Plenty of Sunlight

It was an early morning... and that usually means lots of grumpiness, but certainly not on this morning! We loaded up the Flex with luggage, skis, gear, and all seven of us... and made the hour and a half road trip down to Glenwood Springs, where for the next two days we would get our fill of Sunlight!

We made it to Sunlight Mountain Resort in good time... and for a Friday before a holiday weekend, there was surprisingly hardly anyone there. Needless to say, with all of us finally at the mountain ready to ski and with snow falling from the sky, we all were super excited... well, all but one of us anyway! Not sure what his deal was, but Allen was not a happy camper upon our arrival.

He did eventually calm down though... and cheered up

when he found something he could stick in his mouth!

"No seriously Mom... where are my skis?

I'm ready to go!"

Finally... all geared up and ready to hit the slopes. But only one of us could go, and the other one wasn't too happy about it!

Despite the name of the mountain, there wasn't much of it during the first half of the day... but I for one could not have cared any less! There was white stuff on the ground and I was so excited to finally ski down a perfectly good mountain!

Jason & Hampton, and Mandi & Sammy...

going up for the first (family) run of the day. 

Doesn't get much better than that!

Hamp & Sam held their own... and totally amazed me at how well they could ski and not fight with each other the entire day like Mandi & I did when we were that age!

Allen finally put some pants on and made it outside...

only to be completely mesmerized by all the snow!

Daddy made a pit-stop down at the lodge... just long enough to help Allen figure out how to walk on snow.

"Okay, I've mastered walking on snow...

now I want to ski on it!"

With all that hard work Allen was doing outside...

it was time to come back in and relax for a while.

Of course once Allen had his lunch...

it was time to prepare lunch for the adults.

A little liquid courage certainly helped a few of us

tame the wild mountain!

After lunch and some much needed rest, we headed back up while Allen & Jei waved and wished us luck from down below.

Once at the top, it was hard to resist a
High-Ridge Family photo with such an incredible view!

Meanwhile, down at the lodge... Allen & Jei snuggle for warmth

as an afternoon nap becomes inevitable!

Of course after a good little rest,

Allen is eager to get back out in the snow and play with his family!

The only thing to do after an amazing day of skiing...

is to go out to dinner and enjoy an amazing meal together!

We hit up a local brewery/restaurant in town, and after Allen played, organized & sorted all the silverware and sugar packets on the table, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and shared all our stories with one anther of how we shredded the mountain that day!

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel where a few of us relaxed in the outdoor hot-tub for a while before finally calling it a night.  The next day we found ourselves right back on top of the mountain we had skied the day before... but instead of clouds and snowfall, we got blue skies and lots of sunshine!

With such fantastic weather...

it was hard not to smile & be excited!

Allen & Jei of course hungout at the lodge together

while the rest of us played on the mountain.

Allen didn't seem to mind though...

as he was quite content with playing in the snow by himself!

"Okay, I've one pole. Now if I can just find another... 

and then some really small skis, I'll be golden!"

"Anybody see another pole that looks like this one?"

With no luck finding another pole or any other random abandoned gear, Allen was just happy to be outside.

Meanwhile... back at the top of the mountain,

I too, was happy to be outside!

The boys...

getting ready for another run down the mountain!

While Jason & I finished out the day with a few of our favorite runs... Hamp & Sam tapped out early to spend some time hanging out with their Cousin down at the lodge.

Time to relax, take in some frosty beverages & snacks,

and enjoy the sunshine!

If I didn't have the pictures to prove it, I wouldn't have believed it myself! Who would've thought... Sam & Allen sharing their food. Amazing!

Since Allen's name wasn't iPhone or iPad... the boys naturally got tired of playing with him and snuck off together to go play their electonic games. Go figure?!  

Aunt Moo called it quits early too.

She gave Jei a much needed break and took over babysitting duties.

"I know your Dad's crazy and he stinks. Trust me Allen, I know...

I had to put up with him for like fifteen years! It'll be okay." 

There definitely was a lot more people on the mountain the second day... but with such good weather it was really hard to complain. Speaking of which, it was really hard to complain about anything that we did or experienced on our little two-day excursion to Glenwood Springs! We all got plenty of skiing in and had a ton of fun! It was the perfect little ski trip.    

The ride home back to Meeker was brutal. We were all exhuasted, hungry, stinky, and the last thing any of us wanted to do was to sit in a car for nearly two hours... but Allen certainly had the right idea!