Here we are again, up in the mountains of Angel Fire one year later. After last year's trip in the white out with 30 below temps I didn't see a January trip to the mountains in our future. But the weather could not have been more perfect and the company was about as good as it gets. Part of our Sunday school class decided a couple of months ago to take a weekend ski trip. Lindsay was our trusty trip coordinator and found a cabin in Angel Fire to accommodate our large crew. There were a few couples who really wanted to go but were unable to for various reasons. In the end we ended up with seven couples leaving town on Thursday. Riley naturally insisted on driving his truck and Lindsay and Andrew provided seven hours of non-stop entertainment as our traveling companions. We stopped midway through our trip to eat with Luke and Katie at Eklund Hotel where the laughs just continued. We pulled into Angel Fire around 3:30 and led the way up the mountain in search of our cabin. After a few unsuccessful trips up and back down we eventually found the place. Three-stories of mountain bliss. The cabin had a wall of windows that made the mountains even more beautiful to gaze at. Once most of the couples had arrived we decided to do what we'd all been avoiding.....draw for bedrooms. Note to self: if you want to actually sleep don't room in an open loft upstairs. ;) I blame Riley for a bad draw! We were all hungry (well most of us....Lindsay and I did not stop shoving food in our mouths during the six hour drive) so we ate dinner at Zeb's down the road. We stopped at the grocery store and filled up three baskets full of food for the weekend. Upon pulling into the cabin after our shopping trip Riley's truck got stuck at the bottom of the driveway. Turns out the steep drive was a deathtrap for vehicles that weren't 4-wheel drive. It was both frustrating and hilarious to watch as the guys tried an assortment of tactics to get the truck back up the hill but it just kept sliding. Air mattresses (to block the flying rocks from busting the windows downstairs) and floor mats were involved in the process but nothing seemed to do the trick. Finally we rounded all of the troops up ("except the pregnant ones" as Derek put it) with half of the group in the back of the truck and the rest pushing he was able to get up the hill....
That night Lindsay and I whipped up what would be our dinner for the following night and put it in the fridge to wait. Andrew nearly lost his face in the fireplace when he started it up. It gave everyone a pretty good laugh to kick things off! The rest of the crew unpacked and relaxed until everyone had arrived at the cabin. We all settled in to watch a movie before the first person started the "I'm exhausted, let's go to bed" trend. The shower fired up around 5:30 on Friday morning and the skiers were out the door by 7:00 on their way to Taos for the day. Carolyn, Heather and I took our time at the cabin just relaxing in the sunshine...
I put the brisket in the oven that morning and it immediately filled the house with smells of goodness. We decided that a day in Red River sounded fun so Heather drove us girls to the pretty little mountain town about 45 minutes away. It'd been a couple years since I'd been and was looking forward to some girl time there without chasing around a certain little girl. We were amazed by the ice sculptures that were at businesses up and down the street as we went from shop to shop...
We had lunch at a little cafe before heading down to the end of the street to the candy shop. Hallie made out like a bandit at that place once I realized they sold kids' toys as well as delicious fudge. It was still early in the day but all three of us were thinking that naps sounded like a great way to spend the rest of the day. So we did just that. Our little snooze was up followed by watching The Help (awwwww favorite movie EVER!) while Heather and I took the brisket out and finished prepping the potatoes and green bean casserole. We realized that a quick trip to the store was a must but we weren't sure how to escape the deathtrap driveway without sliding down it. But it turns out Heather has some mad backing skills and we made it out with no problem. We now had bread that would cook in 5 minutes versus the two hour rolls we had accidentally bought the night before. Yippee! By the time the tired skiers dragged in the door we had dinner complete and waiting on the counter. Feeding the masses was pretty fun and easy cleanup too! From the stories recounted it seems like they all had a great time with only one slight casualty.....a broken tailbone for Mike (he would later find out). He had a little hitch in his get-a-long the rest of the trip due to his spill while snow boarding. Lindsay kicked butt for being almost 20 weeks pregnant on the slopes. Kendra and Katie were excited that they'd had such a good day despite not skiing since junior high. Several people informed me that Riley was "awesome", a "daredevil" and "fearless." Fabulous....just enough to frighten me even more. ;) Here's a shot of the skier's fun day on the mountain.....
We'd planned on a rowdy game night but settled for lounging and another movie once everyone realized just how tired they were from a day on the mountain. Even though I'd smelled the lovely aroma of the brisket all afternoon I just couldn't bring myself to eat any of it that night. I suppose the mountains were taking a toll on this pregnant old lady and I felt like my body was trying to get sick. I was up most of the night with a headache and stomachache which had me begging for some nausea meds Saturday morning. Thank goodness for fast-acting medicine which allowed me to feel like a human again just in time to hop in the car to head to Taos. The ski group was up around 7:00 for breakfast and out the door a little after 8:00. Sergeant Riley may have had something to do with. I was beginning to wonder if he would still be welcome in the cabin by the end of the trip. ;) Katie, Carolyn, Heather and I were more than ready for a morning at the spa so we headed out early and arrived at El Monte in Taos around 9:30. The place was beautiful as we wound around outside to find the spa entrance....
Heather and I both got 90 minute prenatal massages while Carolyn had a hot towel treatment and Katie got a facial and a pedicure. The massage left me in a wonderful daze of euphoria...I sat out in the waiting area sipping on water and talking with Heather about how wonderful our treatments had been....the relaxing sound of water trickling in the background and the natural light seeping in from above....AND THEN....I had my face assaulted by the esthetician during what turned out to be the most painful spa experience ever. OUCH...OUCH...OUCH. Katie agreed. Whew, lesson learned. My subtle suggestion would be for the scheduler to make the torture come before the massage. The muscles that were once relaxed were now tensed up from almost jumping off of the table. Next I wanted to jump over the counter when we paid before leaving. Holy overcharging for ridiculous things. Nearly $400 later I was wondering if Riley would give me a ride back to Oklahoma. ;) Trying to put the spa experience behind us we drove up to the ski resort to pick up Mike who'd been waiting that morning. We found a yummy lunch place back in town where we scarfed down Mexican food like it was our last supper. The guacamole and salsa were top notch and I decided by the end of my meal that I could definitely eat at a place like that every single day. Love me some mexican food! We dropped Mike off at the casino, Katie hopped in with Luke who had come to pick her up and the rest of us girls took to the square for some browsing/shopping. I was so excited to find the cutest little toy store and tried to contain myself. A couple hours later it was time to head to dinner since the skiers were done for the day. We all decided on pizza in Angel Fire and game night back at the cabin. After a windy ride in the dark back to Angel Fire Heather and I were feeling less than stellar and all but skipped dinner while everyone else ate. After some more meds to kill my headache and nausea I felt like a million bucks just in time for games. Headbanz and Catchphrase were the picks of the night we actually convinced all of the husbands to play too....which I considered to be a small miracle. To say that having all 14 of us scattered around the living room laughing our heads off was fun would be an understatement. I hated to go to bed that night and actually stayed up just a tad bit longer with a small group of us so that vacation wouldn't come to an end. The next morning Riley the Rooster crowed at 6something after we heard one carpool moving around downstairs. He all but dragged by lazy bones out of the bed. Man, it was so hard to get up that Sunday morning knowing we had to leave. I heated up breakfast for the group so that we could use up the remainder of the food we'd bought and then reluctantly packed my bag. We pulled out way earlier than I'd expected and got home by 4:00 that afternoon. The ride home consisted of naps, snacks, more snacks and more hilarious conversation.
I say it often but it's still not near enough.....we could not be more blessed with a Godly, uplifting, hilarious and laidback group of friends. They make life fun!
Dear Kristen, Derek, Lindsay, Andrew, Matt, Heather, Katie, Luke, Mike, Carolyn, Austin and Kendra,
Thanks for an amazing weekend filled with laughter!
Love,
The Fannings
NOTE TO SELF: do NOT go to the mountains again while pregnant. All three pregnant women on the trip would agree. Altitude + curvy roads = Lord help me!
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