Last Friday marked the beginning of our annual trip to Monarch, CO for three full days of excellent snowboarding at Monarch Mountain and incredible hospitality from Waunita Hot Springs Ranch.

Kicking-off the trip, Friday morning was spent shopping for food and supplies to feed 35 people for the next 3 days. After dropping a bundle of cash at Sam’s Club, I headed home to organize and pack everything up. It took 15 cases of drinks, over 200 sandwiches and countless snacks to ensure we had a well fed group. Departing from Wichita at 4:30 that evening, the bus drove all night, ensuring our arrival at Waunita’s around 4am Saturday morning. After some room assignments and a short nap, the group was set to go.

The next three days (Saturday – Monday) were spent eating, swimming, relaxing and, of course, snowboarding in an incredible amount of powdery goodness. To everyone’s delight, there were no serious injuries, just minor aches and pains. Everyone seemed to have an great time and I know Juli, Mikayla and I are already looking forward to next year.

Above are some photos of the trip. Enjoy!
Want to see more photos, check out the photos from Amy’s Monarch Ski Trip 2010 set on Flickr.

Last Sunday we packed up the Pilot and headed West to Denver for a few days to visit The Felixes. Among the multiple activities we took part in the most enjoyable was simply sitting back and watching the kids play. Here’s our pictorial story.

Over the July 4th holiday, we took a trip to visit The Felix family in Littleton, Colorado. The trip started off Wednesday night after I got home from work. As I arrived, Juli had the Pilot packed up and ready to roll. We packed up the kids and the dog and off we went. Arriving in Littleton around 2am Thursday morning, we all went in and dropped like flies.

On our first day, we hit the pool and loafed around the house trying to recover from the 9+ hour drive the previous night. That night we ate Chinese food for Jackson’s birthday and topped it off with an ice cream cake from DQ. On this morning we introduced Lucy (Amy’s dog) to Andi (our dog). Initially Lucy dominated the relationship (even though she is a MUCH smaller dog), but after a few hours of socialization, Andi understood that Lucy just wanted to play. From then on, Andi was the alpha-dog and REALLY enjoyed Lucy’s playful manner.

Day two was a bit more adventurous with a trip to the Denver Zoo. After 4 hours of looking at animals and walking around the park, the kids were exhausted (and it showed). We headed back to The Felix house for naps and relaxation. That night was Jackson’s birthday party with the whole family. We had a great time catching up with family and playing games. The night ended with fireworks and fun. View Our Photos

Day three started off with intentions of a hike, but after the women headed to the flea market, we knew there just wouldn’t be enough time. That afternoon ended with a trip to the park, with lunch and then back for naps and relaxation. That night we headed up to Opa’s place for a live band at the Red Rock Country Club and to watch some fireworks. The kids had a blast dancing and watching fireworks in the sky. View Our Photos

The morning of day four we all jumped in our cars and headed up I-70 to St. Mary’s Glacier for a nice hike to the top. Once we reached the top we stopped and ate sandwiches and enjoyed the view. Snow was still ontop of the mountain and we hiked up a bit further to play in the snow a bit before hiking back down. That night we headed over to Melissa and Lance’s place for food and entertainment. View Our Photos

The fifth day we went to the park in the morning to try and wear out the kids before packing up the car and driving back to Wichtia. We left Littleton around 1:30pm, pulling into our driveway in Wichita around midnight. After an exhaustive drive, I passed out in anticipation of returning to work the next day. View Our Photos

A couple weeks ago, Juli and I, The Thomes and The Stuteys headed off to Cancun for a bit of rest and relaxation. After about a year of talking, planning and anticipating, the day finally came (and just in time). The night before, Juli and I took the kids and Andi over to Mom’s and dropped them off. There they would be having the times of their lives, as we were having ours.

We all stayed at an all-inclusive resort called the Dreams Resort Cancun (which we all highly recommend). For 5 days and 4 nights we did nothing…and had the best time doing it. All the food, drinks and entertainment you could ever want, all located right there at the resort. Some highlights of the trip include: Juli swimming with the dolphins; a massage on the beach; a show featuring fire-dancers; and kayaking in the ocean.

The best way to experience our trip is to book one yourself, but if you’re running a little low on cash, you can check out these photos of Cancun.

After a few days of catching up with the real world in Wichita, I have managed to get some photos up on the site from our snowboard trip with the CYO group at St. Francis. This past weekend Mikayla, I and 22 other St. Francis parishioners took at 12.5 hour bus ride to Monarch Mountain for a few days of snow-filled fun. As usual, we stayed at Waunita Hot Springs Ranch (where the home cookin’ is unbelievable) and had a great time. Take a look at some of the photos I took while on the trip.

Mikayla and I took a trip to Monarch Mountain for a little snowboarding with a group of people from our Parish (St Francis of Assisi). Our group consisted of 34 people ranging in ability and age. We all had a great time. As the leader of the group, I put everything together for us…lift tickets, lodging, food, the bus, etc…

Take a peek at some of the photos of the trip. Most are of Mikayla on her snowboard. She did such an amazing job. She took lessons each morning. All of her instructors told me she has amazing balance and the ability to take instruction well. She is learning quickly. By the second day, she was cruising down the slopes without any physical support.

Check out the photos Mikayla took on our trip to Dallas. It’s quite interesting to see how a 7 year-old views her surroundings and picks out what’s interesting to her.