Since our anniversary is in the winter we like to celebrate it by getting away and going snowboarding, plus there is nothing better than snuggling up together in the cold weather! I had originally planned our trip in December (since our anniversary is in December) but Colorado had no snow so I cancelled it at the last minute and rebooked it for January thinking there would have to be snow in January! We were disappointed when we checked the reports before we left- even though Utah was getting dumped on Colorado still didn't have a ton of snow. Honestly, if I hadn't already booked the hotel this time I would have rescheduled it again. But on a bright note, unknowingly I had booked us at the same time the X Games were going to be in Aspen so I was really excited about getting to see that! It was hard to say goodbye to this little guy though...
He did a good job helping us pack/unpack!
We got out the door late as usual, even though I actually thought I was on time this time I had calculated the amount of time we needed to be to the airport in advance wrong, and it didn't help when we were finally to the airport and Matt mistakenly took an exit that sent us back onto the interstate haha! We were still there 45 minutes before, but as soon as we checked in a big buzzer went off letting everyone around us know we were late, and all of our bags got a big fat "Late Check-in" tag on them. We ran up to the security check-point to find only one single scanner running. After 15 minutes and literally only taking two steps forward it was starting to look dismal- finally TSA wised up and opened up all 5 lanes. I guess they realized half of our plane wasn't going to make the flight! We got through and made our flight. It was Southwest so we didn't have assigned seats but being one of the last to get on the plane it was looking like we might not get to sit together, then at the back of the plane I saw one row left that had two seats still available- we took them.
My thoughts as I was getting onto the plane went back to Relief Society on Sunday. We (the stake relief society presidency) have been teaching the same lesson over and over again all month to each ward we visit- it's D&C 88: 77-81 about teaching one another the doctrines of Christ and how once we have been warned we are called to warn our neighbor. I say we have been teaching the same lesson, but in fact each ward is teaching us. One of the points in the lesson is that Christ ministered one by one, and our mission is also to teach and find "the one", our neighbor, so the question is asked if there has ever been a time in our life when we knew that Heavenly Father had sent someone to us, or where we knew we had been sent specifically to minister to an individual? One of the sisters shared an experience where she was on a plane just a few weeks ago and had a conversation with a lady next to her that turned into the lady opening up and telling her that she was thinking about cheating on her husband, and this sister said as she spoke to her this choice it was like it was unfolded to her what the consequences for this woman's life, her children, and her husband would be and she was able to share that with her. At the end of the flight the lady through tears was hugging and thanking her. Heavenly Father does care about us individually and I do believe that he places people in our path to be there for us in our times of need. But how often do we ignore those promptings when we have them? So as we were boarding the plane I had wondered who it was I was going to be sitting next to...
As we sat down Matt took the window seat and I was in the middle, we met our new friend and right away he was easy to talk to. It truly is amazing when we are willing how Heavenly Father opens up opportunities for us, it didn't take long before we were talking about Ollie and adoption and as he opened up I found out that he has some friends that are struggling to have their first, and later in the conversation I learned that he and his wife are struggling to have their second and that he was considering adoption but like most of us when we first start to think that it might be the route we will take, we don't know anything about it much less where to start. The thing I love about adoption that you can't talk about it without talking about the essence of the gospel. Adoption is about faith, it's about eternal families, it is about the atonement and there are a lot of people that have never considered those sides of it. I truly was grateful for the opportunity to talk to him, not only to share with him what adoption can be and to answer his questions, but also to simply share my testimony. He is a Catholic which means we share many of the same core values and beliefs and more than once in our conversation he said to me that he also believes that things happen for a reason and we both agreed that it was probably no accident that put us on that plane next to each other. I don't know what will come from our conversation but I know I felt the Spirit as we spoke and once again I was reminded of how aware Heavenly Father is of each of us individually.
After we arrived in Colorado Matt and I went to collect our bags, after waiting forever for our snowboards we went on a goose chase and found out that our snowboard bag hadn't made the flight. The worst part was they had no way of tracking the bag to tell us where it was, they just guessed that it was going to come in on the next flight which wasn't going to arrive for a few more hours! I was dumb founded that they had to way of tracking it but apparently the barcode on the bag didn't mean anything? Matt and I were still in good spirits though, we had already eaten up a lot of the time just trying to figure out where the bag was, so we decided to stick around the airport and wait. We went to dinner in the food court, shared some Chinese food that wasn't all that great. The only thing I remember about that dinner was having a private conversation with Matt and not realizing that I was speaking too loud until I realized the guy sitting alone at the table next to us was looking at us and then I was all embarrassed that he had heard any of it! Good thing I'll never see him again! We got out of there and found a frozen yogurt place still open, stayed there as long as we could and then finally decided to go pick up the rental car and come back to see if our snowboards had arrived.
After a long ordeal we finally had our snowboards in hand and were finally on the road to Snowmass! A little after midnight Matt got pulled over for going 8 miles over the speed limit. The cop told him that if he was going 7 miles he probably wouldn't get pulled over (I guess 8 was just way too fast! And we were only a mile short of the 75/hr zone). But after seeing that we weren't drunk and that we still had 2 more hours to drive (and maybe because it was our anniversary and he heard about our snowboards getting lost) he let us off with a warning. And then proceeded to give us tips on where all the rest of the cops would likely be so we could avoid them- seriously it was crazy, he was basically teaching us how to get away with breaking the law, he even gave us his business card too. Not sure what we needed it for but we took it and headed on our way. Finally pulled into the hotel a little after 2am.
Day 1:
We slept in and Matt wasn't feeling well so we took our time getting out onto the slopes. About 10:30am we went down and ate breakfast in the restaurant which was slope side so we got to watch all the skiers/boarders. Couldn't wait to get out on the snow!
Went through a bit of an ordeal getting our lift tickets but finally hit the slopes. Snow wasn't super fresh but it wasn't icy either so we were happy. Loved the mountain, seriously has to be one of my top new favorites, big wide open runs, sparse trees and tons of acreage. We did a lot of exploring, went on a forever long run that towards the end went flat and started going into residential, wasn't sure we were going to make it, thought we were going to have to walk it out but finally hit the lift and kept clear of that one the rest of the trip! Other than that it was great. Matt wasn't feeling well though so we headed in a bit early so he could rest.
While he went to sleep I worked on getting some things cleared up so we could get our adoption profile up. (Basically playing phone tag with the Utah office to get a payment in.) Finally got everything squared away and was excited that our profile was going to go live! Sad part of the night was that we were just a few miles from the X-Games but Matt was sick so not only did we not go to the X-Games, we didn't even go out to dinner! I walked downstairs to the village and found some take out for us and we stayed in watching the X-Games on tv. It was killing me to be so close but most of Thursday night was just preliminary stuff anyway, I was still hopeful for the big show on Friday night. And I was still happy to be snuggled in a warm bed with my Hunnee :) Forgot to mention that I found a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in the village- our absolute favorite! Loaded up on caramel apples & chocolate dipped strawberries.
Day 2:
Up late again, this time we skipped the slope side breakfast and found a burrito stand. Why do I love those little stands so much? The food was great, but eating out in the cold was not exactly as great as eating in doors.
We both got helmets from Santa for Christmas- I realize my head looks ridiculously large in a helmet but oh well! Another fun day exploring the mountain, seriously love it, can't wait to come back when there is more snow! Didn't get a great picture of it but the snowboard parks were amazing, the biggest jumps I have ever seen, and they had the hugest half pipes too. We also had the pleasure of running into sled dogs, so fun! We did talk to Lance and Marcee Thursday night, Lance lectured us for not sharing any pictures so we got a few sent over to him. Loved staying in the Westin- always a great hotel and nothing is better than ski in- ski out! This is the view from the lobby- all that white in the windows is the slope.
View of the hotel from the slope.
View of the village from our room.
All I can think of when I see these pictures is HEAD!!! Love my new board though!
Matt toughed it up and we were able to spend the majority of the day on the slopes. He even ventured out to eat dinner with me but then he was done. So Day 2, Friday night with some pretty big events going on we got to watch the X-Games on tv again. I did venture out by myself to get him some medicine and to do a little shopping. I always pick up an ornament when we go on trips- love decorating my Christmas tree every year because I get to relive a bunch of good memories with each ornament. I've also started collecting stickers- my sister does it for her boys so I thought it would be fun for Ollie too. And of course I had to stop and get some more caramel apples! Had an apple pie one that was surprisingly my favorite this time. This was me going out on the town by myself :(
Day 3:
Finally made it to the X-Games! It was so exciting to see it in person. The jumps look huge on tv, but seeing it all in real life was amazing- I can't believe they jump off those things and big air was BIG AIR! Super exciting to see the competition play out right in front of us and to be so close to the athletes. Something I hope I get to come see again. First we saw the snowmobile competition. Sad thing was watching it on tv Thursday night we saw Caleb Moore's crash- the snowmobile landed on his head and threw him like a doll- sadly he died a week later. Glad I didn't see that in person, it can't be worth all that. Made it even harder knowing his brother competes with him too. But I have to admit that what they do is amazing. Ollie just won't be doing it!
This one was the craziest to watch- upside down superman!
Then we got to watch the snowboarding...
The most exciting run was watching Mark McMorris- who had already secured first place, go out and do almost a perfect run- it was no typical victory lap where they just take it safe and wave- he laid down and put on a big show and it was so exciting to watch!
Even though we missed the other nights we got to see some pretty amazing stuff. All-in-all a great trip! It always is when I'm with my Hunnee :) Made it back to the airport in plenty of time. Somehow, even though we were like 2 hours early our snowboards still didn't make the flight home with us. But by Sunday morning they were back home too. Good times- Happy Anniversary Babee!!!
