Spring Break-2024

WAHOOO!!! What a WEEK! We are back from our {baseball first and then} skiing getaway and I have a little recap of the fun for you! These recaps are very different than when I was first blogging years ago. My kids aren’t pumped about posing for pics so I’m throwing a good nine days of vacation into one big post {and it’s really not even that long}!

Here we go….

Starting way back on last Thursday {before our official Spring Break week}, Nixon and I were at DFW airport for hours. Our flight to Arizona for baseball just continued getting delayed until finally they cancelled our flight all together. We sent this to our fancy Uber driver {TAB-ha!} as we waited for him to come and grab us. We tried again the next day. Flights were still all kinds of crazy and ended up getting on an afternoon flight to Tucson and then onto Phoenix.

WE MADE IT! Got into Phoenix around 6:30 and I dropped Nixon off at the ASU baseball game so he could hang with friends while I went on to the hotel to check in, get us all situated and our stuff settled.

Saturday morning we were at the ball fields bright and early and ready for some baseball! I was trying to get a pic of the mountains in the background. It looked a bit different than it does here in Texas. 😉

Saturday afternoon/evening we spent time at the water park in our hotel before Nix joined a group of boys headed back to the ASU game. I managed to Door Dash a delish dinner and finish an amazing book! {I’ll share later!}

Sunday, we had more games at new fields. This field had cactuses on the other side of the fence. Cactuses AND mountains? YES!

Meanwhile, Champ was living his best life at his first ever Rover experience! We found a dog sitter who was fantastic and he had the BEST week living his best life! Wanna hear a CRAZY story? When we picked Champ up yesterday we started talking and a RANDOM DOG SITTER IN DALLAS {not even in McKinney} and I both have grandparents who live in a super small town in Missouri with a population of around 1,200 people! Isn’t that crazy? Needless to say, she loved Champ and took great care of him!

Nixon made it to two ASU baseball games with friends, spent hours at the water park in the hotel, had a great time bonding with his new team AND made all the chaos of a stormy travel day all worth it! He played some great baseball as well which while I thought was THE most important part before we arrived, it ended up being icing on the cake of a great weekend. And my mama heart must tell you that I had a great time getting just one-on-one time with Nixon. Doesn’t happen often but I enjoyed every minute.

I snagged this perfect baseball-watching/travel outfit {Pullover and pants} and at the end of the last game on Sunday we snuck off early for the airport. Making our way to Denver so Tab and the crew could pick us up Monday mid-morning on their way to Beaver Creek, Colorado.

Besides that cancelled flight, the logistics worked perfectly! Tab and the kids picked us up around 11:30 a.m. so we grabbed lunch before making the two-ish hour drive to Beaver Creek.

And then we arrived at our resort for the week! {Our neighbors had a ski trip planned for Spring Break and then had some issues come up so we offered to take their oldest daughter with us! Worked perfectly and we loved having her with us for the week!}

Reunited and it feels so good…{did you sing it?}

Tuesday morning this nugget was up early for ski school! Before the snow…

And after…She had a BLAST! And loved going to ski school!

Meanwhile, the rest of us skied our hearts out while she was in school.

We laughed and laughed!

This was my seventh ski trip and the very first time I wasn’t full of anxiety headed up on the mountain! I’m not a great skier so in the past when we skied with our kids the idea of being responsible for them while I’m on skis was TOO much! This year I set the expectation they were on their own or needed help from Tab. I was of no use and well, it worked! And it helps SO much they’re older and are better skiers than me anyway. :). Needless to say, if you’ve been skiing with your family and just aren’t the biggest fan, maybe wait until your seventh year? haha!

At one point these two and I decided the run was TOO hard so we started sliding down the hill only to find our knight in shining armor or in this case, our knight in a snow plow who offered us a ride down!

On Wednesday, the girls and I decided to shop in Vail instead of ski. We needed our rest and you can tell from the pic {and those bags under my eyes} I didn’t get enough!

This day happened to be a rough one for Nixon. He’s a great skier but was going too fast, hit a mogul, and fell hard. We took him to Urgent Care and have a follow up appointment here today with a great doctor to see what he thinks. Prayers appreciated please!

Dinner in Beaver Creek Village on this evening was the perfect way to lift everyone’s spirits.

Thursday morning the crew {minus Nix who rested in the room} was up early to get Britt to ski school and then to hit the slopes ourselves.

By day two, these girls did great!

And I was cracking up at myself. The helmet/goggles combo almost gave me my own little version of a lip flip. Can you see it? hahaha!

Friday, the big girls and I hit THE SPA! And loved every minute of it! We relaxed, I read a book, and it was amazing!

Before we got dressed for one last family dinner to round out a great week. {Minus that sling. URG!}

This girly loved it! {And Tab helped her finish packing where they both “accidentally” forgot bows or headbands so she was living her best life with her hair down. ha!}

Love this guy! Skiing is a lot of work and he was so patient with us novice skiers! On the first day, Nixon looked at Tab and goes, “When I’m older, I’m never taking all my kids and wife skiing. This is way too much work.” ha! I totally get it! When they go away on a guy’s trip, it’s so much easier!

Awwww….my boys.

We had a boy’s room/girl’s room and spent much of our girl’s room time with talk of make-up, skin care, boys, and ALL the laughs.

These two…she’s growing up right before our eyes!

I’m cracking up because yes, we have tired eyes. I was always nervous I’d oversleep and miss ski school drop off so my early morning hours were often spent reading a book instead of getting more sleep. {Hence, the eyes!}. BUT…I’m telling you, it was a good week.

Beaver Creek, you were good to us {minus that sling}. We can’t wait to see you again soon!

XO

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9 Comments

  1. 3.18.24
    Elspeth said:

    What a fun and memorable trip! Thanks so much for sharing!
    http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com

  2. 3.18.24
    Sheaffer said:

    Great pics!!! Praying for Nix!

    • 3.19.24
      Erika Slaughter said:

      Thank you!!

  3. 3.18.24

    Minus the sling, it looks like the PERFECT week! We have missed you guys!

    • 3.19.24
      Erika Slaughter said:

      Minus that sling…waaaahhhh!!!

  4. 3.18.24
    Alyssa said:

    What a great family trip!! Prayers for Nixon. I cracked up at the lip flip comment haha!!

    • 3.19.24
      Erika Slaughter said:

      HA! Can’t you see it? I always want to give that a try but Tab isn’t a fan. Who knew I just needed goggles and a ski helmet?

  5. 3.20.24
    Debbie Lang said:

    Looks like a great family trip and memories made. Do you mind sharing were you stayed, and if you would recommend it?

    I’ve not been to Beaver Creek in CO. We have been to many of the CO resorts (Keystone, Breckenridge, Winter Park, Copper Mountain), so it is on our list to try.

    • 3.21.24
      Erika Slaughter said:

      We stayed at the Westin Resort. It’s right at the bottom of the Beaver Creek area and has a gondola that runs up so we’d just hop on that gondola and ski! It was super easy!