I grew up in a small town. A very small town. And it was fairly close to a very small ski resort. Very, very small. So that's where I learned to ski. It's a lovely place--not terribly busy with a complete view of the lift and runs from the picnic tables in front of the lodge--and I wanted my kids to experience it. So yesterday, we did. Here are some highlights:
1) 20 people on the slopes. No lift lines. Each of us probably got 30 runs in. The snow was great, too. Perfectly packed with very few icy spots.
2) We decided (since Hesperus has a great lift ticket/rental/lessons package) to let Bella try her luck at the sport. She looked like a mini X-games athlete, with her quirky hat, her coat unzipped, and her helmet askew. She spent most of her lessons making snow angels and throwing snowballs at the instructor, so I thought she'd be done after the morning. Not so. This child is a demon on skis.
3) My youngest brother Dallin's fragile flower of a body let him down after one bad run. Just like Mom said, "If you get a little bit of snow in your boots, you're going to be a sad little boy for the rest of the day." Luckily, he had about 25 of those Hot Hands warmers in his gloves and boots, so he eventually recovered. (Just kidding, Dal!)
4) John was a champ, with only one fall as he took on a double black diamond mogol run. (Actually he took a tumble in the lift line and sprained his wrist. That's hard on his manhood, though, so don't tell him I told you. Or you can say you heard about the wrist, but say that I said he hurt in doing mega-jumps in the snowboarding park.)
5) Big G (my dad) took Bella on the "wagon" (the lift) so many times I lost count. With the tips of her skis hooked together, she was unable to propel herself on level ground, so he had to drag her by one arm. Watch the video at the end, it's hysterical.
6) This is Bella's happy place. When she was asked whether she wanted to ski with her dad or with Big G, she said, "Big G because he's got the science." He definitely had the enormous task of getting her on and off the lift down to a science. (Thanks, Dad! You saved me!)
7) Karen (my mother-in-law) was by far the most graceful non-instructor I saw all day. That woman can SKI! Swish, swish, swish, gently and beautifully down the hill. (In contract, I was more like SNOWPLOW! TUMBLE! TRIP! ROLL! down the hill. I am not an athlete.)
8) My dad looked his best when his hat was slipping off. I like the top-knot effect this creates.
9) John started skiing again after a good ice session on his wrist. Luckily for his fragile tendons, he stayed upright for the rest of the day, despite his speedy descents.
10) A little more X-games for all of you.
11) Dallin was completely spent at the end of the day, poor baby. We had to drag him back to the rental shack. (Just kidding. He posed here for dramatic effect.)
11) This first video is Mimi skiing. She's the hot shot coming straight toward the camera.
12) This next video is Bella at her best.
13) This one is Bella's last run. You have to watch for a bit before she comes into view. She biffs it at the end, so it's definitely worth it.
14) And this one is my favorite, with Big G helping Bella along. She would just hang from one arm and let him pull her along. It appears she might be resentful, but I swear to you she was absolutely delighted with her situation all day long. (Who wouldn't be with Big G ready to take you anywhere you want to go?)
. . . the rest of us can go SNOWSHOEING! Have you ever done this? It's incredibly fun.
You can hang on a branch.
You can model your stunning borrowed (the girls') or military surplus (mine and John's) footwear.
You can pose in front of the gorgeous Uintah Mountain scenery.
And you can fall on your duff again and again and again. Favorite quote of the day, "Quit whining, Mimi, and just use your claws." (This from Liv, referring to the crampon on the bottom of the snowshoe.)
We'll definitely have to get some kids' snowshoes of our own and do this again. Does anyone want to join us?
*Bella hates it when we refer to her as one of the babies.
. . . I'm going to list Bella's most recent accomplishments:
1) Shampoo mess in our bathroom (blogged here)
2) Poured out all of my brother Pete eyedrops onto his deodorant, which she enthusiastically scrubbed with his toothbrush. Then proceeded to stick all of his clothes together with his toothpaste. Pete, I am SO SORRY!
3) Went to the neighbors' house to play yesterday and decided to "wipe up" their bathroom. This involves gallons of water, a bottle of handsoap, and a rag. She was so drenched when she was done that they had to change her into some of Lily's clothes before sending her home.
4) Told my Grandma Nielson (my grandpa died a few years ago), "Hey, I know you! Your boyfriend died." Tactful.
5) Used the pump bottle of conditioner to liberally spatter the entire shower, herself, and her little sister.
I'm going to start putting her to bed at 9:00 a.m.
If you've ever wondered whether dumping an entire bottle of shampoo onto the bathroom floor would make the floor really slippery and fun to slide around on, you're in good company. Because Bella was wondering that same thing. The answer is: Yes. Really, really slippery and really, really fun.
If you've ever wondered whether kneeling in said shampoo would make your pajamas yucky and bubbly and slimy, you'd also be in good company. Because Maddie was wondering the same thing, and her answer is: Yes. Really slimy, yucky, and bubbly. The only solution to this problem is to scream loudly and tattle on your sister for spilling the shampoo.
If you'd put yourself squarely in the category of people who are pretty sure that cleaning up shampoo from off the bathroom floor is the last way you'd want to spend your Sunday evening because your hypothesis is that shampoo must be scrubbed again and again and again and again because its very existence depends on its ability to create suds from practically nothing, you are ALSO in good company. Probably the best company. Because you are in my company. And our hypothesis is correct. More correct than we would have wished.
As a side note, I wish to point out that although the five heads of girl hair in this family require us to purchase shampoo in bulk in Sam's Club, I have the foresight to make my strategy one of refilling our pump bottle only about half full every time I fill it. For mitigation purposes, in case something like this happens (or in case someone decides to use the shampoo as bubble bath). I hate to brag, but there it is. #iamsobrilliant
I don't know how the rest of the moms I know manage to take such great pictures of their kids in Halloween costumes. I usually forget to take pictures at all, so it was great to have John's phone at the ready to capture our group halfway through the trick-or-treating. (Of course, I also planted us directly in front of the setting sun. Sorry if you feel blinded.)
From oldest to youngest, we have John, the Bad Doctor (he's our supervillain); me, Witchtastic (and I really wish you could see more of my awesome black-and-orange tights); Olivia, The Speedy Paintbrush; Naomi, aka Magnificent Mimi; Bella, aka Fireballa; and the small and daring Mad Madame Maddie.
My mom and dad joined us for the whole week of Halloween. However, my dad is the world's biggest Halloween Humbug, so he didn't come along for the trick-or-treating. (He stayed home and handed out glowsticks to the two trick-or-treaters who bumbled along to our house.)
We posed heroically.
We dashed heroically out of scary houses (accompanied by Mario and Rainbow Dash).
We posed heroically again.
We delighted heroically in the enormous piles of candy we were heroically gathering.
And we talked, heroically and at length, about our superpowers. The Speedy Paintbrush can wield a magic paintbrush and make her paintings come to life. Magnificent Mimi scores well on spelling tests and saves people from falling rocks. Fireballa throws balls of fire at bad guys, and then she runs really fast. Mad Madame Maddie mostly just runs down the halls of houses yelling her name. (I'm sure that terrifies supervillains. The Bad Doctor regularly finds himself stymied.)
P.S. My sister also escaped Provo with her darling boyfriend, and the two of them were the champions of the extended trick-or-treating that my two older girls accomplished. I have Annie and Shaylor to thank for the sugar high we've all been riding the past few days. I
