MLK Weekend

For the federal holiday (MLK-Day), we decided to take a trip up to the mountains.  Ashley's parents (aka Bode's Nana and Papa) were in town.  It'd been a couple weeks since we had been up to the mountain estate, which meant there was probably a little bit more snow on the ground.  This means shoveling.  And not your usual kind of shoveling.  There is a lot of snow that falls on the ground--it's almost impossible to walk across the flat part of our lot.  I tried and ended up waist-deep in snow.  Because of this, I needed to shovel some dog runs, which was quite exhausting because the snow is deep and also very heavy.  However, the dogs seemed to appreciate it, so I don't mind (too much).

On Saturday, we tried to do some skiing, and I emphasize tried.  Saturday of a three-day weekend meant it was crowded.  Added to this was the fact that it was very cold, so much so that Bode was near tears because his thumbs were so cold after 30 minutes on the mountain.  Thus, we cut the day short, which is the beauty of owning a season pass.  However, we did get some more epic shots.

The first one is supposed to be us in a canoe, with Bode acting as Captain.  A little corny, yes but we laughed.  Next is a family picture--note how you can't see any mountains in the background.  There was no sun, it was cloudy, and windy, and when you are riding lifts 30 feet off the ground sitting on a metal chair, and you know you have a season pass, you wonder why you came out at all :-)

Sunday was a better day.  Only Ashley and I went because the forecast was also for cold weather, but it was somewhat sunny.  Plus, we had about six inches of fresh snow.  The conditions were fantastic, and the crowds really weren't there in the morning.  I didn't take many action shots because I didn't want my hand to get cold, but I did take a shot of Ashley on the lift.  We skied almost uninterrupted for 3+ hours.  A fabulous day.

On Sunday, David, Teddy, and Charlie joined us at the estate.  It's always nice to visit with the cousins.  The boys entertained themselves with a game of Uno...

while the rest of us relaxed and watched the dreaded, err, beloved Donkos beat the Steelers in a playoff game.

On Monday, David and Ashley took Teddy and Bode skiing.  I stayed home because I just can't do three days in a row, even if one day was a short one.  I guess I'm old (but I did have some more shoveling to do, so it's not like I was napping).  Here are some sweet shots brother, sister, and cousins.

Like all weekends, this one ended, and we had to come home.  Joey is a rather easy dog with which to travel, as he just puts his head down and sleeps...

while Harley spends the entire time standing up in the back seat of the Xterra.

We did have one fun item to greet us when we returned.  Bode got an inflatable shark for Christmas, and I finally got it filled with helium.  It was a bit of a disappointment, because it didn't really float; evidently that is a common problem for these things at altitude.  Still, we hung the beast in the foyer.

We will probably do some relaxing this weekend.  We might even get up the energy to take the Christmas lights down :-)  Pleasant week to all.