Mountain Dispatch 1

Every time we visit Colorado, JP and I have at least 15 discussions to try to figure out why we don't live here. We still aren't sure why we don't, but we're pretty certain that we should. We are having so much fun. There have been difficulties (snow, SO MUCH snow and ice and SNOW, and a two-wheel-drive car), but mostly, there has been fun.

Third row entertainment

The drive up went great. The kids were perfect- even Cora, and we ate our packed lunches and car snacks in calm anticipation, ticking off the miles at 85 mph. And then, 19 miles from the condo, we hit the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 and a blizzard hit us. Crazy wind and snow and ice and sliding cars (including ours) and gridlock. We drove about 2 miles per hour in 1st gear for the next 90 minutes with the GPS mocking us with the "19 miles to go, 21 minutes to destination" countdown the whole damn time. After 13 hours in the car, it was not an awesome way to end things, but JP handles these things without stress and the kids just figured it was a regular continuation of the car ride, so it was as good as bad can be. We were all VERY happy to pull up to the condo at 9:30 p.m. to unpack the car, boil the pasta we'd packed for dinner, and tuck everyone in bed.

And then we woke up to a winter wonderland. Landon was thrilled. Claire, once she realized snow is both cold and wet, was undecided.

Cora was simply adorable.

We drove around a bit to get our bearings after arriving in such dark, snowy weather the night before and found this very awesome park.

And its perfect sized sledding hill.

Landon is basically a man now and can go down on his own sled.

But he still found it awesome when JP went with him and they flew at 100 mph before crashing into a snow bank.

At one point today, when we were driving over to Keystone to start day 2 of skiing, JP turned to me in the car and said, "I love taking vacations with them." And I nearly yelled, "I know!!" Because we do. I don't know that we'd turn down an offer to get away just the two of us, but we do honestly love throwing the kiddos in the car and going somewhere. Yeah we have lots of extra (and tiny) ski gear to haul around and we're no longer the first ones in the ski lift line in the morning (and nowhere near the last ones off the mountain) because we're dealing with ski school and childcare drop-off and pick-up times, and apres ski now involves cookies and milk at the condo rather than wine and beer on a balcony in the village, but we do have so. much. fun with them.

Yesterday and today were ski days, which probably need their own posts (mostly to take pity on you all and spread out the pictures), but they went so well. The kids loved ski school, even Claire who first took the snow blowing in her face as a personal affront and then braved our near whiteout/blizzard-like conditions on both days, and neither can wait until we can go skiing again.

JP and I can't either.

Tomorrow we sled and tube and do any other outdoor activity we can think of while Cora spends one more day in nannycare and then it's the long drive home on Wednesday and back to work on Thursday. And then another year or two before we can do it all again!