it up and singing songs on the lift and teasing each other by the second day. Grady is such a great, social kid. Everyone loves him.
David's instructor had great things to say about him too! But when I asked David, he just says "hmm" and smiles shyly. Same thing he says when I ask him about his teacher at school. His teacher at school promises me he talks to her and is animated with her, but for some reason sharing with me makes him shy. It's probably his age! Because if I think back G didn't always chat for days about things either.
And David loved when we checked in on him. He'd wave furiously at me and was just radiating pride. He did really great making his pizza wedges and carrying his skis and eating his lunch and getting along with his friends. He ski instructor got switched on Sunday and I think that transition was hard for him. But as ever, he took everything in stride and nothing got him down.
He is so fun to watch doing things. At the restaurants he would color elaborate "battles" and tell me who was winning and which ship was going to be destroyed (battle ship is huge in my house right now). He is more introverted than G and I like how his brain works.
Julia did snow cubs, which was nursery school with some outside snow time, but no skis. They had a "snow table" that apparently she really loved. They gushed over here when I picked her up but I think this is an area of the world that knows customer service is their product and they were really good at it.
To that point - the hotel set up two televisions in their lounge area for guests to watch the Super Bowl. I didn't think it would work for us as the menu for the bar was caviar and cheese and salmon dip. But again, they know they're providing service. The hostess fussed over me and the kids and helped me get everything. They had yummy bowls of spagetti (D's current favorite) and chicken and fries (G, obvi). She brought water in plastic cups. And complimentary champagne for mom.
This was also one of the points in the trip we were complimented on our children. Bragging on my kids but they really are very, very, very good in just about any situation. The almost 3yo has her moments ... but more on that in a second ...
I have never stayed at a place with service like what we experienced, except for Lewis's work that one time in Miami. Usually we're at the comfort inn where I really think the continental breakfast is living large.
We watched the half time show and then when the second half started we took the elevator back to our room and got the kids settled in for bed and finished the game there. It wasn't the outcome we wanted - but if Nic Foles had to beat Tom Brady I guess that's okay. Though the picture of Giselle hugging Tom after that loss breaks my heart. But someone does have to lose.
Monday morning Julia did wake up with a fever, so it threw a wrench in some of our plans. We were going to put D in another 1/2 day of school and J in 1/2 day at nursery so we could both ski with G, but obviously that had to be reworked. I stayed at the hotel with the littles and Lewis took G on the bunny hill and the greens.
They thought it was amazing until they had to get out.
Monday was a good day but it was a rough night. J hadn't eaten well and she got hangry and couldn't make it to eat in public. Again, had to make adjustments to the plan in order to accommodate. I ended up carrying her back to the hotel screaming and putting her in the bath tub for half an hour. And then I threw money at the problem and ordered room service. Chicken and ice cream for the not feeling well babe.
After she ate, she was human again. I had been contemplating driving her to the ER because she was so erratic (and because the flu news is in my head). But she's been fine. Just normal sick kid stuff.
When the boys got home from dinner (with take away for me) they were irritated that J got ice cream and they didn't. So in a grand gesture of fairness I got them ice cream too. Mom was a hero.
Tuesday morning they got 2in of snow and it kept snowing. It was so sad that the day they got fresh powder we had to leave. If life were different I would have extended our trip but we aren't those people that can do that. G has school. Lew has work. We have to go back to the real world.
But it was a lovely stay. We found the one breakfast place that opened at 7am (everything else was 9 - like my kids can wait that long?) and we ate their every day. We had dinner out at different places but twice at this place that my kids liked the pizza. With G we have to be kind of bland / routine in our food choices.
I loved our dinner at the Red Onion. It's an old historic bar and they had live music and us eating at 4:30 every day meant we were usually guaranteed no wait for a table. The adults had beers (something that we don't usually do at dinner with the kids - but who am I kidding we never go out to eat for dinner with the kids) the kids colored pictures and listened to the music and G watched college basketball and I explained to him why in Big 12 play we never, ever, ever cheer for Texas. If it leaves conference we cheer for Big 12 teams. In conference ... Texas Tech! (Also - we are doing so good in basketball this year!)
Having an almost 8yo is fantastic - I just have to say. He is such a good human. He gets so flipping mouthy (an issue) but he's into cool things and he's fun to spend time with. The 5yo is learning to tell jokes and he makes them up and he's pretty funny. He also says magical things.
Like on Monday when it was snowing ... "It's snowing again! It's going to be Christmas here forever!" They have pine trees covered in twinkle lights so they kept saying it was Christmas there.
We had a magical time. I love ski trips. I love our little people.
No one wants a sad panda for a husband.
This past weekend was our trip. And like all of our trips of late, it was magical. G missed three days of school (his teacher wrote him the sweetest note telling him to have a great time and gave him a lollipop - she is the sweetest).
Friday we took the second flight out (a later 7:40AM flight) and landed still in the morning in Denver, got the rental car (minivan!) and drove to our hotel 4 hours into the mountains. We got in and our room wasn't ready, so we walked around town and found dinner.
I have never been to Aspen. It's a small kind of boutique-y town. There are no chains. There is no starbucks.
There is nothing inexpensive. It was a new experience for me. It was lovely staying in a hotel a block from the main square and the bus stop. We walked to breakfast and dinner every day. We rode the bus to the mountain every day. We were at the base of mountain but it's a blue/black and to steep for learning. Also the well reviewed childcare was at Snowmass (not Aspen Mountain) so we took the 30min bus ride over there every day.
The boys did two days of ski school. My day 2 Grady had it and was skiing great. He's going to quickly be better than me. We were hoping that D would get it well enough to ski some greens with us but his instructor said he needed another day before he could make turns well enough to ride a lift.
So we stayed near where I knew the kids were skiing and we checked in every once in a while. I loved watching them ski. It's so fun to see them learn to love and appreciate something Lewis and I also love doing. We are both super excited for the trips we can take that we can all ski together. (Side note: ski trips are something my family has always done. we used to do one yearly before I had kids!)
On Sunday we caught up with G and skied with him and rode the lift up a bit. His instructor was amazing, and G loved him. The ski conditions weren't awesome - no snow, just manufactured and groomed runs with a base - so the mountain was really just ours. No lift lines. And very few kids in ski school, it was practically a private lesson. G was with one other girl his age, Hayes, who he really, really, really had a good time with. G is so easy going and loves people. I never worry about him making friends or getting along with instructors. Him and Hayes were cutting it up and singing songs on the lift and teasing each other by the second day. Grady is such a great, social kid. Everyone loves him.
David's instructor had great things to say about him too! But when I asked David, he just says "hmm" and smiles shyly. Same thing he says when I ask him about his teacher at school. His teacher at school promises me he talks to her and is animated with her, but for some reason sharing with me makes him shy. It's probably his age! Because if I think back G didn't always chat for days about things either.
And David loved when we checked in on him. He'd wave furiously at me and was just radiating pride. He did really great making his pizza wedges and carrying his skis and eating his lunch and getting along with his friends. He ski instructor got switched on Sunday and I think that transition was hard for him. But as ever, he took everything in stride and nothing got him down.
He is so fun to watch doing things. At the restaurants he would color elaborate "battles" and tell me who was winning and which ship was going to be destroyed (battle ship is huge in my house right now). He is more introverted than G and I like how his brain works.
Julia did snow cubs, which was nursery school with some outside snow time, but no skis. They had a "snow table" that apparently she really loved. They gushed over here when I picked her up but I think this is an area of the world that knows customer service is their product and they were really good at it.
To that point - the hotel set up two televisions in their lounge area for guests to watch the Super Bowl. I didn't think it would work for us as the menu for the bar was caviar and cheese and salmon dip. But again, they know they're providing service. The hostess fussed over me and the kids and helped me get everything. They had yummy bowls of spagetti (D's current favorite) and chicken and fries (G, obvi). She brought water in plastic cups. And complimentary champagne for mom.
This was also one of the points in the trip we were complimented on our children. Bragging on my kids but they really are very, very, very good in just about any situation. The almost 3yo has her moments ... but more on that in a second ...
I have never stayed at a place with service like what we experienced, except for Lewis's work that one time in Miami. Usually we're at the comfort inn where I really think the continental breakfast is living large.
We watched the half time show and then when the second half started we took the elevator back to our room and got the kids settled in for bed and finished the game there. It wasn't the outcome we wanted - but if Nic Foles had to beat Tom Brady I guess that's okay. Though the picture of Giselle hugging Tom after that loss breaks my heart. But someone does have to lose.
Monday morning Julia did wake up with a fever, so it threw a wrench in some of our plans. We were going to put D in another 1/2 day of school and J in 1/2 day at nursery so we could both ski with G, but obviously that had to be reworked. I stayed at the hotel with the littles and Lewis took G on the bunny hill and the greens.
Julia, David and I swam in the heated pool while it snowed. Such a novelty.
Monday was a good day but it was a rough night. J hadn't eaten well and she got hangry and couldn't make it to eat in public. Again, had to make adjustments to the plan in order to accommodate. I ended up carrying her back to the hotel screaming and putting her in the bath tub for half an hour. And then I threw money at the problem and ordered room service. Chicken and ice cream for the not feeling well babe.
After she ate, she was human again. I had been contemplating driving her to the ER because she was so erratic (and because the flu news is in my head). But she's been fine. Just normal sick kid stuff.
When the boys got home from dinner (with take away for me) they were irritated that J got ice cream and they didn't. So in a grand gesture of fairness I got them ice cream too. Mom was a hero.
Tuesday morning they got 2in of snow and it kept snowing. It was so sad that the day they got fresh powder we had to leave. If life were different I would have extended our trip but we aren't those people that can do that. G has school. Lew has work. We have to go back to the real world.
But it was a lovely stay. We found the one breakfast place that opened at 7am (everything else was 9 - like my kids can wait that long?) and we ate their every day. We had dinner out at different places but twice at this place that my kids liked the pizza. With G we have to be kind of bland / routine in our food choices.
I loved our dinner at the Red Onion. It's an old historic bar and they had live music and us eating at 4:30 every day meant we were usually guaranteed no wait for a table. The adults had beers (something that we don't usually do at dinner with the kids - but who am I kidding we never go out to eat for dinner with the kids) the kids colored pictures and listened to the music and G watched college basketball and I explained to him why in Big 12 play we never, ever, ever cheer for Texas. If it leaves conference we cheer for Big 12 teams. In conference ... Texas Tech! (Also - we are doing so good in basketball this year!)
Having an almost 8yo is fantastic - I just have to say. He is such a good human. He gets so flipping mouthy (an issue) but he's into cool things and he's fun to spend time with. The 5yo is learning to tell jokes and he makes them up and he's pretty funny. He also says magical things.
Like on Monday when it was snowing ... "It's snowing again! It's going to be Christmas here forever!" They have pine trees covered in twinkle lights so they kept saying it was Christmas there.
We had a magical time. I love ski trips. I love our little people.
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