Easter

It's been almost 10 years, but we did it!  We got up to Mount Washington for some spring skiing!  We nailed it with the weather, but it could have been a little warmer for the true corn experience.  In any case, it was incredible!  We left as soon as the kids got on the bus and made it to the base of the Ammooosuc Ravine by 9:30 and we were at the Lake of the Clouds hut before lunch.

 It was such a treat to ski with my favorite mountain buddy in the White Mountains.  And the temps cooperated for some final days of skiing at Smuggs with the kids.

These little Easter egg hunters were rarin' and ready to go this year.  It was a grey morning, but temps were perfect for a P.J. wearing adventure.  So fun to see them still so excited about boiled eggs.

 

We were lucky enough to get to do a second egg/treat hunt at the Kelsey's house:

And the big treat was heading up to Howling Mountain Animal Rescue Center- a.k.a. Medora & Spencer's house to meet their newest addition:

Meet Foxy!

March Madness

Some days I have to pinch myself.  I live a 15 -30 minutes away from the mountains.  I get to ski all the time AND my kids and husband enjoy it almost as much as I do!  It's been so fun to see us evolve as a family where we are all skiers.   These guys just go for it!

Other events...... Jackson came over for some wrestling and pig pile, oh and dinner.  He graduates in May and we are already so bummed that he won't be around.

And I got to celebrate another trip around the sun!  John planned a fun Mad River Ski day followed by a gathering at the Mad River Barn.  Then my girlfriends got together for cake at Jen's and my parents came up to celebrate the following weekend.  Lots of celebrating!  I got to go out to eat at Trattoria Delia, my favorite and I got lots of hugs and cheer.

And, the sun came out for some spring skiing.  Nothing beats the tail gating in the upper lot at Smuggs:

 And, we got the fur kids to the vet.  Lobby acts like she owns the place and Zephy had to have a muzzle put on her so the vet, his tech and another tech could trim her nails?!?!?!

52 Inches!

We finally won the snow fall lottery.  I mean, really won it this time.  Of course, John was away (in Idaho), but we managed to have an epic few days of fun in the snow.  It did involve a lot of snow blowing, waking up early to get "first tracks" (kind of) and lots of playing in the fluffiest snow I've ever experience in Vermont.

The weatherman said that there was only 5% moisture in this snow.  That is like Utah!  The kids did such a great job helping me keep the driveway cleared and plowing through the snow on their skis.  Of course, we had not just one snow day, but two.  So that meant extra Mom time!

While John was away, I offered to watch two different families kids for two different days.  On Saturday, we had Josie and her two year old sister, Eliza.  We decided to hit "Kids Day" at a local hotel/conference center:

But then I had to get out, so the big kids skied and I pulled Eliza in a Chariot, like old times.  It was so gorgeous out!

We did some sledding and snowman visiting at Casey's hill.  Eliza was pretty sure that this particular snowman was made just for her.

 On Sunday, we took the Mahoney gals with us to Smugg for a perfect bluebird day!

I did manage to get out for some backcountry skiing with Zephy.

And we celebrated Tommy's birthday:

We had so much to tell John about when he returned from Idaho (where the snow was plentiful, but temperatures were warm)

February/March Break

February vacation is the best!  Our school district always takes the week after Presidents week off, as well as the Monday and Tuesday after that week (because of Town Meeting day).  So, it's a nice long vacation.  We have sort of alternated between staying here in Vermont for a "staycation" and traveling.  This year, we went back to Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Canada for five days and stayed home for the rest of the vacation.

We managed to recruit three other families to join us this year.  We were 15 and we had such a great time.  We stayed right in the pedestrian village, making sure to have a kitchen, hot tub, and free breakfast every morning. 

the view of our place from the gondola (that's John, Rich and Jenny below)

view from the gondola of the back of our hotel

 Free night tubing and ice skating was also included:

We managed to find a lot more snow, warm temperatures and corn snow conditions.

Skiing as a unit

Giving TouFou a hug

We loved the apres ski scene:

Eating Crepes

 Sugar on snow:

On the way home, we stopped by the Biodome in Montreal.  The kids got to explore the rainforest, taiga, and tundra.  Highlights were seeing the sloth, otters, and penguins.

We made it home on Friday and spent the rest of the week skiing, skating, jumping with friends, and relaxing.

Jumping with Auntie Cara at "Get Air"

Bluebird day at Smuggs

It's never easy to get back into the groove of school/work, but we had a great vacation!  Adventures with this family are getting more and more fun!