One of the hardest, yet most amazing things in life is watching your children grow up.  After 3 boys, these 2 girls have thrown us for quite a loop.  Not only are they the babies, but our sweet girls are racing through all life’s firsts, exciting and devastating at the same time.  Our winter trip to Colorado was an eye-opening confirmation that our babies are turning into brave and adventurous big girls.

 

Two nights at Snow Mountain was not enough to get our mountain fix, so we excitedly moved over to Indian Peaks Lodge to take advantage of their 3 night Snowtacular lodging special.  Indian Peaks is the newest and nicest of the three lodges, and we loved the advantages of having a beautiful great room to hang out in, and the fridge and microwave to cook all our grocery store “quick” meals.

We loved taking advantage of the fire and great room for some great game playing.

As luck would have it, our room was just above the amazing Nordic center cross county ski trails.  We made sure to use them daily!

The forecast showed our first night there would be the mildest, yet the snow kept falling.  We took advantage of tubing and fort building while we could still get outside.

 

 

The girls asked to go ice skating for the first time, and we hesitantly gave it a try.  They shocked us as they skated circles around me.  Laney and Ellie asked to go back daily, and it was a great spot for us since it was blocked from all the blowing snow.  Ellie would not come off the ice.

 

 

As the weather continued to get worse, we spent lots of time in the KIVA roller skating (the girls surprised us once again with their skills and raced away with their walkie talkies), playing dodgeball, basketball, ping pong, and pool. Ethan raced to finish a book from the SMR library before we had to leave.

 

 

   

All five kids tested their skills on the indoor climbing wall, and even the girls made it to the top of the wall.  Unfortunately, they didn’t trust the automatic belay system, and Chuck had to rescue them more than once.

 

As the snow continued to come down harder, and the weather got colder, we took advantage of a group movie night and the library, full of games and puzzles.

The drifts just kept getting bigger and bigger.  We were thankful we did not have to travel off site for anything.  The pass had been closed down for a couple of the days.

 

We took turns having free breakfast, and the girls were free every morning because they were under 6.  What a treat!  Gavin probably got “the most for his money.”

The morning we left, we woke up to some really frigid temps.

We were just hoping Berthoud Pass would be open, and as luck would have it, it was!

We said our goodbye while driving along Steve and the sled dogs. So long second home!

Laney had a miserable ride down from 9000 feet with her poor ear, but was smiling by the time we got to our favorite Kearney hotel and a Fazoli’s lunch stop.

We knew the boys had already gotten the adventurous streak in their blood like us, but this trip showed us the girls were ready too.  We love spending time with all these kiddos and watching them become brave boys and gutsy girls.  At the end of it all, we were shocked that roller skating, ice skating, skiing, rock climbing, swimming without floaties all happened for these two in the blink of an eye.  It seems like yesterday they were crawling, and now, they’re hanging with the rest of the Hoffpack!  Go girls!

I love places that make you realize how tiny you and your problems are.  Perhaps that is why when we won our two night cabin stay, we couldn’t wait to escape winter in Illinois for 10 nights in the Rockies.  Just before Christmas, we received a card from SMR, and waited excitedly for the day we could return. “We are coming!”

While staying with our dear friends, we were once again humbled by the mountains.  With the inflated holiday ski rates, our plan was to night ski when prices are $15, aside from the littler kids, who are free all the time.  Once our altitude sickness ended and everyone was acclimated, we raced to Granby Ranch suited up and ready to go, only to find the night ski lift (which is also the main lift) closed down indefinitely. You see, that was the day the mom and two daughters (age 9 and 12) fell from a malfunctioning lift.  Although one daughter was Flight for Life’d off that mountain, both survived.  The Mom did not.  We spent the entire trip looking for answers.  Regardless of what questions were answered, this poor family’s lives were forever changed by this horrible tragedy.

We wondered whether we should make a go at it after Laney’s allergic reaction subsided, and ultimately decided that we would when they discounted lift tickets for the remaining lifts still open.  Statistics said driving in a car or riding an elevator was far more dangerous than riding a ski lift. Logic beat out fear, although this experience left us forever changed.

As we left the M family’a home, headed for our free cabin stay, we spent New Year’s Day on those scar-ridden slopes.

It was an amazingly typical, sunny-skied day in Colorado.

Ethan taught Faith how to snowboard.

Cautiously, we opted to keep Laney inside the lodge

and take turns going out with Ellie and the other kids.  We were pleasantly surprised how much easier skiing became for the kids this year, especially the girls.  While we love to ski and snowboard, the last couple years of skiing with 5 young children (specifically the girls) has definitely challenged our patience.  This year was the payout.  Ellie absolutely loved it.

 

Gav loved teaching his sister how to slow down.

Laney begged to try it, and her miraculously cured swollen feet were just fine.

Ellie took a break inside while I hit the slopes with Laney.

Excited about staying in our free cabin in the mountains, we left Granby Ranch on a “Colorado Rocky Mountain High.”

I took all 8 kids to the grocery store, which was quite the experience! The looks and comments we got were priceless.  When I think my hands are full, there is always fuller.

Rick and Chuck went to pick up Julie while we stocked up on groceries and unloaded our ridiculously full carload! I love using all 9 seats in the Suburban when we can!

We spent the evening playing games and eating a delicious spaghetti dinner.  If you haven’t played the card game Gubs, now may be the time to start.  The kids are truly addicted!

We were sad that the M family would be headed back down to Denver the next evening, but planned our last day with them excitedly. After such a fun day on the slopes, we all wanted a repeater.  Of course, things never go quite as planned, and I was challenged once again as we soaked up SMR Chaplain Steve’s weekly dogsled presentation before hitting the slopes. In that moment, Laney’s ear infection came back full fledged.

As we raced off to Granby Ranch, I called doctors and the insurance company, searching for a plan.  Finally, the paging service answered and thankfully, the doctor called in another prescription.  I sat inside with her, waiting to see how bad it would get, while Julie calmed my fears.  We are so thankful for this family and the friendship we have with them.  While we don’t get to spend much time with them, the days that we do are cherished.

We spent much of the day soaking up the discounted lift tickets shuttling and riding the condo lift to take advantage of a long, easy run.

After another full day, we returned to the cabin with all 8 kids once again while Rick and Julie closed up the house.  More Gubs ensued.  We frantically tried to finish our cabin puzzle, a luxury of time only afforded while at Snow Mountain.

We were so sad to see them go, but glad we snapped a quick pic before our good friends left for Denver.

The next morning, we soaked up the perfect spaces in the cabin for our family.  A bedroom for the boys, a bedroom for the girls, and one for us.

Ethan practiced his scout skills and cooked us all a delicious breakfast.

 

We would certainly miss our Bright Star cabin retreat!

Not sure what happened, but somehow we ended up packing our car to the brim with all our stuff plus groceries, so the boys reverted to summer style, running from the cabins over to our new home at Indian Peaks Lodge.  By now, we were altitude adjusted and loving our mountain retreat.

With the longest break to date following Christmas Day, winning a two night cabin stay at Snow Mountain Ranch, and friends willing to host us for almost a week while they were at their mountain home, we knew this break would find us in a place we love, Granby, Colorado.  This was one decision that was unanimously agreed upon.  All seven of us couldn’t wait to get to the place we love so much.  We were still able to do all the family Christmas parties, but then immediately bolted the morning of the 26th.

With no camper in tow this time, we hotwired a hotel in Kearney, Nebraska at the Country Inn and Suites for a whopping $58.

The 9 hour drive was easy, and like all Nebraska hotels we have stayed at, it did not disappoint.. if anybody knows hospitality, it’s Nebraska.  We arrived to a free family friendly happy hour, with snacks and soft drinks, followed by a fun dip in the pool.

Breakfast was great, complete with omelet bar.

Day 2 of driving was uneventful except for the flat tire we had driving through Denver.

We raced to the nearest Discount Tire as we deflated, hoping not to have to empty the full car to switch to the spare… and we made it!

We almost always have some trouble getting through Denver, and the snow chain link through the tire was no exception.  The I-70 view never disappoints once we make it into the mountains!

Luckily, we were on our way within an hour or so, and made it to the M family’s house before dinner.

We were so excited to see our dear friends, and thankfully, they were happy to have us.  Check out the cool view we woke up to every morning.

Unfortunately, we put our poor friends through lots of drama in the first few days of our stay.  Ellie and Braden suffered from a little altitude sickness during our first couple days, which often portrays itself with flu-like symptoms.

Right after they acclimated and recovered, Laney developed a series of bite-like lesions on one knee.

As it is winter, and there aren’t many bugs around, we were certain we had infested ourselves and consequently, our friends’ home with bed bugs from our Nebraska hotel stay!  We started washing EVERYTHING that night, and I didn’t sleep a wink that night, plotting how to attack what we thought was our biggest travel issue ever!  However, we awoke the next morning to only Laney with a Continue reading →