A Very Shi-Shi Ski Holiday

Ahhhh, it's finally June!  Time to write a blog post about our ski holiday in February!  You can take that as an indication of our stress level and busy schedule over the past few months.  It has been a bit of a chaotic time, but we are now getting a few things ironed out and I am happy to have an opportunity to start blogging again.  So, my posts will include a bit of catch up for a time.  Thank goodness for summer!

That said, my first order of business is to reach back into my memory and write about our very "shi-shi" ski holiday in February!  I call it very shi-shi because the phrase "ski holiday" seems to pertain to something only rich, sophisticated people do.  We are neither of those things, and only marginally shi-shi, but we did have fun pretending!

We accepted a kind offer from Nate's law partner, Suzanne Goodspeed, to use their family's second home (they are the real "shi-shi" people!) up in Winter Park, CO, for the President's Day weekend.  They also let us use their ski equipment and their outdoor hot tub.  They are such generous people and we are very thankful to them because it was a much-needed break for us.  We enjoyed great family time, a little bit of rest, good food, and skiing for Nate and the big kids.  I didn't get to go skiing because I was hanging out with Trey, who would not have tried skiing to save his life.  But it was fine because, as it happened, I was pretty sick when we started out the weekend.  I needed the time to rest, hang out at the house, and watch the Winter Olympics on TV while I recovered.  Chase, Avery and Courtney were able to take skiing classes and to practice on the slopes with Dad.  So fun!  The pictures below will illustrate some of the adventure:

The taxidermy as decor was rather shocking to our youngest one when we arrived at the house and he first noticed it on the wall.  He stopped abruptly, stepped backwards while staring at it, and said, "Wo!  Dat's a kanga-woo!"  I totally got the giggles about that!

It was an early morning preparing for ski school, with a surprise during breakfast:  Our Little Miss lost a tooth!  Thank goodness, because that loosey goosey tooth would have been a big distraction during ski lessons.

All bundled up and ready to head out for ski school!  What a fun day!

After Nate got the kiddos all settled in for their lessons, he strapped on some skis and hit the slopes himself!

This is what Trey did while the big kids were out skiing.  He turned a chair upside down in the play room and used it as a slide!

The view from the top of one of Nathan's runs.

What's more fun than hot tubbing outdoors in the winter after a long day of skiing?

Sunday was Family Game Day!

Cute boys getting ready to play games.

Courtney was our multi-tasker: she played with board games and toys all at the same time!

My turn in the hot tub!  But this time there was blowing snow coming down all around me and frosting my hair!

Monday on the slopes.  This was the day they just went out on their own and practiced over and over again.  They got pretty good for beginners!

Look at how a "day off" looks on this handsome guy.  We need to do this more often!

We were outside watching the big guys skiing for a little while, but this guy was not a fan of the cold.  We ended up back in the lodge shortly after this.   But he's awfully cute anyway!

Coco wasn't really up for a second day of skiing, so she hung out with me and with Trey.  But she wasn't loving the cold, either, as you can plainly see!

Ah, much better!  A #groupselfie at the lodge!

Sipping hot chocolate indoors at the lodge made for a fun morning for us!

Yum!

Oops!  This picture is out of order.  This is little Miss Coco with her class during ski school.  I love this picture because she looks like a little ski princess with her posse behind her!  Such a cute, brave little girl!

Nathan and the boys on the lift.  What a great ski holiday!

Trey has asked often since February if we could go back to the Goodspeed's house (although he pronounces it, "Goo-peeds").  We are so thankful to know them; they have always been kind and generous to us!  We would never have taken this vacation if they hadn't offered it.  So, thank goodness for the Goo-peeds!  We had a great time!