Skiing Saturdays

It is ski season and we are up on the mountain every Saturday so the girls can have lessons (and we can ski!!)  We perfected our routine last year - lessons in the morning, pizza lunch in the lodge, family skiing afterwards.  It is amazing to me how much progress the girls make with each lesson.  Audrey was turning after her first lesson this season!  Last year she was using a deep snow plow and going straight down the mountain.  Last weekend we saw that she's started straightening her skis on her turns!  Eva is interested in getting a hockey stop down so she can spray her dad with snow. 

I have new skis this year, a Christmas present from Bryce.   I am no longer the creepy old person with looong, pointy, 20 year old skis.  These new wide, short skis really do make turning easier.

It is hard to believe we only have 2 more lessons left.  6 weeks goes by in a blink of the eye. 

de bonnes vacances

Did you miss me? Ha, you didn't even know I was gone. We had a wonderful week, skiing in La Clusaz, France. We were worried about snow coverage but there was enough, not a lot, but enough. The weather was great with a few sunny days, a bit of new snow and mild temperatures.

And I'm happy to say, we now have 2 girls who can ski! Eva can turn and Audrey can snowplow (which is what she does all the way down the piece!! Eva was at that stage last year.) We skied much more as a family this year. It was pretty amazing. We tried a new ski school this year that was considerably better than last year. Both girls had lessons for 2 hours a day for 6 days. Thankfully we had only 1 day of tears instead of the 5 we had last year. Eva was, again in lessons with the friends we were vacationing with. Audrey was by herself, but she was just fine with it.

In addition to skiing there was sledding, hot chocolate, picnic lunches, Pass the Pigs, Top Model coloring pages, dinners out, wonderful group dinners in, and lots of laughter.

It was a week filled with fresh air and great friends. A perfect mid-winter break.

Kids on Skis

Oh, I was terribly nervous about all aspects of kids on skis - the cold fingers, clunky boots, slippery snow, missing gloves, bunchy socks, and need to use the potty. Seemed there were too many variables to keep in place, too much could go wrong. The good news was that we were with friends who were going through the same thing as us. That way we could debrief, support and drink together at the end of each day. An absolute necessity. Turns out getting 4 children ready for ski lessons requires a minimum 4 adults - there was lunch to prepare, clothing to gather, boots to put on, skis and poles to carry, fears to calm and lots of tears to wipe away. Yes, this endeavor required 4 adults.

We put Eva in ski lessons for 2 hours a day for 6 days! She was in class with her friends whom we traveled with. Audrey wasn't old enough for lessons so we dropped her off for an hour a day at the Piou-Piou Club, Ski Kindergarten.

Instead of a warm and fuzzy, nurturing ski teacher the girls had a 65 year old Frenchman and a class size of 8! Not exactly a child/teacher ratio suitable for one on one attention. In the end though, the girls learned how to ski. They also had a confidence and independence that blew me away.
After their last lesson we all took a run together. I was beaming with pride to watch Eva confidently get on the tug lift and eagerly head down the slope. She couldn't wait to show us how fast she could go. And she did go fast, as fast as her little snowplow would take her. No need for turning, just a deep snowplow, straight down the mountain. So funny to watch. We did the run a few more times, Audrey skiing between Bryce's legs, Eva plowing down the hill and me following. It was a fantastic feeling. For all of us.