Down Home: Colorado or Bust!

The Starr Family, Colorado 2011

The short version:

We did it. And "It" covers several items such as

1. John Henry's first plane ride and trip to Colorado

2. The immediate Starr family had a vacation together without it being a holiday

3. James, Sumner, Max, and Henry learned how to ski

4. Bunny, Carol, Sherridan, Wendy, and Jay got to ski together for the first time in several years. Big props to Carol who got back on skis after 22 years!

4. John Henry went to daycare

The long version:

We finally had our Starr family ski trip. Bunny has been trying to get everyone together for years and this year all the pieces fell into place. I'm not going to lie, I was terrified. Flying with a 2 month old in the middle of cold and flu season to a different time zone... I didn't care that everyone said flying with a 2 month old would be easy. At least easier than flying with a 16 month old. I understood that it's easier to fly when babies are not mobile but I was still scared. I had no idea if John Henry would be okay with the pressure or what type of mood he would be in during the flight. Now that it's all said and done, he was perfect. Really, a great traveller and we couldn't have asked for a better baby on the trip.

Daddy and JH waiting to board our flight to Denver. Don't they look nervous?

Once we got to Colorado I was prepared for John Henry to be out of sorts in a different time zone and new climate. He proved me wrong and the altitude didn't seem to bother him at all. He slept great and took better naps in Colorado than back at home in Georgia. Every day after his morning nap we bundled up and met everyone at the lodge for lunch.

Mommy and John Henry on the way to the lodge.

Carol, John Henry and Bunny at lunch.

Wendy, Sherridan, and Sumner enjoying a break from skiing.

Sweet Max!

Henry is ready to get back on the slopes.

On Thursday John Ramsey met up with Jay to go skiing. I should have known John would challenge Jay. Their first run of the day was a double black and I'm pretty sure they didn't ski anything that one would consider easy. I know it was Jay's favorite day of skiing and I'm thankful that he came back in one piece!

Jay on some crazy run with John...

John, John Henry and Jay enjoying lunch.

Each day everyone would come back and relax at the condo. It was so nice to have everyone together and I know the kids had a ton of fun playing together. So much fun that I didn't get a picture of the Santivanez and Ladner kids hanging out! I know we have pictures of the kids, just not on my camera.

Daddy and John Henry, chillin on the couch after a long day.

Jay, John Henry, Carol, Wendy, Sherridan, and Bunny

Sumner is going to make a great babysitter!

Jay, Wendy, Bunny, Carol, and JH.

On the last day Jay and I decided to put John Henry in daycare so we could ski together. I thought I would be really nervous when I dropped him off that morning. The reality is that I was more scared getting off the lift for our first run than I was dropping him off with total strangers... What does that say about me?

I love to ski with Jay and I always have a great time once I get my first run over with. We were also able to ski with the rest of the family and I was totally impressed. James, Sumner, Max, Henry and Zach did great! All of the kids were skiing the blue runs by the end of our trip and they had so much fun on the slopes.

On Saturday we packed up and headed back to Denver. Jay and I got to visit with John, Jordan, Reese, and Jack. All of the pictures are on Jordan's camera so at the moment I don't have any pictures to post. After Denver we headed to Broomfield to visit my family. John Henry got to meet some of his cousins and hang with his Grandparents and Uncles. My parents cooked us a delicious dinner and took great care of us. It was a short visit but we enjoyed our time with them!

Tristan, Jerry, and John Henry

Grandpa Schuler feeding John Henry

Uncle Josh, JH, and Uncle Joshua...so many J's

The Colorado fam

On Sunday we headed back to Atlanta. Thankfully we were able to get seats together and our little boy was an angel. He slept for part of the way and played on Jay's lap for the rest of the way.