Ski Racers

I swore I wouldn't do it...... become a ski mom who wears yak tracks on her snow boots instead of skis on a day of sunshine in order to watch her kids each take two 50 second runs.  But, I did it.  The kids heard about the Cochran's Town Meeting Day Fun race and they really wanted to give gates a try.

They'd never actually had any instruction on skiing gates until the Saturday before the race, so I wasn't so sure how it would go or if they'd even like it........ The good news is that they did like it.  They both looked way better than I thought they would.  The bad news is that I dropped Hazey's rusty skis off at the local ski shop and asked for a basic tune (while also mentioning that my kid was in a race) and they gave Hazey's ski the basic race tune for ..... $94!?!?!?!?

It was pretty cool to see how these kids who ski gates learn to use their skis.  Hazey ended up getting 10th out of 26 kids on his second race, so he got a medal and he was very proud.  It's a slippery slope because now they want to do the U10 program at the ski club next year.  Does this mean I'll be wearing yak tracks more often next year?

Tremblant

We went back to Mont Tremblant...... again.  We are beginning to become creatures of habit, doing the same vacations year after year.  Way back in October, we booked the vacation, knowing that we could cancel and get our money back until two weeks before leaving. As the trip approached, we thought about going somewhere else-- Ottawa, Quebec City, Jay Peak, etc. but when it came right down to it, we all concurred that we wanted to go on a ski vacation and knew we'd love it here. We have had so much fun here in the past,  it's only three hours away by car, and the Canadian dollar is rather weak.

We drove up on Tuesday and stayed through Friday.  As we drove up north, we were shocked to see snow on the ground (as it had all melted in Vermont).  We promptly checked into our hotel, soaked in the hot tub and hit the tubing hill.

Our room at the Homewood Suites was spacious and comfortable (a view from the loft)

We had a great day skiing on Wednesday.  The kids loved riding the gondola and riding all the lifts as a "4 pack of Abbott's".

 By noon, the snow started to fall:

We woke up on Thursday morning and took full advantage of the resorts "First Tracks" tickets for hotel guests.  We were on the lift at 7:45 and getting fresh tracks on the back side of the mountain for 4 runs in a row.  It was that moment when, for the first time in our families history, we were skiing as a family down slopes that I would have been skiing on my own at a pace that did not involve waiting for anyone.  It was the sweet spot that John and I have been waiting for-- for 7 years!

But it wasn't all about the skiing..... it was about spending time as a nuclear family, laughing a lot, eating wonderful food, and making t-shirts and hats at a really cool (and overpriced) design studio.

On the way home, we stopped at a Space museum in Laval, a suburb of Montreal.  It was a nice break and fun to explore space.

Mont Tremblant is one of my favorite places to vacation.  I love that we don't need to get into a car once we are there.  I love that we feel like we are really far away and surrounded by a different culture.

Ten Years!

Happiness is being married to your best friend! I know it's cliche to say it, but where did the past ten years go?  I feel like the first three decades of my life were an eternity, and the last ten years have literally flown by.  It's been a wild ride, but there is no one with whom I'd rather be copiloting.

To celebrate our decade of being legally bound to each other, we booked a night at the scene of the crime.  

We dropped the kids with their godparents, Tom and Cara, and set off for the slopes of Sugarbush, even though it was raining at the base.   I'd be lying if I didn't mention that we considered going to a matinee of Black Panther instead of skiing. Fortunately, we found out it wasn't raining up high and the slopes were relatively carveable.So, we ripped the groomers and skied more runs in 4 hours than you can ski in a day at Smuggs.  We mixed it up with a great lunch and a beer.  My sweet heart even carried my skis in the rain.

We arrived at the Inn with time to cozy up in our room and read the Sunday Times.  It was so wonderful to be in such a special place without a stress in the world.

And we had a delicious meal at Peasant, a wonderful little restaurant in Waitsfield village.

The next day was full of sunshine and corn conditions on the mountain.  First, we had a lovely breakfast at the Inn before heading out on the slopes for another day of skiing together.

When we picked up the kids, they had made the most amazing pie I've ever eaten with Tommy.  It was raspberry peach with an almond coconut crumble.  So with happy kids and a full belly, we continued the sentiment of bliss and love. 

I certainly had to wait to find my perfect match, but I'm so, so glad that I did.  John is the person who I'd pick to do just about anything (except maybe go to Disney World or some crowded, non mountainous place).  He knows how to make adventures fun and he challenges me to be the best person I can be everyday. Most importantly, he's made this adventure so much more fulfilling.  It's never easy to balance a relationship with kids and all the stresses of work, but I feel like we've done a pretty darn good job so far.  Here's to many more decades of celebration together.

Crazy Hair

Hazen's class has lots of celebrations.  His sister was thrilled to help him get ready for "Crazy Hair" day!

ON one of the last days before break, I got a call at school that Cal had cut herself with scissors and that the cut was deep enough to warrant a trip to the Urgent Care Center.  As we pulled up to the health center, I realized that most of the people in the facility probably had the flu!  As a self proclaimed germ phobe, I immediately made the kids put masks on.......

Turns out Cal didn't need stitches (the cut was too close to the tip to pull the skin together).  Meanwhile, Hazey decided to get his crazy hair cut while wearing his Hawaiian shirt for beach day.

Best House Guests Ever

 The kids and I don't get President's Day off.  We don't get the week after President's Day off either.  But when the Davidson's asked if they could come up for a ski visit, we were thrilled.  They are the easiest house guests ever.  They showed up with a cooler full of food, groceries, and good cheer.

We skied together in the sunshine at Smuggs on Saturday.  Cross country skied, skated, and swam on Sunday, and the kids took the day off to ski with the gals on Monday.

They brought their dog Koa up and Hazey is in love.

The kids have so much fun together:

Even though I had to work and grade and all that not-so-fun stuff, they made everything easy and fun for us.  They don't ask what needs to be done for a meal, they just start cooking.  They are always game for adventure and laughs.  I'm so glad they live so much closer than Montana right now.

February Fun

Aside from Hazey turning 7, Julius, Tom and Cara's grandson turned 2.  We went to hang out with him to celebrate his special day. 

Meanwhile, John and I went to see the Wailers (of Bob Marley) at the Stowe Performing Arts Center with the Mangos.  It was an amazing show.  I had no idea how much fun it would be to see reggae in the middle of winter.  It was so uplifting and fun!

Every Monday, my friend Lindsay has offered to watch our kids.  The kids take the bus to her house, eat a snack and then do something fun outdoors.  They quite like the new "go cart".

Every Tuesday the kids go to Poker Hill Arts.  They've been having so much fun building towers out of Keva blocks!

 And, of course, we are still skiing as much as we can.  The kids are becoming quite the little rippers, thanks to their lessons with the ski club: