We arrived Friday night, so we had Saturday to catch up with some cousins. First, we headed over to Kevin and Brandi's house. Jackson loved this because he was able to get reacquainted with his cousin, Caleb. They had a great time together, and we loved getting to catch up.
Next, we headed across Denver to my other cousins' house. I can't believe I didn't get any pics, but we had too much fun getting to know their kiddos they adopted from Thailand. We swapped adoption stories and laughed about how similar they were/are! This was a sweet time because this was my cousin, Kim, who walked with me through my tough adjustment period. It was good to give her a hug in person. :)On Sunday, it was finally time to head to the slopes! We ate breakfast each morning in the hotel lobby. 
Then we drove about an hour to Loveland. It seemed like it took us forever to actually get going, but we eventually got everyone loaded into their gear and headed to the mountain. 
At first, we tried to get all 6 kids on the mountain and just teach them how it was done, but they far out-numbered us. We quickly decided to ship them all off to ski school which was the smartest decision we made! Here is Raegan in her class: 
That first day was so fun because the kids were all occupied in school, so Chris and I (and my friend, Paige) were able to just ski. It had been 14 years since we had been, so we needed a little time to get comfortable again. We were proud of ourselves because we were on blues by the end of the day. That is good for me! 
Paige and Chris getting ready to get on the lift.
Then we drove about an hour to Loveland. It seemed like it took us forever to actually get going, but we eventually got everyone loaded into their gear and headed to the mountain. 
At first, we tried to get all 6 kids on the mountain and just teach them how it was done, but they far out-numbered us. We quickly decided to ship them all off to ski school which was the smartest decision we made! Here is Raegan in her class: 
That first day was so fun because the kids were all occupied in school, so Chris and I (and my friend, Paige) were able to just ski. It had been 14 years since we had been, so we needed a little time to get comfortable again. We were proud of ourselves because we were on blues by the end of the day. That is good for me! 
Paige and Chris getting ready to get on the lift.
The second day, Reagan went back to school, but the rest of the kids ventured out on their own. They did a great job, even going on a little side trail with bumps! Jackson loved being able to ski with some of his friends. Here, he and Owen are ready to jump back on the lift.
For lunch, we all met at the lodge and had our picnic!
After lunch, we ventured to the top of the mountain--with the help of Uncle Adam and Uncle Marc and Papa. At first, the kids were so nervous--and so were we as we watched them ride the 2-mile lift to the top! 
But they quickly found out why we kept pushing them to go. It was just so beautiful, and they did so well with a little coaching from Papa. Here is Jackson.
Here is Sydney.
Julie at the top of the mountain.
Following Uncle Marc's lead.
By the end of the day, we pulled Raegan out of school, and she was able to go down the bunny slope!
We had a great time, and we were so thankful to get to experience a beautiful part of Creation!
