If it has to be cold ...

... then THAT was certainly the way to do it!

For those of you who have never seen Colorado, you must visit there sometime, preferably in the winter. It is breath-taking -- no exaggeration. Being a Southern girl, I've never seen real snow. Until now. In fact, our trip to Colorado caused me to do many things I've never tried before; some by accident and some on purpose.

First, I took a 3 hour plane ride -- never done that before. Shorter trips have always been my M.O., but it wasn't all together bad. I read and chewed gum in hopes that my ears wouldn't pop too much. Oh, and I drank tons of water in order to avoid the dreaded "altitude sickness." This, consequently, caused me to drive the man next to me crazy by needing to go the bathroom on the airplane during the flight. The flight back was even better because my wonderful husband (who's now 32, mind you) changed our seats to row 19. If ever given the chance, I highly recommend this. We were an exit row (which means, God help us, we were in charge of getting everyone off the plane in a crash situation), but it was well worth it because there were no people in front of us and we could stretch out our legs. Niiiiice.

Second, I did ski. Well, I guess you could call it skiing. I think I fell more than I skied, but I tried. Though I didn't really give it a good effort -- I gave up on the first day and then never went back out -- I did put on all my cute new ski clothes, take pictures, put on the skis, get on and off the lift, and attempt to get down the mountain. Fortunately, there are these really cute ski patrol guys who save damsels in distress when they get stuck on the mountain. So one was called by this really sweet woman who felt sorry for me on the walk-of-shame back to the top of the lift (in hopes of catching a ride back down the mountain). I think she could see me starting to wheeze (the air is so thin up there!), so she whipped out her blackberry and called me a cutie! He picked me up, strapped me to his toboggan (sled), and pulled me down the mountain. Though some would disagree with me, I believe I had a lot more fun tobogganing down the mountain than I would've skiing! My disappointing ski attempt was at no fault of my ski teachers Jess, Niki, and Ashley. They were very patient with me, trying to explain to me how to snow-plow, dig my skis in, try not to fall, etc. But their attempts were no match for my stubbornness or my distaste for embarrassment. So after falling several times and being buried in waist-deep snow, I threw my poles one final time and gave up. You can't say I didn't "try."

Third, I played drunk goggle Phase 10. Super fun. I recommend it to everyone. One of the highlites of the trip.

Fourth, I drank and enjoyed red wine. Apparently, it tastes better when you are among friends who will laugh with you and be silly. Who knew?

Fifth, I walked to dinner and shopped in 13 degree weather. It was really cold in Colorado, but it's a different kind of cold. It's not unbearable, like it is at home. Perhaps it's because we had on all the clothes (toboggans, coats, boots, wool socks, and gloves), but I think it has more to do with the humidity and the beauty of the snow. You can't feel bad about being cold when gigantic snow flakes are falling on your eyelashes and you have this gorgeous view.

Last, I had some peace and quiet. Tim spent most of the days skiing with the guys, which is fine because that's exactly what we went for. The other couples who went with us brought their children, but we decided to leave ours home. Though this led to a lot of quiet and rest for me, I missed my kids MISERABLY. The first day wasn't too bad, but after that it just got more and more painful. I suppose because I saw how much the other toddlers loved the snow, it made me realize that my little ones would've really enjoyed the trip. I talked to the kids every night (sometimes twice a day), and they did fine with their grandparents, but it sure made the days go by slowly to be alone for so long.

So, all in all, a good trip. I will certainly go back to ski country, if ever given the opportunity. I will take my babies with me next time, and I will leave the ski clothes as home. I'm thinking that the hot tub is more up my alley! And maybe some ice skating ... perhaps I'll attempt to ski again, simply to make Tim happy. But I think he was perfectly content skiing around with the guys and leaving me to read, drink hot chocolate, and watch TV in the condo. Which is just fine with me!