pizza & french fry

January 22, 2011

If I had to sum up our first family ski trip in one word I would say SUCCESS.

We tried something new as a family [check]

We all worked so very hard [check]

We had beautiful weather [check]

We made new memories [check]

We laughed & had a good time [check]

None of this would of been possible if we didn't have the help from the rest of the family.

This was Tucker & Hailey's only third time up there snowboarding.

They are loving it!

Just the process to get up to this point was a lot of work.

Getting the feel of the skis.

So a couple of things have changed since I've been up skiing.

First of all they no longer have the tow ropes.

Instead they have this, the magic carpet (a moving conveyor belt) that you ski up on

and it takes you right on up the hill.

And they no longer teach you to ski by making a wedge to snowplow and slow down

or keeping straight skis to move along,

they instead say make a pizza (slow down) or french fries (to move).

So all day we would hear, pizza...french fries...pizza...french fries.

Heath was such a trooper.

He was somewhat left on his own to figure certain things out.

For instance the poor guy had been wearing his ski boots wrong for part of the day.

Instead of the cushioned part being up next to your shins with the hard plastic piece covering that he had the plastic piece first. He couldn't figure out how people could even enjoy skiing if their shins were being rubbed raw.

Look at him go!

Oh, Mr. Ryan!

He was our die hard skier for sure.

Aunt Coco worked with him for most of the day and even took a little abuse from him as well.

Ryan wanted to do everything by his ownself, that is what he would tell her.

He didn't want her touching, hanging on, or helping too much!

The kid loved everything about it.

He went up and down the bunny hill all day long, no breaks (except for lunch)!

I think he must of gone 50 times.

Skiing Buddies

Ryan had a special friend that worked at the top of the magic carpet.

Her name was Ashley.

They would talk and play a game each time he went up the ride.

She would try and scare him each time he went by her but even though we would

hear a few screams he would never admit to being scared by her.

He loved skiing and can't wait to go again!

Oh, Mr. Luke.

He was the one who talked about skiing non-stop and couldn't wait to get up there and try it.

Something happened once we got there because all his confidence went away and the nerves set in.

It wasn't until right before lunch when he finally would give it a try, but only with me.

He was doing his best and seemed to be enjoying it even though you didn't see him ever smile.

Luke would get frustrated so easy though and be quick to always blame it on someone or something else. So you better watch out!

He was excited to get back out after lunch until his gloves got lost and then something happened to his mood again. After some glove swapping and more convincing we got him skiing again.

I wish Luke could of been more confident because he was wanting this so bad, he just wouldn't give himself enough credit for what he was able to do because he did awesome!

I think Luke would definitely give this a try again.

At one point I had Ryan and Luke both hanging onto one of my poles to help ease them down the hill.

Talk about a workout!

This brought back memories because this is how my dad would help me down the hill when I was their age.

Oh, Mr. Cody!

Uncle Jim worked with Cody and Heath for most of the day.

Cody did great and was so willing to give anything a try.

He didn't show too much expression, you could tell he was a little nervous and unsure at times.

If he got going to fast down the hill he would quickly sit down to stop himself, I never

heard him say the words "I can't".

Cody liked to ski for awhile, then take a break and then give skiing a try again, he was good doing whatever.

He was a great sport and says he would go skiing again in the next two or three years!

Their jackets and hoods came in very handy to grab onto them with.

This was a day of working non-stop.

There were times I started to lose my patience and get a little frustrated.

It was hard work constantly getting in and out of skis, helping kids untangle themselves from their falls and trying to help everyone all day long.

But we all worked together and we did it!

In between skiing, Cody would often be found sleeping in the snow.

And he really did sleep, Luke would too!

People even commented that they had never seen someone able to sleep in the snow.

Thanks for all the help, we love you guys!

I had to replicate my picture from February 1983!

I loved this day!