Breck Trip Part 2 - Spring Break 2021

The view from our deck

Wednesday was our break day so after exploring downtown Breckenridge again in the morning (it's a 5 minute gondola ride from our place), we hopped in the car and drove 2 hours to UC-Boulder. The campus was pretty with the backdrop of the mountains. And, downtown Boulder with all it's restaurants and shopping was very cool. Some said very similar to Burlington, Vermont, which Tom and I had been to before and I would agree. Very similar. Not sure I think it's up there with Indiana University as far as beauty especially in the fall  but the mountains do make it very nice. We walked around, took some pictures, explored the downtown and then went to a brewery on the edge of Boulder that was pretty cool. On the way home we had to pass by the large vigil of a supermarket shooting that occurred the week before. Eye opening and producing a good discussion for us and our kids for the ride home. 

Thursday brought us a fun day of skiing all together with no lessons. The weather was perfect. The snow was great and we skied and skied. We took a break to go back to the house for lunch but then went back out until the end of the day. The kids all did really well. Austen and Peyton ski very in control. Hailey is a bit of a dare devil and likes to use her speed to push us all to go faster. So we were really working with her on controlling her speed on Thursday and she was practicing with her instructors during her previous ski lessons. I swear that kid has no fear except on the chairlift - which I happened to be on with her one time and she forgets to get off and blames me. I couldn't stop laughing as the operator finally notices her still on it and manages to stop the lift before she continues back down the hill. By this time, Hailey had slid off and was now under the chair. Not sure what happened there but it was a funny moment for the rest of us (not for her as she was quite embarrassed and mad at me for laughing). 

After our ski days, we had been indulging in some fun hot tub family time so of course we made our last hot tub excursion count. Drinks were always in hand and Austen always had the music going. Games might have also been played too.

On Friday, we had another break and decided to venture to Vail for a bit for the kids to check out that ski town. It definitely had a more European flair than Breckenridge too as the town was a little village of shops and restaurants that went on and on at the base of the ski resort. After some souvenir shopping we returned to Breckenridge for our last dinner out at Blue River Bistro which proved to be very good and a great way to end our trip. We did discover some great food in Breckenridge including their famous crepes and the Mountain Top Cookie Shop. 

We were all very sad to leave the beautiful views behind and head home on Saturday. We had a nice morning leisurely drive back to Denver before boarding our flight at 1pm and home by 5pm. O'Hare looked like everything was back to normal (crowded) but everyone was wearing masks. 

It was a different kind of spring break for us but everyone really loved our time in Breckenridge. The skiing was fun but the house really made the trip. I will never forget those views. Simply breathtaking. 

Downtown Breckenridge

Ready to ski

Austen brought his Go Pro

UC- Boulder

Our place came with a telescope

UC- Boulder Brewery

Skiing together

Breck Trip Part 1- Spring Break 2021

We were supposed to be on a Disney Cruise for Spring Break 2021. We had booked it with some friends just before the pandemic hit in early 2020 with not even an inkling at that time that it would never happen. It seemed so far off that maybe, just maybe there was some hope. But the ships weren't sailing and even if they were, did we really want to wear a mask the whole time we were on board? The answer was a resounding no. So in January, without too many options since the kids can't leave the country because school would require them to quarantine for two weeks, we decided our only options were Florida or skiing. Now I'm not a huge fan of Florida and I knew so many people that were going there that it was going to be beyond crowded (and it was from all those that did go). So I suggested a spring break ski trip. Spring skiing out west can be really enjoyable with the warm weather and the apres ski! Now I knew that my family really enjoys their warm vacations as do I, so if there was ever a time to go for spring break it was going to be now when we had this opportunity. I found an amazing house with incredible views in Breckenridge close to the Peak 8 gondola so basically an easy ski in and ski out. We signed up the kids for lessons, bought tickets and we were ready.

Flight to Denver was easy. O'Hare wasn't super crowded but we loved our TSA pre check. The only snafu that we had was parking. Economy was full so we had to park in daily. We've tried car services before too but have had ones literally never show up for us during spring break. Anyway, got to Denver, got our rental car and I had already mapped a place on the way to eat. It was perfect. We got to watch the Loyola NCAA tournament basketball game and the kids got to enjoy these amazing shakes. Great way to start our vacation.

We trekked on to Breckenridge after our late lunch and when we arrived at our rental house I knew it was going to be amazing. The views from our house were absolutely breathtaking. So beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. We were only skiing 3 days total and we had the house for a week so there was definitely some downtime built in.

The kids all had their own rooms on the lower level and loved having their own TVs in each one. In Hailey's room was a selection of 4 wildlife stuffed animals with tags still on them telling the girls that if you fall in love with one of them during the trip, you may take it home. This was the perfect house for my girls and especially Hailey. We got settled and then as we were driving out of our area to get groceries, we spotted the most beautiful fox foraging in the snow for food. We were so excited to see a fox but little did we know that we'd see something much more beautiful a few days later. 

It was a long day so we got settled in and the next day took the gondola to town, for some shopping, got fitted for our skis, figured out our ski lessons, got used to the altitude (which affected Tom the most but I kept having the kids drink a lot of water before we left - they seemed fine) and went out to dinner on the town.

Monday, the girls had ski lessons so Tom and I took them and on our way out of our driveway, we saw a huge moose just walk by! We called Austen who had stayed behind and he started videoing the moose walking in between our houses. Amazing and beautiful! 

Skiing went well on Monday. Austen skiied with us and did well. Peyton was annoyed her and Hailey got put in the same lesson group. Conditions were a little icy early in the day but warmed up later and then the skiing was much better. It was a good first day all around. 

Tuesday was another day of skiing. The girls did lessons again (this time not together) and Austen also took a lesson which allowed Tom and I to ski by ourselves for a bit. However, we got about a foot of snow late the night before so the skiing was very tiring. I think we all went in that day after just 3 hours from exhaustion. And, we were definitely looking forward to our break day the next day and venturing to Boulder to see UC - Boulder. More on that in my next post.

The view from our place!

The Moose!

Skiing!

Crepes in downtown Breckenridge

Easter Egg Hunt Back On!

We flew home from our spring break trip just in time for Easter Sunday. More on that amazing trip later but let's talk Easter. Luckily, I had been shopping prior to spring break so I could whip up some baskets and Tom could put out the eggs for a quick egg hunt at our own house before going over to Grandma's for her infamous egg hunt. I wanted to skip our own egg hunt this year since it was such a busy morning coming back from our trip but I knew deep down that I still needed to keep the magic alive for Hailey. 

The other two were good sports and played along, finding their eggs and then their Easter baskets. They got some candy, games and books. Nothing over the top since we just spent a bunch of money on them for spring break.

At Grandma's we had brunch and then it was every kid for themselves! Leo won the hunt this year with Austen coming in second place. Tom and I won the adult portion and Grandma doled out her gift cards to the winners. 

Prizes or not, it was just nice to get together somewhat safely this year since the majority of us adults were fully vaccinated (one was half vaccinated). The day was beautiful and we spent a lot of time outside. The kids missed Mia, Ryan and Luke this year and we missed Mark and Nina but it was still a nice, relaxing day to catch up with my mom and John, dad, and Maria, Mike and Leo. It had been way too long since we were able to gather due to the pandemic so we're definitely looking forward to more hang outs after we all get through the spring sports season! 

Fortnightly

Austen and His Dance Partner

It's a tradition for incoming Hinsdale Central High School 8th graders to participate in a 63-year old social etiquette and ballroom dancing class. So why not sign Austen up, I thought? Austen has a group of about 10 boys that he hangs out with at school and soon all the moms were wondering via our text group chat if we should just sign the boys up or ask them. 

"It's equally gratifying and mortifying," commented one mom, "but it's good for them!" 

Austen was lukewarm to the idea when I presented it to him but he didn't say no! However, after the first session, he said it was better than he thought and after the second session, dare he say it was fun?!  

The parents (both moms and dads get dressed up to attend) chaperone at least one of the 8 sessions. Tom and I are scheduled during one of the last classes so I'm interested to see how Austen's dancing skills are by then. According to the (girl) moms who have chaperoned thus far, Austen has won the award for best dressed. I told them he cheated because he has a really nice suit, shirt and tie with shoes, the belt, cool dress socks, etc. because he just made his confirmation and we had to get the whole ensemble! Their daughters also remarked that Austen was good at dancing and also good at conversation! 

I think this will be an experience he'll remember for a long time and help break the ice with the ladies. He's definitely interested!