My Boys Can Shred

The boys had another day off school {no surprise there} so we took off for another ski trip in New Hampshire.  Our good old Boston friends joined us this time and we had a blast.  The ski conditions were at their best and probably better than what Utah has to offer right now.  We're so used to the freezing cold New England weather that spending the day outside in twelve degree weather was no big deal.
And let's just make this official.  Marcus and Ethan can now ski better than me.  I can't keep up with them.  This is bad because the whole point in teaching our kids to ski was to have something fun for us to do together as a family.  I don't know why it never occurred to me that eventually my boys would be able to out ski me.  If I don't start picking up some speed and a liking for moguls on steep hills I will be spending my ski trips alone.  I guess it's a good thing I've got awhile before Landon and Parker ditch me for the black diamond runs.

 Randy took this clip as we skiied down the mountain.

The boys LOVE watching TV in bed each morning. 

Check out that ice.  Crazy!  The boys are really good at skiing on ice.  Fresh snow is quite the bonus when you're an East Coast skier.

Playing games after the kids were in bed reminded us of the good ol' days when we did this all the time because we lived in the same house.

This kid was so mad at me for making him go on the lift but he did just fine. 

Skiing works up an appetite, even for Randy!

Love Calvin's face.  The kids got to eat at their own table at dinner.  Surprisingly it worked out just fine.

Let the Ski Season Begin!

Ski season has officially begun for the Ball family! 
But before I tell you about it we have exciting news.  My little sister had her baby!  Baby Owen was born 8 weeks early via emergency c-section and both Alicia and Owen are lucky to be alive.  You can read the story on her blog here. 
Now, back to skiing.  Randy gave me my own set of skis for Christmas in hopes of turning me into a hard core skier.  I think they're cute which is what matters most to me.    We planned this trip up to New Hampshire months ago and brought two other families along with us.  As luck would have it, this is the first year living in New England we haven't received record amounts of snow so the ski conditions were definitely sub-par.  Trust me, we had a good time anyway.  Luckily on Saturday night it snowed seven inches but then rained leaving a thin film of ice over everything which looked really pretty but was very scary to ski on.  Marcus and Ethan can pretty much ski down anything at this point so I had fun trying to keep up with them.  When I wasn't with them I took Landon on the bunny hill.  Parker tagged along by running up and down the hill, hopping on and off the magic carpet, and eating snow. 
We spent our evenings with our friends, relaxing at the pool, sitting in the hot tub, playing games, and drinking Stephen's hot chocolate.  Our condo had its own sauna upstairs which Ethan thought was the coolest thing ever and was a great way to get our swimsuits dry.   Marcus liked having a big flat screen TV in his room and pretty much only left his bed to ski.  The lazy bum! 

We hurried as fast as we could to get to the bunny hill before it closed the first day and arrived just in time to see it shut down

So we pulled the kids up the hill ourselves

All bundled up and watching TV until it was time to ski the next morning

Randy multi-tasking - on the phone while he skis with Parker

Ethan got to ski with poles for the first time.  This resort is small enough we let them take off on their own.

The best way to recover from a day on the slopes

We have to drive to the pool and this is how we dress - swimsuits, boots, and coats.  It's torture when we go out to the cold car!

Warming back up in our sauna

Parker banished to Time Out

Walking to church in the freshly fallen snow

I forgot Sunday shoes but it turns out I didn't need them anyway.  Love my new Sorels!

Playing in the powder

Playing dead in the powder

Our friends had a snow kit with colored water bottles and the red water made for some gory fun

The ladies - my friend in the middle is 5 months prego but she's such a good skier it didn't even matter

Marcus stashes candy in his pockets to eat on the lift and as he finished off a package of sour patch kids he poured the remaining sugar into his mouth!  Sick! 

Marcus and I have the same size of skis. Mine are on the left.  And yes, that is a lot of bare ground you see. 

Ethan loves skiing with Randy

meanwhile, back at our room it was a major party for these two

Check out the ice the next morning.  They had to close one of the lifts.

We had the bunny hill to ourselves on Monday

Landon was one cool kid

The ice looked like the mountain had been hosed down with water that froze instantly

Marcus loved eating in bed while watching TV

Almost the whole family on the lift.  Randy and I were with Landon while Ethan and Marcus rode behind us. 

We Ski

Our family skis!  We just got back from a trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire for three days of skiing.  We had a blast!  It was as magical as a trip to Disney Land, as memorable as our adventures in Okinawa, and relaxing enough to make me want to go again.  And again.
You probably think we're crazy for taking our little boys skiing, but skiing is like speaking a foreign language.  If you start young you figure it out quick as a whip. The boys love flying down the mountain and get such a feeling of accomplishment when they zip past adults struggling just to stay on their feet and I'm one proud mamma knowing my kids can ski better than me after only going a handful of times.
Each boys' skiing style matches their personality.  Marcus skis in control and tries to do everything technically perfect, and according to his instructor is "every instructor's dream."  Ethan is a speed demon and flies down the hill, giggling as he goes.  He lucked out being the only kid in his ski class and after a day of one-on-one instruction went from the bunny hill to skiing solid blue {intermediate} runs.  Oh, and the college girls couldn't get enough of him.  Landon skis with caution even though he's super athletic and has nothing to worry about, and does a victory cheer every time he arrives at the bottom of the hill.
Of course all this fun is made even better because of our sweet military discount on lodging and lift tickets.  It will be a sad {and expensive!} day when Randy gets out of the Navy. We scored a two-story condo complete with full kitchen, washer/dryer, upstairs master bedroom, 2 jacuzzi tubs, and plenty of beds.  Our friends were right across the hall so we pretty much played non-stop when we weren't on the slopes.

Landon thinking to himself, "They can make me do this but they can't make me like it."

He was a big baby the first time down

I LOVE riding the lift with Bean.  He is so entertaining

Bean the speed demon

Marcus skis better than me

Heading off to ski school

Don't blink or he's gone

Our Canadian friends joined us and all of their kids took to skiing like ducks on water

My skiing partner Rachel--Randy and I took turns watching the little boys

Poor Parker had to watch all the fun

See that smile?  Now he loves it!

Randy taking the boys to the top of the mountain

Parker brought his book to pass the time while his brothers got registered for ski school

Approximately 27 trips down the bunny hill later and this kid thinks he's a pro

After a day on the slopes it was off to the indoor pool and hot tub

The kids played and played

Lunch Break!

Lunch break while watching TV in bed.  It doesn't get better than that!

The bed that pulled out of the wall was a huge hit

One tired boy

Here's a little clip of Marcus and Ethan on the first day of skiing.

Landon on the bunny hill - doesn't get cuter than that!