Winter Park...

We had a fabulous day on Sunday at Winter Park. It took just about 1 1/2 hours to get there and it was an easy drive. The kids were in ski school again for the whole day so Lance and I enjoyed exploring Winter Park and Mary Jane. We picked them up at 3:00 and were amazed at the progress they made. The both were able to turn and stop which are two big skills. We were really excited to ski a few more runs with them. Emily did not need help at all this time, she even led the line a few times. She loves skiing through the trees. Henry is a daredevil and was looking for bumps so he could jump... (Yikes, I'm so afraid for when he is 12)

Here are Lance and I at the top of Winter Park about to ski over to Mary Jane. They are two separate resorts but you can go between each on the mountain.This photo shows in the distance a chairlift that takes you to the rim of Parsenn Bowl. We went up there and found very differenct conditions. See the rest of the photos below!! The rim is 12,060 feet up.... above the tree line and on this day, in the clouds. It was snowing pretty hard and we were happy there was a blue trail for us to ski down!! This is the chair we rode up on that you can see in the photo above...

Lance and I are really happy with our re-introduction to skiing and are already planning another day trip -- probably to Copper Mountain this time as we have heard great things about that resort.

Breckenridge...

So, the whole family headed up to Breckenridge this weekend. We left on Sunday, skied on Monday and came home early Tuesday morning. It was the first time skiing for the kids. We put them in ski school and they did great. They both learned to get on all their gear, get out and up on the hill and to snow plow. Lance and I went off on our own for the day and learned that skiing is a lot like riding a bike... it all comes back to you (even after a 17 year break).

Thanksgiving and a trip to Estes Park

Thanksgiving preparations....
Lance and Emily are working hard to get the meal ready
for turkey-day.


We had a fancy dinner in our dining room --the kids were
ready to eat! We had the traditional favorites plus a few
family favorites too.


Friday, we took a family trip to Estes Park which is about 45 minutes north and west of Boulder. The trip was flat for a while, then you head west and UP! The road makes me nervous but luckily Lance was up for the twisting, turning road upward!

We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and took a short hike around this amazing part of the park. The vistas are unbelievable.




One of the "scenic overlooks" was the perfect place to take a great family photo.


The kids loved being up on the rocks, climbing all over the place... making me nervous!


We went to Estes Park because Henry went there for a field trip on his 2nd week of school and he told us all about the wild elk that roam the town. We hoped to see some of them and were not disappointed. Funny enough, we did not see the elk in the park. We saw them in the town -- they were just grazing right along the side of the road.


It happened to be the town's annual Christmas parade so we decided to stay and enjoy the lights. As you can see, we hunkered down on the curb to watch. Sadie even tucked under the blankets with us. It was a really fun night... the parade is delightful. The funniest part was when Sadie sprung up to bark at the passing Clydesdales pulling a wagon... she did not like the elk either :)


Well, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and are getting all ready for the holidays.