Aching to go again - literally

We've arrived home safe from our week-long trip to Breckenridge, and as I think about the need to finally unpack my bags tonight I'm also thinking back to all of the fun we had with family and friends.
A fairly painless road trip was had by all, and despite all the jokes about traveling to and from Colorado with my in-laws in a minivan, they're pretty easy to travel with. Besides, they paid for the gas so what am I to say? On this particular trip I was somehow dialed into the driving, and I think all told I drove 24 of the 30 hours there and back. (thanks 5-hour energy!)
I also got to reconnect with my friend Sara, of former Daily Herald and Rocky Mountain News fame, and my good pal Vern at our usual Beau Jo's Pizza stop in Idaho Springs. It's turned into quite a ritual, and a tasty one at that.
Seeing the girls reactions to their first glimpse of the mountain was worth the price of admission too. I had so much fun telling them stories about what they would see as I tucked them into bed for the last few days before the trip, then to see it happen in front of them was so much fun.
I started the skiing off with a not-so-good bang, as I got plowed into by my brother-in-law just a few hours after starting off 6 straight days on the mountain. I can't fully blame the guy, he was trying to get me back for spraying him with snow a little while before that - problem is that he and his friend both had the same idea, and then couldn't react quickly enough to avoid an accident when they realized they were converging on me at the same time. I got blindsided by the two of them, and somehow got whacked hard enough just below the left knee that I couldn't put all of the pressure I wanted onto my left ski all week.
For someone who loves to ski as much as I do, and who only gets to do it every couple of years, it's hard to put into words how disappointing that was. I pushed through, especially later in the week when Vern joined us, with a combination of ibuprofen, tylenol laced with codeine, beer and Bushmills. And since I didn't exactly let my leg rest for the next 5 days, the pain has become worse now that I'm home and not medicating/drinking as much. Makes me sound kind of pathetic huh? Ann made the mistake of bringing up my past Breck injuries, as if to somehow say that I should just expect to have some sort of issue each time I go out there. To which I say:
1) I don't count sinus infections as injuries, and since she's never had one, she can't talk about it. (2001 and 2002)
2) I'll give you that skiing backwards to watch everyone else wasn't smart, lucky I only got whiplash. (2004)
3) Getting the crap knocked out of me by people skiing out of control isn't my fault. (2010)
Despite what you've read up to now, we did have a great time out there. We even had an adults night out thanks to a local babysitting service so we could hit the town a bit after skiing all day. Catching up with buddy Vern is always good, and getting to ski with him is even better. Next time I'll be able to actually keep up, I hope.
Our place on French Street was just perfect - a view to die for, hot tub with same view, and enough room for the Hankins, Wilcox and Neiman clans, as well as a few nights with Vern and his wonder dog Kaya, who was a complete hit with the girls.
By far the biggest highlight was Clare. She seemed to do pretty well for the 2 days she was in ski school, and she appeared to be anxious to get back out on the slopes at Copper on Friday. To my surprise and utter joy, she took off in a big way. After an initial hesitation about a steep descent down the final part of a run towards Center Village, she got back up to the top and took off even faster. At times I even caught her trying to imitate my turns. She's really getting the hang of it - and I can't wait to get her out on skis again sometime soon.
Addie and Greta were treated to a fun time with Karen at the children's museum and the rec center where they could swim... much more fun than what I'm sure was torture for them on the bunny hills.
And to top it all off, I also reconnected with my cousin Julie and her husband and daughter Katie during a brief lunch stop in Denver on our way home. The last time we saw each other was Meg and Brian's wedding in GR, so it's been nearly a decade. Interesting thing about cousins... I have scores of them, but they're all over the country. We see Ann's a couple times each year, but only her first cousins about every year or two. So when I get to see mine it's a real treat - I'm looking forward to more reconnects with mine in the years to come (thanks Facebook). I'll also try to post some photos here shortly - in the meantime, check out the video of Clare at Copper on Friday.