Telluride, Colorado

Kelly & I just got back from a wonderful trip to Telluride, CO.  We went to have a fun ski trip and were not disappointed!  We left last Wednesday and were in Telluride until Sunday.  It was such a nice trip for the 2 of us.  Kelly had been wanting to take a ski trip out west for a while now.  We had only went skiing in N.C. so we wanted to go out west where there was more trails and the most beautiful scenery.  Kelly put a lot of time into planning this trip.  He originally had planned for us to go to Park City, Utah, but after researching Colorado he decided on Telluride.  We loved it!  I was a little worried initially because after booking everything he told me that our lodge would be at an altitude of 9,500 ft.  Anything above 8,000 ft can give you altitude sickness, especially going from our little 700-800 altitude straight to 9,000 ft.  After talking to the resort and our family doctor, we were able to get medicine to start before the trip and during which would help.  We did fine with it and other than tiring out quicker and a little messed up sleep we didn't notice much.
On Wednesday after we arrived we just took it easy and then decided to explore the town of Telluride.  One of the coolest things about this place was the gondola which was the enclosed chair lift "thing" that took you into the Mountain Village or on into the town of Telluride.  We were amazed at how beautiful the mountains were and the town too.  I will apologize now for all the pictures!  I took so many, and this is just a few but I couldn't narrow them down any more.  I have been out west several times but it was still so pretty!

Our lodge...Mountain Lodge

Here is one of the gondolas...our transportation during the trip!

A view of Telluride from our gondola...coming straight down!

Houses in Telluride...I thought they were so cute and colorful!

This river runs through the city and is a big hiking spot during the summer

 After dinner each night we would head back to our room and warm up!  Even though we knew it was warmer than usual for Telluride, we were still freezing once the sun went down.  The days were in the 30s and skiing was great, but it dropped at night and I enjoyed the fireplace in our room!  
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we skied all day.  Friday we did take the afternoon off to explore the town and shop.  I wanted to have some daylight hours and not be totally cold :)  The great thing about skiing was there were no lines.  We never waited on the chair lifts and the trails are very long so you don't get tired of skiing the same trails over and over.  We had plenty to cover.  I had been very nervous since it had been a couple of years since I had skied but luckily we both picked it up and even got better while we were there.  After 3 straight days of skiing though I think we should have :)  Our thighs were glad to stop on Saturday afternoon.  I probably took pictures of the same spots over and over but the views were fantastic!  I enjoyed looking at the pretty houses along the trails too.  Here are some of our ski pictures.

This was a rest spot at the top of the mountain...High Camp

Another fabulous view

This trail went down into the town of Telluride, you can see a little of the town.  It was a black diamond so we skipped it:)

Riding the chair lift up the mountain

Another part of Telluride was the Mountain Village.  This was right up from our lodge and it has more resorts & hotels, restaurants, and shops.  We ate in Mountain Village our last night there.  I also had fun taking pictures at night.  As you can tell we just really enjoyed ourselves and our little time away.  I sure did miss the girls though and we were so glad to see them once we got home.  They were in bed so we had to wait until Monday morning.  We both decided that our next ski trip will definitely include Cohen.  I watched so many young kids in the ski schools and that really made me want to bring her.
While we were in Telluride, it was clear the entire time!  We missed out on seeing it snow and I even took a picture of one sign in town saying, "Pray for Snow".  I'm just glad we missed out on the negative temps that were there earlier in the week before we arrived.  Everyone we talked too said it was so cold that you couldn't stand to be out in it.  On Saturday after we were finished skiing, we spent some time in the hot tub.  It is really something to be in a bathing suit when its 30 degrees outside.  I kept telling Kelly no until that last day and I compromised on going during the day instead of at night when it was colder.  It was very nice and we did get hot, but we got a kick out of ourselves walking back down the hill to our cabin in bathrobes and Nikes.  I don't think cute winter dresses work out there too much, at least not for me.  At night we had thermals on under our clothes so it was a pants night!  I loved it though and I do hope to go back to Telluride one day!

A view of the slopes where we skied in & out of each day

Coming into Mountain Village on the gondola

the CUTEST phone booth...I was amazed to still see phone booths!

Mountain Village during the day

Our view from our balcony

Some Fun Night time shots

our lodge

Looking over the slopes into Mountain Village and a view of Mountain Lodge

Mountain Village

The ice skating rink in Mountain Village

Sunrise...you can see where it is starting to hit the mountain.  I think this picture would almost look like a b/w if not for that little bit of sunlight.

Riding the gondola from the town of Telluride back to Mtn. Village...sunset

Ski time...Day 1

Relaxing in the hot tub while its freezing outside the water!

Our ride back to GA

Atlanta Hot Chocolate 5K

I'm playing catch up since Kelly & I have been out of town.  Last weekend, a week ago yesterday, me and my friend Dawn did the Atlanta Hot Chocolate 5k run.  We left on Saturday afternoon, headed to Atlanta to get our race packets, and then hung out.  We did a little shopping and had dinner then headed to our hotel to just relax.  With kids this is something you can really take for granted!  We really just talked and watched T.V. but we had a fun time.  Sunday we had to be at Turner Field by 6:30!  We were thinking we were probably crazy at this point...getting up VERY early to run 3 miles!  It was so much fun though.  We had about an hour to walk around and check everything out.  Everything was very well organized and very upbeat for such an early morning.  There were about 19,000 people there so needless to say there was a lot going on!  Some were running the 15K but we were doing the 5k with a little over 9,000 people!  Everyone was grouped into corrals to help space things out and we got to start in corral C so we didn't have to wait too long.  It was neat to run in downtown and we both did great!  I have to say I was proud of both of us.  Now we have to sign up for our next fun run!!

6:30...ready to run!

Finished!!  Showing off our big hot chocolate mug

Cohen's First Dentist Appointment

I probably look like an awful mom admitting that I'm just now taking my daughter for her first dentist appointment.  It has been one of those things I've been meaning to do for so long and finally we got it done!  I made the appointment and never told Cohen a thing about it.  She gets so anxious about any kind of doctor visit and I knew this would be the same.  Her appointment was this week on Tuesday.  I had my mom sit with Kate while we went and Cohen had heard me say she had an appointment.  She kept asking what kind and I would never answer.  She would say "I'm so nervous about my appointment" but I only would assure her it was not a doctor and no shots were going to be involved.  We pulled up to the dentist's office and it is right beside our church here in town.  She said, "hmm, I've never been here before."  I got out and went around to her door to get her out.  About that time she looked at me and said, "Is this the dentist?"  I just had to laugh and asked her how did she know that.  Well she immediately started to cry and said, "I don't want to be here."  I carried her in and after promising her it would not be painful nor would she get a shot she started to be ok with it.  She had several questions but most were about braces and I told her again that she was no where near the age for braces and that an orthodontist did those not our dentist.  When it was her turn she was ready.  Mostly ready to pick out the flavor of toothpaste which I had also told her about.  She was already wanting bubblegum.  She did fantastic!  They did her x-ray and cleaning and she was so brave.  I kept telling her how good she was doing and only once did she look at me and said "I want to go home."  She was excited to get a goodie bag when she was finished and got a red toothbrush for Georgia.  She was pretty excited and couldn't wait to get back to our house to tell Bebe how brave she was.  I told her  that her teeth were sparkling like glitter and I even saw sparkles and that really thrilled her.  She was worried that the "sparkles" would go away when she ate but I told her they wouldn't.   I was so proud of her and like I thought, she had beautiful teeth.  She is a little ahead of schedule which means her 6 year molars may start coming through soon but other than that she was good.  No wigglies just yet but they think it could be soon when the bottom teeth start to loosen.  I love her teeth so I'm dreading that.  They are so straight, and I only hope we can be half that lucky with the permanent ones!

Getting her x-ray

Happy New Year!

We had a very good New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  I don't have many pictures but we spent both days with friends and family and I can't think of a better way to ring it in.  On New Year's Eve we had so much fun at the Burton's!  We ate, talked, played cards, then watched the always great fireworks show.  Both girls did very well and lasted until midnight.  Cohen is still deathly afraid of fireworks so while we watched outside she sat in the car playing my phone.  At least she didn't cry and did it all without earphones this time.  We are slowly getting there hopefully :)  The one time she was crying was because she had to use the bathroom.  I held Kate and she watched while she fought keeping her eyes open.  I think both of them were out as soon as their sweet heads hit the pillows.  It was a great night!  We tried getting a family picture before we headed out that night which was quite funny...anyway, it was our last picture of 2012!

attempt 1...not so good

attempt #10....as good as its gonna get!

Loved spending my New Year's Eve with these fabulous ladies!

On New Year's Eve we ate lunch and watched the GA game with several people at Alan & Jennifer's house.  The food was so good and it was awesome seeing our Bulldawgs bring home a win.  That night we ate with my mama at my aunt & uncle's house and we had the best time.  I always love being with family and I hope to make that a resolution for this year.  To spend more quality time with family especially the ones I don't always see the most.  I enjoy doing that so much and I love learning more and more about all my family members.  I love to really get to know more about them.  I guess I appreciate all this stuff the older I get :)
Happy New Year!!