Powder

Monday was President's Day... but the 'P' in President's could have very well stood for Powder on this Holiday! With no school for the kids or the Principal, and a snow storm pounding the Steamboat Springs area... it was a no brainer where we were going that day! As you can tell from the picture, once we finally got there that morning... Hamp & Sam were beside themselves and could not have been any more excited about skiing powder! 

Naturally, Hamp & Sam weren't the only ones super excited about skiing that day! Although given the amazing ski conditions that morning... Sammy might have been even more excited about riding the Gondola for the first time!

The Gondola ride up was nice... but once we were out in the elements, it was cold, snowy, and the ride to the top of the mountain looked like this!

There was more than a foot of fresh powder on the ground...

which gave Mandi & I a severe case of perma-grin!

Once at the top, I let the High-Ridges go do their family run together... and while I'm sure it was a treat to see both boys try to figure out how to manuever their skis in snow that was up to their waist, I think judging from the pics below, Jason may have been a little frustrated that he had to wait on everyone else and not just shred down the moutain on his own pace!

Mandi going down at her usual snail's pace... trying her best not to eat it in front of everyone watching from the lift.

Hamp: "This is sooo much fun... but a lot harder than it looks!"

And finally Sammy...

who decides to take a breather halfway down.

So while Mandi and her Boyz tackled a few powder filled runs together, I went to go explore the snowy mountain on my own... where I found the scenery just as amazing as I did the actual skiing!

That's one big thumbs up and one big hidden smile

for some fantastic ski conditions!

Fresh tracks through the trees was the best!!!

Probably not the brightest idea to ski alone, especially because of the gnarly runs I was attempting... but with views like this, you really weren't thinking about anything bad happening.

The snow may have stopped falling after lunch... but there was no way I was stopping and missing out on the last afternoon of near-perfect skiing I'll get in this year!

After Jason refueled with Mandi & the Boys, he eventually joined up with me... where I proceeded to take him on one of the gnarliest and certainly one of the most fun runs either of us had ever done... where getting lost in the trees was a good thing!

Of course once the snow stopped, the clouds started to depart as well.

And before we knew it, there were blue skies,

soft fluffy snow, and some very happy skiers!

Did I mention amazing views too???

Near the end of the day, we finally met up with Mandi, Sam & Hamp... and enjoyed a nice long (exhausting) run down the entire mountain together! 

Between all the great snow, multiple Gondola rides,

and sking with his family, Sammy was one happy little boy!

The High-Ridges... shredding the last run of the day together.

Maybe instead of long cold lifts, we all had wings to fly back up to the top of the mountain after each run... and if Steamboat Spring's Billy Kidd and Dad-Oh tagged along with us and we all skied down the mountain together... that might have been the only way this ski day could've been any more perfect!

Even after the last run of the day, making it back to the car, and downloading all our gear... the Boys still couldn't get enough of that soft fluffy snow! 

Family, Skiing, and Powder.

Three good reasons to smile!

Being with family together on the ski slopes really made me think about how on Earth two Floridians (for all intents & purposes) came to love being on a snowy mountain so much. Only two words came to mind: Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh! I suppose if they would've taken Mandi & I antiquing every year, we would've fallen in love with antiquing. But that of course didn't and would've never happened. What they did do however, is take us, the family, on amazing ski vacations... and naturally, what they loved to do inevitably got in our blood and is now what we love to do! So our family past, present and future endeavors having to do with all things mountainous and snowy will always be attributed to our parent's financial ability, but more importantly their desire & passion to travel, vacation, and partake in great snowy adventures with their family during the winter months. And for that Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh, I most sincerely thank you! We always miss you when you're not there with us on the mountain!