My uncle Paul generously treated all of his nieces and nephews (who could make it) and their significant others to a week together in Snowmass, Colorado. I was so excited to see everyone and spend time with cousins that I rarely see and get to know Paul's niece and nephew that I'd met only briefly, but heard so much about over the years. I was very disappointed to learn that the Rhode Island cousins were stranded due to the terrible snowstorm in the northeast and couldn't make it. They were sorely missed!
Sue's sisters started making cookies for the event at Thanksgiving and I can't imagine they took time to breathe between then and now as there were more varieties and quantities of goodies than the Keebler elves themselves could have worked up! The houses were beautiful and we had an amazing view of the mountains. Most of the group... okay, all of the group except for me... was really excited to hit the slopes. I wasn't so sure about it, but was trying to keep an open mind. I skipped out on the first day and Paul and I kept each other company around the house. The second day Jeff talked me into trying a half day at an easy mountain he had scoped out for me.
He was right about the bunny slope being much easier than the one at Wolf Creek and I felt confident enough to go up to the very top after just two runs down the simple bunny slope. I went with Paul and Bettina while everyone else moved on to more difficult runs. They were exceptionally patient with me (out of necessity). I'd heard that it was simple, but a really LONG run and that I would be really ready for a break by the time we got to the bottom. It turned out I needed a break every 30 seconds. I was a little bit more confident about my control, but my legs just weren't strong enough. It hurt. I made it, inch by inch, down about 3/4 of the way and came to a hill that looked super scary to me. I could see that many would just go straight down it and that I was supposed to go at it sideways. I stood there way too long trying to convince myself that I could do it. I just wanted to say that I had done it once. I stared at it and while trying to get my legs to move my eyes started to tear up in fear. I kicked off my skis and walked down. An instructor saw me and told me that if I were scared at that point that I really should get some help getting down the rest of the way as there were some difficult (for me) areas ahead. He called someone and I was "rescued" by a skier pulling me on a toboggan. I should probably have been humiliated, but I was just so grateful that I didn't have to be so scared any more. And it was super fun riding the toboggan. So I tried skiing for the third time and am going to stick with my original analysis. Skiing is not for me (as much as I wanted to love it so that I could do it with my husband and kids). I'm including this picture of me looking like a ski person as it will probably be my only one. : ) It was taken while I was waiting for the toboggan guy and I asked uncle Paul to take it from the waist up so that you can't see that I've already kicked my skis off.
Harrison tagged along on this trip as the only kid as he and mom still need each other. He and I spent much of the week conquering the stairs in preparation for the bigger mountains he'll take on one day in the future. He was so proud every time he got to the top.
My favorite part of the trip was a visit to Aspen to walk around the town and see what it was like. John, Bettina, Paul and I were well entertained by the shops, the crowds, the amazing mountain view, the abundance of fur, silly statues, funny t-shirts, and an awesome art gallery.
As a bonus to the trip I was also able to visit with some college roommates and a companion from my mission. We stayed in Denver on the way in and the way out and Mindi was gracious enough to host us both directions. On the way out we had a New Year's Eve fondue party and it was wonderful to catch up with everybody, meet the kiddos and relive some good old days.
A special thanks also goes out to the grandparents on both sides who split up the time taking care of Lincoln and Jackson. They were having so much fun that they could barely squeeze in a forced, "love you mom" when I tried to call.
