Back to work, back to work.

This week marks my first full week back in the office in well over a month. After the scramble to use up remaining PTO, holidays and vacation, it’s time to get back to reality. Luckily, Monday is MLK Day, so I will have, yet again, another three day weekend. Woo hoo!

Last week, I got to spend an amazing week in Colorado with Nic and his family. It was not my first time to the Denver area, but it was my first time out on the “official” slopes. I’ve been on a trip before in my high school days, but snowboarding in Whitecap Mountain in Wisconsin is no Copper Mountain in Colorado!

After a few ski tumbles in my day, I’ve never been itching to get back up on those awkward skis, so I’ve taken a liking to the snowboard. I got myself “warmed up” for this trip the past month with many, many trips to little Buck Hill in Minnesota, but the lack of snow and abundance of icy, fake snow, have resulted in many bruises, swollen knees, and a sore body. But like I said last week, “No pain, no gain.” Right? Right!



Sibling time at Buck Hill, Christmas Eve morning.

I took an all-day lesson at Copper our first official day on the slopes. My teacher, Evan, was phenomenal. Those instructors out there really do, do that for a living. And man, do they know what they are doing! I was successfully linking turns and making my way down the slopes in the ‘S’ turn fashion snowboarders are accustomed to, and was loving every second of it! Despite my early falls onto rocks, hard snow, and some incredibly scary looking bruises.

We would spend our mornings perusing down the hills, meeting for lunch up at the top of the mountain, me…taking “breaks” sitting on the snow during runs simply out of frustration, and would conclude our active days in the resort hot tub. At night, the Meyers and I would play so many games! From one of our favorites, Canasta, to the Mexican Train, Yahtzee Hands Down card game, Monopoly in card game form, Spades, Hearts, and so many more. I finished up the vacation with three wins under my belt…not bad!

Keystone time!

After two days at Copper, we ventured over to Keystone for a day. Sadly, Nic’s dad had a pretty bad shoulder injury after a fall on the second day at Copper, so he was unable to ski with us the rest of the trip. Keystone was a blast, but the 3.5 mile run I continuously did that day was exhausting! We finished up the trip back at Copper with some very successful runs that left us with smiles on our faces and me, with a sense of accomplishment and excitement to come back!



Sunny break time at Copper.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Mid-40s all week, very little wind, with solid sun. The only downfall...was the lack of snow. Sadly, Colorado mountains were made up of 100% fake snow last week. I hope more snow will come, so at least some people can enjoy some fresh powder!



Keystone Silver Spoon run.

On Saturday, we drove all 15 hours back to St. Louis…this trip was by far the longest time in a car I had ever spent. Definitely a lot longer than the 6 hours I previously thought took forever! All that traveling was exhausting, and left me with not much time in between. Soon enough, I was back at the airport Sunday early morning, flying home to Minneapolis.

I’m excited to go back to Colorado next year when I will for sure be a professional snowboarder…lets hope I’ll be on the half pipe by then!