A Colorado Adventure- Part 2

Spoiler alert- Addie learned how to ski! 

So early the next morning (Day 3), Brian, Collins, Addie and I took off for Steamboat. Addie insisted she wanted to come with us and learn how to ski. I was hesitant about this considering her first attempt at Sugar Mountain. Let's just say it did not go well...the day ended in an epic meltdown on the bunny slope. But Brian (being the nice, patient, ski-obsessed Father that he is) insisted that she should come take on this giant ski resort if she wanted to. So off we headed to the ski resort...

And it was snowing! 

Snowing a lot actually...

Brian decided to take on the role of ski instructor while Collins and I went to go find some green runs...

Collins became a good skier at Sugar Mountain so we felt pretty confident in what she could do at Steamboat...

and she totally surpassed our expectations. She's a good skier like her Daddy!

After some great green runs (they have so many and they are so fun- winding and very long), we went back to the bunny slope to check in on Addie....

who was all smiles! We were pleasantly surprised- the ski lesson was going very well.

Brian taught her the pizza...

and soon she was ready to do the french fry. :) 

The rest of the gang came to see us on the mountain and have some lunch so we got to see this cute little face for a little bit...

After lunch, Addie and Brian continued their work on the bunny slope while Collins and I explored the mountain...

Seeing these gorgeous views and whizzing happily down those greens with my daughter by my side was so very special. It helps that she and I are about on the same level (although she overtook me on this trip and moved up to blues with her Dad.)

Miraculously, the ski lesson continued to go well. No visible frustrations from Dad or daughter, although I knew Brian was itching to go ski this mountain. We eventually traded places so he and Collins could ski together and I could help Addie.

Finally, the day ended and Addie was officially a skier! She nailed that bunny slope and vowed she wanted to come back tomorrow and do more. Go Addie, and go Brian for teaching her! She was thrilled that she learned this new skill, and how fun that it happened on this trip at fabulous Steamboat. 

Back at the ranch, we rested our sore muscles, spent time with this little guy, and enjoyed the famous "Tacos in a Bag". Corey and Greg introduced us to tacos in a bag at Wrightsville Beach so it was only fitting that we would get some in Oak Creek.

Here we are back at Steamboat for a second day of skiing. 

Addie warmed up on the bunny slope and then decided she was ready to try a harder run.

So up we went to the higher elevations. This made me VERY nervous because what if she couldn't do it or was terrified? But there's no turning back once you're on that chairlift. 

I should have known she could do it! Addie skied the green, and loved it. I was so proud of her.

You can see her confidence in this pose. :)

So once she mastered the lower elevation greens, Brian and Collins said why not go higher? There are greens going down all the way from the top of the mountain. Ummm, do we have to? Yes, they are technically green runs but they are from really, really high places and will take a really, really long time to ski down. Addie was more game than I was, so I eventually agreed and up we went again.

It's a little unsettling when the chair lift is a really long quiet ride. No people around, nothing but the snow swirling around you.

So it turns out there was a blizzard on the top of the mountain which made for very challenging ski conditions...visibility was no good and everything iced over including our goggles and Addie's long ponytail!

Collins and Brian thought it was great fun, but Addie and I did not like this stretch of the mountain. We both had to go very slow and it was so tiring. There were also some blue trails mixed in with the green runs so there was some hard spots to get through.

After a long time we finally made it down to the mid-way point of the mountain. She had done it! I couldn't believe Addie skied the top of the mountain in a blizzard! And she was still smiling. 

At this point, we had to make the decision- keep going or take the gondola down to the base and call it a day. THANK GOODNESS she decided finally to call it a day. I was exhausted!

My sweet fearless thing deserved a giant hot chocolate so that is what she got! What an epic skiing day.

We left Steamboat Mountain on a skiing high. Addie was practically a professional skier by now, and Collins deemed skiing her favorite activity ever. Brian's job was done! And the sun set on the way home was really pretty, too.

The sunrise over the little town of Oak Creek charmed us each morning, and this would be our last view of it. Today was our last day there, and we had to make the most of it with sledding, snow ball fights, fort-making, and a few last runs on the snowmobile. It was a fun-in-the-snow day!

Finally, the fun had come to an end. We had done it all at Oak Creek- all except ice skating at this old hockey rink in town. We couldn't match up our times to do it, but we'll cross that off the list on our next visit. We said goodbye to Grandma Betty, and thanked everybody for their hospitality. It was a place we would never forget!

We headed into Steamboat Springs for a tasty burger lunch and a moose ornament to take home as a souvenir. Then we hit this beautiful stretch of road for the ride back to Denver. We debated between going back the same way we came or taking a different road home. I kind of wanted to go back the same way because the scenery was so stunning, but they voted on going the other way. Turns out, you couldn't lose either way. There's the Steamboat ski resort high up on the mountain- see the runs?

Here's where the trip got a little dicey...the switch backs around the mountain made Brian almost panic- especially as it was getting dark and with ice all over the place.

After a very long and very stressful ride, we finally made it back to Denver! I don't think Brian has ever been so grateful to get out of the driver's seat as he was at that moment. 

We were excited to begin the last and final leg of our Colorado trip- Denver, horses, and Christmas- here we come!