Snowboarding at Telluride

Playing on the mountain at Telluride was amazing. We had plenty of fresh powder, a light snowfall, and nearly-empty runs. What more could you ask for? (Aside from temperatures above 3 degrees, that is.)

Matt, Christian and I had so much fun exploring the mountain via the easy runs on a Friday in early January. The mountains were beyond gorgeous and the lightly falling snow made them seem majestic. It was so beautiful and peaceful up there, and we were alone on the mountain more often than we had to share it. (Going one week after the holidays definitely helped!) We stuck to the greens for my sake, and I'm happy to report that I didn't fall one single time. (Of course, I wasn't practicing any new skills and their greens were so subtly sloped that we had to pick up our boards and walk in a few places, and I don't even remember the last time I fell, but still. Always a noteworthy accomplishment.) The boys stayed out longer than I did to check out the blues and they came off the mountain so excited for Saturday.

The next day, I stayed behind and relaxed in the resort while the boys played on the black diamonds. Let me tell you, a day all to myself to just sleep in and lie by the fire and be? So nice. We'd talked about maybe leaving around 1 or 2 to get a head start on the drive, but every time we touched base they were having so much fun that we decided they should just keep going. Despite single-digit temperatures and even losing a glove, they stayed on the mountain from the moment the lifts opened until the moment they closed. It was the best ski trip we ever could have imagined!

At the top of Telluride!

Mountain Village at Telluride

My brother Christian's one big wish before leaving on his impending 2-year church service mission was to go on a ski trip. Matt and I made his dreams come true at the beginning of January by taking him to Telluride, Colorado. Conde Nast just ranked Telluride the #1 ski resort in North America so it seemed like the perfect destination. We scored an incredible deal at The Inn at Lost Creek, which is Conde Nast's 20th-ranked ski hotel, and therefore stayed at the bottom of the ski lift right in the heart of Mountain Village. It was amazing.

Getting there, however, was a little less-than-amazing. The snow storm that wasn't supposed to come until that Friday came early and we found ourselves driving on the edge of winding cliffs in a windy blizzard for more than 7 hours. We've driven in our fair shares of storms before, but this was by far the worst. And the fact that it was on one of the most dangerous roads in Utah? Let's just say we were grateful we made it to Telluride in one piece. The ride home, although clear, presented a few road blocks of its own -- in the form of first an elk and then a cow crossing the road right in front of us. Yes, a cow. That was a new one.

Even with the difficulties we encountered actually getting to Telluride, it was so completely worth the drive. Mountain Village is what ski town dreams are made of -- so perfectly cozy and quaint and secluded and convenient and mountainous and modern and beautiful all at the same time. We arrived just in time to crawl into our comfortable beds on Thursday night, and we woke up Friday to fresh powder, a soft snowfall, and beautiful views of the mountains and village. We'll save the snowboarding for another post, but for now, just trust me when I tell you that it was wonderful.

That night, we came in from the slopes, warmed up, made ourselves a yummy gourmet dinner of spaghetti in our suite, and then bundled up again to explore. On our way to the gondola that would take us to the town of Telluride, though, we passed the most picturesque little ice rink -- and it was empty. How could we not? We'd never had an ice rink all to ourselves before, and there in the middle of the village underneath the twinkling lights with the snow lightly falling... it was perfect. We had so much fun skating to our hearts' content, practicing tricks, playing tag, holding hands, and doing crazy things like going counter-clockwise around the rink. When we'd had our fill, we headed once again toward Telluride. It was very reminiscent of Park City's Main Street, so while we enjoyed it, we definitely preferred Mountain Village for its unique identity.

On Saturday, I sent the boys out to the slopes to conquer the black diamonds without me. And then I sat in my pajamas by the fire all by myself, relaxing and reading and going through pictures (which is basically the only reason I'm remotely caught up on this blog!). Oh, it was so nice. Later in the afternoon, I met up with Matt and Christian for a final exploration of Mountain Village before embarking on our trip back home. It was the best kind of getaway!

That would be my freezing-huddle picture pose that happens when I'm, well, freezing. It was three degrees.

Snow!

Jake was only 3 months old when we came to Utah for Christmas last year, so snow was a new discovery for him this winter.

And he discovered that he loves it.

The first real snow of the year came in the form of a blizzard at the beginning of November. Jake peeked out of the windows all morning, obviously intrigued by the tiny white things falling from the sky. When the storm had calmed down and a light snowfall was all that remained, I bundled him up and took him outside to explore. He. LOVED. It. Jake covered the entire yard in a matter of minutes, leaving fresh baby tracks wherever he went and giggling all the way.

He had refused his mittens on our way out the back door, and since I didn't know if he'd even last thirty seconds, I didn't fight him on it. But after a few minutes, I realized that he could do this for hours so I took him inside to bundle up even more. Oh, you should have seen the tears on that little boy! But one snowsuit, booties and pair of mittens later, and the world was once again a happy place as Jake reentered his little winter wonderland. It was, according to the little mister himself, a "Happy Day."

Sledding

No winter would be complete without a few good runs down a sledding hill!

We took Jake out sledding for the first time with my family a couple weeks ago and he loved it! He giggled all the way down the hill and clapped in approval at the bottom every single time. It's amazing how that little guy can bring so much more joy to an already-loved activity. We all had so much fun!

Matt and Jake make the same candid faces all the time lately, and it's my favorite.