Peeing in Ice Machines, the True Tales of the Heacock Clan: James Family Takes On Telluride

Right at the end of Cotton harvest Tyler was beat. He claims with farming there is a busy season and then he gets vacation. The truth of the matter is that the busy season is...... well, all year. It starts with planing (on my birthday, April 19th), then into watering season, then harvest starts full swing in August or early September. They don't finish until all the cotton is out of the ground which is sometime in December. Needless to say, our falls are CRAZY! It starts in October with our anniversary and then the ball just keeps rolling.

As they were finishing up harvest, Tyler and I decided that we wanted to get the heck out of dodge, and I really wanted to go to the mountains. Living in the flatlands, you forget what scenery looks like. We knew a couple of things. First, we knew we wanted to spend time as just our family of 4. Second, we knew we wanted to leave either on Christmas day, or the day after. And last but not least the mountains were a must. I stressed a little about going to a snow ridden location with a, just turned, four year old, and a fast approaching one year old. BUT, with the criteria we had created for ourselves, Tyler knew just the place.

Tyler grew up with some of the coolest brothers ever. The Taylor brothers. These guys are the most free spirited, talented, and intelligent men you will ever meet. They experience some of the coolest travel adventures, have the neatest paid jobs, and are the most caring and loving dudes ever. Carson the middle brother lives with his AMAZING wife Hilary and their son Vaughn in Telluride. TELLURIDE COLORADO! Let me just say, we fell IN LOVE with Telluride when they hitched in September of 2012. It is the most beautiful place you will ever experience. I can't tell you which is more beautiful about Telluride, the scenery or the people. Telluride is home of some of the most wealthy people in the world, yet there everybody is nobody. You could ride the gondola from town up to the Village, and be sitting next to a billionaire yet, they are the most caring and kind and unpretentious people you will every meet. Everyone is welcoming and loving. It. is. beautiful.

Earlier I mentioned I was a little weary about a cold vacation with small children, but the more I thought about it, that was ridiculous. People live in cold climates and have small children, I just needed to purchase and pack the correct essentials. Well, guess what came in handy? AMAZON PRIME! If you don't have an Amazon Prime membership, bite the bullet and get it TODAY! Seriously, don't walk, run to the computer and sign up. I didn't have Sloane a ski suit. Check, got one on Amazon for $60, Columbia full suit (looks like it is more expensive now then when I purchased it. Still a great deal!), free shipping, had it 2 days later. Boots? What the heck do you put on small peoples feet that is uber warm? Baby Boggs! Do I have accessibility to those in Plainview, or Lubbock, or even Amarillo? NOPE! Amazon Prime nailed it again. They were as cheap as Ebay, and they were new, free 2 day shipping. The list goes on, I can't say enough great things about Amazon Prime. I want to kiss the face of the team that pulled that one off.

San Miguel River, Telluride Colorado

Sloane in her Ski Suit

Sloane and I! My favorite Big Sister.

So, back to our trip. Tyler called Carson, who was able to pull a hailmary and find us a great place to stay. We stayed at Mountainside Inn Telluride. The room was perfect, both in accommodations, and location. The room had a queen bed, a twin bed, room for the pack and play, a kitchenette, and a bathroom with stand up shower and separate toilet. Its location was a quick 5-8 minute walk to the gondola, Clark's grocery, and main street. We took all our food, and purchased sleds the day we arrived to pull our little ones around in. Sloane was obsessed, and Sterlee was amused for bits at a time and then the Ergo came in super handy. It was a PERFECT trip!

My baby wearing Daddy! The best dad ever!

My handsome man. He is even cuter when he is baby wearing!

With everything in walking distance we were able to experience so much while keeping the girls on their "schedule" and everyone happy. We took them sledding at Firecracker Hill on the edge of town, Tyler went to the Telluride Historical museum (which he is obsessed with), Sloane participated in her first every ski school, and we went ice skating in Mountain Village. Our goal was to drink coffee and watch the girls play in the snow, and we accomplished so much more than that. It was fantastic to get away and enjoy time with each other.

Sterlee (left) Sloane (right) in their mode of transportation....sleds!

My instantly professional ice skater and I! Mountain Village, Colorado

Sloane ready for Ski School!

As our trip came to the end it was Sterlee's 1st Birthday. There will be another blog post about that little shindig and how I will have to work a little harder being prepared with a "Christmas time" birthday. I had a shirt made for the girls before we left knowing that we would be celebrating in Telluride by my friend Taylor Walters owner of White Picket Romance. They were so cute! And I ordered her a beautiful and delicious cake from The Butcher & Baker in Telluride when we arrived. It was a perfect celebration with the Taylor's concluding our trip.