Colorado { and 24 weeks! }

I feel like a broken record when I say that the time is going so fast!  But...
"...Time is going way too fast!" 

I announced back on Elizabeth's birthday that she is going to be a big sister!  The news still seemed unreal then...and still does...but reality is that it's flying by!  We're in the midst of re-organizing Emily's room in order for Elizabeth to be her new roomate, making room for lots of girl clothes, dolls, stuffed animals and Emily's dream...a new bunk bed surrounded by new pink walls!  All the while...my belly is growing by the minute...and I feel bigger than ever...at 24 weeks!

...and, we're expecting another girl...so we dedicated the news with what girls do best...shopping for new clothes!

...while the boys escape all the pink for a little bit of guy time!  Ha!

 

And because time is precious...and fleeting...I want to take the few minutes I can find to sit down and preserve it all!  It's almost been a whole month already since we escaped to snowy Vail, Colorado for our holiday break!  We look forward to it all year, and despite the fact I opted out of skiing, possibly keeping me and my growing belly from doing some unwilling risky stunts on the slopes, Dan and the kids have become great skiers!

 

We were excited to get there...after a long day of traveling...and wake up to see our view the next morning and that it was snowing!

 

We spent the first day catching up on rest, enjoying the village and getting Dan and the kids fitted for their skis and boots!

outside our condo, the Antlers

on top of the snow, at the bottom of the slopes!



heading to the village,
we loved staying in a condo and being able to walk to the village and the slopes

ready to get up there and ski!

We ate dinner and had the kids' caricatures drawn at the hotel where we stayed the previous two years before ending our first day.

 

{...they now fondly hang in our family room where we can enjoy them every day...}

 

The second day we were greeted with another beautiful snowy morning...

...and these three were eager to get out there and ski!

 

As much as I wanted to be out there skiing right along with them, enjoying the thrill of the slopes and the beauty of the snow-covered mountains...I was a bit relieved to send them on their way with the ski instructor Mollie, and relax and enjoy the day with Ellie!

And I loved hearing all about their first day...the scenery from the chair lifts, and trying out some challenging new trails...including a few rough times getting stuck in the snow in Porcupine Alley!

Alex, Emily and their instructor Mollie

Emily and Mollie on the lift

Emily stuck in a snow pile!

Alex still smiling after spending an exhausting time digging himself out of a snowdrift!

Being in Vail during the holidays is so much fun, and the kids have loved learning to ski!  It was a fun start to the week listening the three 'kids' talk about their first day back out on the mountain...and how excited they were to go again the next day, even though it was an exhausting and challenging start!  It's a spectacular place...and I never get tired of looking at the mountains and seeing all the skiers and snowboarders swooshing down the slopes from our condo!

{...until next time...more to come!}