Snow in Steamboat

Of course, family is always the best part of any holiday and any trip to Colorado.  But when we visit in the winter, getting to play in all the snow is definitely our second favorite part.  

Ethan has always loved the snow and he was so excited this year to get real skis and try out the big mountain.  

We all had a fun time watching him go from leaning on Aaron to get down the hill to riding the lift and skiing blue runs by himself.  

But E wasn't the only one on skis, Kels gave hers a shot as well.  This year she stayed with Aaron on the bunny hill, but she will be out there on her own soon enough.

Sadly for the little guy, he had to hang with me while the others were skiing.  

Although when nap time came, he didn't seem to mind.  

I giggled a bit on the first morning when I noticed Aaron and I were taking full advantage of Gigi and Grandpa taking care of our kids!

Grandpa got E all set up and working on his balance.

And Gigi skied the little lady around.  

Although I think Kels was more interested in stopping to snack on the snow...

and playing with her little brother.  

But we had so much fun out there without the skis.  Let's start with the snow eating.  These kids love to eat snow:

She taught her baby brother about her favorite outdoor treat.

And he loved it.

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The sledding:

A break in the sledding to eat some more snow.

The snowballs:

Uncle Curtis gave a lesson on how to make the perfect snowball.

And then they practiced their aim on Gigi...

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The shoveling:

Ethan LOVES to shovel snow and will do it for hours!

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And we enjoyed the snow from the inside:

Riding the gondola

Watching the skiers

And snow shovelers.

Warming up with hot chocolate.

Yummy!

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We arrived in Steamboat in time to celebrate the Winter Solstice with the cute little mountain town.

so we joined in on the party (Aaron is getting whack in the face with Kels' glowstick in this picture!).