Skiing...exceeding our expectations

I was just talking to a friend about expectations of our kids, in the activity sense. I was telling her how there have been times that we are geared up to have a good time...and then our kids whine the whole time or whatever else a 3, 4, 5-year-old may do...and yet you just have to keep trying. You have to keep taking them hiking, on road trips, whatever you love to do and in the end, you hope for the best. You learn to give them grace because of their age, but also keep pushing them.

Honestly, I think Sam and I fly by the seat of our pants enough, that we don't think of what could happen, or how terrible it would be to camp with a newborn...we just do it. It hasn't always turned out the way we hoped (there was a camping trip that we almost drove home at midnight), but most of the time, it does. I think we've also learned that since you can't expect kids to always have a good time, to not let your expectations put you in a grouchy mood...thus having a whole family of grouches.

Anyway, this past weekend we went skiing, and it was one of those times that I would say our kids not only met our expectations...but exceeded them. I can tell they're growing up!


The boys had Monday off of school, so we headed up skiing on Sunday morning. Not the best conditions with wind...but the kids didn't mind. I think the boys were excited to help teach Elly, and Elly to learn, that they just went with it.


Sam had Elly on a tether, so she couldn't get away from him. I honestly thought her little legs wouldn't last long, but I should have realized with all her running these days, they're stronger than I thought! Sam had to hold her right between his legs quite a bit with some fresh powder being deeper in areas, but she got the hang of it. I loved hearing her repeat Sam's directions and just giggle. She giggled a lot! You could tell she had a great time. I don't know if being the third, and not wanting to be left behind skiing (she's old enough now to remember how many times the boys have gotten to go and she's been left behind) she just kept going...never complaining. She doesn't make turns yet, but more than anything, I was just impressed with her attitude.


Nate was preoccupied most of the time with helping teach his sister. He stuck by her and Sam most of the time trying to help her out. It was very sweet. I hadn't seen either of the boys ski the last couple times, so it was fun to see how much they improved. They do a great job on blues. Nate does a great job staying in control. He likes to try to bomb down the mountain,but always practices his turns.


This kid really seemed grown up this weekend. Mac has a great sense of direction and used it by leading the charge down runs. He just seemed so grown up leading us! He'd look at the signs and always wait at a good distance for everyone to catch up, never getting too far ahead. There was one time that Mac and I took a potty break and then tried to catch Sam, Nate and Elly on a run, so I led and would fly down. Whenever I stopped to let Mac catch up, he was literally right behind me. I was shocked. One time he crashed about 10 feet above me and said "I got going a little too fast on that one!" He also requested a mogul run one time and when he got down to the bottom, he looked at me and said "11...I crashed 11 times on that one." A couple years ago, Mac would have wanted to stop after crashes...but now it's just part of skiing...not a big deal...to be expected.

Mac and Nate have hit an age where they enjoy skiing, and don't need a ton of help. When they fall, they get themselves back up...they hike out of powder by themselves (we had a lot the second day), and they prefer to ride the chairlift by themselves (and amazingly, this doesn't worry me). My little boys aren't so little! Sometimes...that is! :)

Here's a video of Elly with her brothers following behind...she's usually on the tether.




You would have thought we were going to Disneyland with how excited the kids were to stay in a hotel! Mac actually said, "We're staying in a hotel with a lobby!" With the wind our first day, we only skiied for a couple hours. Sam and I knew how excited the kids were to stay in the hotel, so we headed back checked out our room and went swimming. While the kids took showers, Sam got dinner and a movie...and here we are...all eating on the bed together picnic-style! It was a great family trip!