A few weeks ago, we headed east for a family ski trip! Brad has been dying to go skiing for years (I am thinking it has been about 7 years since we went skiing) and we finally felt like it would work! So we went to Beech Mountain, NC -- only about 5.5 hours away! We wanted to see what the kids thought (yes! Katie and Jack both skied too!) before spending all the money to go to Colorado! So we were off! I think I was happy that we were finally loaded up and headed out!
And we finally made it! Look at all that snow!
And even though we read everywhere that we needed chains or 4 wheel drive, look who ended up at an auto place to install chains! Oh my. But we got them! And thank goodness - the main road was fine but getting up to our condo and back down to the main road would've been impossible without them!
And we finally made it into the condo! What a view. This was right after Brad drove down the "service road" that doesn't get plowed, had to do a 90 point turn to turn around, and get two guys to help push the van back up to the parking lot. But it worked!
These were the stairs from our condo area up to the parking lot where we parked!
After we registered the kids for ski school for the Monday (it was already booked up for the Sunday) and got settled into the condo, we headed out to the pizza place for dinner! Service was slow but the food was great!
Boy was I tired. Can you tell?? :)
And these guys were super hungry! Can't believe I actually got them to smile!
On our way back to the condo (after a quick stop for wine), my car said was SIX. Whoa. And it was windy, so the wind chill had to have been below zero!
That next morning, we got up early and the kids got some breakfast before layering up and heading out!
The ski area had a nursery where we could take Ryan while we all skied - so I dropped him off there and then we all got our skis and boots and poles! That ended up being a situation also - later that day, someone accidentally picked up mine and Katie's skis...I am sure they thought they were theirs, but it meant that we were without skis! I had to do a single day rental the following day and Katie's were included with her ski school. And neither of us skied the third day we were there. Thankfully whoever it was returned the skis so we didn't have to pay to replace them!
A "family picture" - everyone but Ryan! It was so cold that day, but we were ready!
Katie looked like a professional! She did such a great job and was pretty fearless! She just needs to really work on control and stopping! And she didn't end up using the poles much, if at all!
Jack did a fantastic job too - he said his favorite part was the magic carpet that took him to the top of the bunny hill!
Of course Ryan didn't nap at the nursery, so within 60 seconds of being in the car, he was zonked! Actually, during this picture may have been when mine and Katie's skis were taken! ha.
Sweet boy had too much fun!
And it started snowing during the afternoon while we were finishing skiing, so this was what it looked like driving up the roads to our condo!
And we stayed in and had an easy dinner. I think we were watching Inside Out here.
Just look at all those scarves and jackets and shoes and stuff! Wow! And we used every single piece of that while we were there. I was glad they had that foyer area in the condo - great place to get snowy boots off and jackets hung up to dry off!
Katie and Jack were ready for day 2! This was the day they were both headed to ski school! There was so much new snow we weren't sure we would make it to the ski area, but we did. And by the time we came back in the afternoon, they had plowed!
And since Ryan was in the nursery, and the big kids were in ski school, we could actually ski together!
We had fun watching the kids during part of their time outside. And we got to eat lunch together just us! After we were all finished, I went to get Ryan and he was asleep like this. He was zonked. And on a mat. It was busy over the weekend, but this was on the Monday (President's Day) and it was so much slower. There were only 2 kids in the nursery, so it was 2 kids to 3 teachers - not a bad ratio!
When we got back to the condo, there were deer out eating and roaming! It was so neat!
Ryan loves nature...I tried to get a picture of him and Brad looking at me, but he got super angry because he wanted to see the deer. So this will do.
Inside the condo, there was a chair that Ryan loved! It was so easy for him to get in and out of, so he thought it was perfect! He loved sitting in it to read a book!
The next day, we opted to skip on skiing so we could play with Ryan. I felt bad for putting him in the nursery so much and I wanted him to have time in the snow! Here are the kiddos before we headed outside!
Ryan had a big time!!
And Katie was loving it! So much snow!
Jack thought it was pretty fun too! Brad and Katie both dug big holes and made little chairs for Ryan!
And we even got a picture together while we were out there! After this, Brad headed to ski some more and turn everything in. I hung out with the kids and relaxed during quiet/nap time!
And then before dinner (after naptime and after Brad got back from a little more skiing), we got out and played in the snow again in a small field near the general store!
Again, Ryan had a big time - he kept trying to step on top of the snow and there was ice mixed in, so he would crunch through and then trip on the snow!
Katie and Brad had some races -- this is such a funny picture! Katie's boot slipped off and she kept running. I think she just realized the lack of boot in this picture - look at her face!
The next morning we got up and packed our stuff! The kids relaxed and watched a show while Brad loaded up the car! They were excited to head home to see Sadie!
And Ryan got one more picture in his favorite chair! Love that boy!
Wasn't it absolutely beautiful there?! This was when we were walking away from the condo, up the stairs, to the car. Loved all the branches covered in snow!
And that was the condo where we stayed. It was great! Katie and Jack shared the master (so that we could be next to where Ryan was) and it was up a spiral staircase. They thought that was so cool! And Ryan got his own room since he is such a light sleeper and then obviously Brad and I had a room. We would definitely stay there again!
And this is what we came home with. We were less than a mile from home and heard the infamous thumping...and we pulled into the driveway literally just in time! So lucky it didn't explode or something on the interstate!
The neighbors came up to see us when we got back - Jack and Reagan enjoyed watching AAA change our tire! Never dull for sure!
I hope we make this trip an annual event - I think the kids really like it and I enjoyed it more this time than I think I had to date! I think it did help that I am in much better shape now, so I was hardly sore! The lower, outer part of my calf muscles were super sore and I had bruises from where my ski boots hit, but other than that, I was good! I definitely was glad to head out so I didn't have to layer all the kids up anymore - can't wait for them to get old enough to do it themselves! :)
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