January 2026: The One Where We Spent Every Weekend in the Mountains
Cheryl Lock
My little ski bunnies.
Welcome to 2026, friends, and welcome to February! I hope you have incredible adventures planned, lots of time for relaxation, plenty of opportunities to hang with loved ones, and a realization that you’re incredible just the way you are.
Sorry. Feeling my feelings, guys. Let a girl live 😉
Anyway, my little family spent our entire January livin’ that mountain life. Chris and I decided to enroll all three girls in full-day ski lessons in Winter Park every Saturday in January and it was incredible. Not only did the girls’ skills improve drastically, but Chris and I had SIX HOURS every Saturday in January to be by ourselves.
Life changing.
Not only that, but Winter Park is also the sweetest little spot. It’s only a little over an hour from where we live, the base is full is fun shops and restaurants, and the girls pretty much got to know (and love) the mountain like the back of their hands.
Time (and money … sheesh, the money) well spent.
Bis bald, friends!
Dry January, anyone?The mountains are also the perfect place for a little self care.Self-care includes hot tub time, of course!These girls have gotten so good! Grace even unlocked her hidden talent — skiing backwards 😉On our second weekend we stayed at a ski-in-ski-out condo that was super close to the mountain. This was the most fun, even if ski-in-ski-out is a bit of a misnomer because you often have to be a pretty good skier to get down the runs that get you to your home. Emilia couldn’t have done it, but it was fun for the rest of us when we got the chance.This girl served up some real looks in the month of Jan 😉Snowman — Emilia’s beloved stuffie that used to be my mom’s — has seen some real adventures.Emilia truly fell in love with skiing on that second round of lessons and she was so good!My whole crew <3<3<3<3 … minus me. Hah.The girls actually didn’t have ski lessons on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, buttttttt … we didn’t know that. Wah wahhh. So, back we were! Emilia actually took a bit of a scary fall at the bottom of this run (and ended with a nice shiner to show for it). It was the wake-up call we needed to realize that although she’s getting better and is totally fearless, she is brand new. My brave girl was back at it the following day, but on easier runs where she could practice speed control and pizza stops!I didn’t mind the easier runs to hang with these ladies (who are WAY faster than me on anything thing else we do).It was a delightful weekend, despite the head injury. I think the whole no-snow and fear of crowds thing kept the crowds away. The mountain was EMPTY and it was a delight!On our fourth and final weekend stay, our VRBO had a VCR player. WHAT?! Despite the fact that we can – and do — watch all the movies that they had on demand, the allure of popping in a CD, watching the trailers, and hitting “Play” or “Scene Selection” was such a treat.Just a couple of parents with kids in ski school! (Despite how freezing we look in this picture, the temps actually weren’t that bad, and the fresh snow was very welcome. It’s been a DRY season out here, friends …)Ending a full ski day with a mocktail and a hot tub soak is always a good idea.We’ve become big fans of stopping at a little hole-in-the-wall donut and coffee shop in Georgetown on the way home. Their donuts are truly the definition of delicious. I had a book event on the final Saturday of ski lessons, but the girls finished out strong, and Chris used his solo time to take a tour of the mountain with a guide. (It’s free!)
It was a long, long January, friends, but spending every weekend in the mountains certainly helped keep it entertaining and gave us something to look forward to.
Now … we’ll be taking February off! So until our next trip … bis bald, friends!
