MLK three day weekend at the lake

***I am finally catching up on the blog, scroll down to read about our Colorado trip and scroll past that to read about our Christmas, two Christmas posts. Last weekend we made the trip over to the lake for the FIRST TIME SINCE THE END OF OCTOBER...life has been SO BUSY for us since Halloween and I welcome the slow down (other than work is crazy) that January brings to our daily home life. We were accompanied by two other families for the long weekend and had a blast. We were treated to extraordinarily warm January weather and a really beautiful day both Saturday and Sunday. Jon headed over there Thursday to get the house opened up and do some cleaning and upkeep since we had not been there for so long and I came over Friday after school with the kids. Since it was their first full week back to school we did not want to pull them out of school for Friday and good thing we did not, they did their school's falcon awards and BOTH kids got an award and double whammy...I had decided to attend school mass with them that day and so was there to see it...that never happens so I must have done something right that week! Here are some pictures of Sarabeth and her first Falcon award..I never got a picture of just Jackson...he is too quick for me but I think this is about his 5th one!!! They give out these awards when a teacher sees a student do something extra special, or kind, or Christian in nature, basically they recognize the kids for going the extra mile and they are called up in front of the entire school so it is a big deal and not everyone gets one. Here are also some pictures of our lake weekend with friends. We will head back there in a few weeks the beginning of February just our family and then again for the President's day weekend and some of our spring break in March! This is a welcome respite place for us and the kids really enjoy it as do we.

Winterpark, Colorado 2016

****scroll down after you read this post, I have posted two more Christmas posts and Christmas pictures*** The day after Christmas we put away our gifts and decorations (no small feat but so nice to come home to a clean home) and packed up our gear and headed to the Orlando airport to head out the next morning for a week of winter fun and skiing in one of our favorite places, Winterpark, Colorado! This is our second trip to Winterpark and after a spur of the moment trip last year and learning the ropes so to speak for a family ski trip at our ages and stages, I really got it right this year. We learned last year that staying in a ski in ski out condo in the village at the base of Winter Park is a MUST. I watched the rates for months and learned that in this case, despite the cost (this week between Christmas and New Year's is the peak week there and premium for rentals)...the early bird very much DOES get the worm in this case so book early and just deal with the cost over the months in advance of the vacation. We booked a great ski in ski out condo at the Mountain Lodge building, slopeside, right in the village and it was the perfect spot for our family, in fact if we decide to return to Winter Park next year at this time I would likely book the exact same condo if it is available! The set up was perfect with two beds and two full baths, a full kitchen, living area, deck overlooking the mountains and slopes, a ski locker, ski in ski out literally walk out the door and put your skis on and go down the hill to the lift, and even an exercise facility (who needs that after skiing all day but it was there) and laundry facilities, as well as outdoor spas and hot tubs! The condo was really well appointed and we needed nothing. The owners were great and responsive to texts and left all sorts of helpful info...I later learned they own two other units there and a full log cabin home about 20 minutes away from where we stayed on lots of acres and a lake so they know what they are doing with rentals and they live about an hour and a half away in a suburb of Denver. Denver is also a really cool city...reminds us very much actually of Columbus! The architecture of the homes looks a lot like the Midwest and if you are driving on the roads there in the direction that does not look out to the Rocky mountains...I swear you would think you are in OHIO!!! The people are very friendly as well and the entire atmosphere there is just nice and people are more relaxed than the hectic pace we live at here which is heavily influenced by the east coast this time of year and all that those people "add" to our environment in Southeast Florida. We stayed at the Orlando Hyatt airport hotel once again and when we arrived we learned a new trick...the garages at the airport were slap full...not a spot anywhere, and people had even parked along the sides like I've never seen so valet at the hotel it was and guess what...it was only 2.00 more a day and was SO EASY...I think we will do this every single time we had 6 bags to check, carry on backpacks for the kids and booster seats so there was no way we were doing the far away budget parking rental lot and then getting in a bus to the airport...just no at this point in life with kids!!! Easy is worth paying 2.00 more a day and after the amazing parking situation our luck continued as when we checked in the check in person said since we had booked with amex our card made us eligible for an upgrade and they had low occupancy that night so we got the PRESIDENTIAL SUITE for only 100.00 more a night!! THe room was insane, I think it was over 2000 square feet, had a full bedroom with a huge bath with a shower and Jacuzzi and all sorts of random toiletries that are never in a standard hotel room (I took them all in my carry on lol)!!! It had a living and dining room and a full kitchen and another full bath, plus desk and computer in the room and THREE runway view balconies. The kids are still talking about this and it came with complimentary room service...we could just have stayed at the airport and skipped the vacation after this!! The next morning we were up and at it REALLY early for a 7am flight out west. The flight is about as long of a flight as I want to do with a 5 year old coming in at just under about 5 hours direct to Denver from Olrando but all was smooth and on time and we got a flight with our own tvs and movies included at no extra charge in each seat back so that made it much less painful...poor Jon never realized this and so he and Jack saw no movies but SB and I each watched a few!!! Sometimes it pays to push the buttons to see what happens lol!! When we arrived in Denver Jon went to get the rental car and the kids and I got all SIX bags, including one that came out at the oversize section and we piled into a BRAND NEW 4 door Dodge Ram with 4 wheel drive...literally the car still had stickers on it and only the miles Jon had drove and we headed into the mountains towards Winter Park. It is really odd to see how different it is when you arrive in Denver and then drive just over an hour into the mountains and it goes from 52 degrees and NO snow anywhere to looking like you are in the north pole!!! We had a great clear weather day for driving which is not something we take for granted as the pass in the mountains from Denver to Winter Park involves mountain tunnels, and a really winding road at the end so no joke if the weather is not good. They actually have large metal gates in the mountains along the sides of the roads with big "road closed" signs that the Colorado department of Transportation puts down and closes the pass in the roads in inclimate weather!! Nothing to mess with and just outside Winter Park we actually hit a stand stil as there was an accident where a car had spun out on black ice as the sun was starting to set and the temps were dropping. Once we got out of the crazy traffic jam it was still not time to get into the condo yet so we hit the grocery store first for snacks and food for our condo since this year we had a condo with a full kitchen and fridge, etc.!! After that we hit up the ski school area to pick up the kid's tickets and we picked up our ski rental gear and finally it was 4pm Colorado time (6pm our EST time that we were still on) and we were one tired family as we checked into the condo. It was the perfect space for us with a gas fireplace even and the kids had a bunk room while we had a really comfortable master and nice living space and even a deck. The condo was a splurge but having good accomodations for a week vacation is WORTH IT. That night we had dinner at one of the 8 restaurants right there in the village SO EASY and so perfect. This village reminds me of the town in Oxford at Miami University..utopian like...you have everything you need at your finger tips and every single restaurant and shop is just right!! Whoever set that up got the demographic of the typical person that would travel there down pat!!! We had a view of the ice skating rink from our room as well at the center of the village and could also see the ski chalets that carry people over to the snow tubing area. During our week skiing we got to ski in real fresh powder and experienced a legitimate Colorado blizzard the afternoon of our first day, the kids did ski school several days and got really good at skiing, I will get Jon to help me post some videos it truly is amazing how good they both got! We also got to ice skate and snow tube (this was actually a little scary at first the snow tubing was FAST)...but then we realized we were NOT going to fly off the tube despite the feeling and it was really fun. On the last day for us on the slopes, New Year's day, we skipped ski school even though we forfeited a day of what we had paid for and we skied as a family and I cannot think of a single better way to spend the first day of the new year! It was amazing and we went on all sorts of runs, Jon in the lead followed by Sarabeth and then Jack and then me. As long as Sarabeth had someone to follow to remind her to do big S turns she did great! I was shocked we were skiing up real mountains, on the chairlifts, and she was keeping right up and actually said how many times she LOVED skiing this year! The weather was also much better this year and was really mild most of the time we were there with temps in the 30's vs. negative temps and wind chill that we had last year so that made a world of difference and the sun was shining when we skied all but one day!! We got to try to great restaurants in the village and even ventured out in the rental car into town a few nights just for a change of scenery. On our last day we packed up and drove back to Denver just in time as Winter Park got 15 inches of snow later that day, phew!!! We spent Monday January 2nd exploring Denver where we visited a children's science and nature museum that got great reviews, and then found a Dave and Busters for some fun and lunch before heading to the Denver Airport Westin to check in. This Westin is an awesome hotel! We stayed there last year and really enjoyed it. It has a great restaurant right with the hotel and also a really beautiful indoor pool and spa on the top floor overlooking the city. We all thoroughly enjoyed this amazing vacation and came back re-charged to start the second half of the school year and to face "season" the busiest time of the work year for us! This is also the time we make all of our profit for the year so its good to take a vacation before these busy months ahead. There is really no rest in site workwise until about June or July so we take the vacation time at this time each year because we know what is coming!! Here are some pictures of our winder adventures in Colorado! We hope to return for many more years to come...Jackson will probably be a better skier than I am by next year!!!