Valentines Day 2017

Feb 14,

This year Valentines Day was kind of a blur. We came back from vacation the night before, so nobody had any time to plan something special. But Bella made me a sweet card that morning, and brought home a heard-shaped pillow that she made at school. And Lionel got flowers for all of us.

Together again!

Feb 13,

As soon as we landed in Cincinnati, after our ski trip, we went to pick up Zoey. She was happy, and we were happy to be together again.

Vail - Day 6 - The Breakfast

Feb 13,

To end the trip on a very high note for Bella, this morning we had her favorite breakfast at the hotel where Lionel's parents have been staying for years and years. Bella LOVES that breakfast, so Lionel's Dad took us there as a special treat.

Vail - Day 6 - Good Bye for Now

Feb 13,

Today we pack to head home. We are having breakfast and then getting on the road to drive back to Denver. It's always sad when vacation ends, but it will be nice to see Zoey and sleep in our own beds.

Vail - Day 5 - Last day of skiing

Feb 12,

Today was our last day of skiing, and it was an interesting one. Lionel's Dad couldn't come with us because of his injured foot, so it was just the four of us. Lionel really wanted to take advantage of the fresh snow that came down yesterday, and ski in places where neither the girls or I can go, so he went early. The girls and I took our time getting ready, and made plans to meet him at 10:00 am at the top of the gondola. We ended up leaving the apartment a bit later than expected, and there was still a long line at the gondola, so we ended up meeting him close to 10:30.

The girls were excited to ski with us today, so it's not like we "made" them go, but still the day was full of highs and lows. Somehow they found things to complain about throughout the day. Sofia wasn't listening to Lionel's advice very well, and at some point she had what I would call a mini anxiety attack. She came back from it once she decided to listen, but left a bad taste in our mouth. She then complained because she wanted to have lunch at this one place, but Lionel wanted to go somewhere else. To be fair, I suggested that we settled it by playing a rock-paper-scissors game. Two out of three would be the winner. But if we did that, nobody could complain later. No sore losers. Well... Sofia lost and she was definitely a sore loser. More bad mood for all of us to deal with.

After lunch we continued skiing for a little while, but then Bella started complaining that her head was itchy and needed to take off the helmet. The problem was not exactly that, but HOW she was asking. She was whining, and acting like everyone else was doing something to her. 

Another fun part of the day was that while Bella was very comfortable on the skis, and being a dare devil, Sofia was acting very uncomfortable and fell a number of times. So one was stressed, and the other one was annoyed that she had to go slow or wait.

At least towards the end of the day everybody found their happy place. Sofia finally got comfortable on the skis, and Bella happily led as we were skiing all the way down the mountain.

Vail - Day 4 - By Bella

Feb 11,

In the morning I got a little picture before we went skiing 🎿 . Well I was pretending to ski ⛷.

I was so happy when I got my dessert 🍨😋..dadi said that I ate lt to fast but I new l didn't .😄

Well we where waiting for breakfast 🍳 l made this picture for Valentine's Day and for mami 💁🏽.

Ever Saturday morning I go play soccer at Cincinnati sports club ⚽️.

Vail - Day 4 - Zero visibility and lots of snow

Feb 11,

This morning Bella went to ski school, but Sofia stayed at the apartment to do some homework because she was worried she wouldn't have enough time for all of it, and was starting to freak out. Philippe stayed back too, and told her that when she was done with homework maybe they could go up together and meet Lionel and I somewhere.

When Lionel and I started skiing, at about 9:30 am, visibility was pretty terrible. We literally couldn't see anything pass a few feet in front of us. It was kind of freaky. But Lionel knows the area well and there were plenty of people around, so he just said  to stay close to the trees because they help you see better. So we did.  We basically skied all morning in that crazy weather and even did Northstar, a black diamond, a couple of times. 

For lunch we met Philippe and Sofia at Mid Vail, her choice, and planned to ski the rest of the afternoon together until it was time to pick up Bella from ski school. But it so happened that as we finished lunch, and were getting ready to get back out there, we ran into Bella's group! Of course after seeing us she decided to stay with us the rest of the day, so we checked her out from ski school and she came with us. Unfortunately Philippe's foot was still bugging him, so he went back down shortly after. The 4 of us kept skiing, but the snow was coming down at a pretty good pace and sticking to our helmets, googles, and faces, which is definitely not the best. 

Bella did pretty well skiing. She seemed really comfortable out there. Sofia was kind of hesitant, but was getting better towards the end. But with all the snow hitting our faces Bella started to get really cold, and by the time we came back down she literally had little chunks of ice all around her face. In fact, we probably all did. I quickly put her in a hot shower, which made her feel better. It would have been nice going to the hot tub as well, but with the snow falling down that would have been a challenge. So instead we stayed inside, warming up and relaxing before it was time to take showers and head out for dinner. 

Vail - Day 3 - Dinner

Feb 10,

To end the day we went to a French restaurant for dinner. I didn't feel like I ate a lot, and in fact I didn't, but something made my stomach feel super heavy, as if I had eaten a crazy amount. To help my stomach I would have happily walked all the way back to the rental apartment, but the road was kind of dark. So instead we took the town shuttle to get back, and Bella and I just walked around the apartment for a few extra minutes before going back in. By then it was starting to rain a bit, so it was definitely time to stay inside.

Vail - Day 3 - Post by Bella

February 10,

In the morning mami always wanted a good little picture before we go skiing in the morning with me or Sofia or dadl 😬.

Me and Sofia and dadl we don't like takeing pictures because mami makes it take forever and ever .

Vail - Day 3 - Hot Tub Time

Feb 10,

The best way to end a long day of skiing is to go to the hot tub. So that is exactly what Bella, Lionel, and I did. Sofia stayed behind with grandma and grandpa doing some homework, but we were not gone for long. We had to get back, get ready, and go out for dinner. Bella also went into the pool, which was warm but not enough for my taste. So Lionel and I just kept and eye on her from the nice warm hot tub.

On the way back Bella grabbed a map of Vail, and pretended to read it while sitting by the fire. But that was only for a quick second. We wanted to get back before we started freezing.

Vail - Day 3 - Windy!

Feb 10,

Today started sunny and nice, a beautiful February morning. We dropped the girls off and took the gondola to start skiing. We skied for a little while until Lionel's Dad decided to head back down because he has a small injury in one of his feet. Lionel and I kept going. But gradually the weather got really windy and they started to close several of the lifts. I also started getting tired, and having the wind push me around did not make skiing any easier. At some point Lionel was ahead of me and kept telling me to move in one direction, but what he couldn't tell was that the wind was pushing me the other way. 

We ended up coming back at around 2:30, and got to rest for a little while before we headed back out to pick up the girls. Sofia was exhausted, but had a good day. And Bella was happier with her teacher and her skiing. She was a little bothered by something mean one of the girls in her group said to her, but we told her to ignore people like that.