Snowshoeing the Blue Lake Trail up the Poudre Canyon

After a long (~ 2 hrs.), curvy drive up the Poudre Canyon (with one kid getting carsick (luckily only a stomach ache)) we made it to our destination.  The Blue Lake Trail is heavily wooded.  There was a good amount of fresh snow on the sides of a well packed down snowshoe trail.  The kids had many opportunities for playing:

There wasn't too much differentiation in colors on this snowshoe but I found this moss hanging from some trees that added a splash of color along the way.

The hubby dug out a hole for the kiddos to sit in and eat their lunch out of the wind.  (This was just a windy day, otherwise it wouldn't have been needed-I think he just wanted to play as well!)

We didn't make it too far but we did manage to have an enjoyable day.  My daughter complained about cold feet so we turned around earlier than expected.  (I do think I got played!)

We saw these sheep on the drive back down.

Snowshoe: Blue Lake

Trails Used:  Blue Lake (up the Poudre Canyon)

Distance:  2.9 miles (it's 5 miles out to the lake)
Difficulty: Easy (the portion we did)
Overall average: 1.2 mph
Overall Time: 2 hr, 25 min
Total Ascent: 394 ft.

Nothing beats a hot tub after a day of skiing!

We didn't even come close to tiring out the little people if they still had this much energy after skiing!  

I don't think she knows what he's up to and she's not going to take her eyes off of him until she figures it out!

 Incoming snowball!

 We all managed to get in there one day!

Beginner skiing at A-Basin

Grandma and Grandpa took the kids skiing at A-Basin.  The first day we started on the magic carpet and the bunny hill (Molly Hogan Lift) to get everyone reacquainted with skiing.  C was an old hat at this but it took Q a couple of runs to get back into the swing of things.  By the end of the morning they were pros!

Hot chocolate break with Grandma!

  We came back for another day and they ventured up the Black Mountain Express Lift (the lines were a bit longer than the Molly Hogan) to try out some blue runs.  They did fantastic and had a great day!

 The hubby and I strapped on our snowshoes 

and hiked up the mountain to visit them at the top and have lunch.

 It was windy but warm enough that it was a perfect day to be up on the mountain.

 By the end of the day everyone was worn out and needed a hot tub!

Snowshoe: A-Basin
Trails Used:  Wrangler & Sundance

Distance:  3.76 miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Overall average: 2.3 mph
Overall Time: 1 hr, 40 min
Total Ascent: 1242 ft.

Christmas spent with family!

Christmas seemed to come too quickly this year for me but I don't think it was quick enough for my kids.  They had an action packed week with their four cousins, aunts and uncles, and one set of grandparents.

A visit with Mr. & Mrs. Claus

Super Bowl fun with a Baltimore Ravens Party!

The kids were really excited about watching the last football game of the season so we decided to have a 'family' party.  We all were to contribute ideas as to what type of food would be best.  Obviously, we didn't hit all of our food groups but you've got to break the rules sometimes! 

C's idea:  Egg rolls.  I had never made these before and they were great.  I didn't fry them so they didn't have quite the same texture on the outside but they were crisp and good.

I made some sweet and sour sauce that turned out pretty nice.

 

Q wanted ice cream.  She wanted Kit Kats, and C wanted peanut butter.  So that's what I made.  It was a tasty combination w/ my new bourbon Madagascar vanilla beans that just came in the mail last week.

And last but not least the hubby and I wanted beer.  Our friends had just given us this turtle to make a Black & Tan so we tried it out.  Unfortunately, I couldn't wait long enough to take a picture with it's nice head or even a full glass.  :)  Cheers!

We were going to do meatballs as well but we had too many leftovers from the night before.  Maybe we'll do those for our next 'family' party!