Goodbye Steamboat! We love you!

Monday morning rolled around and it was time to pack and go home.  Boo!  We weren't ready.  At all.  We took the kids outside for one more half hour in the snow. 

The girls ate a lot of it.  Guess it must taste good!

We all took in the beautiful mountains and these three stair-steps ran around.

Three cheers for skiing!

This little cutie can't wait until it's her turn on skis.  Her mama thinks it will probably be 3 more years.  Hopefully we make it back to the mountains before then, though.

It really does feel like God spent a little more time up in Colorado.

These snow-capped mountains are simply majestic.

And Daddy loved getting to spend lots of fun times with his kiddos.  He loved this sweet smooch from Lila Lou...

 

and got a huge kick out of watching Cami eat her first pickle!  She loved it!

Until next time, Steamboat.  Our ski team can't wait to come back.

Steamboat--Last Day on the slopes!

Our last full day in Colorado began by waking up to lots of snow coming down.  It was beautiful, but we were all hoping it would stop so that we could ski in a bit warmer weather.

 

While we were waiting on the snow to peek through the clouds, Jackson was busy on his Kindle.  Lounging slopeside--now that's the life!

We had never made it to the top of the mountain for professional pictures, so we asked someone at our condo to just come snap a few.  Here's our crazy crew of 8.

Even though Gigi didn't ski this time, she could have.  And she still looks good in her ski clothes, so she gets bonus points for that:)

Hays Party of 5--let's go hit the powder!

After we finished taking pics, Gigi and Cami went back upstairs.  They could see us pretty well from the balcony.  We got everyone's skis on...

and then headed down to the bottom.

My sweet baby was busy taking care of her baby doll and playing with all of her toys, so she didn't miss us at all.

 

 

Jackson and Boom rode together once,

and I rode with Lila Lou.

Then we headed over to ride the Gondola.  The kids thought this contraption was so neat and loved looking out the windows at the incredible view.

Such handsome boys to escort us on the mountain!

We paired up, with Boom and Jackson leading the way at first.

Lila and Daddy were close behind them...but not for long! 
Very soon, Lila took the lead and didn't give it up.

My ski partner and I were at the back, so that I could make sure all the kids were doing well.  A time or two I had to help pick one of them up, but they did so good and never even lost a ski!

Thumbs up, ski team!

As we got higher, it started snowing a little bit harder. 

Thank goodness we all had on plenty of layers and could just enjoy the winter wonderland.

Uncle Jared and Maddie rode together on this small lift--so picturesque, and sweet!

When we got off that lift, we headed into a lodge for a break and to rehydrate.  Side note: there were a surprising amount of very old skiers in this lodge!  As in, 80 and above.  Rock on, I say.  Hope that I can still get on skis when I'm that old.

Gigi was looking for us when we got close to the condo--she got all six of in this pic!  Jared is in the front in the red, followed by Boom in black, then all three kids and me.

By the time we made it back to our condo, it was around 1:30 and everyone was pooped.  Lila and her daddy took a rest in the snow before coming up for lunch.

 

We were all happy to see this baby girl smiling as we walked in the door.  She always had the biggest grin on her face and would start hollering, "mom, mom, mom" as she fast-crawled towards me.  Makes a mama feel good:)

Gigi and Boom headed out for a lunch date and I stayed behind with the girls.  J man and his daddy were ready for some more skiing, so they hit the slopes on last time.  They skied some more blues and I heard Jackson did great. 

After Maddie woke up from her nap, the girls and I went down to the heated pool.  Unfortunately, I forgot my swimsuit, so they had to go it alone.  Too bad! 

The boys joined us a little bit later...

and I got to see my date for the night.  We enjoyed hanging poolside...

as did our littlest snow bunny...

and the big kids had a ball.

There's just something so neat about swimming when it's 30 degrees outside!  Jared and I went on a fancy date that night to one of our favorite spots--Café Diva.  The food was amazing, again, and we thoroughly enjoyed the adult conversation.  Big kudos to my parents for watching all the kids and having them in bed by the time we got back.  Y'all rock!

Steamboat--downtown, tubing and night skiing!

We took a day off on our third day in Steamboat.  Did that mean we sat around watching TV or reading a good book?  Not a chance.  We had to get out and explore!

We got everyone up and dressed by 8:30 and were out the door.  Surprisingly, this wasn't hard at all--mostly because Lila got up around 5am every day and Cami was never too far behind.  Someone needs to fill them in on the genius of sleeping in.

 

 

We rode the shuttle to Winona's in downtown Steamboat for breakfast.  Not just any breakfast, either.  I can honestly say that it was the BEST breakfast I have ever eaten.  In 34 years.  Yes.  It was that good!  We feasted on cinnamon rolls the size of dinner plates, thick cinnamon French toast, omelettes, pancakes, and even a waffle surprise that had bacon cooked inside the waffle. 
It was divine!

 

After breakfast, we did a little window shopping while we waited on a ride.  Jackson actually found a souvenir to buy with his own money (thanks, Memaw!) and got real silver and gold. 
He was stoked!

 

 

We took the shuttle to Gondola Square so the rest of us could do a little souvenir shopping, too.  J got this cool toboggan and Lila got those cute earmuffs.  We found a few shirts and were good to go.  We had to be quick.  Shopping without a stroller is highly overrated and my left arm almost fell off.  No joke. 

 

 

While we were waiting for our ride, the kids climbed this small snow hill.  I think that's part of what made this trip so great--they could find neat things to do wherever we went.

 

A few hours later it was time to go tubing at Saddleback Ranch!  It was our first time doing this and we didn't really know what to expect.

 

 

First, we got loaded into our tubes and then pulled up the mountain.

Cami was too little to tube all the way down the hill, but she sure did like sitting in the snow.  We waited on everyone to come down and cheered as they zoomed by us.

 

Daddy and Lila came down together...

followed by Gigi, who got some air going over this bump!

Boom did, too--so funny!

Over the next 90 minutes, we took turns pulling Cami around in this tube, while everyone else came down the hill.

Daredevil Dad even came down with no hands one time--yeehaw!

 

We got back just in time to make spaghetti dinner and then get dressed for night skiing.  Our ski team didn't take any pics that night, but we looked a lot like this, just without the sun.  It was our first time for night skiing and we loved it.  We went down Lil' Rodeo 14 times in a row and the kids did the jumps and skied the half pipe like nobody's business.  Such a fun memory, and one they won't soon forget.