Breckenridge

We had an awesome trip to Colorado this past week. God blessed us with great weather, health, travel safety, and no broken bones for the crazy snowboarders! We left TX at midnight on Sunday in a two car caravan with my parents, brother Mike, brother Josh, his fiance Jeni, and their 3 year old Madison. My girls were so excited when we woke them up & put them in the van - Anna sat wide eyed until 7 am when she slept for an hour. Mae stayed awake until 5am & only slept 45 minutes. Amazingly they were still really good for the whole 14 hour trip.

Our first day there we took the girls out to the sledding hill behind our condo. Mae & Madison loved it, and even Anna did a few runs before she decided to work on a snowman instead. They looked so cute in their snowsuits!

After sledding we all took the gondola up to the mountain - I think the girls could have ridden it all day. Mae said that she would be ok if she fell out because the dinosaurs down there would keep her safe in the snow. We never know where she gets her ideas.

On the second day the boys went up to snowboard/ski & the girls stayed home with the kids. I had actually rented for that day, but it was snowing hard & the wind was blowing about 40 mph up on the slopes. The wind chill was below zero, so I wimped out! As the boys were leaving the condo Mae was still in her jammies. She crammed her feet into her big ski boots and started following them out saying, "Wait for me guys!" She was so ready to get out there! We entertained the kids at the condo in the morning then rode the bus into town to play at a big toy store that has a fun play area in the back. These are shots outside our condo while we waited for the bus... such sweet sisters & cousins. They got along so well the whole trip!

After the guys got back from the slopes we took the girls back to the sledding hill for their first ski experience. We couldn't believe how well they did! We would hang onto the back of their jackets & run down the hill. They loved it - Mae & Madison did it over & over, and Anna got in a few runs before she got snow in her eyes. They were all naturals. We tried again the next day & they were even better. My dad would let Madison go & she would ski short distances by herself into Josh's arms. Her little face was so cute! Mae got the hang of "cross country" skiing & also made up her own technique that she called "squat ski". She would crouch down into a tuck & then hop up and go down again to gain momentum. She looked like a speed racer - it was hilarious. She kept pointing at the mountain in the distance saying, "I can ski now. I want to go to the biggest mountain ever!" I think she would have if we let her.

Taking a rest on Daddy - being a pro skier at two is tiring.

This is her "squat ski" pose. We were cracking up that she could do this.

Anna enjoyed her second try, but she made herself a wet noodle because she didn't want us to let go of her. Our cautious girl.

Madison skiing to Josh.

The third day Mom & I joined the guys on the slopes. The weather was perfect - you couldn't ask for a better ski day.

Anna's absolute favorite part of the trip is the hot tub (or "hot dog" as Mae calls it). Every night she would beg to get in. She, Mae, & Madison would hop in & out, shoveling snow & dumping it in on Daddy's head, eating snow, and sticking their little bottoms in the snow on dares.

On our last day in town, we went up to meet the boys on the mountain to have a professional picture made of the group. Afterwards, Josh & Jeni took Anna & Madison to the fire station on Main Street. They had so much fun touring the station & sitting in the engine.

We were so blessed by this trip! We made so many sweet memories. After a long drive home (again, not much sleeping by our girls) our girls asked when they could go back. Anna said that she would get back in the van for another 15 hours right then if we would take her. We definately won't do that, but we are excited about going again in a couple of years.

We mostly used our video camera, but here is a little short clip on my camera of Mae & Madison skiing over to see some puppies playing in the snow. Of course, my battery died right after this so I didn't get them actually going down hill & didn't get Mae's perfected "squat ski", but this is still cute. Sorry it's sideways!