Saturday, January 02, 2010

A Few Days in the Mountains...


We've just returned from a few days up in Winter Park, CO with John's family. It was snowy, cold, beautiful, and so much fun!


We rented an amazing condo (thank you, Papa and Mimi!) that had a terrific view of the ski slopes. We originally thought some of us would ski, but we decided we'd rather spend our time doing something we could all do together.

So...


We went tubing!

Oh my gosh...it is so much fun. We loved it so much that we went back again the next day! My favorite part was riding with Abbey. She would giggle the entire time she was flying down the hill. It was so cute. We also loved hooking all of our tubes together and making one big amoeba or one long chain. The more people you have, the faster you go! The best part though is that you don't have to walk back up the hill...they have a "magic stairway" (conveyor belt thingy) that carries you back to the top.

(We went a few years ago to a different tubing hill. I thought it was wise that this one required a helmet for all tubers.)


Will was overjoyed about me taking his picture.



We also let the kids ride snowmobiles! They didn't go fast enough for the older kids though...



Abbey didn't want to ride, so she patiently watched everyone else ride played in the snow while we watched her brother and sister and two cousins.



I think it snowed every day we were there! I was thankful for that since not all of our family lives in a place that sees snow very often. And isn't that what you hope for when you visit Colorado anyway?

Another fun thing we did was take a sleigh ride.

It was snowing and so cold. Very picturesque indeed. Midway through the ride, we stopped and warmed up around a campfire and had hot cocoa.





We had a wonderful time. As we were driving back I was thinking about how blessed we are to live in a place of such great beauty and to be able to enjoy it with those we love is just icing on the cake. I have lots more pictures but want to ask permission before I share them here. So stay tuned...

30 comments:

Holly said...

Love it! It makes me so happy that y'all had this kind of time!!! I love the sleigh ride, too, with cocoa in the middle of the journey. That's my my kind of fun!

Deena said...

How fun! I'm so glad you guys had a good time. The first tubing picture is great! It could have been a Christmas card photo.

Kecia said...

Beautiful...and looks like so much fun!

jeanie@mageditor.blogspot.com said...

It looks absolutely wonderful! We have done Winter Park in the summer which was also VERY fun! The snow looks awesome though and the sleigh ride...wow!

Becky said...

Love the 1st tubing picture of your family! I so wish we would have went tubing that year in Winter Park....it looks like lots of fun! The one at Cooper didn't look that great so we skipped it but we did go on a sleigh ride. Glad you all got to do that w/the whole family! Love your picture of the driver, horses, and scenery.

Christi @ Writing the Waves said...

That looks like sooo much fun! We have talked about taking a trip to Colorado in March, but Idon't know if we will not. If we do, I want to go tubing!

Several years ago, we were there, and did a sliegh ride. I think that is my very favorite Colorado memory!

Glad that you are doing well and having fun! :)

I saw Kathy S. (now D.) at a new church that we have been visiting the other day. Weren't you all roomies in college? I need to tell her that you have a blog that she can read to see what you are up to!

Anonymous said...

I was just going to say the same thing Deena did about the tubing picture. If not card-worthy, for sure frame-worthy.

That sounds like a close-to-perfect trip! Glad you all had such a great time!!

Anonymous said...

I was just going to say the same thing Deena did about the tubing picture. If not card-worthy, for sure frame-worthy.

That sounds like a close-to-perfect trip! Glad you all had such a great time!!

Melissa said...

So completely jealous!

Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt said...

Oh my word!!! So fun, I could TOTALLY get into tubing. I didn't know *they* had such a thing! In a family of skiers, I was always the cranky, fair-weather one. LOVE that conveyor belt. (Lazy, much?)

Great photos, too! Abbey cracks me up.

Kelly @ Love Well said...

I'm totally inspired. We struggled last week to find things to do -- mostly because our kids are so young. I cannot WAIT until everyone is a little older. I will insist we rent a family condo in the mountains for Christmas. Tubing? Sleigh rides? Lots o' snow? Sounds like a perfect vacation.

Julie said...

Mer,
Looks like you all had an amazing time. I loved the photos. I can't get over how much your kids have grown. You look gorgeous!

Thanks for the family photo and newsletter you all sent. It was great to see/read/hear!

Tiffani said...

I have never.ever. in my life seen such beauty!!!

Our "dustings" here in the south are beautiful when they happen but wow. I just can't imagine experiencing all of that white beauty!

Such a beautiful family you have and looks like such a super fun time!!

Kendra said...

You are blessed to be there! Makes me want to pack up and move. I want to live in winter wonderland with very little summer heat. So glad you all had a wonderful time!

OhioFamOf4 said...

What a great picture of the 5 of you with the intertube. Glad you had such a great time. Looks beautiful.

Cathy said...

It might be overkill at this point but that first picture of the 5 of you is absolutely PERFECT.

FUN FUN times!

Lauren said...

How incredibly fun!!!!!!!!!! Soooooo beautiful! Ya'll are blessed indeed!

Nina Diane said...

looks like a great time! So happy ya'll enjoyed it so much. We used to take a week every January and take the kids up for a week of skiing. It's a nice break....

Deidre said...

That looks like so much fun! I love tubing (and skiing). What a nice treat for you and your family.

Gretchen said...

Girl! That second photo is AMAZING! If I had one that good of all 5 of us, I'd re-send our Christmas cards! :)

I love winter sports ... and cozy togetherness!

sara said...

It looks like you had a fantastic time. Though I don't miss snow, I do miss tubing!!!

btw, it snowed today in AR...just the way I like it....you enjoyed it coming down but it melted before it hit the ground!!! :)

His Girl said...

yeah, lady... the family picture is fantastic! what beautiful people you all are.

love, love, love hearing about life in the snow. I wonder if there is any possibility I'd even LIVE through the snowy weather after being so spoiled, or if I'd embrace it?

I guess i'll find out when we're neighbors.

Elizabeth said...

Your visit looks AMAZING! I haven't skied in years and would love to, but the tubing looks so fun too. Some friends of ours rented a bunch of snowmobiles for their entire family and had a blast. I'm so glad you did too!

Megan O. said...

That all looks like so much fun!! Love the tubing, the sleigh ride and the campfire. What a blessing to have that time together as a family.

Mrs. Valente said...

FUN!! I'm almost inspired to be less of a whimp. :( I am not loving this snowy winter without a yard.

Anyway, we're heading to the Springs soon! Let me know if you're free for a bloggy meet-up!:)

Brenda said...

Looks like so much fun! I sure wish we had the conveyor belt thingy when we were kids tubing.

Janet Lea said...

That looks so much fun. I've never seen that much snow before. I'm amazed by some of your snowy pics. We never get more than 2 inches it seems maybe, possibly, once a year. And you can still mostly see the grass through it. I'd love to go skiing or tubing and see all that snow! Looks like yall had a great time :)

Kimberly said...

I LOVE the tubing picture of you all. Such a great shot!!! Looks like a blast.

Unknown said...

Those pictures are amazing! Your family is so beautiful.

However, I cannot imagine all that snow...Maybe its because i have never, ever (not even once) seen that much snow all at once, but my fingers are getting cold thinking about it!

Jackie said...

What an amazing, amazing, trip! It all looks so dreamy...the tubing, the sleigh ride, the fire and hot chocolate. So glad you all got to get away together!