To say I like to plan wouldn't be an entirely true statement. More like I plan to plan to plan. And I might even go so far as to say that I live to plan. That is why I am still a bit dumbfounded that our weekend in Angel Fire actually happened. I, Ashley Fanning, planned a vacation in less than two days. Spontaneity at its finest I suppose. I was at the gym last Tuesday when I got a call from our friends and neighbors, the Woodruffs. They asked if we would want to use their condo in Angel Fire for the weekend. Ummmmm YESSSSSSSS! Well that's not exactly what I said. I realized that I had one thing standing in my way. His name was Riley. And it turned out that he wasn't an obstacle at all. I think I caught him at a very good moment when I got home and he responded with a "I think that sounds good." Excuse me while I go examine that statement. Did my husband just say the word "yes"????? There was no stopping me from that moment on. Operation Get to Angel Fire was born!
I spent Tuesday evening on the couch researching about the area and making a list of things we could do as a family since we wanted to take Hallie along. We went to sleep with excitement for what the weekend would bring which was very welcomed in comparison to our usual mid-week work slump. But silly ol' Wednesday morning presented another obstacle. I got the dreaded "your daughter is sick" phone call from Paula. It turned out that she had thrown up all over the place. Bless Lil Red's heart...and Paula and Jerry's as well. Paula said she would call if it happened again. I kept my fingers, toes, eyeballs and hairs crossed all day in hopes that I would not get "the call" for a second time that day. Not so lucky. She was throwing up all over the snack table as her little friends enjoyed a nice treat that afternoon. Jerry says they all just sat there and stared. Poor girl! I rushed over to pick up my smelly princess and thanks to her darling dad who got us a quick appointment we went straight to the nurse practitioner.....
Of course that was the day she insisted on wearing owl slippers to daycare
By the time Hal spotted the sucker bucket she was back to normal. No signs of illness except for the vomiting so we left with some nausea medicine that could've doubled as a possible altitude sickness quick fix as well. We went home that night with a lively, crazy, 100% well girl. PTL!
"It yucky momma"
As I was strapping Lil Red in her carseat I announced that we were "on our way!" She finished my sentence off by shouting "to the mountains!" The remaining three hours of our voyage to the mountains were beautiful and quiet for the most part. Hal entertained us with her music stylings and used her feet to bang on the seat shouting "1,2,3,4 rock and roll!!!" sporadically throughout the trip. I have no idea who taught her how to rock out but she's got it all figured out! Head banging and everything! We spotted plenty of wildlife on the side of the road as we entered the mountains......
We stopped before we got to Eagle's Nest to grab some groceries for the weekend. This ended up being a very wise decision. As we were pulling out of the parking lot we stopped to ask a family who had just pulled in how the roads were. The look on their faces told us everything we needed to know. But the nice man went on to say how awful and scary his drive down the mountain had been. Greeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaat. I felt like a big doofus for not checking the weather. I didn't even give it a second thought. Lesson learned. Here's a shot that shows the storm off in the distance....
And here we are in the thick of it.....
"Dis is vewy cold!"
We were so relieved to open the door to the condo and pile in where it was warm. We jacked up the heaters as high as they would go and settled in with sweatpants and slippers. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Relaxation. Hal did anything but relax. She ran up and down the spiral stairs at least 3,584 times and inspected every last inch of our home for the weekend.....
Riley got a fire a goin' and was pretty darn proud of it....
Hal begged to take a bath upstairs and I obliged. She cozied up in her robe with a cup of milk and her Leap Pad on the couch.....
The "stairmaster" wore her lil self out before long. Running from "pink monsters" who lived upstairs was quite exhausting also. She took advantage of all the space in her king-sized bed by sprawling out, but backwards mind you......
She fell asleep with a few stipulations: a cup of juice, Minnie, Daisy, a Leap Pad, cartoons on the tv and a cracker. I suck as a parent. I gave her all of that. My justification: she was being a brave girl in a new room with that big bed all my herself. She fell asleep without a peep. Riley and I enjoyed every minute of our quiet evening by the fire watching The Dark Knight Rises. Great movie. The mountain air must've made us drowsy because I couldn't keep my eyes open after the movie ended. We went to bed around 10:00 and were all up at 6:30. Funny thing was we were all wide awake and well-rested even though it was entirely too early to be getting out of bed. Hal fed Daisy and Minnie some peaches while they watched Dora in the living room....
The wind had blown most of the night, swirling and howling, but had finally died down a bit by morning. I got acquainted with the kitchen and made some eggs and sausage for my two goofballs. We wasted no time getting showered and ready to get going after breakfast was cleaned up. Saturday was our ski day. Saturday was also a frigid cold day. See.......
My trusty partner forged her way out onto the porch to see just how cold it was that morn.....
We talked with her about what her day would be like. She didn't seem to mind one bit. Well, maybe a bit of attitude was displayed.....
We walked out to the truck as bundled up as possible. But it wasn't enough!!!!! We were freezing our tootsies off!!!!!
Hal waltzed right in toward the two teachers who welcomed her with open arms. "This must be Hallie!" Why yes, yes it is. "Good luck", I wanted to say. ;) The facility was wonderful. And it should've been. $100/day. Wonderful was expected for a price like that. ;) Hal made herself at home by stripping her coat off and looking around at all of the play possibilities. We gave kisses and hugs and off we went!
I had woken up a tad bit nervous for what the day had in store for us. After all it had been twenty years since I'd had skis on my feet. As a pint-sized shorty it was a cinch to zip down the mountain. I'd taken a two day stab at snow boarding five years ago but I knew my lack luster boarding ability did not bode well for me. I was correct in that assumption. But let's not muddy up the prettiness that was the mountain and the snow and the pretty blue ski that day. What a pretty day it was.
We took a few pics on top of the mountain before "the incident" happened. Here I am all smiles pre-incident.....
Had to try out the panoramic view on my phone....
It took a good while....ok, a long while....to get the hang of having skis on my feet again. Riley picked the skill back up as if no time had passed since he had last skied. I hate not being able to do something good. And there was nothing good about the way I was moving over the snow....well, I guess I should say ice. The slopes were pretty icy that day because of all the winds the day before. I looked like an uncoordinated fool trying to get in line for the lift the first time. Riley was the picture of patience and helped me get my act together. This is after I fell in line and couldn't get up. So to recap....we hadn't even started yet and the fall count was already at 1. And it only went up from there. Our first run down the bunny slope was atrocious. Riley chuckled at my form as I wedged my way down the hill bent over at the waist in fear. Up the hill for a second time and by then I'd mastered getting in line. Yes, I considered it an achievement worth celebrating. I actually swooshed my way down the hill alongside Mr. Ski Master (Riley) with good form and no fear. I was so happy by the time I got to the bottom that I wanted to jump up and down....but that is sort of hard to do strapped into skis. So I did a little happy dance with my arms. That right there was the only happy dance I did that day. It all went downhill from there....no pun intended. Let me paint a picture for you.......
So there I was....tears of terror streaming down my cheeks and freezing on my face. I stood beside Riley at the bottom of the first hill atop a blue run. Here's what was running through my mind: "ok, so I can't even make it down a green run without falling all over the place and I'm now on a blue run.....WHY!?!?!?!?" While deciding which way we were going to go once we hopped off the lift Riley suddenly took off and said "watch me do these jumps babe!" When he got done flying over the jumps he waved me on down. I faithfully followed not knowing where we were headed. When I got down to where he was standing I immediately spotted a sign that pointed in two directions. All I could focus in on were two blue circles. Commence the crying. Riley had all the confidence in the world in his incredibly uncoordinated hot mess of a wife. Bless his heart. I was the epitome of a HOT MESS. Look it up in the dictionary....BAM....it's a picture of me on skis!!! I wanted no part of that run....each hill seemed like a highway to my death and I couldn't help but picture myself meeting Sonny Bono up in heaven discussing our last thoughts before we hit the big tree. I made it down. With only three falls in fact. Ha, only. This was mostly due to the fact that I didn't ski down. I wedged down. And crept down. And side stepped down the mountain. Picture me in a W-sitting position sliding down the mountain with Riley behind me hollering "watch out on your right, watch out on your right" in a disguised voice. I thought for sure I was about to get plowed until he came up behind me laughing. Turd! Our final two runs were fairly uneventful compared to the one I just described. I stuck to the greens and almost had a fall free run. That is until I came in a bit too fast at the bottom of the hill and discovered that the only way to stop was to tangle myself up in a plastic orange barrier and practically rip my arm off by getting my pole caught in it. If I act like I planned it that way it doesn't seem so incredibly embarrassing!!!!! Oh and did I mention that the plastic orange barrier was what blocked off the ski school area. The nice ski instructor asked me if I needed help and if I was alright. "Physically fine, emotionally scarred." As if it weren't already blatantly obvious that I lacked the athletic ability to manage such a sport but that final run solidified what I'm already known but never wanted to admit: I SUCK AT SPORTS.
My favorite part of the day::::::::HOT CHOCOLATE at the bar. Riley was convinced that he was going to have to amputate his right toes. So he did what anyone would do....removed the gloved from his hand and put it on his foot......
Riley spent our time at the bar trying to convince me to go up the lift ONE LAST TIME. "No way!!!" I was beaten and bruised and sore.....and that was just my pride. My body wanted one thing and one thing only.....and that was HOT CHOCOLATE. This handsome dude wanted to SKI!!!!
So ski he did. He went up one last time while I caught up on my correspondence and drank two huge cups of cocoa while sitting on the bench outside waiting for him to fly down the mountain.....
He had one last good run without his clumsy wife. He claimed that he missed me but I have my doubts. One of us was sad to say goodbye to the slopes that day.....
And this little lady was sad to leave her new hangout spot at daycare. The workers said that she was far too busy to sleep but did have some quiet time on the mat with her new friends. She ate spaghetti and downed a few extra pieces of garlic bread. The six kiddos were having an ice cream snack when we arrived to pick her up. I thought the snack choice was rather ironic considering the freezing temps. She was one happy chick at the end of the day....
When I asked her how the day went she responded with "I eat cake and watch Dora." Well well, how did they know her so well!?! Mommy was relieved that her sweetie survived ski daycare. Maybe next year she will appreciate a day of ski school the same.....
Hal requested milk, steak fingers and mac and cheese.....
We made a stop by the local grocery store to pick up some extra junk food for our movie night, picked out another movie and returned back to the condo. We watched Beauty and the Beast while chowing down on Oreos and snuggling up on the couch. Confession time: all through my pregnancy I envisioned nights like that. Just like that. With my baby in my arms watching a magical Disney movie. She loves "booty da beast" just as much as I do!!!! But all good things must come to an end. Minnie, Daisy and Hal were zonked by 9:30 that night....
Riley and I watched The Watch while continuing our snacking binge. I may or may not have eaten an entire package of Oreos in less than a day....with Lil Red's help of course. ;) My eyelids seemed to outweigh my interest in the movie and Riley had to nudge me every couple minutes to make sure I was awake. Suuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrre. Snore. I was down for the count. My more agile ski partner was already begging for more skiing. Oy!
Day 3 (Sunday) was another blustering cold day. Temps were still below zero that morning and it was the coldest one yet. The radio said "the coldest day of winter so far in NM." Cabin fever was starting to settle in after Saturday evening and Sunday morning spent inside looking out at the frigidness. I cooked up some breakfast while we watched cartoons. Red River or Taos? That was the question. We decided to check out Taos since neither of us had been there before. We bundled up and headed out around 9:30 that morn.....
After hopping in the car we realized that leaving her DVD player in the car overnight was not a stellar idea. It finally "thawed out" by the time we reached Taos 45 minutes later.....
Hugging it tightly in an attempt to warm it up
Riley and I had both popped some Dramamine prior to the drive. We had been warned that it was on the curvy side. It was pretty curvy but I felt so drugged out that it's hard to really recall a lot about the drive. One motion sickness pill later and I was down for the count. Sad to say that it was 10:00 a.m. and I needed a nap. Everything seemed hazy, it was hard to hold Hallie without feeling like I was going to drop her and I felt like I was floating over the cement as we walked. Dramamine is for the birds if you were wondering. We thought maybe a stop at the cute little coffee shop would help perk us up a bit. Hal had a second breakfast of yogurt and apple juice while I had some yummy cocoa and Riley downed a coffee. Here's pictoral proof that I was having trouble keeping my eyes completely open....
The frigid temps helped a bit with the whole staying awake thing though. We took a stroll around downtown going in and out of the shops that were open early that morning.....
We took a drive from one end of town to the other just taking in the new scenery. First off let me say that it was a beautiful town. Very unique. Secondly I must add that it was a bit too artsy fartsy for us. We soon realized that Red River suited us a bit better. But thirdly I'm glad that we went to check it out. Sunday morning was a bit of an odd time to go. Very few businesses were open (and even fewer than normal according to some of the business owners due to the colder than normal temps) at that time. In other words, I just didn't plan well. But that is sort of how I wanted things to be that weekend....relaxed with a sort of "anything goes" mentality. Well it turns out the only thing that went in Taos was lunch. We stopped at a place downtown called The Gorge where ironically enough we gorged on chips and queso before our delicious food arrived.....
Despite the awfully cold weather Sunday was a gorgeous, sunny day in the mountains....
The Dramamine was still lulling me into sleep by the time the got back to Angel Fire so I had grand plans to lay down for a nap with Hallie. I suggested to Riley that he go skiing some more (I could tell he was itching to but felt bad leaving us) and it didn't take long for him to agree to the idea. He was dressed and headed out the door lickety split! Hal and I spent a very very very drowsy afternoon indoors watching Finding Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, playing Leap Pad and nap-nap-napping! Cabin fever began to sneak up on me right about the time the delayed onset muscle soreness kicked in. Wowza!!! My mountain man spent about four hours on the slopes and stopped to pick up some dinner and a movie on the way home. For our last evening we snuggled up by another fire before Hallie fell asleep. Our third movie for the weekend (I was in heaven!) was the best of all....Taken 2. There was no way I was falling asleep during all that suspense. I was sad to go to bed that night knowing we'd be leaving in the morning but wouldn't ya know it, life kept going on while we were away playing. Back to reality! We left town around 9:00 (Oklahoma time) on Monday morn. After carting our bags down to the door to load the truck it was evident that Lil Red was not ready to say goodbye to the mountains......
I was both ready and not quite ready to leave that morning. I so enjoyed the slow pace, the silence, the family time....but part of me was missing my bed (that particular part was probably all of my sore muscles combined). Our drive was uneventful and quite peaceful. Well for us girls is was serene....but for the man actually having to drive for three hours on snowy roads it probably wasn't so nice. The sky had dumped a large amount of snow on New Mexico and even some into NW Oklahoma. The three of us searched for wildlife along the highway and sang quite a few rounds of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Hal played with her Lead Pad and ate more snacks than I'd like to admit but didn't make a fuss one bit. She took a snooze about 45 minutes from home and couldn't seem to part ways with her Pringles for the nap.....
We pulled into the driveway around 4:30. Home sweet home. Unpack. Hug dogs. Run around like a wild banshee (ok, that was Hal and not us). I'll never forget her face as she walked toward the dogs to greet them. They smothered her with slobbery kisses and she kissed and hugged them right back with loud squeals of excitement to match theirs. A-dorable to say the least.
I will spend the next few months repeatedly thanking Dodo and Woody for their generosity and letting us stay in their condo. Two of the sweetest, top notch people I've had the pleasure of meeting since moving to Woodward. I'm so thankful for the memories we were able to make while in Angel Fire that weekend. Priceless family time. Amen.
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