Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We woke up on Wednesday and found fresh snow on the ground. 
 So everyone hurried up and threw on our ski gear and headed out the door to make some "first tracks."  
We spent most of the morning skiing in knee deep powder at "the Pines" (Brett and Mom's favorite run.)
It was awesome!  
Then Dad, Brett, Kimber and Brooke headed over to 9990 right as they opened the lift
and caught some of "best untouched powder ever!" 
 Amazing!  Dad was just a little bit happy!  
The only thing that would have made it more perfect was if it was just a bit warmer! 
 It was seriously so freezing cold!  Brrrrrrr!  
The temperature dropped even more on Thursday and Friday and the high for those days was about 11 degrees! 
 We are pretty hardcore skiers but even Dad considered taking a break those days because it was so cold.  
The only problem was that Tyler and Sonya were coming into town and those were the only 2 days that they could ski! 
 So we bundled up and put on as many layers as possible,
attached hand and toe warmers everywhere (Brooke stuck them to her helmet liner)
and we all headed out the door.  
We would take one...maybe two runs and then head to the lodge to warm up! 
 We were so happy that Allie, Justin and Ashley's ski passes included a complimentary cup of hot chocolate everyday! 
 I have to confess, I think we spent more time in the lodge than on the slopes on Friday but we had a lot of fun! 
 And Kimber was such a good sport and carried the big camera those days
 and got some awesome pictures, documenting our skiing adventures!

Brooke is standing in the street outside our place, which is covered is with about 6 inches of snow.

There was so much snow on the road right outside our front door
that we decided to ski down the street to catch the gondola.

So happy to be sitting inside the warm gondola.

All bundled up and enjoying the last few warm minutes before we headed out to brave the cold!

Allie and Justin wanted Kimber to take a cute couples pictures

because the didn't any enough ski photos together!

Of course, Ashley, who thinks she is an integral part of their relationship, 

didn't want to get left out of their photo shoot.

And neither did Brooke!

The little girls and Mom with frozen smiles stop to get a picture.

Kimber and Brooke together.  

It was very difficult telling them apart that day, because Brooke borrowed Kimber's jacket.  

Brooke looks more and more like Kimber and then when she wore her coat, 

we were all a little confused!

Ashley tearing it up in her new ski coat!

Allie has such good form.  She makes it look so easy!

She loves Justin and she loves the powder!

I love that Brett loves "The Pines" just as much as I do!

He just couldn't get enough of that run!

Dad cheering Mom on from a distance! He's so happy that she loves to ...I mean... likes to  or should I say, skis the powder!

Dad looking really quite amazing in the powder!

Brooke, heading out one morning, stops to get a picture with Mr. Snowman.

So Dad, who also loves Mr. Snowman, stops to get a photo with him too.

Ashley is all smiles as she heads out in her new ski coat!

Yes! She is smiling.  You just can't see her smile

 because it's so cold that she her neck gator covering her cute grin!

They plowed our street that day which meant that we couldn't ski down the street.

So here we are trekking through the fresh snow across the street, heading to the new chair lift.

The view of the mountain from the new chair lift.

Kimber and Brett are enjoying the heated seats and ready for the bubble to come down and cover them, 

keeping the chair warm on their way up the mountain.  Pretty awesome!

I could ride that chairlift all day! 

 All it needs is a cup holder for my hot chocolate and I'd be set:)!

The girls posing in front of the new manmade pond,
which is used for snowmaking on the mountain.

Dad has taught the girls that this sign means "Don't Slow Down in this Skiing Zone!"
which Brooke has taken to heart and because she is so obedient
and does whatever Dad tells her to do, she skied down this hill so fast...

that Mom got angry put her in "timeout" at the top of the chairlift.
She is crazy fast on and off the slopes!
BTW, after she skied every day, she would run 8-10 miles in the cold.  NBD!

These two cute kids are ready and eager to head out first thing Friday morning.

That meant that the rest of us had to hurry and bundle up and head for the slopes so we could keep them company.

 I was most concerned for Sonya.  

She was such a good sport and I wanted to make sure had a good ski experience, 

which meant that I needed to make sure that she should spend most of her time in the lodge
 drinking hot chocolate on such a terribly cold day 

and very little time on the slopes freezing!
She is such a trooper!

Tyler didn't seem to mind the cold at all.

He's happy to be finished with his first semester of dental school,

and happy to hit the slopes, just like his dad.

Kimber, looking picture perfect through the powder...how does she do it?

She even has the perfect smile on her face!

Brooke has now earned the title of Fastest Skier!

Dad...

ripping...

it...

up!

The fresh powder was his favorite Christmas present!

Just wanted to include just a few more powder pictures...pretty awesome!

It doesn't get much better than this!

Thanks Kimber, for taking the amazing pictures!

And thanks Dad for an incredible ski trip!