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 :)
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| Gondola ride to downtown Breckenridge (with a new friend who jumped on for the ride) |
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| Even Grandpa had skiing lessons! |
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| Poor Grandma was not feeling well the entire trip :( We are hoping our next one will be a good do-over for her! |
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| Ladies morning in downtown Breckenridge |
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| Day 2 skiing with Mark Johnson |
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| Trying on Grandpa's ski boots! |
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| Taking a well-deserved ski break! |
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| Headed to ski school! (Jackson was not too sure, but quickly adjusted) |
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| The lobby of our lodge. The condo was absolutely beautiful! |
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| The view from our balcony! We could see every lift! Just amazing. |
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| 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! |
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| That's a cinnamon roll! |
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| After a full day of driving, these kids were THRILLED to be in the hotel room in Denver. |
