Why I rarely blog...& Then some

Hey readers!
What few I still have--since my LACK of blogging has been getting worse and worse.


I am here to be honest.
Originally I started this blog to VENT when I got pregnant.
Because as a pregnant lady you tend to think a lot and would like to share.
And it was my way of getting things out and just expressing myself.
Well, since then I started to blog to keep family and friends on what is going on in life...
and life SOMETIMES can be exciting and thrilling---
and most of things I'd like to remember---I rarely BLOG about.
Why?
WELL


I am the WORSE about uploading pictures.
Seriously, AWFUL.
So I think--well I can't blog because I have no pictures to share.
So I wait and wait and then so many things happen in that TIME that I am like well---there's no point in blogging about that exciting time (3 weeks ago!)
So I don't!


Anyway, it's gotten into a bad habit.
And I actually LOVE to blog and I love to write....
and express myself.


SO instead of lying (I dont mean to lie I just am bad about getting around to it!) and saying pictures are coming soon etc.
I WILL blog...
and pictures WILL eventually come.
And sometimes I will have the random cell phone shot (actually a lot of them are!)


BUT regardless, picture-less or not I am going to be blogging.
Because sometimes life is way interesting and I haven't shared.
So with that SAID...
I will share on how we saved money on our family ski trip...
AND MY TRUE thoughts on it.


SO here is PART TWO of this blog.
Btw, I say the word "SO" SO much in my blogs.
I need a better transition word.
If you think of one for me, let me know, mmk!? Thanks friends!




Like I said, we paid CASH for our ski trip.
First tip,
we KNEW we were heading to Colorado (Breckenridge to be exact)
about 4 maybe even 5 months before we went.


Justin and I LOVE TO TRAVEL.
In fact, we have been on a few family vacays.
Some have been close by trips.
Like an hour or two to the next lake for a Lake/Camp trip with Kie.
Or we go to Dallas...or San Antonio for a night or two.
And of course we make the LONG, LONG trip to Atlanta for the special weekend to see family.


And of course there was the BEST BEACH vacation to Florida last summer.
(AH the beach I miss you!!!)
ANYWHO....
we knew we were going to Colorado for awhile.
So this past Christmas we skimped on each other---(we got small gifts)
we RE-GIFTED a lot of Kie's birthday presents (and even some PAST Christmas presents)
and we made Christmas MORE about family and quality time then gifts.


And believe me NOT, but it was the best Christmas I've ever experienced!
Seriously, NOT focusing on gifts made the season sweeter & made us concentrate on what Christmas truly is about.
AND we saved a lot.


Also--I cooked most every night...
And I started a vacation jar 
that I left in the kitchen so we could put our extra change and money in it.


We put a label on it with the big words "VACATION MONEY!"
And whatever spare change we had, or extra money or whatever we had went into it.
Ideally I wanted an extra $1,000 just in case.
And it was BIG and clear so it was exciting watching out change and dollars PILE up!


Not only did we prepare early by saving whatever we could....
we also booked our flights at an ideal time.
See, I'll let ya in on a secret.
If you book flights on a TUESDAY...they are like THE CHEAPEST tickets you can get.
So we got super cheap all around tickets from Austin to Denver.


Of course, flying with a baby means no seat for him--so you SAVE on that.
**THOUGH flying with a baby is NOT ideal****
However, I may add....
HE WAS GREAT.
*More on that later*
Anyway--
Justin has his own snowboard and gear---
AND since we're blessed with an uncle and aunt that lives in Breck, we got to use one of their medallion ski passes.
Which meant we had ONE less ski pass to buy..
(because by golly--those are expensive!!)
So, we prepared early---and SAVED.
Had SOME gear already (though we did have to pay to board it on the plane)
bought our plane tickets on a Tuesday and SAVED
and we only had to buy ME a ski pass.
SO already our trip has been HALFED in price.


Now for the hotels etc.
We did SAVE so we could splurge some.
And we did splurge a little.
But we made it in our budget so we could.


First off, our condo in Breck is actually a timeshare.
We bought our timeshare from Justin's parents a few years ago.
They werent able to keep it for financial purposes so we paid it off in full and got the title to it.
*We did this BEFORE we had a baby and after we got a tax refund. So we were blessed with money at the time and blessed to be able to fully pay it off and have the title.


Of course, owning a timeshare is great---and having it ALL paid off means you mainly pay for HOA fees.
So it does cost a few hundred dollars--but NOTHING like it would if we rented a condo in Breck for a week.
And luckily, this timeshare is changeable. 
So that means we can vacation wherever our timeshare has rooms (which means most places!)
Therefore, our condo was VERY cheap.
We got a huge large condo--full kitchen/living room/hot tub....etc.
And the splurges I'm speaking of is the occasional times we would eat out...
but since we had a kitchen most meals came from there!
ONCE again, SAVING tons of money!


Our splurges were putting Kie in half day of daycare so we could ski/snowboard together.
**And that was the ONE time we got to go together**
The other days we took turns.
And since we took turns we only needed ONE ski pass for the week.
And I rented by gear at a place we had a coupon for.
(Our resort would give coupons for places in town!)
Which by the way, is a great tip!
If you're staying at a hotel or resort, ask if they have suggestions for places to eat or things to do.
Most likely they WILL have coupons for local businesses.
As for our week in Breck, we didn't go over the budget we had.
Even with all of us getting deathly sick... (ha!)
And the only MAJOR splurge we had came at the end of the week when we stayed downtown Denver.


Even then, the hotel wasn't that much.
And we had a great time at the Denver zoo!
And PART of the reason I allowed us to stay at a hotel downtown (that cost us $130)--maybe that's not  much to you--but I figured staying at a nice hotel with a valet parking (included) and a free breakfast--and WALKING distance to all the restaurants made it well worth the money.
Plus--I'm sure we won't be back in Denver again for a LONG, LONG while.
I think the next time we go Kie (and if we have more kids) will be old enough to dress themselves and join us on the slopes.
It was really hard to leave Kie in day school, even though he loved it.
So next time we head to Colorado it will be YEARS and YEARS down the road.


Besides,
I'm more of a beach girl.
I prefer to lay in the sun and the surf.
Fruity drinks and fried sea food....
Ahhhh...
and no layers and layers of clothes to wear!
So yep, that's my thoughts on our trip!
It was fun and beautiful--
But we'll wait till Kie man is old enough to be on the slopes with us!
Alright, this is long.
I'm wrapping it up.
Also, stay tuned for some exciting stories....
and news....
and eventually pictures.


Lots of love,
-Hk-