Skiing, sort of.

As I mentioned in my Christmas post, everyone in our family got skis for Christmas and we bought a family pass at local hill. Last Saturday we took the whole family up to the hill.

My Monkey was anxious to get on the slopes to show us his skills. He kept telling us that he wouldn't fall, that he didn't need lessons, skiing was easy, and that he would be awesome. His confidence is inspiring, but I kept telling him that falling is how you learn and that everyone falls and needs to be taught how to do things, like skiing. He tends to be a bit of a perfectionist like Superboy and I, and he gets easily frustrated when he can't do things perfectly. But, of course, he doesn't want to be taught. He comes by it pretty honestly...

Girly takes things a little slower. As we were driving, and I was distracted playing with my GPS, she asked me, "Mommy, when you went skiing, were you scared?"
I wasn't really listening and just said nope. Brent kind of clued me in to what she was asking me, so I then explained to her that I was very nervous the first time I went skiing, and that it was okay to be scared. I told her that Mommy and Daddy would help her and that even if she was a bit scared, she would still have fun.























Before I even had my toque on my head, Superboy and The Boy were gone up the chairlift. Brent, Monkey and Girly went straight to the line up for the magic carpet on the little bunny slope. I use the term slope very loosely. It was a long line, so by the time it was their turn, The Boy had come to see us and Brent asked him to help with the littles. This was also the only time, all day that I saw Superboy. He adores skiing and has to be forced off of the hill!
























They got to the top and Monkey was ready to take off down the slope. So he and the Boy started to make their way down the hill. What he lacked in skill, Monkey made up for in enthusiasm. It took quite a few tries before he managed to even snow plow at all, but he had a blast.



















Poor Girly was another story. She was scared crapless. "It's SLIPPERY!" Brent thought it would be a good idea for him to stand downhill a few feet and have her ski into his arms. Uh. No. By the time Daddy dragged her to the bottom of the hill, she wanted those slippery skis off of her feet and she was done.












































































































Now I am a bit timid of trying new things, I would have been scared like her and so I would have taken it a bit slower. Like when I was learning to drive. Brent wanted me to just take over the wheel while going a hundred on the highway. No thanks! I wanted to go to an empty parking lot and get a feel for the way the van handled, how responsive the pedals were, steering etc, so that when I was on the road I could concentrate on where I was going and what was around me.











So while Daddy took Monkey up and down the hill, I refused to take off Girly's skis. I just stood with her at the bottom of the hill and let her walk around in the skis. Let her get used to how they felt and how to stay in control even though they were slippery. She was happy to do that for over an hour and then we all went in for lunch. Good thing, because I was freezing! The ski hill isn't nearly as fun when you are not skiing.

After lunch, all the boys went back out while Girly, Zed and I hung out in the chalet and I fed Zed. It wasn't long before Girly was asking to go back outside, but it was a couple hours before Daddy and Monkey came in for a break. Girly and I watched them on the bigger hill after Monkey figured out the snow plow thing and she really wanted to be with them. Then Daddy went out on his own to try out his board and Monkey warmed up with us for a bit. When Daddy came back, I got Girly ready and she was excited to try again. When Monkey watched them leaving, he decided that he wanted to go too, so I got him dressed again and out they tromped.















































































By this time, Monkey could go up and down the carpet on his own, so Brent worked with Girly. As they stood in line, she started to freak a little. So she and Dad had a little talk. He told her that if she didn't want to go up, that was okay, but he was going to take her inside to see Mommy. At that moment, Monkey screamed by on his skis, laughing as he whizzed past her. Well, at that moment, something clicked for Girly. She must have decided that if Monkey could do it, so could she. Or that she didn't want to miss out on the fun, because she took Brent's hand, "Let's go Daddy."

Off they went and down she came. Still nervous, but no longer terrified. She was thrilled with her success, and she finally found the joy in the nerves.























They got a couple more runs in and then, while the three of them were at the top of the hill, it was announced that the hill was closed. Well Monkey started to cry right there. He did not want to leave. He was having the time of his short life. He cried half way home!

One of the best parts about skiing was that Superboy had a smile on his face for 2 days afterwards. Skiing brings such joy to him, he is good at it and it is one thing that he truly loves. We had a fabulous time together and are looking forward to many more days in the snow.

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