Some would say we are totally irresponsible........ others would say we are true adventurers. Whatever is the case, we certainly made John's 45th Birthday a special one.
Yesterday, our friend, Scott let us throw a family birthday party for John up at High Meadow-- the gorgeous spot where Cally got to spend the first two months of her life. Every time we drive up the long driveway to the property, I get a warm feeling. We were so lucky to be able to call this place home (while our own home was being built) back in the fall and winter of 2008-2009:
And so, it makes sense that when it came to celebrating "half-way to the grave" Birthday, he requested that we have a bonfire up at High Meadow. However, since it is November and some might consider it a little cold for an outdoor party, Scott offered up the cabin. 15 rug rats and 30 adults came together to honor this guy:
The guy that I only officially started dating four years ago, but who has continued to amaze me-- as a father, a writer, an outdoors man, beloved advisor/mentor, friend, and husband.
He'd do absolutely anything for his family and so this morning, when I asked him how he'd like to spend his actual birthday (the day after his very fun party up at High Meadow), he decided to combine his two loves: family and skiing. We've always said that we would never be those people who ski with their kid in a backpack at a ski area. It just seemed reckless-- the potential for someone else hitting you seemed too high. However, we decided that skiing at a ski area before it opens might be all right. So this afternoon we headed up to Stowe, where enough snow has fallen to make it possible to skin and ski down. We bundled Cally up in warm clothes, loaded her in a backpack and slowly trudged up the hill. Because I'm 30 weeks pregnant, slow was the operative word.
Cally loved the hike, but that's nothing new for her. The biggest surprise was how fired up she was about being on John's back for the ski down. If only we had a video to share. Alas, a written description is all we can offer. From the moment John started down, Cally was beaming from ear to ear and laughing with glee. When John would stop to "regroup", she'd immediately say, "Again, Daddy, Again". Her cheeks got rosey and her nose was clearly cold, but she was having so much fun!
Now the skiing itself-- well that was marginal, but just seeing the excitement in Cally's eyes made it all so worth while (core shots from rocks and all!).
We don't plan to do the backpack thing on the mountain once it's open, but now we are thinking that our almost 2 year old might be ready to give skiing a try this season. Before going to bed tonight she said, "Daddy, I love skiing". Now that is music to our ears!
