Today At Wachusett

 

In which Grace heads to day two of ski instructor training! xo 

The Ultimate Birthday Surprise

Yesterday we pulled off the ultimate birthday surprise for Emma! With her birthday being a Sunday and Sunday being ski team, we had decided weeks ago that I would come up around 4:30pm and we'd have her birthday dinner there. A few weeks ago David said to me that we should get her skis for her birthday and that after dinner that day we could head to the ski shop and she could choose them and then have them ready to use the following week. A little over a week ago I said that we should do one better and have them ready for her to use ON her birthday. He loved that idea however, we'd need to sneak one of her boots out to make that happen. We decided that we'd run to Wachusett right then, telling the girls that we were off to do errands and we'd be back later.

When we go to the ski shop we found the skis and let the staff in on the plan (which they loved). We paid for the skis, bought two cider doughnuts and set off for home. During that drive we hatched the plan on how to pull this off.

Our plan (and hope) was that she wouldn't figure out any sooner than maybe Saturday night that one of her boots was missing. We would say things like "Emma, how did you loose a boot?!" or "See this is why I am always saying that ya'll need to put things back where they go." It was also decided that I would drive everyone up at 6:30am so that we "didn't have two cars there." We looped Grace in to the plan and began to hope that we could pull this off without a hitch!

Yesterday, we got to the mountain a little after 7:00am. Dave got out, Emma got out, Grace was taking a little longer (not surprising). Dave has a mat that they use for changing in and out of boots that he puts down near the car and they begin to get boots on. All of a sudden Emma says: "How do I only have one boot?!" and Dave replies: "What do you mean you only have one boot?" At this point Grace and I both get out of the car and look at her as her mind is boogled. I said "well, lets see if we can rent ONE boot!" knowing full well we can't. Dave replies that he needs to pick something up at the ski shop before we head to rentals. Emma grabs her skis and she and I head over to put them down and wait for David and Grace. On our walk over, Emma tells me that she really needs new skis for next year because her current ones are way too short. As we stand and wait for the others to arrive she is still perplexed..."I just don't know where that boot went. I know I brought it home. Maybe it's in Daddy's car???"

Dave and Grace arrive, he makes some more "dad comments" tells her to grab her one boot and we head in. He sends her over to go wait as he picks up the thing, then calls her over. She arrives and the staff have the two boots next to each other and the new set of skis. The staff, Dave, Grace and I wish her "happy birthday" and she then realizes what's happened and is blown away! Brand new skis on this gorgeous bluebird day for her thirteenth birthday! What could be better for a skier born in February?!

The pictures at the top of this post have been lightened so that Emma and her smile could be more easily seen. The pictures below are the straight-out-of iPhone ones. I kept them because I love how they show so perfectly how beautifully blue the sky was yesterday! xo

On International Women's Day

Enough said. xo

Morning Snack

Dave and the girls spent the morning skiing at Wachusett and sent me this picture of the snack they had before their final run. Gracious, this kinda makes me wish I skied! xo

P.S. For those who aren't familiar with this delectable treat it's vanilla ice cream with maple syrup! Yum! xo

Scenes From Jay Peak

Last week we journied up to the  northeast kingdom in Vermont (or as I like to call it "practically Canada") to Jay Peak. To say that we could have moved there would be an understatement! We loved everything about it and were so excited to see so  much snow! The girls had a blast skiing daily and it was such a treat for me to get to sit in our suite at the resort and watch all the goings on at the slopes! 

 Jay Peak! Look at all that glorious snow! 

 View from the balcony of our suite. 

 Dave and the girls wasted no time hitting the slopes (Day One). 

Photo cred to David for the seven pictures below. This is the only way I ever get to see our girls ski! 

 At the summit. Canada is behind them. 

 Day Two. We took a tram ride up to the summit so that Dave's parents and I could see what it was like up there. Emma stayed behind since she was super worn out from all the skiing. The seven pictures below were taking by me during our trip up and time at the summit (we also had lunch while we were up there). 

 Grandma Joan and Grandpa Ron brave the elements at the summit. 

 Day Three. Dave's parents headed home to get ahead of the snow storm that was predicted to hit the northeast kingdom. After Dave and the girls were done skiing (and when I was back from getting a pedicure at the spa) the four of us went snowshoeing! We got quite a workout (which was great since the last time I was at the gym was the Sunday before our trip)! 

Day Four. The snow started later than predicted but the intrepid skiers still got half a day of skiing in before we left for home (and some ramen for lunch too)!

 The snow was coming down at such a rate that these three arrived far more covered in snow than what you see here. 

 Ramen for lunch. 

Once our bellies were full we packed it up, swung by the store for some car snacks and began the journey home. What took us four hours on the way up, took us six hours on the way home (thanks to the snowstorm). It was a wonderful (almost) week in Vermont and super hard to leave. We'll absolutely go back again! xo 

Back For More

Normally, Dave and the girls spend Sundays at the mountain so that the girls can attend ski practice, but since they have their holiday show for dance tomorrow they joined in with the Saturday team today. I tagged along so that I could grab lunch with Dave, which was lovely, but gracious it was incredibly crowded at Wachusett today! It has been ages since I've gone on a weekend, and today was a good reminder as to why I usually don't go. I am thankful to have found a wonderful spot near the fire (that I refused to leave for close to four hours) and enjoyed plenty of time people watching and reading Michelle Obama's book. I was happy to have the chance to get up when it was lunch time though, and I hightailed it out of there afterward. We generally live by the saying: "There's no bad weather only bad clothing choices" but I'm pretty sure that all the Smartwool in the world was no match for the two degrees that was out there today! xo 

On Fridays In The Winter...

they ski (along with 90 other homeschoolers))! xo