High on the Mountaintop

Alicia got to join Kimberly and I skiing this year up at Snowbasin.  She picked up on the beginner moves rather quickly, and we all had a blast.  Alicia claimed she wasn't interested in skiing, so I convinced her to at least take her lessons for the month of January and if she still didn't like it, she wouldn't have to do it again.  As I suspected, she was hooked and didn't want to wait a week before her next skiing adventure.

Some adventures from the day included discovering Alicia had two left ski boots.  How did we not notice that for the two years Kimberly was skiing?  Thankfully, the ski warehouse we bought them from (we got some seriously good deals buying all used equipment) was more than happy to fix the error, and now Alicia has a right AND a left boot.

I also erroneously lost my driver's license sometime during the day.  Not cool.  I now have a replacement one until the official one arrives.

Snowbasin also learned that I am a very honest woman.  They accidentally gave Alicia and Kimberly season pass tickets instead of the tickets that were only good on their lesson days.  We could have had some serious ski time this year with those.  Fortunately for them, and my conscience, we turned them back in when I figured there had probably been a mistake.  

Lastly, poor Alicia fell off the ski lift as we were getting on the more advanced run for Alicia's first time on Saturday.  Unbeknownst to me, Kimberly's poles were on the seat, so Alicia had no where to sit and proceeded to fall onto the snow embankment just beyond the lift - albeit not a far one, but still, unsettling. I tried to catch her, but couldn't get to her in time.  Kimberly and I were stuck on the lift chair and couldn't get down to help her, so the kind lift operators got her onto the next chair so she could meet us at the top.  Thankfully she made it through unscathed and not too shaken up so she was able to enjoy the rest of the day, thank goodness. 

I have to thank my husband for supporting me in this somewhat pricey hobby.  Granted, I support him in his not-so-cheap bird hobby, so it's a win-win for both of us.  The memories the three of us are making together is truly worth every penny.  As many of you know, raising teens and preteens can be somewhat challenging, but up on the slopes, there was none of that - just pure joy, laughing and having fun together for the entire day with no arguing, sassiness, or general teenager grumpiness.  You can't put a price on that, and given all of the fond memories I can recall at a moments notice I had with my mom and siblings while skiing, it is worth every hard-saved penny for the sport - one of the few I'm good at and enjoy.

I can't wait until the younger girls are old enough to ski because John says he plans to join us on a snowboard.  I'm already counting down the years.