We went skiing last weekend at SnoFest '09, which is a big ski weekend for military families at Keystone, CO. I highly recommend this trip and we plan to take it again next year. We stayed at the ski resort at the River Run condos. Most importantly, we got a condo with a balcony so we could proudly hang our Coast Guard and Pittsburgh Steelers flags from the balcony. our place was perfectly situated facing the entrance for all to see our proud display. We drove up last Friday morning, leaving the Springs at 6am. It was about a 2.5 trip to the resort. We stopped at Virgin Island Ski Rental to pick up skiis for my sister-in-law who flew in from the Burg for the trip. I highly recommend this place for rentals and for buying other ski stuff. We bought skis for our 4 year old there, skis for me for cheap, and a crazy hat for me.
Once we hit the resort, I dropped off Mouse and his sister so they could hit the slopes and ski. I visited the hospitality tent at the foot of the slopes and picked up badges for everyone for the weekend, which got in places and special discounts for the weekend. The hospitality tent rocked and had tons of food, drink, and toys including much needed hand and footwarmers, hats and more. If you are going, stop here first. There, I scored tix to take the family ice skating at the rink onsite, which is the biggest ice skating rink in the N. America. More on that later.
Next, the cherubs and I went to go check in to our room and we were able to check in at 10am. Woo hoo! Lovin' it.
What to do with my little girls? They are a little young to ski, and I questioned whether they would be able to sit through ski school so we decided to switch off watching them, with childcare adding up to $240 PER DAY! I am thinking, I can do a lot with that. So. I treated the girls to a gondola (Princess calls it Gorn-GOOLA) ride up to the top of the mountain which they ATE UP and thoroughly enjoyed. Then, I took them to the only 4 star restaurant, Alpenglow Stube, on top of a ski mountain for a lunch. It was a buffet, and the girls are accustomed to eating in big girl restaurants so I thought it would be a good thing. Lunch was good, service was slow, I mean how can a buffet take 1.5 hours, really? Anyhoo, it was enjoyable mostly and made for a fun adventure. We'll especially remember all three of us being greeted with warm fuzzy slippers at the door and our great view of the skiers on the mountain.
Then we hung out in our condo and relaxed before the first evening dinner party. If you are going to SnoFest, you gotta get the dinner party tix. The first party was "ready to rumble" where everyone was to wear their favorite team gear. Let me tell you, we were all Steelered out. My girls were in their Steeler cheerleader outfits, had their terrible towels, Steelers build-a-bears, pom-poms and we were ready with mom, dad and SIL in jerseys too. The dinner was a good buffet with plenty of food/drinks to suit everyone's tastes. We all enjoyed dancing after dinner to the live band and I was delighted to see my 4 year old can really dance, shake her booty and has rhythm like her parents. We also won an IPod and a Pepsi snow saucer. Princess and SIL got their pix taken at the SnoFest photobooth.
Saturday am, I got to go skiing. Unfortunately, I was sick that weekend and didn't feel much like skiing. I was glad I went anyway and hit the slopes for several hours. I LOVED it and can't wait til next year when the girls will definitely be old enough for ski school. While Mouse and I skiied, SIL got the girls in their snowsuit and they hit the playground outside of our condo to play in the snow and make snow angels. I took the girls in the afternoon to a sleigh ride while Mouse and SIL hit the slopes again. The sleigh ride was "ok" but I don't think I would do it next year. It was something new to do with the girls that they could do at their age. Spidergirl fell asleep as soon as we hit the sleigh. That in itself made the trip worth it as she is not a good sleeper when we travel. Princess fell asleep on the bus ride home from the sleigh ride. A big thanks to a fellow military woman who carried Princess, while I carried Spidergirl 15 minutes back to the car, while they slept.
We got back to the condo and got ready for that evening's dinner party. The party was great again with dancing, good southern BBQ food and prizes. Gotta do the parties.
Last day was Sunday and the ski duo completed their goal of hitting each slope at least once. I tood 90 minutes to get my cranky girls suited up and dressed to go ice skating. Ice skating was awesome. I rented an LL bean sled for spiderbaby and got Princess in ice skates for the first time ever. I also rented a walker for her to use on the ice and after a couple spills and tears, she quickly got the hang of it and was running around on the rink and having a blast. Her dad would have been soooo proud.
Before we left the resort, we had a great lunch at Pizza on the Run and headed home.
A word of caution, drive carefully on I-70 on the way home. Traffic is stop/go and cars stop really suddenly.
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