Spring Break NYC, part 1

This year we decided to visit New York City for spring break. The boys and I, along with PeePaw & Grandma Beth, had an incredible trip, saw everything (and more!) from our checklist of places we wanted to see, and walked between 8.6 and 9.3 miles each day. The boys got a taste of city living and I was reminded how much I love our life in the Bluegrass State. :)

We were up early...

but it was totally worth it to be in Manhattan by 10am!

PeePaw and Grandma Beth's flight didn't land until later that afternoon, so the boys and I spent the day exploring Times Square. 

First stop: Caleb's must do...personalized M & Ms!

Then we were off  to the Nintendo NY store.

I remember visiting FAO Schwarz as a child, and couldn't wait to take the boys!

Caleb also wanted to see the real Starry Night (he studied it at school) so we made our way over to the Museum of Modern Art. 

I was amazed with Monet's Water Lillies- I had NO idea it was so incredibly large.

Luke walked into the Pollack exhibit and announced, "That's art? That's terrible," Haha. Apparently our talk about art museum etiquette wasn't sufficient. 

The boys and I had a late lunch, grabbed our luggage from the luggage storage facility, and went to check in to our Airbnb. The apartment was big and in a great location, but also had the most incredible views. 

The next morning we headed downtown to the financial district to visit the World Trade Center memorial and museum. I talked with the boys a lot prior to the visit, and even let them watch some old news coverage so they would have a better idea of September 11th prior to going. 

One World Trade Center

"Survivor's Staircase"

I can't really put into words the emotions you experience in the museum. Photography isn't allowed, so I don't have pictures, but basically it takes you through all aspects of that day- NYC, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, family accounts, first responders, etc. It is incredible. We were there two full hours and both boys were engrossed in it like we were.

Oculus

We took the subway to...

the Empire State Building! 

The boys LOVE the movie Elf and wanted to visit. (Most of the boys to-do list items center around movies- ha!)

On the walk back to our apartment we found the BEST cookies- Insomnia Cookies are amazing.

March

This winter Luke played basketball up at church and had a great time. It is a very laid back league- definitely just for fun, which we loved! He happened to have his two best friends, Porter and Tey, on the team with him, which made it even more fun.

Creed and I took the boys to Colorado for one last ski trip this season. The week prior to our trip, it snowed so much that there were numerous avalanches and even I-70 closed the day before we arrived. Because we wanted to make sure we made it to Aspen that weekend, Creed white knuckled it from Denver all the way to Glenwood Springs. A normal 3 hour drive ended up taking us way longer since I-70 looked like this...

The snow-covered roads started before the tunnel and lasted past Vail. It really was insane driving conditions...

Passing by Vail...

At around midnight I started calling hotels and we found one with a room available. We pulled in around 2 am (4am Eastern!), got about four hours asleep, put on our ski gear, and then hit the road for the last 45 minutes of our trip. Thankfully it was a beautiful drive!

The boys and I had to rent our skis, but we were on the slopes before noon.

The first hour was rough. While Luke skied two years ago, he just couldn't get the hang of it- barely able to even stand up. We were hot, sweaty, and frustrated, so Luke and I took a break to get a drink, cool off, and so I could give him a pep talk. :) After Creed and Caleb skied a few runs, Creed came back and took Luke just the two of them. An hour later, he was a pizza pro. It just clicked...and then he was just SO, SO happy.

This video was right after it clicked for him.

Sidewalks in Snowmass...SO MUCH SNOW! Our Uber driver even referred to this winter as "Snow-mageddon."

We skied til the lifts closed, did a little hot tubbing, and then ate dinner at our hotel's restaurant. We were exhausted and all slept really well that night.

The next day we were back at it. 

While we skied lots of runs as a family, I skied with Luke on green runs while Creed would take Caleb down blues.

Luke and I took a late morning snack break. His goggles were bothering him, but it was SO sunny, so we had to also find him sunglasses.

Caleb

Luke

Nothing beats lunch slopeside. :)

While we finished up our lunch, Luke went and laid in the snow under the ski lift. He waved at skiers going by over head and just played in the snow. He was so happy! 

Nothing tops spring skiing conditions...powder days when it's sunny and 40 is perfection! I think this trip spoiled us with that. :) (I am definitely a March skier!)

Luke improved so much and even ended up skiing a blue by the end of day 2. Caleb was a trooper, as he usually flew down the mountain and then had to wait on us at the bottom. :)

Caleb is SO crazy. Haha! And, was sporting a perfect goggle tan.

 It was SO hard to pack up and head back to Denver the next morning. I would be lying if I said we didn't try to fit in just one more ski trip this season. Looking forward to next year. :)

Happy 11th Birthday, Ava!  We love celebrating you!

Board games at "Our Happy Place"

Jamestown Elementary is only about a mile from the cabin so we took advantage of the beautiful spring weather and went over there to play on their (awesome) playground and fly a kite.

I was in the kitchen doing dishes and saw Luke out the window dragging this huge tree limb. I LOVE memories our boys will have of time spent at the cabin. When I asked him about it he answered "Fire wood!"

Post-flooding muddy Lake Cumberland

I was thankful when a friend texted me these pictures from awards Chapel...

She actually said "I think I embarrassed your oldest when I took his picture." Yes, that is his embarrassed face. ;)