I Took the Kids to Colorado!

When I go to Vail, I usually arrive late on a Saturday, which means I get to kick off my week with church the next morning. This is Vail Interfaith Chapel and I've written many times about how special and wonderful this place is for me. There are different services at different times for different denominations, and I usually just decide what I want to be that morning, depending on what time I get up. This church is a place where I breath and sometimes get tears in my eyes. I feel peace here. I love it so much.

The kids hit the slopes first thing Sunday morning, and I hit the breakfast buffet by myself after church. I love the breakfast at The Sonnenalp in Vail, and this is what I got. Because I was eating by myself and didn't want to seem awkward, I acted like I was reading the NYT on my phone. The reason I had to act like I was reading the NYT is that there was no cellular service in the restaurant and I couldn't get any articles to actually load. But I looked intently at my phone as if I was reading the latest news reports. Raise your hand if you've done that. (Anyone?...)

Yep the trip was me...and eight kids. When I'm around young adults and teenagers, I start to believe that I am also a young adult/teenager, with two exceptions: One, when it comes time to go skiing. I like my bones and joints and I don't like to fall so I don't go. And two, when 8:20 pm rolls around and I announce I'm going to bed. 9:00 pm in the mountains might as well be 1 am. But for at least a few hours a day, in the middle of the day, I'm a young adult/teenager!

It was fun to be in Vail for New Year's Eve! And it was fun to be in Vail with my girls. Alex asked me yesterday as we were walking around town (and noticing all the little kids in their ski gear!) whether I missed the days when we'd come here when they were all younger. I told her I missed them being little in general because it was such a sweet, innocent time in life, but I like vacations better now. Everyone can take care of themselves and do what they want to do, and we can hang together in the evenings.

We had New Year's Eve dinner at Elway's steakhouse, which is perfect because a) we love steak, and b) we love football. Our table was right underneath a big photo of John Elway getting ready to throw a pass, and it was appropriate since three college football players were sitting at our table. This is Anna, one of Paige's best friends from college (she isn't one of the aforementioned football players, btw), who joined us just for the first two nights of our trip. Paige and Anna are two peas in a pod, and I hope she vacations with our family when she's fifty years old.

I went home and went to bed after dinner because I ate every bite from the salad down to the dessert, but the night was still young for the kids. Fortunately, we have a family shared folder so we can share all the photos from different aspects of our trip...so I feel like I was there! Also, you might notice that Paige took the coat off my back and wore it out the rest of the night. That's what moms are for!

It's fun to travel with Alex and Mauricio. They snowboard together and are always up for everything, and Alex can double as a mother when I need help getting the boys squared away with lift tickets or whatever else the mom-needing dudes need. I love watching Alex and Mauricio's newlywed relationship evolve and take shape. They have fun and laugh together, which I think lays such a firm foundation for whatever's in store for them in the coming years. Laughter isn't everything...but it sure does help.

Okay. I buried the lede. This is David. He's Paige's "friend." Not her friend, mind you. Her "friend." I won't go into detail because that's Paige's place to do...but the smile on her face might give you some idea of how Paige feels about her new friend. I mean "friend." I mean, I'm going to stop writing this caption now!

You know how I feel about matching pajamas. It's an obsession at this point, but there are worse things to obsess over. I got all the guys a set of vacation PJ's (different plaids, of course!) and they all felt SO-phisticated. I didn't get any for the girls because I couldn't find anything in stock after Christmas, haha, but since all of us girls are mature, well adjusted young adults (me included), we didn't care. But I think matching vacation pajamas for the dudes might become a new tradition!

David was only able to stay for the first three days, so on his last day, I went out to breakfast with him and Paige. You'll notice my plate was even more full than during my solo breakfast two days earlier. If you eat early in the day, the calories don't count!! By the way, breakfast buffets are my favorite food group. My answer to everything is yes, unless there's a banana in it.

One of the most fun parts of the week was meeting the kids after they were finished skiing, and having a coke or a hot chocolate or "other" apres-ski drink. This is Dalton, Todd's lifelong friend. Dalton's father is one of Ladd's closest friends, and Dalton's late grandfather was a longtime friend and cowboy of my father-in-law Chuck! Dalton is Todd's ride-or-die, and it's been fun having him with us this week. I like to tell Dalton that his dad is probably at the top of the list of people Ladd and I would call if we really needed something...and I know Dalton is that for Todd. Love these two boys!

Maurico and Bryce have a sweet relationship. They're friends, they're brothers-in-law, they're brothers. They make each other laugh and it's nice for Bryce to have an older brotherly type for those times he needs to be bossed around a bit. (Only once or twice a year, Bryce! Right?!?)

I have discovered my new passion. At least my new passion for those times I enjoy an adult beverage. It is called an espresso martini, and I'll bet all of you reading this have already had one. While I might have had a sip of one through the years, this is the first time I actually ordered and sipped one...and I really love it! It's yummy! I will consume coffee in any form, so it makes total sense that this would be my jam. I mean my beverage. (By the way, this photo was taken January 3. Can I start Dry January on January 4?)