I can’t believe that 2018 has come to a close, and I haven’t posted an update in a whole year. To say that not much happened in 2018 would be an understatement, which is partly the reason why I haven’t made a post. With that in mind, I’m rolling the year into one long blog, with emphasis on our Christmas trip.
We returned from Europe and settled into what is generally a quiet time for us. We got out when days were pretty and even made a trip up to Charlotte for the Banff Mountain Film Festival Tour. But for the most part, things were pretty uneventful. Things changed when Kristie was presented with an opportunity in the spring. Rather than spending our spring break in NC (camping, biking, kayaking, etc.) we spent our spring break in NC (exploring a potential new hometown).
A month later, Kristie was living in Winston-Salem to start a new job while Jay and the kids finished up school. The kids enjoyed playing soccer during the spring. We made some trips to the mountains and some trips to Winston-Salem to see Kristie. Once school ended, we split time between SC and NC and enjoyed looking at houses and exploring our new city. Parker attended kayak camp at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Later in the summer, Parker and Ansel both attended Camp Kanata. After camp, the kids went up to Delaware to visit Mom-Mom. After a brief stay, Mom-Mom drove the kids to their new home in Lewisville.
Parker, Ansel and Jay began sixth, fourth, and ninth grade respectively. Jay teaching at Carver High School. We blinked and it was Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving in Conway and enjoyed spending time with Jay’s family. We returned to W-S and prepared for December, which is always a busy month for us.
To get into the holiday spirit, we drove through the Festival of Lights at Tanglewood Park. We also took a tour of the Reynolda House and enjoyed seeing the Dorothea Lange photos. We knew we would have a white Christmas (we were leaving for Colorado at the end of the month), but what happened next reminded us that we were not in Famously Hot Columbia anymore. Winston-Salem received the biggest snowstorm since the 1930’s with 14 inches of snow! The kids, Jay included, enjoyed playing in it and the resulting WEEK out of school. The snow melted for one more week of school before Christmas break. With the snow gone, we celebrated Parker’s 12th birthday, which always propels us into Christmas.
On the 22nd, we drove to Charlotte, boarded a plane, and flew to Denver. Our final destination: Keystone Ski Resort. We woke up Sunday morning and hit the slopes. Parker and Ansel both enjoyed ski school. For dinner we went to the Keystone Ranch and enjoyed the hospitality. On Christmas Day, we all four skied together. Parker and Ansel both got onesies for Christmas that made them even more snuggly. We spent our nights relaxing and playing games with each other. The kids enjoyed ski school so much that they decided to attend several more days. They really progressed. Saturday was our last day skiing and Parker and Ansel both impressed us with their skills. Parker was able to ski black diamond level runs and Ansel was comfortable on intermediate blue slopes.
On the drive back to Denver, we decided to stop by Boulder so that Parker and Ansel could see the University of Colorado. While eating noodles at Zoe Ma Ma, we realized that Estes Park was less than an hour away. We had time to kill so we headed off to Rocky Mountain National Park. There was limited access, but we enjoyed driving through the park while the snow flurries fell and marveled at the size of the elk along the road.
Our trip was a great way to close out 2018 and we look forward to more adventures in 2019.
