Brian has always been an avid skier and started at a young age. I on the other hand have always been a beach person. My mother being from California grew up skiing all her life and in fact my parents even have a time share in Beaver Creek, Colorado! I do not know why we did not learn to ski as children, but opted for the beach every summer instead. Growing up so close to the beach it was a no brainer for my sister and I when asked every year where we should vacation? I really did not know much about the west coast or snow for that matter. I was raised in the south my entire life and never really came into contact with the cold, white stuff ! :)
Brian and I have always discussed having an annual ski trip with our family. We want the kids to start early so they will never encounter the issues that an old, beginner like myself have. I have skied before, but by no means would I or do I have any desire to ski blacks!! I am perfectly content to stay on the greens and blues and leisurely take my time down the mountain! There is no dare devil flowing through my veins! However, I am sure there is a heart attack in my future as I watch our children become older and more advance in their skiing abilities! Two years ago we started this tradition when Christian was about to turn two years old. I was pregnant with Henley and terribly sick! We ended up canceling our trip to Colorado due to my misery! Brian was of course disappointed, but I think it was better in the long run for Christian. I think that 3 years old is the perfect age to start the learning process and getting him use to everything. The clothes, boots and weather are all new to little southern boys! However, Christian was a trouper and ABSOLUTELY loved every second of this trip!
We had been talking about our trip to Christian for awhile and getting him ready for what he was about to learn out on the mountains. We watched ski videos on YouTube and he really got excited watching all the skiing on the Olympics! He could not wait to get out on his ski’s and kept telling everybody that he was going skiing!
The first day we got to Park City around 1:00 and immediately got fitted for our ski’s and boots. We got Christian signed up for ski school and picked up our lift tickets. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in the Canyons and it was a ski in ski out. Perfect for those with kids and a lot of stuff to haul around! I could not imagine having to pack up all our gear and put Christian in a car seat and drive somewhere to ski! We walked out the front door and there was the Gondola to take us up the mountain! Christian loved the Gondola and was always telling everyone riding with us that he was going skiing! There is nothing cuter than a small child packed in snow clothes and boots! They look like little fluffy, puffy michelin men! I could not help but, laugh every time I looked at him in all his gear! He could barely move! It made me think of the little boy in the Christmas story who could barely walk because his mother has so much clothing on him when he left the house! That was Christian!:)
We were there for five days, but we wanted to do more adventurous things to entertain Christian. We chose a horse and carriage ride with dinner the first night. It was very cold and it was snowing. The scenery was picture perfect and once the snow stopped it was much more enjoyable! The guide was great and even offered Christian the chance to ride up front, but he was being shy. It did not help that he had been up since 5:30am and they were an hour behind central time! We went home afterwards and got some shut eye because the next day was a big one! Christian’s first time on ski’s and we could not wait to see what would happen!
Christian had to report to ski school at 8:30, so we were up early and on the mountain by 8:00am! I joined a group lesson to get a refresher course since it had been awhile for me! Brian met some friends that were in town and everybody did their own thing for the morning. We were meeting back at 11:30 to eat with Christian and check in with him! Christian was doing well with skiing and having fun, but unfortunately he was done with his lesson and wanted to be with mommy and daddy! We decided to take him out of class and keep him with us for the rest of the day. I am sure everyone has seen those parents and their children with the harnesses attached to them? Well, Brian skied with Christian and I the rest of the day. Brian would just hold onto him and keep him between his ski’s going down the mountain! That should tell you how skilled my hubby is on ski’s because I would of killed both us if I had even attempted something like that! Christian loved this and of course wanted to ski with Brian and I every day! However, Brian would never get to go down the crazy blacks if he did that, so Christian and I had a few semi-private lessons together! We learned a lot, had a fabulous time and came back home all in one piece! Here is some video of Brian and Christian skiing down the mountain!
I do not want to make this blog forever long, so here are some of the other fun things we did while we were there. The pool was heated to 120 degrees and of course the saunas were a must for our sore muscles! Christian was not sore and enjoyed hopping back forth between the two of them!
We took a dog sledding trip which was so much fun! Brian and I got to ride on the back of the sled for a different prospective and Christian got to yell, “Hike”! This is what made the dogs take off running! He loved it and in fact told many people that this was his favorite activity!
We went snowmobiling, had snow ball fights, made snow angels and Christian’s personal favorite eating snow! Yep, you read that right...eating snow. Christian loved eating snow every chance he got! We had to keep telling him to eat the white snow! I kept waiting for him to get his tongue stuck to a pole or something because every time you would turn around he would be licking the snow! Yuck! I know, but what can you do? He would say, “ I love eating snow, it taste like ice cream!” Well if that is all it takes to make you happy, I will shave you some ice every day! :) That is healthier than ice cream and if he does not know the difference it should not matter! Right?
We had a wonderful time and we can not wait to go back next year...if there is not a brand new addition to our family... :)
1 comment:
Hmmmm....was that an open ended statement at the end of this entry??? Are congrats in order??? :) Looks like you had a fabulous time and Christian too!
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