Washington Post

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

When you get a crazy cool deal on airline tickets to Washington for a ski weekend, plus it comes with huge perks like hanging with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jerry, Uncle Shane, Cousin Rio and Dude... the Dog.  YOU BOOK IT!!!

As an added bonus, when we booked our trip Colorado was really hurting for snow and Washington was getting dumped on.  BONUS!!

So, we headed out with a series of Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

We had a great conversation about how many forms of transportation we would utilize.  How many?

1. Automobile

2. Bus (shuttle from parking to airport)

3. Train (at airport)

4. People Movers (moving walkways)

5. Airplane

1. Automobile (can't count the same form twice)

SWEET!!  The boys were fired up for FIVE forms of transportation.  As another added bonus, they got the front seat of the train and got to see us zip through the tunnel up close and personally.  

Waiting for our airplane to arrive.  It felt like FOR-EVER!

On the airplane, it was Kellan's first ride as a ticketed passenger in his own seat.  He was a champ and looked like such a big boy.  It was Mickey's first plane ride too and he was a super trooper.

I hope that whoever invented portable DVD players got a big bonus.  He or She deserved it, big time.

"What's this Mommy?"

"It's a pretzel.  Eat it."

Clearly, our boys are deprived.  He tried it and didn't like it.  I guess the deprivation can continue.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Mozzarella Sticks at the Onion in Spokane.

LOVE THEM!

First stop, Lunch at the Onion.

YUM!

(Keith pretends not to like them, but I'm pretty sure that's not his winter stash of nuts in his cheek.)

Blue Bird Skiing

49 Degrees North is the "ski hill" that is just above my home town.  It is where I learned to ski as well as my two brothers.  It is where I learned the love of the sport.  You compete with nobody but yourself, you can swoosh down the slopes to the songs playing in your head (because I learned to ski well before iPods) and usually on days like we had, I'm singing a sunny happy song.  

49 Degrees North is closed on Wednesday and Thursday so we were there for skiing on Friday, where they received 8" of fresh snow the day prior.  Untouched, pure, perfect snow.  The skies were clear blue and the sun was shining down upon us.  Really, it doesn't get any better. On the second day, my brother Jerry was questioning my decision to wear sun screen.  He said "why are you putting on sunscreen?  You know the sun doesn't shine in Washington."  Maybe because we nearly got sun burned the day before.  It was fabulous!

As much as our desire for fresh snow was pulling us to the top of the mountain, our desire to spend a day with Oliver and teach him to ski was much greater.  We geared up and headed out to the very same bunny slope that I had learned on MANY years prior.  The difference, I didn't have anyone to tow me to the lift.

Oliver at the top of the bunny slope. 

The very same slope that he took his very first run on two years prior.

The very same slope that his Mommy took her very first run on 25 years prior.

Well... we all know what we say about snowboarders.  Do we really need to explain the below photo?

This reminds me, at one point Oliver looked at us and said "Who's faster, me or Daddy? (no pause) oh, I know the answer, I am because I'm on ski's and Daddy's on a snowboard."

THAT's MY BOY!

Since I'm the author of this blog, I can tell that story.  Since Keith doesn't have the password, he can't edit this.  Love, true Love! :)  

Here he comes!

There he goes!

French Fry

Practicing his Parallel

If you ever thought green runs were easy, try doing it in a snow plow for several hours.  Mamas thighs were burning!  For some reason, Olivers toothpick thighs were fired UP!  This is why you should learn at a young age.

Does it get any better than this?

A morning of blue bird skiing followed by lunch grilled on the deck.

Hey, Hey, looks who's here!

Grandma and Grandpa came up with Kellan to visit and take Oliver home for the afternoon.  We loved having our boys with us for lunch.

Shane was also able to take join us for lunch as well.

Kellan, Carrie, Oliver, Shane, Grandma and Keith

Ahhh... a lift ride to the top. Time to hit the bigger slopes with fresh snow for an afternoon date.

I always love how the trees at the top have snow iced on one side and nothing on the other.

After an wonderful morning of skiing with Oliver and an amazing afternoon of skiing together, it was time for Apres Ski!

On Saturday, Rio joined us.

Whoop Whoop!

Rio is Seven and he's been skiing since he was Two.  When you're Dad works on the mountain, there are perks, like skiing often.  When we skied with Rio two years ago, he was about where Oliver is now.  Clearly, makes sense.  This year, it was a whole new ballgame.  After one run on the bunny slope he wanted to take us up Chair 6, the Chair his Dad built last summer.  We looked at the map and saw a green run from top to bottom so we jumped aboard.  

Oliver and Rio on top of Angel Peak.

Part way down we came to a cross road where we could go on a very flat green run or a blue run.  Rio said it was fine.  Oliver said he wanted to do it, even though he didn't really know what "it" was.  We discussed and decided that if it was more than he could handle, we could get him down.  So... we went for it.

That there is young Mr Oliver taking on his first Blue run like he's going for an afternoon stroll.

Meanwhile, Rio took off through the woods.  Being as we were responsible for him, Keith decided to follow him.  We all met up at the bottom and Keith said that Rio took on the trees like a champ.

The next run, Keith said "you know, I should probably go with Rio."  AKA " I want to ski the trees with Rio".

Half way down the run, Rio turned down a black diamand, turned to Keith and said in a very matter of fact tone "I want to make sure you can kick this one before we try the next one."  Keith was suprised and amused and followed him down the black diamond and then deep into the trees.

When you're seven and your Dad works on mountain, you've kicked black diamond runs and you are taking names.

You Go Rio!

After a big morning of skiing, we were ready to belly up for some nachos on the deck.

Sometimes, it's just better to dive in face first.

(Yes, this is staged.  I would NEVER really let Oliver eat this way, but I may encourage it for a photo. Good thing he knows the difference.)

Rio and his Dad.

Never, in all of my years of passing through the rental shop to rent or see Shane did I ever think that I would be carrying my two-year old through that very space with my ski equipment on.  On day two, he was tired and needing some Mama snuggle time. Alas, it was time to head home with Grandma and Grandpa.  

Oliver and Rio were two ski buddies in a pod, heading to the truck.

(more on their afternoon later)

Then, there we were, back for another afternoon of skiing together.  Except this time, Shane got to join us.  Or, we joined him as he made his rounds to check the lifts. It was a GREAT afternoon!

Keith and Shane discussing mountain tactics.

(or snowboarders taking their sweet time to get going.  Giddy-up boys!)

The lift Shane built... with the help of a crew, bulldozers, hellicopters, etc.

A fun fact, this lift was bought from Copper, right here in Colorado.  Ahh... it's like my new home meets the old.

Keith, Carrie and Shane at the top of Angel Peak

Shane, on lift 6.

After another amazing and fabulous day of skiing, it was once again time for Apres ski.

Ski days don't get much better than these days.

Boys Apre Ski 

On the way home, Kellan clearly got over his Mommy moment.  All was well with the monkeys in the back seat.

They went home and ate ice cream.

It's all good!

Kellan

While we were skiing and having fun, Kellan was in his own heaven in Grandma and Grandpa's living room.

This is the same look Grandpa gives the TV.  It's like he's torn between reading the book and watching TV.  It's not like it's either the book or TV's fault for interrupting each other, however, that scowl may make you think otherwise.

Hey, Is that a Grandpa's Grape Juice Mustache?

Food

There is never a shortage of food at Granma's house and every time we ate, the three boys were peas in a pod.

This is not the best photo, but it cracks me up.

Look at that mastered "mom look" I'm giving the boys and look at their stares in response.  It's hard to see the expresions of their face, but they are either obeying every word or wondering when I'll break eye contact so that they can go back to what they were doing.

Regardless, it appears Keith may have been eating a sour pickle.  How else do you explain that look?

Every Meal

Every Single One

Three Musketeers

Three Little Bears

Peas and Carrots

Happy Campers

Fun

In between all of the skiing and eating, there was plenty of other fun to be had.

Kellan was THRILLED that he got a new Mickey jacket.  So thrilled that he had to put it on RIGHT NOW!

Tons 'o Train Time

High Flying Wii Action

CHAMPIONS!

Quiet morning story time.

Mexican Bey Blades

Arts and Creativity Time

Dude the Dog Time

When Dude won't go, you just lift your cracker (in hand) and toes.

Early on, Kellan was over heard saying "Don't Eat Me Dude!!".  Once he got his point across, the two were good buddies.  It was the famous quote of the weekend.  I guess when you see the Dog having treats, you may think you're next.

Keith and Grandma won the fire battle and we didn't have our traditional blazer.  At one point, Keith did build a fire for ambiance, but it never went much past a flicker.  I think that may have been a conspiracy between those two.

On Monday, we were hanging around the house so Oliver and Rio went to hunt Zombies.  Apparently, they are running rampint and needed taken care of.

All is well in the world as these two eventually wandered back in the house and guaranteed us that the grounds had been secured.  Whew, good to know.

Bey Blade, Bey Blade, Let it RIP!

Plus, some good 'ol fashion exercise.

Determination

Skill

Focus

and a whole lot of Giggles

Movie Nights and Cartoon Mornings

We go to extreme effort to keep Oliver away from Dude and anything Dude related due to his allergies.

Kellan, well he can belly up to Dude's bed if he wants.  Someday, he may try to convince us that being the second child is borderline abuse.

We relaxed with movie nights and loved snugging in PJ's and eating Grandma's mouth-watering carmel popcorn.

We almost don't need cartoons with these characters.

I think we found the zombies.  Miraculously, they also play the Wii.

Popsicles and Movies.  Yay!

Mexican Dinner

There are some new restaurants in town, so we opted to go North for some South of the Border.

We took full advantage of our SUV rental car and gave it a trial spin with seven passengers.  It passed with flying colors.

Who's ready for some Mexican Dinner?!

Still a little sad that our Mexican vacation was over and our tans had quickly faded, I ordered up a pina colada to reminisce with some Mexican food and a favorite drink.  The waiter overheard that the boys wanted a Pina Colada too and he delivered these cutie kid versions (all the sweet, minus the adult fun). 

Oliver LOVED it!

Don't worry, we don't make a habit of serving up cocktails to our kids.  They may get a virgin version at home now and then as well as groovin' to a little Escape, "If you like Pina Colada, Getting Caught in the Rain".

Kellan is Ready to ROCK!

Mamas a Happy Chica.

The party's happening at the kids table and the only ones without dinner served, are the kids.

Kellan took full advantage of being at dinner with Grandma to spring from his seat and get some smooches.

Chewelah Park

After dinner and with the first day of daylight savings, Grandma had a great idea to take the kids to the park to RUN.  It was a bit chilly, but it was a nice evening.  The boys don't seem to notice the temperature, especially when they barely stopped to take a photo.

Grandpa and Kellan riding the T-Rex, RAWR!!

Wild animals in the monkey cage.

Hurry Quick!

Take the Photo before someone slides off, the sun goes down and the big boys turn back into wiggle worms.

The boys RAN and RAN and RAN, chasing Keith.  He would hide, they would find him, they would all laugh and take off running again. 

Here he is... hiding... and reading a map?

The boys loved rockin' out on the stage.

One leg up on all three

Oliver and his Mini Me.

Rio with his Serious pose.

"Oliver, give me your best rock star pose"

I think this is AWESOME!

The family that pyramids together, sticks together.

One last look over the bridge.

One last ride down the BIG slide, before calling the Park a done deal.

Juice

Grandma and Grandpa's cellar is full of all kinds of treats and juice, including juice for Keith

He wondered if Grandma had any leftover scotch from our last visit, nearly two years ago.

To his BIG surprise, he found this.

Enough for one glass.

He LAUGHED and LAUGHED that Grandma had saved this small bit for so long.

You're MINE!!

Family

Time with the Garner family wouldn't be complete with multiple group photo ops.

The Grandsons

Kellan (2.5), Rio (7.5) and Oliver (5.5)

FUNNY FACES!!!

Grandpa (Dad), Uncle Jerry and Grandma (Mom)

Uncle Jerry with two of his nephews.

Poor Kellan missed out on the photo op because he was taking a much needed nap.

Brother and Sister

Carrie and Jerry

Keith, Carrie and Jerry

Just missing Shane, the working man.

Asta La Vista, Baby

Good Bye's are always hard, but it is easier when cousins are smothering each other in adorable hugs.

Rio was getting ready to run out to the bus and we were going to be heading to the airport soon.  Rio ran through and gave one last round of super strength hugs.

We had such a great time!

When we leave vacation, it is fun to ask the boys what their favorite moments were.

We asked Oliver for his top three and he said:

1: Skiing

2: Playing with Rio

3: Playing with Grandma and Grandpa

We asked Kellan for his favorite thing and he thought long and hard about it.

Oliver tried making an amendment to his choice and Kellan stopped him by saying "Wait, it's my turn!"  He's learning.

Then... he answered

1: The Park

Our favorite: spending time together as a couple, as a family of four and a family of more.

We loved every moment!

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for a great weekend!

Thanks to Uncle Shane for the personal touch at 49 Degrees North.  We felt like we were skiing with celebrity status.

Thanks to Uncle Jerry for making the trip up from Oregon.  It was so great to see you.

Thanks to Rio for sharing your bunk bed, your toys, your dog, your snacks, your Wii, your movies, your ski hill and most of all, your big strong hugs!