christmas break in the breck!

this just in......we all arrived back in washington with "0" broken bones....truly a christmas miracle! we had a great time with the fox family in colorado the past 4 days...we had plenty of skiing, talking, laughing, shopping, and the best part eating! the cousins had a great time chasing each other around the condo, filling the place with constant squeals and giggles! grady gave it his all in the learning department--the first day was full of misery...both for him and daddy---the second outing went much better...he almost has skiing down! if his little legs could just keep up! it is hilarious to hear him talk about his skiing adventures...you would think he was a war veteran or something! he speaks of the time he fell down on his bottom, waiting in the long line at the lift, and when dad let him go down the mountain all by himself....just ask him he will be more than happy to share his stories! gabe is nearing pro level---shawn and him even skiied a black slope!! he is definitely a much better skiier than dear old mom!! i never left the comforts of the green slopes, i spent 2 days skiing, much of which i actually enjoyed!! the second day in the afternoon, i went out by myself--and ended up cross country skiing for a better part of one run!! i was in search of the area shawn had went to and as many of you know i am no genius map reader...so i ended up taking a wrong run and cross countried through some trees and around a lake...lovely! after that, i decided to stick to what i know and skiied downhill the rest of the afternoon! shawn had a great time trying to get the life insurance cashed out for the boys and i!! seth and him spent a couple of afternoons on the double diamonds....taking some nasty spills, but otherwise coming away unscathed! boys will be boys! on saturday evening gid, mia, gabe and grady all wanted to go swimming so we headed out---what a mistake!! the pool was an outdoor pool covered by a greenhouse sort of tent! when you walked into the tent you couldn't see but about a foot in front of you because of all the steam!! i opted to stay on the side, while shawn and shannon braved the cold water with the kids...when it was time to leave, i ran outside and got the vehicle warmed up so we would return with 4 kids and not 4 icicles!! the kids had a great time, but the adults decided we would not be returning for another dip on sunday evening!! on sunday after the slopes closed we took some of the kids sledding! this was probably one of my favorite parts of our trip!! the runs were great for sledding and after being skiied on all day they made for some fast sledding! uncle seth took the first run "to make sure it was okay" and he went flying down the hill...so we opted to start the kids a little further down the hill! aunt manda took all three kids down the hill -- missing the bushes by the skin of our teeth...someone didn't have hold of the string, so she used her feet to finally get them steered...needless to say that was the last time i took them down the hill! uncle shawn was the master sledder making run after run!! the kids had a blast even when they had to trek back up the hill! while we were sledding, a fox came walking right across the path, obviously very used to people. i was able to get a few shots before he was scared into the trees by a snowmobile! we had a fantastic time with all of our family--we are very thankful everyone returned home in one piece--although perhaps a little sore!