Last year we took the girls skiing for the first time and we have now made ski bums out of all of our children and Brook. This year we opted to go to a bigger mountain since no one was just learning anymore. We weren't able to do a ski in/ski out place, which was so convenient last year, but this mountain was so much better! We skied at Keystone this year. The bunny hill was big enough and yet small enough for the beginners to have fun but not too hard to make it frustrating. Abby, Susie and Emmy spent time on the bunny hill to refresh their skills before going on anything bigger. The boys and Brook just picked up where they left off last time. Caleb kept trying to track his skiing speed with his driving app and I was terrified that he was going to be one of the skiers that was air lifted out of there by the end of the week. He really wanted to get his speed up to 50 miles an hour. Thankfully, no one got hurt and everyone had fun!
Bryce, Emmy and I went on a couple runs together. Caleb didn't really have the patience to ride the lift with Emmy or wait for us, so he solo skied most of the time. He was a man on a mission to get as many runs in as possible before the lifts closed.
Emmy really loved the little trails through the trees that had mini jumps and tight corners. She loved these because she is still at the age where a fall doesn't take you the entire week to recover from!
Brook is our Emmy whisperer. She can get Emmy to cooperate with things that we can never get her to agree to. She is also lovely to have around and overall, a good buffer between all of our kids.
We had some great weather where skiing in a jersey wasn't too cold. The last couple days we skied were by far the coldest and we realized how wimpy we really were.
One afternoon, everyone headed home around 2:00 but Robb is always game to stay until the lifts shut down. Emmy wanted to stay so they both hit the slopes until they kicked them off. Emmy said this was one of the best days, but she was beat afterwards! Robb had to carry her skis back and almost had to carry her.
It has been so fun to have an activity that our entire family enjoys. We all enjoy it a little different but all the same, it is something we can do together.
Robb: extreme snowboarding in the fact that he likes to be there from open to close and would do night skiing if it was available, would prefer to eat a granola bar on the lift and not stop for lunch. It might take him an hour to get all of his stuff on, but he will be warm enough for the entire day. Likes hard blues and easy blacks. Enjoys a challenge but doesn't want to get hurt especially not early in the week.
Erin: leisure skier, likes to get up and eat a good breakfast, hits the slopes around 10, lunch at 1 and around 3 is ready to call it a day and get a coffee. Likes to ski the medium green/blue whatever isn't terribly crowded and has a good view. Skis like she doesn't want to fall because she doesn't.
Bryce: Leisure skier, likes to eat a good breakfast, not in a hurry to get there in the morning. Doesn't like to be too cold and doing anything before coffee is a no go. He likes to ski medium blues for a bit of a challenge but doesn't plan to get hurt. He enjoys snacks and warm up times in between runs and is usually ready to head home for a nap after lunch. He likes to ski with someone but hates taking Emmy on the lift because he is worried, she is going to fall through the bars.
Caleb: Extreme skier to the max! The less gear the better, he doesn't want anything extra to drag around. He would like to be the very first one on the lift and ideally would like the ski patrol to have to find him to make him leave at the end of the day. He has no patience for slow, new or beginner skiers. He likes to go as fast as humanly possible down any mountain preferably as steep as possible. He doesn't have time for breaks or lunch. He has no self-preservation and is certain that he can't break or maim himself by going extremely fast or going through trees.
Abby: Leisure skier, she likes to just get there when she gets everything on and ready. She will only ski with a buddy and worries about getting lost (just go down the hill). She is the epitome of slow and steady wins the race. Speed is not important to her, and she is likely to stop for an extended rest if there are too many people on a section of the mountain. She is only willing to do green runs and will fall if you even say blue run. She skis like she doesn't want to get hurt because she really doesn't want to get hurt. She likes to end early in the day and save some time for shopping at the outlet mall.
Emmy: is a beginner skier with the need for speed like an advanced skier. She doesn't have any poles, so she is forever needing a push or pull on the flat areas. She is fearless to a fault on the lifts and makes anyone that rides with her nervous that she is going to slip right off the seat. Her gear weighs about as much as her and after a long day she won't carry any of her own gear to the car. She is a go getter and once she gets there, she is game to go down the mountain over and over and over again.
Robb's cousin Jake was able to come down with his kids for the day and hang out with us. It is always fun to see him and the girls.
Poor Brook was just getting over strep throat and a terrible cold, so she didn't feel great for the first couple of days. I think Bryce caught what she had or something else because he didn't feel very good for a couple days also. He had a terrible cough and needed his inhaler when he got short of breath, so he spent a fair amount of time on the couch.
See what I mean about her gear weighing as much as she does!
This year the Winter Olympics were on while we were there. Susie bought medals and gave them out for funny categories.
