We were so graciously invited to join Jenny's family for a Christmas trip to Colorado. We flew into Denver on December 21 and then drove to Beaver Creek. We got to stay in this amazing house that had plenty of room for all 19 of us! We ate yummy Blue Moose pizza for dinner and Thomas took Bailey to get her skis fitted for ski school the next day.
We were up bright and early to take the big kids to ski school.
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| Bailey and Addy~ready to go! |
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| Daddy's snowboard~Bailey's skis |
Just beautiful!
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| Waiting for the shuttle |
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| These 4 had so much fun riding the shuttle! |
Mom, Dad, and I stayed at the house with Milly and Cassia-they had a blast playing together!
Then we got bundled up and headed to the Village.
Waiting for the shuttle to pick us up was the perfect photo op!
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| Our first trip to the Village |
We found Bailey and Addy at ski school and got to watch them in action!
Bailey did so great at ski school! They had so many instructors and music playing for the kids to dance to as they waited their turns. They had a magic carpet ride (conveyor belt) that helped get them to the top of the practice hill.
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| Bailey looked so cute! |
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| Headed up to try again! |
Addy was awesome since this was her second year at ski school!
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| Addy |
Hands up, Bailey!
The Village was a neat place--ice sculptures, restaurants, stores, warm chocolate chip cookies after you finished skiing…magical really.
That night we had dinner at Chophouse at Beaver Creek. It was so delicious! The kiddos were so exhausted from their first day of ski school (sweet Murphy feel asleep before his dinner came)!
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| Here we all are on the shuttle bus! |
The next day we skied and the big kids did ski school. (Thanks Nana and Papa for staying with the little girls.)
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| Jenny and I~yes it was freezing! |
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| Thomas and I were covered from head to toe! |
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Bailey at ski school--day 2!
She's headed toward the rainbow ribbons all by herself! |
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| Matt and Jenny after a great day of skiing! |
That night we got to go to Eagle Ranch for a sleigh ride and dinner.
We snuggled under blankets and were bundled up for our two horse open sleigh ride!
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| Bailey and Papa after the sleigh ride. |
We went inside and enjoyed a yummy cowboy meal with live entertainment cowboy-style.
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| The cowboy asked for requests from each table. |
The girls had so much fun dancing!
We didn't know it, but one of Thomas' students from Pepperdine was there working at the Ranch! He came over and talked with us and we got to meet his parents. Thomas put two and two together that his speech about some crazy stories on the ranch were about this ranch! So fun!
And a little pony ride before we headed home!
The next day was Christmas Eve and we all decided to stay home and relax. We bundled up and hiked up the hill behind the house. The snow was so deep, especially for the kids!
We wanted to build a snowman and have a snowball fight but the snow didn't stick together--it was too dry and too cold.
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| You can see how steep the hill behind the house was! |
Thomas tried to "sled" down the hill on his snowboard but the snow was too deep.
The view was gorgeous!
A snowstorm was rolling in.
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| Shane and Natalie enjoying the view. |
Milly wanted to eat the snow!
Matt, Addy, Milly and Jenny
Then the snowboard became a sled at the top of the hill...
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| Matt, Bailey and Thomas |
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| Addy, Madelyn, Bailey and Murphy went for a ride! |
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| They were all so helpful to carry the snowboard! |
After naps, we headed to the Village for a parade, to meet Santa, and to eat s'mores!
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| The Snow Princess was beautiful! |
The kids all got musical instruments and paraded through the village.
The ice sculptures behind us were so cool!
We got to say hello to Santa--he looked great!
Then we made our way over to make s'mores around an outdoor fire. S'mores are one of my favorites!
The Shoemaker Family
That night we ate at The Dusty Boot and it was delicious!
The next day was Christmas! We had a relaxing day, Thomas and Matt went skiing, and we hung out in the hot tub.
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| These two little cuties were buddies. |
That night we went to dinner at a restaurant called 8100 at the Hyatt Hotel.
I tried to get a picture of all the kids but it was tricky. :)
Cassia cried and cried all through dinner and Thomas and I ended up taking her home early. The next morning Thomas noticed her first molar had come through! Poor baby!
We headed outside to take family pictures and it was beautiful!
All of the littles
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| Milly, Addy, Madelyn, Murphy, Brooks, Cassia & Bailey |
Shoemaker Cousins
The Ivey Family
The Shoemaker Family
On December 27th, we were packing and getting ready to head to the airport and Cassia decided she wanted to start walking! She took steps between Papa and me and got lots of clapping and cheering from everyone!
We had such a wonderful trip and are so thankful for the Ivey's generosity and invitation for a Christmas in Colorado!
(Thanks to my mom and Natalie for the great pictures! I filled in my holes with your pics!)
