Steamboat - Dog Sledding & More Skiing!

Tuesday morning began with lots of smiles--we were going to become dog sledders in a very short time!  It was a clear day, too, which was perfect for us.

We were excited to explore the Steamboat countryside and see what the dogs were all about.

Cami was so happy because she wasn't being left behind.  Sweet girl:)

After a very scenic half-hour drive, we arrived at our destination.  There were around 35 dogs and they were so hyped to meet us!  A few of them have run the Iditarod before, so these are bonafide racing dogs for sure.  They are impressive animals.

We petted a lot of them, and then tried to listen to instructions on how to drive a dog sled--over the roar of 35 barking dogs.  And I thought three kids could be loud!

I was pretty sure I'd gotten the gist of what I was supposed to do, so we zipped up our precious cargo and took off.  Oh, my!  Here goes nothin'!

Being a dog musher is much more work than I ever anticipated.  There is always the distinct possibility of the sled turning over when you go around a curve.  

I almost tumped them out at the second turn, but by our first break, I'd started to get the hang of it.  We were told to only break going into the curve, not during it, which meant the dogs could run at full speed.  So scary!  But when we could break, it could only be 30%...try figuring that one out on the fly!

About 1/3 of the way thru our trip, we were doing well, though.  Dad and the girls, and Boom and Jackson were all still on track.  Boom only had to hop off and run a time or two so that he didn't dump J out! Side story--before we left, the guy in charge asked me if my son was durable.  He wanted to make sure he wouldn't flip out if Boom let the sled turn over.  I said, "oh yeah, he'll be fine," but inside I was thinking, "oh dear Lord, please don't let happen!"

When we got to look around, the view was simply stunning.

So beautiful!

My five-dog hyper-as-all-get-out sled was rocking along pretty well.  Go us! 

Magnificent.

About halfway through our 75 minute sledding adventure, the sun came out.  I'm pretty sure some angels were smiling upon us.

By the time we got back, the roar of the snow mobiles and the hum of our sled had Cameron in a deep sleep.

While the rest of the group went into the shed for some hot chocolate and cookies, this little lady stayed outside petting all of the dogs.  Her favorite was this white one, Tammy.

We got back for lunch and then suited up for some more skiing that afternoon.

Our little ski team was loving the sunshine and fresh snow!

We explored the mountain a bit more, taking some big lifts and then some tiny two-seaters, like this.  We closed it down once again...

but instead of staying inside, these three amigos opted for some swimming.
The hot tub looked pretty nice.

Happy kids!

Daddy had been working upstairs and Cami was waiting (sort of) patiently for him to come swim with her.  She was thrilled when we finally arrived.  I was, too, but more so because he looked just like cousin Eddie!

Eddie let this girly jump off the side to him about 22 times and she loved every single time.

She kept trying to convince him to let her go, forgetting that she hasn't yet learned to swim.  Details, details.  Thank goodness he didn't listen.

We stayed outside until the sun was setting.
Another awesome day in Colorado, and one we won't soon forget!

Steamboat - Skiing and Date Nights

Monday morning we were on the slopes by 9am.  Well, that was my goal.  Who knows if it really happened or not!  We did make eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast, and then had to get all 6 of us ready to ski.  And Cameron was never happy about me leaving her, but Gigi said that she always bounced back pretty quickly.  Thank goodness for that!  She kept talking about wanting to ski, saying "I go ski now. I ski!"

We started off on an easy run and took Why Not all the way to the base.  Maddie and Boom were in the lead and had time to snap a pic by their favorite wooded animal while we waited for Lila and her daddy.

Who was well-rested and ready for some fun?  This girl!

Our ski team had fun, and daddy videoed lots of good stuff with his Go Pro camera that was mounted on top of his head.  In case you were wondering, no, he does not have a mini helicopter on his helmet:)

It snowed pretty much the whole day, but we didn't mind one bit!  The powder was awesome.

 

We skied until almost 1:00 and then made it back to the condo.  Hello lunch!

Jackson, Madison...

and the rest of us had worked up an appetite from all our hard skiing.

We were thrilled to find Cami and Gigi playing in the snow outside when we got there!
My precious snow bunny!

And she got her wish to ski, too!

Daddy and I took turns "skiing" her about 30 feet down the mountain.  She loved it.

Thanks, daddy!  That was so cool!

She was so proud of herself and it scratched that itch, I think.  

At least it bought us one more year before we have all four of them on skis!

We made our pit-stop for some hot chocolate and then went upstairs for lunch.

This boy came back ready to roll, hitting these big jumps with some speed!

His sister was a little more cautious, but started to get some air, too.

J really started to let loose on all of the cut-throughs, like this one.

Whoa!

He made it!

We skied until the lifts closed at 4:30.  That called for some movie time!

Mom, Jackson and I didn't want to miss an opportunity at the firepit, though, so we went downstairs.  My sweet son snapped this pic for us after he was down chowing down on his s'more.  A few minutes later, Gigi and Boom decided to run to La Montana for a quick date.  They got back just in time for us to make it to our reservation.

Hello, Cafe Diva!  It was so good to be back with my love:)

We feasted on steak, mashed potatoes, french green beans, drunken mushrooms and some very good Pinot Noir.

It was the perfect way to end the night!  No kids.  Good conversation.  So wonderful.

Steamboat--First Day on the Slopes

Sunday began bright and early.  I fell asleep with Cameron in a twin bed, but then moved over to the empty twin bed in the same room.   I was so afraid she might fall out of bed that I couldn't fall asleep until after 1:30 am.  Alas, my fears were founded, because she rolled right off of that bed at 2 am.  I was awoken to a very loud thump--oops!  Sorry, kiddo.  I scooped her up and we went to sleep together in the big king sized bed after that--move over Daddo.  The big kids were so pumped that they had a hard time falling asleep, and goodness knows they weren't about to sleep in. 

Afterall, this was right outside our window!  Hello Steamboat!

Who can sleep when it's almost time to ski?  These three were so excited to get back on the mountain.

Madison took off first, but I caught these two skiing the half-pipe, albeit a little bit cautious at first.

Lila made her way down and gave me a big thumbs up as she skied past me.

Get it, kids!

Thankfully the lift is a 6-seater, so we all fit nicely.

The view was breathtaking and we only had a few lift-mishaps that first day!

After a couple hours, we were in need of a rest, and needed to take off our extra layer.  It was almost 50 degrees!

We got rid of our fleeces and neck gators and refueled with a little hot chocolate.

Then we hitched a ride up the gondola.  About half way up the mountain, the weather started to drastically change!

We were amazed at how foggy is started getting...and then the snow starting coming down.

We skied Tomahawk, but it was snowing pretty hard up there, so we made our way back over to the middle of the mountain.  All in all, it was a good first day of skiing.  We were trying to balance teaching the kids good ski-skills, while still having fun.  Jackson was still wedging, but not as much as Mama Wedge (aka Lila), and Madison was somewhere in between.

Boom had a little too much confidence in Maddie's ski ability at the beginning and took her down Vogue--a pretty steep blue run. I went to help but just couldn't get her down the run.  Two ski patrol angels appeared and offered to help us.  The man had Maddie take off her skis and he gave them to the woman.  He picked up Madison like a baby and skied her down the run--thank you, thank you, thank you!  Just one more reason why we love Steamboat--everyone you meet is SO NICE!

Very soon it was time to head in for lunch.  Lila raced her daddy back to the condo!

Jackson had one last go through the box in the terrain park, and we went in to refuel.

This little snow bunny just didn't make it back out that afternoon.  She was exhausted and opted to stay in for a three hour nap.

We all made it back safely and spent the evening at home.  I cooked vegetable soup for dinner, while the kids played in their lair.  The perfect way to end the day.  Laid-back and loving life.

We were so tired that night!  The big kids went to sleep with no problems, and I just stayed in the twin bed with Cami all night.  I've had better sleep, but at least she didn't fall out!