Simon (a friend I used to work with that TXU) came up to Denver for the weekend and stayed with another friend. We went out to eat lunch and dinner, and at dinner I asked them "what are y'all doing tomorrow?" They said "We're going skiing. What to come?" I've never been skiing, but have always wanted to give it a try, so I agreed.
Unfortunately, Simon's friend couldn't make it (he was closing on his house), but Simon picked me up at 730am, and we headed out to Loveland. Since I hadn't been before, I had asked Simon a million questions about what to wear, etc. I didn't have ski pants, and it turned out I was probably the only person up there wearing jeans!
We got our tickets and skis and poles by 10am. Simon gave me a few pointers on how to stop, turn, etc. I mastered going 1mph and stopping, so Simon figured it was time to master the bunny slopes. :) He gave me instruction on how to get on the lift, but said he would give me instruction on how to get off the lift on our way up. I made it on the lift, no problem. When I got to the top, things got interesting. There was probably a 5ft drop once you got off (a nice little hill). If course, since I had never tried stopping going that fast, I fell almost immediately and my skis came off.
We made it down the hill in about 30 minutes, me falling 4 times in all. I was determined to make it down without falling, so we went 4 more times... and I never fell again. I think by the last time down that side of the hill, we made it down in about 2 minutes. Simon was a great teacher and very patient. He has skied about 40 times, so this was basic for him, but he stuck with me and helped me out.
We then decided to go down the other side of the bunny hill, which was a bit steeper. I made it hallfway down, and realized I had gained too much speed, so I turned to stop, but ended up in soft powdery snow about 3ft deep, and my skis dug in too deep... and SPLAT! No biggie. I got up and made it back down the hill.
We ate lunch ($10 for a luke-warm sausage), and decided to head all the way up the mountain for a green. It was an amazing trip up hill... its a little scary being 50ft off the ground, and the lift was swaying back and forth. I made it to the top, and got a little confused when I got off, and started to head the wrong direction (a blue slope). Simon yelled at me, and I turned myself around! The first half wasn't much of a problem, but the 2nd half was a bit too steep for me! It was absolutely miserable getting down that mountain. I fell probably 10 times, once tasting some blood! When I fell, I fell hard. There's no easy way to go slow on some of those slopes! I think at times it took me about 10 minutes just to catch my breath and figure out how to get back on my skis. I even saw some guy (that resembled singer Kenny Rogers) pass me up 3 times on my way down. In all, I think it took 2 hours to get down, and I was exhausted. I stopped for a minute to catch my breath and watch some pre-teens try to qualify for the pre-olympics. Unfortunately, while we were there, a little girl broke her knee on her way down and had to be taken away.
The last slope was the biggest, and I was tired of falling, so I walked down the big hill, and skied the rest of the way back. I was totally wiped out, dehydrated, and needed a rest, so I went into the lodge and got a $3 bottle of water (they really rip you off there!).
Simon skied it a few more times, and we called it a day.
As we left, it was like rush hour (everyone leaving at the same time). When I got home, I took a quick shower, then Jen and I met up with Simon and his friends for dinner at Claim Jumpers (a half-order is more food than any normal person could eat).
I got home at 9:30pm, and was asleep within 15 minutes. The next day, I could barely move!
All in all, it was a fun experience. I think I need to spend a good solid day on the bunny slopes before I tackle any mountain, but I would love to go again. Actually, I have some friends heading up here in Jan and Feb that want me to go with them.
My parents flew up to spend Christmas with us, since we didn't know early on if I would have vacation days or not. They arrived just in time for the huge blizzard that hit Denver the week before Christmas. I had those 2 days off of work, and Mom and Dad ended up staying overnight at our apartment. (All the restaurants were closed due to the blizzard and their hotel started selling Healthy Choice frozen meals for $6, so they joined us to partake of our stocked fridge/freezer thanks to the Grocery Game!) Jon created a yummy quiche and also made chicken quesadillas, we ate lots of Driscoll's raspberries and yummy clementines, watched the weather reports on tv, worked on a puzzle, and played outside in the snow with our neighbors. A fun blizzard experience!
Christmas day was full of the usual fun things - orange rolls (from the can) and opening presents. We enjoyed opening all the fun and thoughtful gifts. We had a great day and appreciate all the wonderful gifts we received! We made the traditional Christmas (late) lunch - baked chicken, Stovetop stuffing, Grandma's gravy, sweet potatoes, Taylor's salad, brocolli, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Yummers! 
Christmas evening we drove to the Denver Zoo for ZooLights. The month of December the Denver Zoo decorates for Christmas with tons of lights - many in the shape of animals! They also have a soundtrack of Christmas songs with animal sounds (especially monkeys) added in. It was a ton of fun! Most of it is outside, but you also get to wander through the indoor hippo area (stinky!) and the giraffe area (cute baby giraffes!). Jon and I bought a monkey cookie cutter and Daddy bought the soundtrack to the animal-enhanced Christmas songs.
