Out of the Mouths of My Babes

Darcy wanted to rearrange her room this past weekend, so her father and I were moving furniture and trying to make sure that all the appliances (lamps, clocks, karaoke machine) were near outlets.

Tom: "I think we are going to have to put the nightstand on this side of the bed, Darcy."

Darcy: "But I like it on this side."

Tom: "I know, but the plug is right here on this side."

Darcy: "Well, that's not a problem. Just use an extendanation cord."

The Difference Between Men & Women....and why I'm insane

Me: "What time is your interview tomorrow?"

Him: "I don't know."

Me: "You don't know? How can that be?"

Him: "I don't know."

Me: "Are you going to wear your new suit."

Him: "No."

Me: "Why not?"

Him: "Because I don't know what time the interview is."

Me: "What does that even mean?"

Him: "It means I don't want to wear my suit all day if the interview is at 3:00 PM."

Me: "So what are you going to do? You're not going to wear the suit? You bought the suit for this interview."

Him: "Yep."

Me: "But you're not going to wear it."

Him: "Nope."

Me: "So what are you going to wear? Your regular clothes?"

Him: "I'll take a white shirt."

Me: "What do you mean? You're going to take your suit to change into later?"

Him: "No. I'll wear a white shirt and my suit pants, and I'll bring my jacket."

Me: "So....you're going to wear your suit!"

Him: "Yeah, pretty much."

Rounding Up My Adventures - Things I forgot to mention

I slept through the night, a good 11 hours. Getting up this morning was a tad tricky. My right hip, both shins, both calves, and both thighs are screaming in agony. The arm is fine. Madison's hips and back are sore. The other two claim no pain. We are slowly getting back into the groove. It was an incredible adventure and a good trip for all of us. Below are some of the things that didn't make it into earlier blogs, but I knew everyone wanted to know:

• The sun never shined all week. I guess I never noticed this until the day we left, and the sun was shining brightly. The rest of the time, it was overcast and snowing. I think I thought that was just Colorado, but now I remember that it is winter. One of the reasons I moved to Florida.

• The place we stayed in was small. I know I described it, but seriously it was small for 6 people. We managed quite nicely and didn't have any complications. Looking back on that, it is pretty amazing, or maybe it is just a testament to our group.

• Clint and I had many discussions on the Boos brothers and how closely they resemble one another and their father. Obviously, this didn't bother us in the beginning....either that or it is getting worse with age!

• My nose was always dry in the morning, and then it would run and run while skiing. I think the runny part was one of the hindrances of my skiing.

• I was never hungry in the evening. Each night we got ready for dinner, but my stomach was always tight and full. It didn't stop me from chowing down, but I thought it unusual.

• I also think I could have gotten away without deodorant. Everyone around me knows that this is something that I forget all the time. I even have to carry one in my car because I'm so forgetful. But seriously, in Colorado? I didn't need to worry about forgetting. I did sweat, but I didn't stink. Either that or the perspiration iced up before the odor could escape.

• Cross country skiing on the trails was a beautiful experience. I think if I had another week there, I would have skied every day, enjoying the peace and quiet of the snowy mountain range. Snow is so beautiful when you aren't driving in it.

• There were no ski lodges like I envisioned. There wasn't a place to sit back by a roaring fireplace at the bottom of the slopes while you enjoyed a hot toddy. Instead, there was a cafeteria and a bar. It was very much, eat, drink, and get back out on the slopes!

• Madison had a week's worth of homework. Did she do it on the 4-hour plane ride to Colorado? Did she do it each night when she returned from skiing? Guess what she is doing right now?

• The water that ran from the faucets in our condo was ice cold, and I mean ice cold. So cold that it hurt, and you had to turn on the hot water to mix with the cold so that you could tolerate it.

• We brought suitcases full of clothes (well, Tom didn't) that we did not wear. I wore three outfits the entire time, as did Darcy. Madison wore two, and Tom never washed his jeans until the day we left.

• I did not lose the 20 pounds I said I was going to lose skiing daily, but I didn't gain any either. Not with all the beer, wine, chips, desserts, and Dick's famous guacamole dip!

Happy 40th Suz!

IMG_2108
Originally uploaded by tcboos

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law! She turned the big 4-0 on February 7th, but I'm a little behind in sending good wishes. I WAS on vacation so she cut me some slack!

Home at Last

We left early this morning to head to the airport. I wasn't all that sleepy last night, so I stayed up and read in the bathroom and didn't get to sleep until after 2:00 AM. I rolled right out of bed this morning, and so far, not too many aches and pains.

The roads were open, but not all that easy to travel. Tom did a great job getting us to the airport with only one little slip and slide. We saw quite a few accidents on the way, but they were all on the opposite side of the median heading up the mountain. The snowbanks were terrific. SO HIGH. The men kept assuring me that if we slipped, we would slide into one of the snowbanks and not over the side of the mountain.

Our plane left at 12:40, and the guys were hoping to change their flight from 5:30 PM to 11:00 AM, so we got to the airport a little after 9:00 AM. We said goodbye to the men at their air stop, and we dropped off the car at the rental agency.

We stood in line outside, waiting for the shuttle to pick us up. It was bitter cold despite the sun shining for the first time all week. When the bus shuttle arrived, it was unable to get to us because a family was busy loading up their rental van right in the lane of traffic. This family had two small children, and no kidding, like 12 pieces of luggage, including a portable crib, car seats, and strollers.

One of the men got off of the shuttle and started yelling at the couple. Admittedly, he did not use the best language or speak in the kindest voice (I mean the children were already in their car seats in the van), but the mother went nuts. She got into the man's face and started shouting at him for his foul language in front of her children.

Those of us in line started making shush noises at them to calm down. The husband continued loading the van, and as he'd pack a suitcase, one would fall out of the back of the van. Finally, the wife jumped into the car and drove forward into a parking spot with the door flapping in the wind. It was excitement we certainly hadn't counted on!

Dick and Clint did make the 11:00 AM flight. We made ours, and 4 hours later, we landed. I stood up in the plane, and suddenly all the aches and pains were back. I guess 2 hours in a car and 4 hours sitting in a plane wasn't the best thing to do after my cross country ski adventures the previous day.

Kelly was there to pick us up, and we finished our trip with good ole home cooking at the Cracker Barrell. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow to get back to our own time zone.....at least I plan on it!

Day 6 And Another Attempt At Skiing

We awoke this morning to fresh snow and closed interstates. No snow falling, but the wind was still rowdy. Clint and Madison whined about cross-country skiing, but neither was up for the two of them going off to downhill together.

We loaded into the car and headed up, up, up the mountain. This time I rode with my eyes closed and tried not to snicker at Dick's passenger seat driving advice to his brother. We got about 6 inches of new snow last night, but that isn't official. The local channel is out of Denver, and its weather is about 20 degrees warmer. I didn't figure this out until a couple of days ago when I couldn't understand why it was much colder than 29 degrees. Uh, because it was like 9.

The Nordic Center was more crowded than when I was there on Monday. We paid and booted up. I have begun wearing Julie's neck warmer, and boy was I glad I had that on today! It was cold out there, but the new snow was just beautiful. Clint looked like he was born to cross-country ski, and he took off, showing off his skills. I must say that he was very helpful and would stop and wait for us to catch up. If we were having problems, he would come back and help us.

I did not fall first. Tom did. Then Madison. Then Darcy. I was ignoring everyone and talking to myself.

Me: "Knees bent, Cara, you can do this. Lean forward, slow steps, do not lock the knees."

I was happily sliding along until we came to a hill, and I mean HILL--not one we'd gone down in class, and not a small one. It was a hill I wanted to skip.

It ended under a little bridge. I watched everyone go first while I worked on psyching myself up. Tom also gave me a pep talk and insisted on following behind me.

I started skiing down, and suddenly I was flying. I screamed and shouted at the top of my lungs.

Me: "AAAAAAHHHH, I don't like this. I don't like this! AAAAAHHHHHH."

Then I began crying as I flew down the hill.

Tom: "You'll be fine. You'll stop eventually."

And I did! I came to a stop right under the little bridge. My heart was pumping, and I was gasping for breath, but darn if I wasn't still standing! I was feeling a tad smug, despite the crying and screaming, and then I looked up at the next hill we had to climb.

I became a bit annoyed. There was no way this was a beginner trail because the next hill was a tiny mountain.

Poor Madison couldn't get up the thing. She had to take her skis off and walk. I, however, was determined to make it on my skis. I tried and tried and tried to get up the mountain. I went into the V that Matt had taught me. I pulled with my poles. Finally, Clint came down and talked me up.

He had me walk with my skis in the V, but this time I tilted my skis inward. I thought my right ankle was going to break, but I made it. It was like I had been at the gym on the elliptical for 100 minutes. My thighs were screaming, my lungs were gulping air, and my knees were shaking.

But I did it!

The rest of the trail was beautiful. I got into a rhythm and slid effortlessly at times. I pushed with my toes and rarely had to use the poles. When we came to a downhill slope, I'd brace my hands on my knees and go with the flow.

I was skiing.

Then we came full circle--back to the tiny mountain and bridge. Now, in reverse, I was to ski down the small mountain to the bridge, and then, I'd trudge up the crazy hill.

We rested for several minutes, which just made my heart rate accelerate the more I stared down the tiny mountain.

Down went Clint, then Dick, and then Tom. I was worried if the girls went next, I'd run into them, so I made them wait. I knelt, put my hands on my knees, gave myself a pep talk, and pushed off.

Down, down, down.

Only, instead of going straight, I went to the right and slid directly into the 4-foot snowbank. And when I say that I slipped into it, I mean I literally skied directly into the snowbank so that when my momentum stopped, and I landed on my ass, I was buried beneath tons of snow to my chest. I looked like those people on the beach who bury themselves with sand. (No one took a picture)

The girls started asking me if I was okay, but I was laughing so hard I couldn't respond. Darcy skied down to me, and I just lay there and laughed. Then I tried to get up. I couldn't. I literally was buried up to my waist.

In cross country skiing, you have to get on your side and get your skis together while you roll your body inward to stand. I couldn't roll. I couldn't move from the waist down, and I couldn't stop laughing. I kept thinking that the men would come back to rescue me, but I could see them way up ahead, already at the top of the next hill. I finally had to use my poles to dig my way out. Once I got one ski unburied I used it to unbury the other one. Finally, I got free.

Now came the hard part--standing--on a hill. Each time I put a ski down, it would begin sliding, and I'd be back on my butt. After three times of that, I tried sliding on my butt down the hill, but apparently, my butt wasn't slippery enough. Determined, since I'd done so well up to this point, I grabbed ahold of my inner warrior. I could do this.

The girls were at the bottom by this time, Madison on the ground, Darcy standing. I gritted my teeth, turned, got up on one ski, which immediately started sliding, rolled on to the other ski and down I went, flying faster than I ever had all day. 

I was going so fast there was no time to talk to myself, no time to remember to turn my skis into pizzas to slow down, no time for my life to flash in front of my eyes.

Down, down, down, I flew until I got under the bridge, hit a patch of icy snow and tumbled, face first over the top of my skis. Not what I was supposed to do and boy, did that hurt. I, of course, landed on my right arm, my chin in the snow, one of my feet behind me, ski up in the air. I rolled over on to my back, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, I cried. 

The girls were upset and skiing toward me, so I sucked it up and got back up on my skis. By now, Tom was headed our way on foot to assist. I refused his help and made my way up the hill and back to the lodge.

I was concerned that I had done some damage this time. Before, I was joking with my hurt arm, but this time, I was serious. It was throbbing and moving it caused pain and burning. My left leg was the same. 

I wanted to go somewhere warm and curl into a fetal position. At one point, I cried again.

Me: "I want my Mommy."

UPDATE: I'm happy to report that my arm is back to being just painful as my first skiing incident. I downed ibuprofen, huddled under a blanket by the fire, and took a 30-minute nap. I can move and lift my arm. 

I believe I will be sore tomorrow, but I think I shall live. 

I'm also freezing. I can't get warm. Clint and I are relaxing before the fire and sipping champagne, enjoying the quiet as the others ventured off to Keystone for some tubing. 

We leave tomorrow.....weather and roads permitting.

Day 5 - Breckenridge, CO

We took our time this morning, enjoying the fire and our coffee. My arm is better today after a jacuzzi tub last night, but I still declined Tom's offer to drive me to Peak 8 for some cross-country skiing. 

Instead, I watched them bundle up and head off to the mountain. I looked into dog sledding, but it was too far to walk, and I was definitely not driving in this weather. We had 3 inches fall yesterday, and the wind is still brutal. Another storm is coming today, and the snow falling now is quite substantial. 

I never drove when I lived in the Midwest, and I'm not about to take a rental car out in this snow now.

I sat by the fire and read until Tom called me from the mountaintop to tell me to meet them for lunch at Beaver Run. Beaver Run is the slope up the hill from our condo instead of down in the village. I bundled up and hiked up the mountain. 

It is so much easier to walk after the snow has fallen. A couple of days ago, I kept slipping and sliding because the ground was icy, but today I was much more sturdy. Unfortunately, hiking up at 10,000 feet altitude is not as easy as hiking down. By the time I reached Beaver Run, I was huffing and puffing and dreading the walk downhill later.

We ate at the Beaver Run restaurant. I had a jumbo baked potato and loaded it with bacon, butter, salsa, olives, and onions, and when the inside was gone, I went to retrieve more butter so that I could eat the skin.  I was feeling somewhat healthy about my choice, despite the butter, and I returned to the table to find my potato gone. Poof. None of the five at the table had noticed someone steal it.

They stared at me with their wind-chapped cheeks and wide, mystified eyes.

Them: "Your potato? We didn't know you were eating one."

They headed back up the slopes, and I wandered around the Beaver Run resort for a while. The hike back to the condo was not so bad after all, except that the snow was blowing in my eyes, making it a tad difficult to see. I hadn't been home long when the rest of the troop joined me. Too cold for the girls.

We decided to eat out at a restaurant in the village that had a coupon in the local paper. Clint has picked the two restaurants we have visited, and we have agreed that he is the King of Restaurant Pickers.

This place, The Briar Rose, was off of the main street, so we bundled up and hiked to it. Darcy whined some about the walk, but it felt good to get out, and the falling snow was beautiful.

The restaurant was a small one with an excellent menu for adults and kids. We shared a bottle of wine and toasted to Clint being King RP as well as our walk through the snow. Tom and I had trout, the boys had beef, the girls chicken. On our walk back home, we stopped off at Clint's Bakery and bought the giant cookies for dessert. We made it home in time for the beginning of Survivor and ended the night with another movie.

Tomorrow's plan is to cross-country ski and to do some tubing. A storm is supposed to dump between 6 inches and 12 inches of snow overnight. We are thankful we aren't leaving tomorrow.

Day 4 - Breckenridge, CO

Today we dropped off the girls at ski school, layered up, and walked into the village to explore. We'd had two inches of new snow in the night, and it was easy for walking.

It snowed as we started out, and it got worse as we walked. The wind picked up and blew the snow off the roofs and trees and mingled with the falling snow to cover us as we walked.

As soon as we got on to the village path, the three men began acting like children. They threw snowballs and pushed one another into the snowdrifts on either side of the sidewalk.

Clint got me good in the back of the neck, and the wet snow reached inside my coat and shirt and down my back. I attempted to get him back, but my snowballs weren't award-winning, and he'd dodge perfectly when I launched them.

I bided my time, however. I know how to defeat the enemy.

Later, walking in the village, he ended up behind me, and I made my move, whipping around to hurl a handful of snow. It landed right in his face.

Ah, payback is sweet.

The village was full of quaint shops selling a lot of art, glass, and ski equipment. I wouldn't say it was the typical tourist trap at all. We did find Clint's Bakery, a place that our Clint had read about, and we went in and sampled some of the baked goods and coffee.

We walked most of Main Street and visited a few shops while the wind blew and the snow continued to fall. Dick hiked back to the condo and left the three of us to eat lunch in a Mexican restaurant. We downed margaritas and chips and salsa and eventually hiked over to peak 9 to pick up the girls.

The girls' last day of ski school was a good one. Apparently, not many children showed up in the snowy weather, so they were together with a red-haired teacher who took them down the mountain multiple times,  trying different things. They were given a report card. Darcy made it to Level 3 and Madison Level 4....whatever that means.

We hiked back to the condo and ate a magnificent feast of chicken parts, potatoes, and veggies prepared by Uncle Dick.

A non-ski, relaxing day for the adults while another day of the slopes for the kids.

Win-win!

Day Three - Breckenridge, CO

2:00 AM - I sleep four hours before my first bathroom break. Darcy and I are on a blow-up mattress in the kitchen, so to get up, I use my right arm to get up on to my knees. A sharp pain shoots from my shoulder to the tips of my fingers. It is as if someone has twisted my arm backward. The inside of my right knee is painful, and I can't put weight on it to stand. I switch sides to stand. Both hips groan in agony as I make my way, slowly, to the bathroom. Obviously, I have torn tendons and damaged significant muscles.

5:00 AM - Here we go again. I need the bathroom. My body protests, but I manage to stand using my left arm. The left knee is bothersome, and the hip is sore, but that arm is perfect. I use the bathroom. 

It is freezing in the condo, so I wander in the dark to look for the thermostat. Finding it, I push the knob up, but don't hear the heat click on. I return to the mattress and use Darcy for warmth. Damn, it's cold on the floor. Too late, I remember the gas fireplace. No way can I get back up again.

7:45 AM - Time to rise and shine. The girls have to be at school by nine. It is snowing and the temperature this morning is 18 degrees. The high today may reach 29. Darcy's legs are sore and aching, but both girls get up and drag on their layers of clothing.

They are not in the same group at ski school. Yesterday, when I hiked through the falling snow to pick them up, I got to watch Darcy ski down the mountain. Her instructor, a man by the name of Krassy, directed them into a roped-off corral where the ski school practices. Darcy skied down the hill inside the corral, stopping herself at the bottom where she collapsed into a heap. So did the boy next to her. Removing her goggles, she had sheer exhaustion written all over her face. She was pooped, hungry, and cold. She opted to stay there, on her knees, head tilted forward when I came into the corral to wait for Madison.

Darcy: "She is on the tippy, tippy, tippy, tippy, tippy top of the mountain."

Madison skied in 15 minutes later. She skied down the slope effortlessly, removed her goggles, and waved. I had to show ID to get both children, and then Dick and Tom appeared. They took Madison off for more skiing. Darcy changed her boots, and we hiked back to the condo, where she joined Uncle Clint on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate.

8:30 AM - This morning, there is no whining about going again - which I think I expected from Darcy. They eat, layer up and trudge off down the mountains for Day 2 of the ski school.

11:00 AM - The more I move, the better I feel. My knees and hips no longer hurt, but my right arm feels like I lifted a hundred and fifty pounds of one hundred reps. It is sore.

I enjoy several cups of hot coffee while I watch ESPN's Sports Center's news on Bob Knight's resignation. Tom offered to go back up the mountain to try snowshoeing with me, but I declined. I'm not sure my body is ready for that today. Instead, I layer up with the guys, watch them head up the mountain, and then I trudge down into the village. Neither of my children is in the corral, so I wait for them, regretting my choice not to wear ski pants. I wish for my face shield. It is cold. Snow blankets everything except for the pathways leading into the village shops--those are heated beneath the concrete and steam rises from them. It reminds me of the mist they spray at Disney World to cool off the guests.

My entire hike was in the snow, some of it slippery and icy. I don't have the best traction on my boots, but they do match my ski jacket, and really isn't fashion what matters? 

11:30 AM - I'm now in the eatery, "The Maggie" watching the skiers as they come in for lunch, seeking warmth. Everyone sports red cheeks and noses, Kleenex in their pockets. The hot chocolate is flowing. There is not one Nintendo or Game Boy in sight. I'm feeling like a beer, but yesterday I read another article on altitude adjustment, and apparently, one alcoholic beverage is equal to three at sea level. When I read this aloud to the men, all three opened up beers.

12:18 PM - I'm thinking a nap sounds better than a beer and lunch, but the thought of hiking to the condo stops me. It's odd because I grew up in snow and cold weather, and played outdoors for hours when a child. But seriously - ugh - I prefer Florida, the sand, the sun, the warmth, and the palm trees. It's beautiful here as I look out at the snow-covered mountains, the ski lifts carrying the skiers up, up, up, and the white snow-covered slopes with skiers in colored jackets descending at alarming speeds. An excellent place to visit, but no way would I live here.

1:15 PM - I'm back at the condo. I've had lunch and am now sitting by the gas fireplace reading my book. The hike back was cold, cold, cold, and I'm happy to be warm again. The men and children are still out there. Nuts....all of them.

4:00 PM - I hiked down to the village again to pick up the girls. I fell once and instinctively used my right arm to cushion the fall. ACK! The limb is SO sore. 

Darcy was in the corral, riding up the magic carpet (a moving escalator), and she waved, and I got to observe her ski down the slope. Madison skied in minutes later, and we packed up and hiked back. 

I slid once on the way back, but my waving arms kept me on my feet. The girls are kind enough and don't laugh. 

4:30 PM - Clint is in the jacuzzi tub. Tom and Dick stroll have strolled in, cheeks bright red, and they warm their feet and hands by our fire. 

It's time for chips and beer.

10:00 PM - We have returned from our venture into the village for dinner. Dick and the girls wanted to eat in, and Clint, Tom, and I jumped on that quickly. We agreed, put on our coats, and told them we'd be back later. They didn't think that funny and joined us. 

We found a little Bistro that seated us in ten minutes. I ate Penne Roberto, which consisted of flank steak, roasted peppers, zucchini, and spinach in a chipotle cilantro pesto sauce with a slice of avocado atop penne pasta. Delicious! A nice evening. 

The girls are winding down with Disney in the bedroom, and we adults are watching a Harrison Ford movie in front of our fire. 

Day 3 is ending.