Telluride Winter Vacation

Telluride, Colorado

Ski Vacation

February 21-25, 2013

We started off our skiing adventure bright and early on the morning of February 21st...3:45am to be exact! We had to be up, packed and out the door by 4:45am to make it over to my parent's house by 5:15am. We had to drop off Dory and then head out to the airport to check numerous bags, go through security (at Charlotte Douglas can be a nightmare) and be sure all 11 boarding passes were correct! We had two flights to get to our destination...Charlotte to Houston and then Houston to Montrose. Each flight was 2.25 to 2.5 hours long and we had an okay layover in each city. Once in Colorado, we had a 1.5 hour drive to Mountain City/Telluride. 

Let's just say that I would much rather travel with an infant then a toddler any day! Infant's sleep, toddlers want to play!!! Thank you to the wonderful makers of the movie "BOLT," it was our savior...I have now seen it about 50 times IN A ROW! We also relied on smarties and various toys to keep the booger busy...it worked okay. He was really patient and compliant on the way there and seemed happiest when we were allowed to use electronic devices! It is just very difficult to wrestle with a 16 month old while being 31 weeks pregnant...he used my tummy to climb on quite a few times! Actually, all in all he was a saint on the way there...he didn't really find flying intriguing but he sat nicely and watched his IPad and ate his goldfish snacks like a pro.

In his own seat!

Waiting for our next flight!

Playing around on the luggage with Mamie.

We didn't arrive at our lodge until about 5:15pm on Thursday...a whole day of traveling! The house was nice, there were a few set backs but nothing too severe. The biggest problem with the lodge was it was located on a nice hill....when you are already having trouble breathing at a new elevation, trekking up a huge hill is not ideal. I was not about to try to tackle that one by myself while pushing Sebastian in a stroller...I knew already that it would be impossible. Jonathan had trouble doing it so I was not going to risk over-doing it with baby on board and baby in stroller.

Therefore, Friday...Sebastian and I spent lounging around the house watching TV and napping while everyone else hit the slopes!

Just doing a bit of weight lifting.

Watching Bolt with his new headphones.

We did venture outside for a bit to see if Sebastian would play in the snow, he more enjoyed walking/waddling up and down the sidewalk in all his gear then actually playing in the stuff.

I take full credit for how adorable this child is...his dad contributed some I guess :)

So happy to see Daddy back from skiing.

Lots of hugs and kisses.

Enjoying a snack with Pops...fascinated with his beard.

We spent our evenings in the warmth of the lodge and went out to ride on the Gondolas to get a bite to eat! Sebastian enjoyed the gondola rides but LOVED playing with his cousins more! He would get quite vocal and demanding every time they would get up to leave or get tired of playing with him.

Headed out for dinner.

Lilly and Emma.

Getting the baby into the stroller was quite the ordeal.

Walking to the Gondola all bundled up...I guess wearing white wasn't all that smart on my part.

Uncle Kamerin on the Gondola.

 

Pops and Lilly.

Emma and Aunt Katelynn.

At La Pizzeria.

Uncle Sam and Pops.

How quickly the mood changes.

Mamie stayed off the slopes and hung out with Sebastian and I on Saturday and Sunday, we explored the sidewalk again, just to be sure we didn't miss anything! He was QUITE mad after the clan left for the slopes and he wasn't allowed to go with them, so Mamie and I bundled him all up and went out to play.

Out on our adventure.

Mamie trying to get Sebastian to play in the snow.

We caught the rest of the clan getting ready to take off down the slopes.

Daddy waving bye.

Later that afternoon, Aunt Katelynn and Lilly cut their skiing expedition short due to cold toes so we convinced them to go to Telluride with us for a bit of window shopping!

Giving Mommy a "Cheese" for the picture.

Aunt Katelynn and Lilly on the Gondola.

Yes, that is a pink blanket but it is all we had with us! 

So adorable all bundled up!

This was the 4th try at this picture...Lilly just wasn't having it!

The town of Telluride, view from the Gondola.

We had to be up bright and early again to make the trip back home. We left our lodge at 6am to drive back to the airport and once again we had any number of plane problems! We had three flights on the way home: Montrose to Denver, Denver to Houston and finally Houston to Charlotte...NIGHTMARE! Sebastian was good for the first flight, which was supposed to be a 30 minute flight BUT with sitting on the dang runway, turned out to be more like 1.5 hours! The second flight we struggled a bit because they were having some sort of door seal problem so we sat at the ramp for 45 extra mins and then were 10th in line to take off! When we were finally able to use electronic devices, nearly an hour after boarding, he watched Bolt for about 4 mins and finally fell asleep for the remainder of the flight. The final flight made me want to cry so you can image how he did! The pilot came over the speaker while we were waiting to take off (once again a 45 minute escapade) and prefaced the flight by saying Charlotte had some bad weather so it was going to be a bumpy ride, oh wonderful! By the end we were all going stir crazy and were crawling out of our skin when we finally made it to Charlotte at 9:30pm...picked up our checked bags and eventually made it home around 11pm.

It was a wonderful vacation away from work with a taste of winter weather...I just wish someone would invent a teleporting machine already so we can avoid the travel part!!! Well that was a picture overload but hopefully you got to see some of the adventures we had this past weekend. Unfortunately, I cannot give any pictures of the skiing since I did not partake in any of it and men just don't think to take a camera along for the ride :)