We love skiing!!

This ski trip was actually about 8 months ago, we had so much fun I decided to do a post about it. Michael and I had been wanting to go skiing for so long, but being in school, and me being 9 months pregnant kept pushing the whole idea of skiing back. Well finally in 2007 we get to go!! We were so excited! We went with our friends Trent and Brittney Buchanan, who actually live in Denver. They moved out there for Trent to do a GPR.

Brittney came to pick us up at the airport, with cute little moose sitting right beside her (moose is there dog). When we step out of revolving door to hop in the car, O MY GOSH!!!! it was soooooo COLD!! I cant really remember the temperature, but Brittney said it was a record low. In my mind I started freaking out. There is no way I was going to withstand this temp. Luckily Michael packed me a little surprise. Toe and hand warmers!!! These little guys have changed my life. I never wanted to use them before because I thought they would bunch up. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be skiing and feel like I have a rock under my foot. Amazingly enough all they did was keep my toes and fingers warm.

OK we head to their Loft. Yall!!! It was such a cute place. Brittney had it decorated really great. Very urban. It was on the end so it had windows on two sides and exposed ceiling, very artsy. That night we all went to eat down town. I had never really stayed or walked around the "city" of Denver before. We always drove from the airport straight to the mountains. Well let me just tell you, there are a ton of restaurants, great shopping, fun atmosphere, snow falling as you walk down the street, the whole deal. Very cute.

We headed back to the loft. We had to pack up and get to bed, because we were heading out early that next morning. I think we left around 5 something? The 4 runner looked hilarious. We had ski's, ski poles, snow boards, ski boots, luggage, food, hats, gloves in the car with us. No not on top. In the car. Oh yeah, and 5 passengers. We took one of there friends, Matt, with us to meet his girl friend who was already there. Brittney and I were laughing sitting in the back, we could barely see one another through all the skis. Plus we were all dressed in our ski garb.

We made it to beaver creek in good timing. We unloaded all our ski stuff and headed toward the mountain. On our way to the lifts I kept saying prayers. Lord, please don't let me get hurt. If any of you have ever skied with Michael, you know he is an excellent skier. When we were juniors at Auburn he and about 8 other guys lived in Vail, Co for about 5 months . Michael thought it was his job to ski every single day. Therefore he became really good. He also tends to think the roped off areas are the "fun areas", and trees are great for dodging and improve your cutting. I on the other hand, like to have fun skiing. I don't like to see my life flash before my eyes as I head down the mountain. Needless to say I knew I was not going to be spending a lot of time on groomed trails if I wanted to ski with Michael.

Well on the way up the lift somehow I talked Michael into going down some blues to warm up, we even went down some blacks. Brittney actually was with a friend having private snow boarding lessons (she wanted to try something new). What a brave soul. Trent decided to go check on her. We skied for a little longer then went to meet all of them for lunch. I knew my time was coming. After lunch we headed back up the the mountain.

I knew this time felt different. We kept on taking different lifts, the whole while, I was not aware where I was going. We got off the lift, skied down a little, and all of a sudden there was no one around. I had no idea where I was. All I knew was that the snow was up to my waist. Well... it was the back side of the Mountain! I always get a little scared when we ski there. I mean seriously, what do you do if you get hurt? Just wait? What the heck! To be quite honest the only reason I go, is to make sure I don't lose a husband. Michael says you go there for the best snow. Apparently he thinks the "best snow" is snow that comes up to your waist. Oh yeah, there were trees everywhere too. Michael was having the time of his life. I was holding on for dear life. The next thing I knew, I was flying down the hill, head first toward a tree. I lost a ski but didn't hit the tree. Thank you Jesus!! I could not move, every time I moved I started sinking deeper and deeper. I even tried to use my pole to help me stand up, it wouldn't hit the ground. The snow was too deep. Michael had to ski over to me and offer me a pole to drag me out from under the tree.

Now after skiing about an hour and a half through the trees and over the rocks, we finally found some lifts to guide us back down the mountain. After I realized I wasn't going to be stuck on that mountain for the rest of my life, and I would in fact get to see my son again, I thought that was the best skiing EVER!! Funny how things change when you are safe on the ground.

We met back up with everybody and went to dinner. It was so cold we wanted to go back to the hotel and make a fire. It was a two room and a kitchen kinda place. Well I can't remember anything after that except Trent tried to kill us! Totally kidding Trent. We built a fire, all fell asleep, and woke up to thick smoke everywhere. Actually I don't think Michael even woke up. Well Trent and Brittney were in the den and freezing. The fire was out so Trent closed the flu to keep the cold air from getting in. Next thing you know SMOKE!!! Everybody was fine and lived to tell the story. It made for an exciting night.
After another couple of days of skiing, we headed back to Denver. Trent was on call, so we needed to stay close. They were great tour guides. Brittney took us to her pottery studio. It was an old house with a bunch of different artists. It was really fun to see. You all should check out her website brittneycate.com. All her pottery is really cute. The next day we headed back to Birmingham to pick up baby Finn. We were both so excited to see him!!!!

This last picture is Michael looking for my long lost ski:)