Vail

Yes, I am still alive, and no, I have not had this baby yet! I have just been completely MIA, aka, unpacking, doing laundry, packing hospital bags, finishing George's room and nesting like it's my job!  

We were able to get away for a little bit with Henley and some friends during the last week I was able to travel. We headed to Vail for a week and enjoyed every minute! Now, usually, I would break the trip up into a few different posts, but I decided to just let the pictures speak for themselves. Plus, considering I still don't think I've done my last Seattle post (from March), posting it all at once is probably the best bet! 

Ready to go!! Henley was so excited about riding on the airplane, and she did AMAZING! Our flight was during nap, but she didn't nap until the drive to Vail. She sat on the plane with her iPad and was content to watch videos and play games. I loved that she had her own big girl seat! 

We flew into Denver on Saturday and made the quick 2 hour drive to Vail to get settled in. We planned our flights so that we wouldn't have to rush out the door with Henley early in the morning, so we didn't arrive into Vail until about 5:30. After getting our bags and talking with our friends for a little while, we headed out to dinner in Vail Village. 

I don't know if I've shared this before or not, but Henley will only go #2 at home and really only in her little potty. Well, we knew this would have to change in Colorado! Thankfully, as soon as we arrived to our place, she went in the lobby and she even went again at dinner, so she was rewarded with a nice scoop of chocolate ice cream after dinner. Thankfully our place had a washer and dryer! 

The next day was Father's Day, so after enjoying a delicious breakfast in our room, we headed out to the Farmer's Market. Somehow I took no pictures there, but it was fabulous! It was right outside where we were staying and had TONS of different booths. We enjoyed crepes from Crepes a la Cart for lunch and sat outside enjoying the glorious weather by the creek! 

Ben and Henley enjoyed some father/daughter pool time before nap while I relaxed and read on a chair for the first time in who knows how long! 

We continued celebrating Father's Day with a delicious Italian meal at La Bottega. I got the truffled gnocchi and cannot recommend it enough! 

The next day, we headed up to the top of the mountain for Epic Adventure. There were lots of fun activities for everyone (other than me and Henley) to enjoy, and we had a blast!! 

Henley was a huge fan of the gondola ride!

Technically, there were a few things that Henley could have enjoyed - the kid's zipline, tubing and bungee trampoline - but she was just not at all interested. She would be all excited to do one of them, but once we had to hand her over to a stranger, she was out. I actually had to put rocks in her pockets for her to even be allowed to do those things since you had to weigh 30 pounds and she only weighed 29! How cute is she all geared up to zipline though?!

This was after she asked a thousand times to do the trampoline and I was finally able to get enough rocks in her pocket for them to let her try, but when it was time for the guy to put her in her bungee, she just screamed. We enjoyed watching the girls instead! 

Once we realized Henley wasn't going to do anything and Ben could do a few things, we headed back down the gondola for lunch and to exchange our bracelets. We got a refund for Henley's and got Ben one to do the ropes courses, rock wall and mountain coaster. 

After lunch, we went back up the mountain to cheer everyone on while they did the coaster and take a few pictures before Henley and I headed back down for nap.

By the time everyone got back, they were all pretty exhausted, so we decided to go pick-up pizza from Blue Moose. Henley and I went to help pick it up so we could enjoy one of the playgrounds and burn off some more energy before bedtime. 

The next morning, we rented bikes to ride around on and we had a blast! Well, it was our first time pulling Henley in one of those carriage things, so I would say we had a blast, but Ben was exhausted! We rode around Vail Village, Lionshead, made our way to Betty Ford Gardens, and up a big hill by the golf course and houses around the area. It was beautiful! We eventually headed back to the villages to cool off and let Henley play in the water before lunch. 

She enjoyed every minute! 

We also took her to play at Pirate Ship park for a little while.

After lunch, the three of us headed back so Henley could take a nap and Ben could go fly fishing. I so want to go fly fishing the next time we are in Vail, but I didn't think it would be wise as an 8 month preggo! 

Ben had a blast and met us for a late dinner at Vail Chophouse that night. We all rode our bikes there and back, and it made me really wish we could ride bikes at home everywhere! 

The next day was Wednesday, and the friends that were with us were leaving and some other friends were flying in, so we took the day to just relax and enjoy ourselves at the pool. Ben and Henley went to the grocery store that morning, and I treated myself to a facial at the spa. It was heavenly! 

We ordered lunch by the pool and this girl and her adorable facial expressions kept us very entertained! Once our friends arrived, we enjoyed more time and drinks (they had a fabulous strawberry lemonade) by the pool before going in to get ready for dinner. I cannot believe I did not take a picture of dinner, but we went to Bully Ranch this night and it was so yummy! I learned after our first night that a light dinner worked better for me, so I ordered soup, but could not resist their truffled tots...yes, truffled tater tots as a side!! They were amazing! 

The next day, we walked around Lionshead for a little while before the guys headed off to go play golf and the girls relaxed again at the pool. It actually got a little cloudy and rainy at the pool, but we enjoyed our heated robes by the fire! We got these pictures from the guys while they played golf. 

It was apparently gorgeous and they had a blast! 

The girls fully intended to do a little shopping, but we lost track of time after relaxing and getting ready, so we just walked to dinner and enjoyed some pizza. 

On our final full day, we went back up the mountain to show everyone the views and enjoy some more fun! 

Everyone (but Henley and I) did the ropes course before lunch and had a blast! The above picture is of Ben crushing it! He is a pro at the outdoor sports! 

After lunch, we cheered everyone on again as they did the coaster and watched daddy conquer the hardest parts of the rock wall. We were very impressed! Henley was his biggest fan! 

Vail Chophouse called our names again for our last night at dinner and we loved it! There was a fabulous magician there that night that entertained us all. He left us all pretty darn amazed! 

We LOVED our time in Vail as a family and with great friends! We can't wait to go back in December with little George for Christmas and for Henley's first time on the slopes! I am now a full Colorado in the summertime convert!