Skiing

This past weekend we went to Red River, NM with our college friends for a family ski weekend.  It was so much fun.  In college, Lew's fraternity did a ski trip every year (Snowball) and we wanted to recreate it.

I mean how cool is it that we did this as teenagers and now we're doing it with our now spouses and kids?

So Thursday I flew to ABQ with the kids (solo parent style!) and stayed the night at my parents house.  Friday Lewis flew in at 6:00PM and we headed straight to the mountain.  Crashed out at 10:30PM.

Next day was breakfast and ski rentals and getting kids checked into ski school.  Julia was going to ski this year!

Getting everyone checked in is a process.  But worth it!

We skied until the wind got so bad we couldn't see twenty yards ahead and then waited out the wind in the summit restaurant.  Fun was had.  After that a few more runs before we picked up kids from ski school.  Met up with David!  Took him up the bunny hill lift for a run with us.  He loved that.

Picked up Grady (who skied the bunny hill lift all day - we started him with his brother but he was way too advanced for that class.  He's probably done with ski school to be honest).

We only had G in one day of school so the next day he skied with us.  Julia and D got all checked in (they cried - it was 0 degrees outside and their feet were frozen).  We got on the lifts with G.

This was our first run and after this I skied down to check on ski school and make sure the kids settled down.  It had warmed up considerably and I was pleased to see they both had gear on and were out skiing the magic carpet area.

 She did great.  First day she did great doing her pizza wedges and stopping.  The second day (attitude) she didn't do quite as well but still did it.  She stayed on the small magic carpet.

David did much better but needs to get better command of his skis.  They get crossed and he gets super frustrated and can't get them uncrossed.

Lewis skied the afternoon with our friends and G and I did some more greens and blues.

Second night we ate at this place.  Supposedly really good.  Well, the food was great.  The service was terrible.  They seemed genuinely surprised to be so busy.  It was one of the busier holiday weekends in recent years (they got TONS of snow before we arrived.  Ten inches on Thursday night and then 3-4 the subsquent days and then Sunday night they got another ten - I wanted to extend this trip too!).  But we were mostly happy.  The service was annoyingly bad.  But the kids were happy and fed (eventually) and they had fried pickles.

The next day we went out to breakfast again and then packed up and hit the road back to ABQ for our evening flight home.

It was a great vacation with our good friends.  So glad we got to do this and that my kids love skiing.

I mean obviously there's a big difference between three years old and almost nine.  But sheesh.  Who can believe so much time has passed.

Skiing is something my family has always done.  I'm not sure when my dad started skiing, probably college?  I started skiing when I was 9 years old.  I did two days of ski school and after that always skied with my dad and siblings.  I remember my mom skiing but I can't promise.  She stopped skiing when us kids' skills advanced passed her comfort level.

After college, for some years, we all got together every February and went skiing.  Sometimes January over MLK, but usually February.  We've skied Heavenly (Lake Tahoe), Snowbasin (Utah), Taos, Mammoth, Breckenridge, Purgatory, Snowmass and my siblings skied several places in Colorado when I didn't go.  Lewis has visited several mountains I haven't.  All that to say ... skiing is something we really enjoy.

In 2013 Taos got snow over Thanksgiving.  And we decided to go skiing on Black Friday.  It's probably the best Black Friday I eva had!

We put G on skies that year.

I mean ... is there anything cuter than that?  Also who can believe he was ever so young?  That year mom stayed with David in the lodge while we skied.

For a few years after this the timing didn't work.  I didn't ski in 2014 (pregnant) or 2015 (new baby). We took the kids to Taos in 2016, mom watched Julia while I skied and the boys did ski school.  That was David's first ski experience (4).

This is Grady (5).  It'll get confusing soon because David now skis in this outfit.

I must have missed him being in skis because boots is all I got.

We didn't ski in 2017 because we had a big family birthday party (Great Grandma's 80th I think).

But in 2018 we went to Snowmass.  I got ski pics then.

2018 was the year it all clicked for G.

Anyway.

We had snow much fun.  ;)