Breckenridge and Vail!

John and I were thrilled to have the opportunity to travel with a few of our favorite friends to Breckenridge, Colorado! The trip started as a casual idea, almost a joke..but I am so thankful we have friends that make it happen! Weeks prior to the trip I kept asking John if he really thought I would like to ski....I am terrified of heights, hate to be cold, can't stand being out of control and panic when things are fast.....much to both of our surprise I had a blast!

Day one on the slopes was....hmm...I'll go with laughable (this is an understatement for sure!). Claire and Craig are excellent skiers, John is a fearless natural, Annie is so stubborn she willed herself in to skiing down the slopes with ease...and I think it is pretty fair to say John Ingram and I "struggled". We both knew we should start out with Ski School, but being the first real day of vacation we hated to be away from our group. I was scared to death to even get on the lift..luckily I made it on...but my exit was not nearly as graceful! I fell off the lift and pretty much down the entire mountain! My husband is very patient with me..he tried to explain to me that it is simply physics....the group knows how I feel about physics...and for some reason my darling husband didn't understand why thinking about "physics" and the "laws of momentum and gravity" didn't help skiing click for me! Bless his heart. After one "run" down the slopes John Ingram and I decided to call it quits for the day and decided to enjoy the lodge and a nice gondola ride.

Quite possibly the best part of the day was dinner at Kenosha! We were all exhausted and feeling the altitude so it hit the spot! The town of Breckenridge is wonderful. Cute shops, sweet people and yummy food!

me, Claire and Annie

Day two I was a little less terrified of the gondola...the first battle!

AND John Ingram and I decided to go to Ski School. We were late to class so we didn't really start out on the best ski (ha). We introduced ourselves and told the group that our spouses were having a blast together on the slopes...and well,...we sadly needed to come to school. Class was...um, comical to say the very least. Probably my very favorite memory from the entire trip was when our "class" was waiting for our first instruction after riding to the top of the mountain (note: John I. and I BOTH successfully got of the lift!) Trying to be a good student, all of my energy was focused on trying to stay standing....I was so proud that I was even able to stand in line with the other girls in our class, when I realized John wasn't near by. I turned around just in time to see him fly down the mountain beside us in to a blue mesh fence. He fell to the ground with the "fence" wrapped around him...hysterical! The teacher just watched him as he tried to get back up. When John recovered and was in line with the group the teacher said "do you know how many times I have seen that happen......zero"

I enjoyed ski school so much that morning that I decided it would be best for me to go back for the afternoon session. We had the most patient (or high) ski instructor. When teaching us how to turn from side to side he simply said just think about which way you want to go...and to learn techniques he described passing out glasses of champagne...made so much more sense to me than physics!!

The MOST important skill I learned was the wedge...sadly, this is the way I ski. I am too scared to pick up any speed so I was thrilled to learn how to move back and forth across the mountain very slowly!

Day 3 We go to Vail to ski for the day! Kevin's teachings absolutely were applied! Still no offers to join the Olympic team just yet but I honestly had so much fun!

John and I outside of the lodge in Vail

At the TOP of the mountain! If you can't tell from the picture I was THRILLED to have made it!

I was still a little concerned if I would be able to get back down!

I luckily made it down in one piece and loved the latte that was waiting for me in downtown Vail!

What a wonderful trip! Can not wait to go back again soon! Thanks for all of the fun memories!