Breckenridge - Part 1

In celebration of Sean and Candy's 40th we left our kids for 6 day and 5 nights (a first in 10 years!) and went to Breckenridge.  Kevin and Candy have been our best friends for almost 13 years.  Our friendship blossomed when we were young, childless marrieds.  We went through infertility schtuff together.  It was so nice to have someone to relate to during that time.  Nicole came a little more than a year before their twins...and so we even became parents around the same time.  We have memories a plenty and it had been more than four years since we've all been together and 40 years was a good excuse to celebrate so Kev and Can flew out and we roped the grandparents into watching the kids.  We had so. much. fun!  I love that we can pick up right where we left off as though no time has passed.  We've got gray hair, and a few extra wrinkles, and we're definitely not as agile as in the days of endless hockey playing in golden, sweaty summers of Naples, Florida, but it's all good.  We went on hikes, we walked the town of Breck, we swam, soaked in the hot tub, played the games of old days (Hand and Foot) and just caught up with each other and what is going on in our lives.  It was good fun.  

Back in the day, we took a lot of pictures.  We made tripods out of sticks and posed in funny ways.  We tried to recreate some of those poses, but time and more than a few kids have a way of taking away some necessary skills.  We could run as fast, get in the same positions quite so easily, or figure things out like we could when we were 25.  We laughed A LOT!!!  I mean, my abs were sore.  Really.  It was so great.  I feel more at peace with life today than I did all those years ago, but laughing that hard just isn't something I do anymore.  I think I've got more worries, more responsibilities, and I am a semi-serious person. I've got to find a way to laugh really hard like that more often.  

This is the four of us at lake something or other. I can't remember the name!  It was a nice little hike, and it reminded me that I have to make more time for the mountains. I felt so wonderful up there above tree-line.  It's been too long.  

Here's another one.  It was SO WINDY.  Windy enough to knock me over.  I love it.  I understand why God asked his servants to come up to the mountain to talk to Him....there is a feeling in the mountains that is different.  Better.  I'd love to live up there, and Sean and I dream of retiring in the mountains someday...

Here is one of those recreations.  We did this all those years ago, and this was the best recreation.  Some of the others, not so much. I won't post them. :)

One of the highlights of our days with Kev and Can was the Zip Adventures.  Candy and I splurged and had a blast.  Six zip lines over a canyon near Vail, each progressively faster and longer than the one previous.  We were allowed to go tandem on three of them.  That was good fun, except that on zip number five we didn't make it across the canyon.  We slid back along the zip line and stood still 100 feet above the canyon floor. It was really exciting...sort of cliffhanger-ish as one of our zip mates described.  The last zip we were going about 35 miles per hour!  If you're in the area, I highly recommend it!

This is me sitting into the wind.  It was FREEZING!

Sean and I at Lake whatever it's named...

Approaching our first zip line.

Getting ready to jump off the balcony...

Feeling like I'm flying.  VERY COOL!