Note: This is also linked at Mile High Mamas – check it out!
As we started our family ski weekend, the kids couldn’t contain their excitement, and were ready to go first thing in the morning! I still hadn’t had my coffee, but their enthusiasm perked us all up for our day with Epic SchoolKids. We planned a ski weekend and experienced all the mountain has to offer for families, and I learned a few things too! For example, did you know that the Epic SchoolKids program offers 16 free ski days for kids in grades K-5th Grade at four Colorado resorts (4 days each): Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek? Their website also discusses FAQs on free lessons for first time skiers. Check out epicpass.com/ColoradoKids for updates. The instructions for getting the kids signed up are all here, and are super easy, if you have not done it yet. We had so much fun, here’s a short video, but you can check out the full one at this link or it is embedded below.
Epic School Kids Keystone 2017 from Deadline Motion Works on Vimeo.
On the day of our epic ski adventure, it was super easy to get both kids registered and fitted for
equipment for lessons. From the moment we walked towards the ski school, until we picked them up, my husband and I both commented what a well-oiled and organized machine Keystone Ski and Ride School is. Our eldest wanted to try snowboarding and was a first time snowboarder. She had a blast! She said after a couple more lessons, she will be a boarder.
For my military readers, the Liberty Pass is available through Snow.Com at snow.com/epic-pass/military, and offers the best deal to our military and their families. You can check with your local ITT office or call the resort.
My husband
and I also reconnected while the kids took their lessons. We hadn’t skied together like this in several years! After lessons, and lunch (included for the kids with their lessons), we skied the terrain together as a family. It was fun, and we could not keep up with the kids. They are way too fast for us! Long ski runs at Keystone made for a tired and exhausted family at the end of the day, so be prepared for worn out kiddos and adults!
Since our family was at Keystone, we loved eating at the top of the Summit, and enjoyed some breathtaking views. We also explored other parts of Keystone Resort, including tubing for the first time! Our kids didn’t want to stop tubing, and our little daredevil, our youngest, wanted to keep going even after 
her one hour was up with the tube. Check height requirements, and make sure to bring soft-sided boots (not ski boots), and you can even go down tubing as a group! The kids also crawled through and enjoyed the mountaintop snow fort. I took the gondola down because I was completely wiped but my little skier wanted to ski down with daddy.
If you are planning a family ski weekend, and want to avoid the I-70 traffic to/from Denver in both directions, which is quite stressful for all, check out lodging specials. We really enjoyed relaxing the night before the big ski day adventure in our condo, and regrouping again after our epic ski day. The private condo unit, not affiliated with Epic SchoolKids, was a short walk to Mountain House and ski school and made our lives easier with equipment, the kids, and the fatigue that set in after all the fun we had. But, it is nice to
have a property close b
y to eat, change clothes (it was
pretty hot when we went, so de-layering was a must), or just relax for a bit in the jetted hot tubs. I find that staying an overnight or two truly makes the epic adventure complete. All in all, our family had a successful, fun trip, and we loved everyone we met.
We reconnected as a family, did something
new, and shared lots of laughs before returning to reality. The kids’ final comment on our drive home said it all, “when can we do that again? I hope soon.” That was nice to hear, rather than hearing, “are we there yet?!”
Epic School Kids Ratna from Deadline Motion Works on Vimeo.
Required Disclosure: I was selected to blog and promote the Epic SchoolKids program on behalf of Vail Resorts, in exchange for a post and social media promotion. Our family received compensation in-kind. The opinions expressed here are my own, unbiased, and not attributed to Vail Resorts.
*warning: some of the images appear strange or rotated using Chrome. Sorry about that. It is a Chrome issue.
The Exhibit: The exhibition Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection tells the iconic story of Japanese samurai through 140 objects from one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of samurai armor and accoutrements in the world.
Logistics & Information: The exhibit is family-friendly, but I recommend kids ages 5 and up will enjoy this, and not so much the younger kids. The museum provides you an audio guide at the entrance, and there is a separate number series for families versus adults to hear. For the family guide, a “tengu” speaks to you about the pieces and trains you and the kids how to be a Samurai. In folklore, the Tengu is a half bird, half man, and you meet him at the end of your audio tour. The experience was fun for my kids, and they stayed engaged throughout the exhibit. It is quite an extensive collection, and we were very impressed with how well it was displayed, explained, and laid out. The exhibit is handicap accessible, and easy to push wheelchairs and strollers throughout the museum.
Denver Art Museum does a great job with crowd control by doing timed entry for the special exhibit. This ensures everyone enjoys the exhibit without being trampled, or overcrowded. I wish other museums in the area would learn from this and follow suit. It is so pleasant to walk around, read placards and enjoy the exhibit, rather than being shoved and so crowded-in that you cannot see a thing. I absolutely love the Denver Art Museum for this reason, and this exhibit and the entire museum is enjoyable as a result.
But, the journey doesn’t end there, you then take a picture with your entire group, before meeting the big man in red! Get dressed up or go casual, but get ready to have fun with Santa, his elves, and all his cool equipment 
transported temporarily from the 
