Early Christmas Present for Me! Bom Natal!

I just bought myself an early Christmas present:

Ever since we started talking about going to Brazil, I have wanted to buy Rosetta Stone for Brazilian Portuguese.  Normally $400, I held off since it was so expensive.  Then, I got an email saying it was on sale for $250.  Hm.  Then 2 days later, another email saying it was only $240.  Still, I waited.  When I got another email today saying the price went down to $230, I decided that was a fair price and took the plunge.

Citizens of Brazil:  Be ready for me to come practice!

Way to Travel Better - Travel + Leisure and CNN

Ways to Travel Better:

Ways to Travel Better from Travel + Leisure 

Air Travel Tips:

Air Travel Tips from Travel + Leisure

Real Traveler's Tips:

Real Traveler's Tips from CNN

Steamboat Springs, CO

March sucks.  It's really a terrible, terrible month.  Cold, snowy, cloudy, gray, and there is ALWAYS one last brutal blizzard that hits just when you think winter can't possibly go on any longer.  March is inevitable, and almost unbearable.

You know where March is bearable?  In Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Spring skiing!

If you aren't familiar with Steamboat, it's a fairly small mountain town in the Rockies a few hours northwest of Denver.  People come from all over the world to ski and snowboard down Mount Warner's long runs in the winter, and who can blame them?  It's excellent skiing with a less pretentious and snooty attitude than nearby Aspen and Vail, or so I am told.  Not only is skiing great, but the residents are all pretty great too.  I have yet to find a mean Steamboatian.

Anyways, every year for the past 10 years, my dad, sisters and I road trip out to Colorado for some spring skiing and to visit our relatives, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jamie, and our cousins JJ and Nick.  Usually I can only go for a long weekend due to work, but this year I was able to go for the full 9 day trip.  So we hopped in the old van and made the 18 hour road trip to Steamboat for a week with the Langhans fam.  As an added bonus, our cousin Kelsey from California was able to meet us out there, as well as cousins Pat, Tim, and Nike from Denver. 

Our trip was filled with family, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, yoga, relaxation, hot springs,  a Langhans twist on charades on St. Patrick's day, nighttime misadventures, amazing food, wine, and as always:  dad's special cookies.

The details don't matter.  The photos speak for themselves.  Finally got to test out the new camera a bit :)  All you need to know is, it was an amazing week with family.  Enjoy!

PS - If you are ever in Steamboat Springs, you MUST eat here, I guarantee it will be some of the best food you have ever had!  
Harwigs L'apogee Restaurant

Rabbit Ears Pass, coming into Steamboat Springs

Trevor

Terra

Sisters and Cousin Kelsey

Long lift

Dad enjoying the view Cross Country Skiing

Brother and Sister!  Dad and Sandy

Nicky love skiing

Cross Country Skiing

Cross Country Skiing

Family Dinner

Exquisite Cuisine from Harwigs L'apogee, our family's amazing restaurant in Steamboat

Tori caught a nice view of Mt. Warner

Langhans sister sass

Brr.

Tim and Nick

This was an interesting night

Cousin fun

Bailey, our cousin Pat's daughter.  Coolest kid I know.

I'M BACK!

Back in the saddle again.  Took a brief hiatus from the blog, and a friend inspired me this past weekend to pick it back up.  Sometimes a little inspiration is all you need!

Just to update, we have booked our trip to Brazil!  We will be leaving on March 7, returning on the 17th.  10 days seems long, but subtract time for two 16-hour flights, and we are left with about 8 days to take in as much Brazil as possible. 

We are currently planning to split our time between Rio de Janeiro and Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest.  Dustin is worried about snakes, but if I can deal with the spider factor, he can deal with snakes.  Last time I went to the Amazon, I learned about the nightmare that is what the locals call "community spiders."  Probably not the technical term since that's a translation, but nonetheless terrifying.  Maybe that will be my next adventure blog post.

Excited to get back to blogging!