I was thrilled when I got a text message a few months back from my favorite brother Ben announcing that he had his Spring Break from graduate school coming up in March. He had caught the "skiing bug" and was trying to find somewhere to do this. Luckily it didn't take much persuasion to get him to drive over and spend the week with us. Our kids were once again beyond thrilled to have more family come to visit.
I started searching local/relatively close ski resorts and the best deals for all of us. In the end we kind of put plans in stone at the last minute, but it all turned out great. Ben arrived LATE Monday evening.....3am late. Because of this, we had a relatively relaxing day on Tuesday complete with sleeping in, kids in school, board games, chit chat, piano playing, and yummy food.
The next day, Ben and I headed out to the Dartmouth Skiway WITHOUT kids to ski for the day. All the kids had school and Eli was watched by a good friend after his preschool. We managed to borrow a friends skis for Ben that happened to be nearly the same shoe size and only a few inches taller than Ben. Pretty much perfect. We had a great time hanging out together on the lifts, trying some fun moguls and hills, racing down the mountain, crashing a few times a piece, and laughing together. It has been a really long time since I have spent a day on the slopes without children.
Around 2 pm we loaded up and headed back home to pick up Eli, grab the kids ski equipment, and pick up from school to head over to Whaleback Mountain for after school ski. Once M and R were ready to ski, we got 4 pm lift tickets (<$10) and all headed back out. Maddie especially had a great time with Ben after her lessons and got to show off her "Double Black Diamond" skills to a rather stunned Uncle. In Ben's terms "I think she might be better than me". That is quite possible, but more than anything she is fearless. By the time evening hit, we were all exhausted and stopped and grabbed our family favorite Little Caesars Pizza.
The next morning (Thursday), we loaded up our stuff, kept the kids home from school, and headed over near Killington to a Vermont local favorite ski resort "Pico Mountain". This mountain was incredible. It was way cheaper than the big resorts but nearly as large and had lots of lifts to ride and plenty of great snow. Ben took M and R on some of the bigger lifts while I stuck with Eli. We spent 5+ hours skiing to hearts content. When we were all tuckered out, we packed up and headed back home. We have found great pleasure in listening to audio books in the car as of recent and enjoyed listening to the end of "Indian in the Cupboard". I am amazed at how well behaved my children are when we turn these on. I don't think we ever pulled out the Kindles during the one hour car ride there or back.
Too soon I had to say my goodbyes to little bro and head off to work. He left later on that evening with the plan that we will see each other at some point this summer. I have really enjoyed him coming twice to visit this year. It has been amazing to get to know him on an "adult level", instead of just being my little brother.
*I loved all the beautiful music he played on our piano keyboard*
*The Dartmouth Skiway-- this place will always hold many fond memories of this year*
*Eli was so proud of his fighter airplane he built out of Trios that he wanted a picture of it*
*both members of the "Double Black Diamond Club"*
*Mommy and her crazy skiing kiddos at Pico Mountain*
*I love hanging out with this cutie on the mountain*
No comments:
Post a Comment