Oh, blog, I only need one big event to throw me off. And what a challenge it is to back blog especially when the scenery out our window is now so, thankfully, different! That said, we had an amazing February vacation week in New Hampshire.
Our plan was the same as last year, we rented a house near Jackson and would ski for five days up at Wildcat. I figure I'd ski for three days like last year and then have Gabriel adventures the other two. Maddie and Theo jumped into lessons with excitement. Theo started off in the beginner group barely able to stand on his skis. To say his progress was remarkable is an understatement. He quickly moved up the levels until he was in Maddie's blue group, earning his poles alongside his sister. He flew down the mountain, easily conquering blacks, doing jumps, zipping and zagging without fear - so much so that I will be buying him a race helmet for next year that provides even more protection. He loved it which was such a relief as after last year, he spent all of spring and summer telling me he never wanted to ski again.
Now Maddie was no slouch either - just more cautious. She was confident and skillful on the mountain and really enjoyed her time learning. She has a natural finesse on skis.
And my dear sweet Gabriel - the Kitty Club he did not embrace. The second day I had Nathan drop him off so that he would understand why I changed my plan to ski for just two days. That said, he did much better on the second day, laughing, making pictures, and having fun at the club. But, we decided he'd have even more fun with Mommy! And I'm not sure we pulled him out before the "damage" was done as he still tells us every so often that he doesn't want to go to the Kitty Club today.
It was frigid - negative windchill at some points, nary a bit of skin could show. It was so fierce as we whipped down the mountain that I would have tears streaming down my face from the pain of my freezing fingers. (This is sounding like a super vacation, isn't it - freezing extremities and an unhappy two year old.)
The ski family pic - I think I need to find some more slimming snow pants for next year!
Day one - Theo's first ride on the lift.
Our resident snow bunny.
And relief - released from the Kitty Club, we spent the morning at the Children's Museum.
Day two, the train museum was closed so we headed to the Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm, a neat peak into the life of a country doc. We kept trying to get into the train museum but were unsuccessful. This is another thing that Gabriel continues to ask - when are we going to the train museum!
Happy as can be having coffee and a treat with Mommy.
We went on a story walk on the third day.
He'd run from page to page on the story walk.
I really liked the house we rented this year. It had a great layout for us with a fantastic media room in the basement, huge improvement from our sorry media situation at home. And a hot tub was fantastic after the ski days. Though it was so cold one evening, when I reached over and felt Theo's hair, I realized it was frozen! I quickly scooped everyone out of the hot tub and deposited them inside. Stepping into the house, I placed my wet foot on a metal footplate! Luckily I grabbed it up before it froze (and lucky that I had carried the kids in). I had visions of the boy with his tongue stuck to the flagpole.
A view of Mount Washington from our bedroom. We yearn for the mountains of the West and New Hampshire is the only state around that offers something close. Honestly, we like the state of Vermont better but it's simply rolling hills.
And no Sanders' vacation is complete without a trip to urgent care (have I written that sentence before?). My poor little boy was up all night the night before and I felt he had an ear infection. Unfortunately, they had to irrigate his ear in order to see the swollen eardrum to confirm the infection.
Nathan and I both agreed that it was a very restorative vacation. It's such great fun to see the kids embrace a new sport and succeed at it. Only a few more years until we are zipping down the five of us - and no more Kitty Club!
