Mountain Weekend

The first weekend of February, we went on a trip to Quartz Mountain with 5 other married couples and their kids. Meghan and Erik had been to that particular lodge last winter and had a great time, so when the coupon came up again for a two night stay with a breakfast and dinner in the restaurant there for a great price, they sent out information to some of their married friends, and all but one couple were able participate. We all made plans for the first weekend in February.

The mountains are about 4 hours from our home. Aaron and I were both able to get Friday off work, so we left in the early afternoon. We checked into our hotel and I got to work cooking dinner.

Yes, cooking dinner.

I was ridiculously excited to do some hotel cooking after seeing a video online about hotel cooking because I'm a total nerd. I had decided to make quesadillas using an iron, and I'd brought ingredients and supplies to make them. I'd also made guacamole ahead of time, so we could have chips and guac with our quesadillas. I'd also brought TONS of snacks, as well as food to prepare for lunch the next day.

Meghan and I were laughing about how much food we'd brought with us. We decided that maybe since we always had fun eating well on vacations as kids, now as adults we get a little obsessed with eating well on vacation. We both agreed that we'd spent way too long planning and packing food for the trip, but it really was fun for us. We're crazy like that.

I wiped the desk down with a bleach wipe and it became my kitchen counter.

Guacamole turns brown when it oxidizes, so putting a plastic bag over the top surface of the guac kept it looking beautifully green in the cooler. Maybe a well known trick, but not one I'd discovered until recently, so thought I'd share ;-)

WAY too excited about my quesadilla ironing! Haha! I'd sandwiched tortillas with black beans, pre-sauteed bell peppers and onions, and cheese, then wrapped them up into a packet of foil, and then I ironed them. The iron marks on the ironing board weren't from me, thankfully! Also, note the small boxes of cereal in the background. Nostalgia dictated that small fun cereals would be a good breakfast for Sunday morning... haha!

The finished product! Seriously, one of the best quesadillas ever. So melty and delicious! I guess maybe it was so good because all the heat and moisture was trapped in the tight foil package??

So yummy and so easy!

After dinner, we got together with some of the other families, and as the rest arrived they joined us in our room for some fun times catching up. Meghan had also made cupcakes for my Aaron and our friend, Aaron, since the latter had a birthday coming up and the former had just had one, so we sang to them and ate cake. Meghan, Erik, Aaron, and I played a game that night while the others retired for the night.

Julia had so much fun running around and jumping on the king size bed! She also had fun jumping with Mary-Claire (thanks to Uncle Erik bouncing her up and down) and Blaise!

I'm SO good at photographing people having fun at parties, aren't I?? I should probably quit my day job.

Actually, I guess I'm paying to do my day job currently, so maybe I could get a job as an event photographer if I also took out loans and paid to do that, too... haha! I'm sure plenty of people would "hire" me to photograph them if I paid them! Ha!

I mean, really. What photography! Haha! But, at least you can get an idea of the fun we all had all hanging out and being together! :-)

The lodge had complementary cribs, which was really nice! They also had mini-fridges you could check out, but ours never got that cold, so we just continued to use our cooler. We, of course, couldn't deny our little lady her beloved "mulk" for a whole weekend, so we needed some cold storage space! ;-)

The next morning, we got up and got ready for the day. I packed lunches, making some homemade roasted red pepper hummus (no, I didn't make that in the hotel), edamame, carrot, avocado, and lettuce wraps, apple slices, and homemade trail mix.

Wrap in progress: pre-lettuce.

All finished, rolled, and cut! :-)

Why is cooking so much more fun in a hotel room??

We joined the other families in the restaurant for breakfast. For a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, it was excellent! For a restaurant anywhere, it was still excellent! Seriously, definitely my favorite breakfast of 2013, and probably in my top 15 ever. It was so good. I had Eggs Benedict on top of crab cakes, ham, and English muffins, served with a side of hash browns. I also got some hot tea. We only had to pay for the tip, since the rest of the meal was covered by the coupon we'd purchased.

The whole gang at breakfast!

My blurry picture of my half-eaten meal. Seriously delicious.

We then went out to go hiking. I was delighted as we began walking along a paved trail at the base of the mountain. It was low-intensity and the perfect way to enjoy nature with all the babies and toddlers.

Oh, I should have known better than to think we were going to stay on any of the park's trails. Silly, silly me. Having been on the Great Mount Scott Misadventure of 2010 with Erik at the helm, I really should have known that we weren't going to start doing some more hardcore hiking... Haha!

The babies were all tucked into carriers or wraps. Julia was in a great hiking backpack my aunt and uncle gave us when they were done using it with their boys. The other toddler was being carried on his dad's back. Talk about hardcore.

I started to get nervous the higher we went. The climb got steeper and some of the other moms and I began exchanging words about how the hike was harder than we'd expected... not for us (because it really wasn't too bad), but just out of concern for all the little ones. One wrong step and... well, it could have been disastrous.

There were also cactuses everywhere. As I climbed up one stretch, I got a ton of spines through the top of my mesh topped tennis shoe, including one huge spine that went deep into my big toe. I sat down and friends helped me get the spines out. Ouch.

I started getting even more anxious (and I'm really not usually that anxious of a person, I promise). I told everyone that I thought I was having some PTSD from the Mount Scott misadventure (maybe I'll blog about that someday... it is quite the story!) and that I was thinking of just turning around. Erik said the rest of the climb was easier, but when I asked him whether he knew that to be true or if he was just saying it to be encouraging, he admitted he was trying to be encouraging. Haha! It was déjà vu from Mt. Scott and I just couldn't ignore it. Good old Erik... but "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!" Haha! I told Aaron I wanted to turn back. Even though he was having zero issues with the hike, even with Julia on his back, he was sweet and supportive, so down we went. The other (braver/less-Mount-Scott-traumatized) families continued on.

But, it wasn't for naught that we turned around. We decided to spend the extra time we had going further down from the paved trail, toward the lake.

From a distance, it looked as though the sand around the lake was covered with rocks.

Wrong.

Not rocks at all.

Yes, that's right. Not rocks, but dead fish. Hundreds and hundreds of fish carcasses.

I have some better, more zoomed in pictures of the fish, but I thought I'd spare you in case anyone reads this during their lunch break. It was seriously disgusting, though. Take my word for it.

I guess the lake had receded during the statewide drought, stranding these fish in the silt. Pretty sad.

Julia really enjoyed riding in the hiking backpack!

We hiked back up and met the rest of the group as they finished their descent. I haven't mentioned yet that the weather was gorgeous, but I'm sure you can tell from the photos. It was beautifully sunny and not too cold or windy, especially for February; we really were blessed!

We all gathered at the playground to decide on the next move. While it was definitely lunch time, none of us were that hungry yet since we'd had a late and huge breakfast. Thus, most of the guys decided they'd go on a "man hike" for an hour or so, and the rest of us decided to take care of the children (diapers, feedings, etc.) then reconvene for a little stroller walk along the trail (that I'd so loved earlier!).

Mary-Claire Bear

 

We all had fun walking and talking, and the guys raved about their fun literally racing each other up different peaks. They covered so much more terrain without babies strapped on and slow people like me tagging along! I was glad they got a real hike in, and glad the babies weren't there that time to give me anxiety!

We then all met up for lunch at the outdoor amphitheater. Julia and Blaise had a lot of fun running up and down the steps and playing in the leaves together. Julia also made sure to include the ever-popular Uncle Erik in her antics.  

Not so sure about being so high up anymore...

Toddler models.

 

I mean, really... models I tell you! How hilarious is this photo?!? I could just picture it being some sort of emo ad for jeans or sweatshirts or something. If your imagination isn't quite as vivid, I helped you out with photo editing so you can see what I mean...

I can't decide if this would be a clothing ad or some sort of save the children ad. Either way, pretty priceless.

Our girl is a hugger.

After lunch, we got the little ones down for naps and played a rousing game of Pictionary. Taylor, Roni, and I were on a team, and we were pretty much the bomb.

We all scattered to clean up for dinner. Dinner was pretty great, too, although I can't put it in my top 15 dinners ever like I could breakfast. It can definitely go in my top 5 of 2013 so far, though. (I'm not sure why I keep ranking my meals. Maybe it was because Chris was on this trip, and he enjoys ranking meals?? ;-) ). I had a dinner rolls, a house salad, Filet Mignon, asparagus, and a loaded baked potato. Oh, and a pitcher of Coke. No joke. I guess maybe our waitress didn't like having to keep refilling glasses because everyone who ordered a soda (which was included in the meal coupon) got a whole pitcher to refill their glass. Our table looked absurd with half a dozen pitchers of soda sitting on it! Haha! But, hey, I wish more restaurants would do that when the waitresses know they are going to be busy and not be able to refill your drink as often as you'll need. It really was pretty nice.

With such a large party, there was a decently long wait for our food. Julia and Blaise entertained each other for a while with a stroller.

 

After dinner, we all put the kids down for bed, turned monitors on, and gathered in Chris and Kari's room to play Catch Phrase - guys versus girls, of course! Sadly, the guys ended up winning. Pure luck... haha!

In the morning, Aaron let me sleep in a little since I was going to be the one driving. He took Julia out for a morning stroll and they spotted a deer.

We packed up and Julia said goodbye to the king size bed.

And then we said goodbye to the Lodge.

 

A few of us drove a couple hours to a parish in Oklahoma City for mass. After mass, we got some delicious Mexican food and headed home.... but not before making a quick pit stop at Pops!

We had never seen so many different types of soda before! We bought several to try at home. We ended up having a taste testing of most of them at Aaron's birthday dinner later in the month, and they were mostly pretty disgusting. Not unsurprisingly, though. I mean, who really wants to drink carbonated pumpkin pie? 

Some of our selection.

It was a sweet ending to a sweet trip. We are so grateful for the gift of family, good friends, and God's creation!