Vail Vacation

Not only did we take a vacation from work (yes a whole week), but obviously we took a vacation from keeping up on the blog. Whew, it's been a very busy couple of weeks...so much time doing, and not much time to document our doings. We hope to take the next week to catch up on all of our recent activities.



Vail, CO - a REAL vacation

We realized as our road trip began that it has been years since we've actually enjoyed an entire week off. We take lots of days off, but this was a real week long vacation....9 days! In beautiful Vail, CO to go skiing.

We are the luckiest parents because we invited Grandma & Grandpa Thew with us so they could spend quality time with Gavin while we went skiing. It was actually a really fun trip for all of us. These are just a few of the great things we did on our trip.

This was our first road trip in our new car. The drive to Vail is about 12 hours if you drive straight through. With an 18 month old in tow, we weren't about to tackle that. We split the drive over 2 days. Our first stop was Moab, UT, home of Arches & Canyonlands National Parks. Fun, eclectic little town. We arrived just in time to grab some dinner and head to bed.

The car ride was so easy and pleasant with the DVD player for Gavin. It was the first time we tried the headphones and he was in heaven. He was so mesmerized by the Wiggles DVD he didn't even notice he had the headphones on. We turned it off every once in a while and listened to Toddler Tunes; anything to keep the baby happy!!


One of the highlights of our trip was our dinner night out. We stayed at Marriott's Streamside Evergreen, a really great timeshare. We had all the luxuries of home: stove, oven, microwave, dishwasher, washer, dryer, etc. We cooked in most nights, but we wanted to have one night out as a BIG thank you to our parents. Beano's Cabin was a great restaurant hidden on the mountainside at Beaver Creek. One of our greatest dining experiences EVER! No exaggeration!

Dinner starts with a ride up the mountain on a sleigh pulled behind a snowcat. It was really fun and the view was specatular because it was still daylight out.

Not only was the restaurant and food wonderful, the service was spectacular, the live music was entertaining, and the atmosphere was extremely kid friendly. It was a 5 course meal portioned just right so you really could enjoy all 5 courses. It is definitely a special occasion kind of restaurant. However, if you're ever in or near Beaver Creak we highly, highly recommend Beano's!!

You can imagine how well a toddler would do for a 5 course meal, of which he has no interest in. We had leek soup, duck, scallops, seared Ahi Tuna, brussels sprouts, elk medallions, buffalo ribeye, chocolate trio, goat cheese crisps...hmmm, did I forget anything. We tried to each order a little different and share so we could try a little of everything. Gavin was a CHAMP! He turned his dinner into several courses too. He would eat a little and then get up and dance to the guitar player. He made himself his own little stage next to the musician. We're convinced the musician made extra tips that night because of Gavin. Gavin also made a friend, Isabella. She was quite shy but it didn't stop G from trying.

Gavin had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa. He even gave Grandma a special treat during one of his naps. (Grandma wasn't quite aware how clever Gavin is at 18 months old). She put him to bed without pants, yes a diaper, but no pants. Gavin left a treat in his diaper, took it off & folded it up, and put it in the corner of the crib. He then pooped again in the opposite corner and moved to the far end of the crib, perched on top of his pillow that he peed through completely...patiently waiting for someone to come get him. That will teach Grandma to never leave a grandchild in just a diaper.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Well not really. It was so sunny we were sweating most days we went skiing. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The last day we skied it was snowing and very cold, but we still had an awesome day. Even Gavin was able to get out and enjoy the snow a little. He was too short and didn't weigh enough to do any of the really fun stuff; we're already looking forward to next year when he can.

The ride home was a long one. About 3/4 of the way to our destination (Kayenta, AZ) we decided to drive through to get home. We're still debating if that was a good or bad idea. We were happy to get home because we found out later that I17 was closed for over a day, if we would have stopped we more than likely would have been stuck in Flagstaff for another day or more. However the drive from Flagstaff to Gilbert was awful, the most snow we'd seen the entire week. Semi's, cars, and trucks turned on their side, in ditches, all kinds of trouble. Jason did a great job driving and keeping his family safe.

We can't wait to go back next year; we've decided this will be an annual vacation. Let's just hope Grandma and Grandpa agree.