Everyone is Hooked!

We went skiing yesterday for the first time. After a little while in the learning area, most everyone was riding the chair lifts and skiing down the slope time after time again.



We went with our good friends from Becks Bounty, who were outrageously generous with their ski time and helped us so much. MomtoCherubs worked tirelessly with Annalise even though she was very reisistant the entire time. DadtoCherubs saved the day by taking Annalise down the bigger slope and holding her next to him the whole way down. I think it finally dawned on her how much fun it could be and maybe that was why MomtoCherubs was working so hard with her. Hopefully, next time she will be a better student.



Kezzi is the champion because she was skiing down the expert slope (updated to say that it wasn't an expert slope, just a very scary intermediate one -- sorry, my misunderstanding) after only four hours! She thinks she has found the sport/love of her life. She was so cute with her long, blond braids flying down the slope. They may grow up, but they really don't change all that much.



Besides Annalise, I win the biggest loser award. :) I don't think skiing is a great sport to pick up after 40! I've never been athletic or daring with extreme sports as it is. I finally did gain confidence on the baby hill and after the girls talked me into it, I tried the slope that was the next level up in difficulty. At the top of the first turn, I wiped out, scraping my bare back on the snow until I skidded to a stop. How my bare back could contact the snow after I put on so many layers is crazy. Anyway, after struggling to stand back up, I strugged to get my skis off. Then I struggled to get them back on, realizing the only way down was DOWN. I set off again and became overwhelmed with the speed and lack of control. Nothing I did slowed me down at all. After succumbing to the terror, I decided just to sit down and wipe out rather than hurl myself faster and faster down the slope. That was it. I was done. When I finally got myself picked up, I was in tears from being so frightened.



Thanks to MomtoCherubs encouragement, I did go back to the beginners area so I wouldn't end on that note. DadtoCherubs offered to take me down with him and help me, but I had had enough. Maybe next time I'll brave that since he is an expert skiier who has been skiing since he was two years old.



I did have a great time though. I was worth it all to see the looks on all of the childrens' faces. They were having the time of their lives.



Cherub5 (from Becks Bounty), who is only 8yo, was hilarious as she skiied down the slope with wild abandonment and whooping. Cherub6 was an amazing tropper too as he worked so patiently until he attained the all-important stopping capability. He was so cute and had a constant smile on his face. I still keep laughing over a comment by Cherub6 (5yo) at the Mexican restaurant where he tried "whakamole", aka guacamole, for the first time.



As the title of this post suggests, everyone is hooked. On the way home the kids were full of plans to do it again. Luke is even making plans to move closer to the ski resort when he is grown.