Sugar Mountain Getaway

A ski weekend! We had to wait until the end of winter to go skiing again this year (basketball season just gets in our way), but we were so excited to make a trip to Sugar Mountain thanks to sweet Aunt Kim.

Let's just say we were very thankful to arrive at her cozy cabin because the road trip there was not pleasant. Car sickness, driving rain, traffic jams, mountain fog, and a screaming baby threatened to derail our plans. But 5 1/2 hours later, we finally made it!

And the girls were even up early the next day ready to hit the slopes...

Mom and Baba came up the mountain to help us watch Luke so we could take the girls skiing...

But turns out Addie didn't think buying lift tickets, sizing up boots, ski poles, helmets and getting dressed in all that heavy gear was actually that fun...

But finally we were ready to hit the slopes!

Collins took one run on the bunny slope and was ready to go higher...

She picked it back up immediately and confidently (but cautiously) skied down her first slope...

Poor Addie did not have the same good experience. She fell down early on and could not recover. Despite Brian and my best efforts, our girl had the biggest meltdown the bunny slope at Sugar has probably ever seen. Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but trust me- it was ugly. Brian and I agreed that we had never been more frustrated with sweet Addie in her whole life. She is always so good and responsible, but on that day, she dug her heels in and refused to even try and did a lot of crying. It was hard for us to see her quit- especially knowing what a good biker and roller skater she is. I bet she could be really good on skis, but we never got the chance to see that this year. Mimi came and rescued her from the bunny slope, which freed us up to enjoy skiing with Collins.

And this girl was ready to move onto blues!

Luckily, the conditions were much better this year than last. There was a decent snow base, and despite it being a little on the warm side, we were able to get a lot of runs in.

Brian and Collins scared me by dragging me up this fast lift to the top of the mountain. I thought we were going to have to go down a black, and I am not comfortable doing that. But turns out it was a really fun winding blue with a really great view the whole time. It turned out to be my favorite run.

We skied from 10 a.m. until almost 4 p.m. and had a great time! For Brian, skiing is one of the most fun activities you can do. For me, I enjoy it but it's sometimes too much work. Collins takes more after her Dad and seems like a natural at it. On this day, I remembered why I like skiing- whizzing down a hill with the sun and the breeze on your face, getting exercise, and doing something different was so enjoyable!

Back at the ranch, we found Baba and Luke hunting down rocks...both with a smile on their face. These two just love each other.

And Mom and Addie were having a good time too...

Luke and I lucked out when we walked down to the creek/side of the slope and discovered this large machine grooming the slopes. He was amazed and talked about it for days. :)

That night, we watched basketball, played games, ate spaghetti, enjoyed the fireplace, and went to bed early! Skiing and Luke both wear you out.

The next morning, Brian and Collins decided to risk the rainy forecast and attempt to ski one more day. The rest of us decided to try our luck with gem mining. Turns out we were the only ones there because that dirty muddy water you have to get your hands in is COLD in the winter!

 Oh well, we did our best and despite our cold hands came away with lots of crystals!

Luke was pretty confused by the whole process but was into getting dirty.

Turns out, Brian and Collins made the right choice to go skiing because they had the slopes to themselves. It was pretty crowded on Saturday, but on Sunday they didn't have to dodge other skiers and enjoyed cold conditions. Afterwards, Brian confirmed that Collins is definitely ready for the Colorado mountains!

We love going to Sugar Mountain. It's such a cute place, and we love exposing the kids to the mountains and skiing. Collins is now totally hooked; the challenge will be to convince her sister that skiing is actually fun. Next year, Sugar Mountain! 😏