winter park...

world class skiing practically in our backyard is one of the best things about living in colorado. we took the oldest three to winter park for a mid-week spring ski session today. what an absolutely amazing day we had on the slopes! no lines, no crowds, and brand new powder overnight! yet another benefit of homeschooling! (we did do math and a state report on alaska in starbucks while dad and sam skied some more challenging runs.)

skiing down a mountainside together is one of my favorite family activities. today they were playing some reggae music as well, so two of my favorite things in the universe collided! we mostly stuck to the greens, but marcus always tricks us onto blue runs. i have to say, we're so much more confident each time we go! sam was poles up, head down the whole day! he was bailing down those mountains light years ahead of the rest of us. liv and i stick together and before long she was saying "come on, mom" or "mom, let's go faster!"

on our third run, a brutal front rolled in out of nowhere. marcus, liv and i were caught in a complete white out. we literally could only see the tips of our skis. we basically had to ski blind down the mountain, with fierce wind tearing through our layers and snow stinging and pelting our faces. we made it to the lodge, met up with the boys and thawed out for a good hour. a few chili dogs and some chicken soup later, the front passed and we hit the slopes again.

but what would a ski trip be without the ski patrol. we lost ethan. well, actually, ethan lost us. we turned left, he turned right and went down a blue/black, complete with rails and a jump. way, way beyond his ability level. he was missing for about 30 or 40 worrisome minutes. marcus finally found him at the base of the mountain. (ethan said he snow plowed the whole way down!) let me tell you, the ski patrol was johnny on the spot! they alerted each other quickly on their radios, and let all the lift operators know. we were so thankful to see his sweet face at the base of the mountain. then i wanted to wallop him over the head with one of my ski poles for leaving the group. i refrained and hugged him instead, while marcus hugged the ski patrol guy in charge of the search. he was the sweetest rastafarian named larry you'll ever meet.

we all feel like we've been beat up. a few of us popped some motrin and took hot showers. i can only imagine how we'll feel tomorrow. can't wait to do it again! the last hill closes in june, so we have a trip planned to a-basin in may. gotta love colorado!