Skiing!

The View from Chewelah Peak...

I love where I live. In the years since we left Southern California for Eastern Washington, I've grown to love my new hometown more and more with each passing day. Today, the kids and I headed off to one of the two local ski areas for an afternoon of skiing. (We actually have season passes, but we've not been able to get there until now!) The resort is so wonderful, we felt like we were visiting an old friend we hadn't seen in awhile. (We didn't ski last year because we bought the trailer and it was an either/or deal, so that means we haven't skied since 2007.) The people are friendly and happy to see you...it is truly a wonderful experience. Skiing without crowds, without hassle, and without a second mortgage on the house...what more could anyone ask? (Notice the lack of people in the pictures...this was a typical weekday!)

So, we started out warming up on the bunny slope and the kids convinced me that they were ready to hit the "real slopes" and we headed to Chair 4 to go to the top. (Isn't it gorgeous?) I knew we were in trouble when Buttercup called over from her chair (no, we can't share...they like the adrenaline rush from getting on their OWN chairs by THEMSELVES), "Wow, it is really high, isn't it?" That, my dear friends, was the beginning of the end. Buttercup, aka Fireball, has lost her mojo! I guess 9 turning 10 is old enough to suddenly become aware that you can, in fact, get hurt skiing and she, well, froze a third of the way down the mountain. We had tears, we had frustration, and we had a total inability to listen to our mother try to talk us down. "You can do this! You've done this so many times before. You are Fireball, remember? You are a terrific skier." No way, no how...she sat in a heap, sniffling and wailing at me that she "couldn't do it anymore!".

To make an incredibly long, painful story a bit shorter...they have these wonderful people at the resort called "Guest Hosts". Guest Hosts make sure their guests get down from the mountain...I never knew that before today! When the nice men in the "Guest Host" coats told her the EXACT SAME THINGS her mother had been telling her, she smiled her shy little smile and headed down the mountain. I do love where I live...and I love my local ski area...and I especially love two Guest Hosts named Chuck and Gary...

We're headed back next week...I wonder who is on "Guest Host" duty...

P.S. Valiant has been watching a lot of "Bond, James Bond" with Superman...isn't he so cool?

(These are pictures I took today. Look at the one taken at the top of the mountain...our area has been socked in fog lately...doesn't it look like a sea of clouds?...we were above them, basking in the sunshine!)