Colorado Ski/Snowboarding Trip - Feb. 2012

It's so nice to have friends with good ideas!  In February, Lichen and Kenny invited us to come along on a ski/snowboarding vacation to Colorado.  Who would turn that down?!  We were certainly ready for a little vacation, and ready to try out some new snowboarding resorts.  We all drove together in their Expedition - plenty of room, and so comfy!

Ryla was such a good girl!

A few hours in, we had to stop while they uprighted an overturned semi that was blocking the road.  Ryla was happy to get a break from her carseat!

We met up with Rorke, Leatha, Reann, Echo, Hunter, and Grandma (Lichen's mom) once we arrived in Colorado.  We all stayed at the same motel.

Lichen brought Reann her own "cooking" set, so she baked play-doh cookies all day while we were skiing.

Grandma enjoying her new grandaughter!

Leatha and Lichen eating breakfast before the first big day!

Rorke and Kenny

Arapahoe Basin - First day

Highest elevation I've ever snowboarded!

Lunch break!  Chance just ate "The Legend" burger - although he said it was one of the best of his life, I think he'll be a little heavier going down the mountain this afternoon!



Kenny, Leatha, Rorke, Hunter, Echo, Lichen



 The next day (after a long hot tub soak and plenty of Ibuprofen the night before) we headed to Loveland Basin for another day on the mountain.

Leatha and Lichen - the day started out gorgeous!

Lunch break!

And then the wind started to kick up - notice the snow blowing off the ridge!

So cute!

Right after lunch they started shutting down lifts - the wind was clocked on the ridge over 80 mph.  We were so glad that we made it up there in the morning.  We chased open lifts around the mountain, and had such a fun, full day of skiing.  Although conditions weren't ideal (they stopped the lift while we were on it, and the wind was strong enough that it grabbed our chair and clanged us into the support beam, and the whiteout was actually blowing us UPHILL on our snowboards at the top), we hung in there and had SO much fun!

A little windburnt, but no worse for the wear!  What an experience!

On the way home we spent a night with Josh, Ellen and their sweet kids just out of Denver.  So fun to see them again!  Can't wait to plan another trip next year!