For spring break this year, our whole family traveled to Colorado! We spent 4 nights at Copper Mountain resort. All the kids did great on the plane. After arriving in Denver, we still had a 2 hour drive up the mountains. We rented a HUGE 12 passenger van that Brian agreed to drive (thanks Brian!!) It was certainly an adventure that began when he got a text to "ignore the check engine light!" This was on a van that had over 300.000 miles!!!! He said it was hard to steer, which made the drive difficult, but we made it with no problems. Grandpa was already there waiting for us (he had been out in Colorado for 2 weeks already).
the "mountains" at the Denver airport terminal
taking the train to baggage claim
on our way in our crazy van!
The condo we stayed in was great! t was only a short distance from
the lifts and the center village. Unfortunately, the kids had to be
dropped off in the west village for ski school each morning. Most of
the time, we were able to catch the ski school snowmobile shuttle over
there though. The kids' favorite part of the condo
was the spiral staircase to the 2nd floor.Allison liked to climb up the
outside like a fire pole, making us all slightly nervous! My kids only fought about who was sleeping where. Our family took the whole upstairs, with a bedroom plus a loft. The idea was that all the kids would sleep in the loft, but that never ended up happening. Connor and Juliana took turns sleeping there though. All of the kids really enjoyed the outdoor hot tub after skiing. It's so weird to be outside in a "pool" when it's snowing:)
the "kids' table"
The kids went to ski school each day and learned a TON! In just 2-3
days, they conquered riding chair lifts and making controlled turns down
some pretty big green (beginner) runs from top to bottom! Juliana even
tried one blue (intermediate) run that was covered with moguls
(bumps). Connor and Madelyn got to stay together in class everyday, and
their instructors loved them. We were very impressed with all the instructors they had. Each day, they took the time to fill out a "report card" telling where they skied and what skills they learned. They also talked to each of us individually. The kids moved up levels very quickly! Juliana only was in ski school 2 days
and then she skied with us the last day. We picked up the younger
kiddos early so they could ski with us for a few hours too. It was a
blast! My dad had a great time showing the kids around "his
territory." Connor, Madelyn and Juliana all liked going through the trees (like me and Katie!), but sometimes ended up in trouble. First Madelyn ended up down in a tree well. She was quite scared and crying, but Katie just asked me if I had gotten a picture, LOL (which I didn't). Then Connor and Madelyn ended up quite lost in the trees (and in some DEEP snow which came up to Katie's chest when she went in search of them!!). On our last run of the trip, Connor was off-roading again and got himself stuck in the base of a tree. Oh well, they had a great time and no one got hurt.
the snowmobile shuttle
Juliana's instructor sent me this picture during the day!
through the trees!
Juliana proved she could handle something harder! She did "Copperfield"
that little patch of green and red is Connor stuck down in a tree well!
Here are some videos of the kids in action:
at the end of Connor and Madelyn's 1st day of ski school
showing us how they can do the whole run "Roundabout"
Juliana's 2nd day-look how she's grown!
Juliana wanted to try using poles on her last day, only to discover
they kind of get in the way!
following Katie through the trees
Juliana tackled some "bumps" on her first blue run, Copperfield
the very last run of our trip, near the bottom
On our last night, the adults (minus Joe who had to go back a day early for work) went out to a nice dinner while the kids hung out at a Kid's Night Out. They had fun playing, watching a movie and eating pizza. It was free as long as we could prove we spent $30/kid on dining or shopping (which at at a ski resort was no problem)! It was nice to get out and explore the village a bit.
the kids loved the chairs made out of skis
Thursday morning, we had to head back. It was a great trip with lots of fun memories.
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