Elisa's Daily BlogMaking The Best ChoicesHey Folks! I woke up today feeling a little blue about my lack of travel during the month of January :-( It's not that easy to up and go with the limitations of the kids' school schedule. And while I do get slightly jealous of my dear cousin, Tanya and her travel flexibility since her kiddies are home-schooled, I know that I could, personally, never make that commitment.  So, I guess, in the end, we all have to live within the confines of the choices we make. As a result, I realize that I can only do my best to travel as much as I am able to within the reality of school vacations, a few stolen weeks here and there that I take them out of school, and of course, the summer. With this in mind, I thought I'd share how my travel year is turning out thus far in and around school day requirements. February 2015: 9 Days to Florida during Winter Break (no missed school) March 2015: 4 Days in Las Vegas (Girls' weekend, no kids) April 2015: 8 Days in Jackson Hole & Yellowstone (5 School Days missed ) June 2015: 17 Days in Eastern Europe (Elisa & Tanya only - no kids) July 2015: 5 Days Niagara Falls & Toronto (Summer Vacation no missed school) November 2015: 8 Days Pacific Northwest Road Trip (5 School Days missed) Now, of course, I will be slugging in a weekend here or there without the kids, which I'll keep you posted on! Do you find it frustrating at times when you cannot up and go and do the things you "just want to do?" When it comes to travel, I think that's why it's even more important to do the things that will really bring you happiness, especially if you have limited time from work and school. Well, speaking of school, Kelsey is staying home one more day - no more fever, but I want to make sure she has another day to rest, considering she is still coughing. And I kept Gianna home because the icy conditions this morning were absolutely terrible. Just about every single school district was closed except for our's and maybe one other! This means that at least half the kids in their school will not have bus service, so I'm sure attendance will be quite low. Both kids will be catching up on their reading and book reviews today in lieu of being in school. BIG SURPRISE COMING TOMORROW FOR ALL OF OUR FOLLOWERS!! SO DON'T FORGET TO TUNE-IN!! And please catch up on Tanya's amazing trip to Vail this week- so much going on there - glad you are having fun Cuz!! Stay safe, warm and happy today! My best wishes for lots of happiness with all of the choices you make!! -E PS: DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!! ----->>>>>----->>>>>----->>>>>  | Tanya's Daily BlogAccidents Happen..Hello there, Happy Monday and welcome to a whole new week here at Travelin' Cousins! We're so glad that you could make it, and we hope you come back very often! In fact, you should probably subscribe! All it takes is an email address and for you to click a confirmation link that is sent to your email - that's it! Super easy, and then you won't miss out on even a day of what's going on in the Daily Scoop - Travelin' Tuesdays, W2GW (Where to go Wednesdays) - TBT (Throwback Thursdays) - Foodie Fridays, or Shopping Saturdays! Whew!  Well, I'm still here in Vail, Colorado for the FIS Alpine World Championships. And I wish I could express just how awesome it has been, so much fun, so exciting, just an amazing good time!!! It has many similarities to the Olympics and for those of you that know me realize that I am a HUGE Olympic FAN and that going to the Olympics has been a dream of mine for a very long time - we are talking about since I was a kid type of long time! It's certainly a big bucket lister for me, but it has to be at a location that I am interested in seeing it at. And this has been the reason why I still have yet to go! However while being here, I must admit that regret not making this a longer trip and not bringing the kids along (I thought that they'd be bored). But it is what it is, and I've made a plan that will make up for any regrets - I will unveil this plan to you tomorrow for Travelin' Tuesday! It's a good one that you're definitely not gonna want to miss!! If you recall I had just too much going on for the first 3 weekends in February and they all overlapped one another! UGH I would've loved to stay longer at the Quebec Winter Carnaval. I would've loved to do a longer trip here to Vail. But when you want to do it all, and everything is overlapping, then you do the best that you possibly can, and that is exactly what I did! I thought that you might be interested in what turned me onto coming to this ski competition, my inspiration so to speak... Well, last year while we were out here doing our regular ski trip, we had gone souvenir shopping and I had seen a few souvenirs for the FIS that I thought looked cool - but how could I buy souvenirs to something that I hadn't done or a place I haven't visited? That was it - I had to plan a trip out here to watch the FIS Championships...and then I could buy my souvenirs! lol  As for yesterday, we did not stick to the plan! I opted to not ski! SAY WHAT?! Yup, I opted to not ski and to watch the 2nd half of the Men's Alpine Combined. I've got to realize that skiing on this trip is just a bonus - icing on the cake. Because how often do I get to watch world class skiers from 70 different countries come flying down the slopes at speeds up to 80mph? Well, it was another oddly warm day and the conditions were rather unpleasant to say the least, but it was still one big happening party and everyone was having a great time!  Then all at once, one of the top contenders for a Gold Medal, Ondrej Bank the 34 year old Czech, had taken a nasty crash and had been knocked unconscious...the music had stopped, the crowd went silent and time just stood still. His motionless body lay on the snow in front of the finish line after being tousled about.  The ski patrol and medical teams had rushed to his side, Bank was indeed alive, but was he okay? Eventually towed in a stretcher off of the course and taken directly to the Vail Valley Medical Center, where he was found to have a concussion, facial lacerations, and possible leg injuries. Yes accidents happen, it a part of the sport. And if you have a love of the sport, you take the risk of getting hurt.  And today we will venture out to Red Tail Stadium once again and this time to watch the Women's Alpine Combined, and then hopefully head over to Vail to do a bit of my own skiing! Wishing you a wonderful start to the new week and a wonderful day! -T |
