Glenwood Springs

We drove to Glenwood Springs over Presidents' Day weekend.

On the first day, we rode the gondola up to Glenwood Canverns Adventure Park, where we enjoyed a fabulous view.

The big girls were able to ride the Alpine Coaster, which is longer than the Alpine Slide at Winter Park. Wheee! Gabi especially loved riding the coaster.

Then we toured two large caves in the porous Iron Mountain.

Outside the first cave, we ended up on a ledge with this gorgeous view - and a 1300 ft drop-off.

We even crawled through the Spelobox to see what exploring caves (not on a walking tour) would be like. We did this same thing a little over a year ago when we went to Branson to catch the Polar Express, but this time we actually shoved Kataraina through the entire Spelobox. She was very eager to go in, but about a third of the way through became claustrophobic and freaked out.

Katarina's favorite part of the Caverns Park was the gondola ride, which she did several times while the rest of us took turns on the Alpine Coaster.

The restaurant at the top of the mountain was decorated with animals native to the area. We stayed all day, from the park's opening until closing, watching the short 4-D movies, playing laser tag, and exploring the sights.

Riding down the gondola at the end of the day:

The next three days of our long weekend, we skied at nearby Sunlight Mountain. The kids did great! We got fresh powder after the first day. Check back later for a video.

After skiing, it was nice to swim in the Hot Springs pool (except for the getting in and getting out part!). I noticed that the lifeguards were fully dressed - from a hat to shoes. The temperature outside was freezing, but the hot pool was 104 degrees F! The springs are powered naturally by sulfur, which we could smell (and taste, if we were unfortunate enough to get a bit of the water in our mouths).

Bella has been begging to go back to Sunlight Mountain every since. That was definitely her best skiing experience so far!

Valentines

Michael and I received this wonderful Valentine in the mail from our eldest daughter:

Following a tradition I started last year, I made each girl a Valentine that lists some of the ways in which she is special. I want them to know that I love them, and I also want them to see great value in their unique personalities.

Katarina isn't old enough to have developed her full personality yet, but she is a pleasure to watch grow. Kati-Lily is learning her shapes, colors, animals (and animal sounds!), songs, and people's names. She is using full sentences and can be quite the chatterbox when she's in the mood. She definitely understands what we say when we talk. I love her little smile and laugh! I look forward to seeing what interests and skills she continues to develop in the future.

First Ski Lessons

Gabi and Bella started ski lessons at Eldora (near Boulder, CO). We made our first day trip on the last Saturday of January for a half-day afternoon lesson.

Unfortunately, the weather was so windy that Bella couldn't even stay standing up and had to drop out of the lesson. The strong wind swirled the dry powder into clouds of snow reminiscent of West Texas dust storms. The cold air stung cheeks and chilled fingers and caused runny noses, so I stayed inside the lodge with Katarina, where Bella later joined us. Gabi stuck with the entire ski lesson, though.

This past Saturday, we returned to Eldora on a beautiful, sunny day with only a calm breeze. It was actually warmer up on the mountain than in Denver this weekend! We left early in the morning so Gabi could ski a full-day lesson. Bella and I hung out near the lodge in the morning and spent some time sledding before her afternoon ski lesson.

By the end of the day, both girls were enjoying skiing. Gabi's class even went over to the little mountain instead of staying on the bunny slope. It was nice outside, so I took a bunch of pictures and videos. I'm so proud of my girls!