Jackson's first deer!

This year was Jackson's official first year as a hunter! He has been a few times already with Daddy in the blind, but this year was his turn pulling the trigger.

Hunting season started out with a bit of disappointment for Jackson. During youth weekend, he never had an opportunity to shoot. It was a great learning experience for him though. After all, the true definition of "hunting" does not always guarantee a shot. But boy, was he disappointed. In fact, after coming home from the weekend away, he was pretty down. But, it wasn't until I tucked him in for bed that the tears started rolling down. It was a little over an hour before I could settle him down to sleep! And, the irony of this situation is not lost on me...his "city girl" mama is the one consoling him on a disappointing weekend in the woods? We were both exhausted by the end of the night!

So this scenario really kicked Daddy into high gear, feeling pressure to make a good hunt happen for Jackson. He went down and set up another deer blind to give them more opportunities to hunt in different places. And well.....it was a success! So much so that he was able to shoot not one but two deer in a row! But I'll be honest, the details of this story (although I have heard them at least a handful of times) are a little fuzzy from here. They will forever be etched in the brains of Daddy and Jackson though, and that's all that matters. This boy is still on cloud 9...and the fact that he has literally provided 94 lbs. of ground burger for our family is puffing his chest up even more :). We're proud of your perseverance, Jackson!

packaging up his meat for the freezer!

Heading out for the hunt with Daddy & Grandpa!

In the deer blind

 

Taking a short nap...hunting is hard work!

And there's the prize!

Fresh venison for dinner!

First family ski trip!

For our 40th birthdays, Grandma & Grandpa gave us an amazing gift of a family ski trip to Breckenridge! This was not only our first family ski trip, but also our first trip to Colorado as a family. I'm still amazed with how well the trip went....the 11 hour drive with the kids (probably my biggest concern, honestly), ski lessons (an entire day apart from Mom & Dad and in the care of a ski instructor), and elevation/altitude sickness (this was a bit of an issue for some of us, but manageable).
I should not be as surprised as I am, I know. Our kids have always been amazing travelers and enjoy new adventures!

Ski lessons were fantastic! We dropped the kids off at 8:30am for a group lesson and upon picking them up at 2:30pm, found out they were the only beginners so they had a private lesson! Typically, the kids stay in a special area at the bottom of the mountain and venture the chair lift at the end of the day. The instructor said our kids caught on so quickly, they were on the lift before lunch and had been skiing down runs all afternoon! Dad and I were so impressed with their aptitude in learning and how much they enjoyed it.

Day 2 resulted in Jackson and Dad opening and closing the lift! Jackson was like a little skiing machine. In fact, one time off the lift, we lost him! Since I'm a snowboarder, I have to attach my second binding at the top of every lift before heading down. Skiiers are already clicked in and ready to go. Jackson did not pay attention to the fact that everyone had stopped to wait for me, and he just kept on going! By the time we realized he was missing, he was half way down the mountain! Dad took off and caught up to him. This was terrifying at the time, but now makes for a great story :).

Lily was a natural as well. From the moment we left the house, she was fired up to get on the slopes. This attitude of determination stayed with her the entire trip! Day 2 for the ladies was a gondola ride to downtown Breckenridge for some shopping in the morning, and back up for a half day of skiing in the afternoon. We had the best of both worlds!

This trip definitely created a new love for our family. We are hoping to make this an annual event!

Thank you, Grandma & Grandpa!

(these pics were uploaded backwards so this is our trip in reverse :)

Gondola ride to downtown Breckenridge (with a new friend who jumped on for the ride)

Even Grandpa had skiing lessons!

Poor Grandma was not feeling well the entire trip :( We are hoping our next one will be a good do-over for her!

Ladies morning in downtown Breckenridge

Day 2 skiing with Mark Johnson

  

Trying on Grandpa's ski boots!

Taking a well-deserved ski break!

Headed to ski school! (Jackson was not too sure, but quickly adjusted)

The lobby of  our lodge. The condo was absolutely beautiful!

The view from our balcony! We could see every lift! Just amazing.

We stumbled upon this restaurant on our first trip with Aunt Sarah and Aunt Ashley. We purposely arranged our route to hit this place up again....The Denver Biscuit Company. The BEST breakfast sandwiches made with homemade biscuits!

That's a cinnamon roll!

After a full day of driving, these kids were THRILLED to be in the hotel room in Denver.