Spring Break: Springs & Skiing

 Our first couple days of actual Spring Break were so fun in Colorado Springs with the Baileys. Games, exploring, cave tours, Garden of the Gods, and just fun being together!

Plus setting up St. Patrick's Day was so funny -- my favorite thing was trying to put green mustaches on our sleeping children with Jamie. Everyone tolerated it (too well?) except Asher, who was not going to allow such a thing, even in his sleep. Green milk, rainbow fruit, Lucky Charms, coins in shoes, and green pee in the toilet (!) plus some leprechaun traps that might have better luck next year!

Garden of the Gods is such a gorgeous place. Seeing an emu there was unexpected. I'll probably never trust one again after being chased last time I met one. But this one was well-behaved.

We made it home Tuesday night and then spent Wednesday skiing with the Schmidts. The older boys had so much fun skiing together all day! Their lesson went well again and Camden is totally a natural. Truly he's better than I am, which is not hard to be, but still impressive after just a couple trips. He got bored with me and wanted Michael to take him on some more exciting runs :) I'll probably never keep up super well with my family on the ski slopes but we'll always have the lift rides! And I did fine on all those slushy blues today so it's all good.

After skiing we were BEAT. We went from one trip to the next to the next, and we were ready for a couple down days of Spring Break. We had one pretty empty day and one day full of make up tennis lessons before our last lessons on Saturday. Jamie took my kids to the Greeley Library (which is a total destination, I never knew!) one day and I got some much needed work done, so I was grateful for that.

In the end I just laugh at our "empty" spring break -- it quickly filled up with friends and fun even though we had planned on not traveling anywhere since our year has been busy with family plans and our Florida trip. This break was so fun! We all loved it.

Sleeping Queens, classic.

Cave of the Winds tour

That time Joseph was chased by a goose.

Setting up St. Patrick's Day

These pictures will forever make us giggle.
They just accepted this, 
but no one woke up with it still on :)

Asher was NOT having it. He's just rub it off instantly every time.

Walking her Emu. ?????

Meeting the Emu!
Wild.

What a warm winter.
This was a slushy ski day but still so fun!

We love the Schmidts!

Greeley Library.
I had no idea it was such a happening spot.

Boulder to the Springs

Technically Spring Break is next week, but we're kicking it off early!

I had a super busy week with Comma and I really wanted to get everything sorted so I could leave all my work at home on our Spring Break fun, but it didn't quite work out. But we still had a really good week full of tennis, karate, book club (I really did love Project Hail Mary), kindergarten math, parent teacher conferences, book fairs, and then the Spring Break Costco Trip.

Then, we took off to Boulder to stay with the Behunins and the Gregorys in an Airbnb. The Behunins are about to welcome a little baby soon so it felt like a fun little baby moon where all your friends come with their kids (sorry guys). We played games and ate a lot of food (we had enough food to stay like four more nights I think?) and watched basketball and hot-tub-talked and had pie-eating contests (or kicking, if you're Asher). Carrie did a little church meeting for us Sunday morning and I was feeling so full of love for our friends. We have such good ones. 

Also, I'm loving the Emma M. Lion books SO much right now, and during our stay here I was reading the whole part where Emma goes to Stonecrop. It felt so fun to be somewhere away from home with friends I just love reading about Emma being away from home with friends she just loves. IYKYK. And I know.

We drove home, did a load of laundry, ate lunch, then I piled my boys back in the car and drove them to Colorado Springs. We stayed in a quirky old house for two nights with the Baileys where I got to feel lucky all over again for good friends. We truly feel beyond blessed in that area.

Sunday we ate dinner, did Come Follow Me, hot tubbed, played games, and chatted. The boys all slept in one room even though there was room to spare, with Camden and Asher with me. So fun. This week we'll do some cave exploring and more fun down here before we keep on Spring Breaking back home!

Kitty shows her old age by wanting a lot of good food and wanting to be really cozy.
Same, girl.

She finds Michael IMMEDIATELY when he goes to bed, and wants to be all snuggled up.

Grandparent FaceTimes with Asher boy.

I am a sourdough girl through and through now.
A toasted slice with extra butter, nothing better.

Lots of grilled chicken and greek pork for our Boulder dinner with friends.

The Boulder AirBnB. This was so fun!

Some fun out on the ropes course before the windiest wind.

The windiest of windy hikes.
Pelted rocks. See: Camden's face.

Heading back inside for survival.

The main bedroom had the largest shower room ever,
so we had a pie eating contest in it.

And some pie face games.

Only a few of us made it out clean.
Also, ask me about when Asher kicked his pie.
Core memory.

We went home, did a load of laundry, got back in the car,
and everyone promptly fell asleep.

Then we woke up in Colorado Springs with the Baileys!
We missed Michael for this next leg of our adventure.

I love those Bailey girls. Mom and daughters included.

Some were brave enough for the hot tub.

It's funny how a place you've never been can feel homey with the right people!

Game night

Jamie and I packed the same book.
We're ready for St. Patrick's Day :)