Not Quite What We'd Planned!

Have you wondered where I've been?  Well, wonder no more!  Even before Thanksgiving, the Nagle5 household was crazy busy.

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the local ski areas in our neck of the woods opened early...way early.   We couldn't believe it...we love to ski!  So, bright and early (but not too early!) Sunday, the kids and I headed up the mountain.  Look how beautiful it was...BEFORE Thanksgiving!!

Charming and Buttercup helped each other get their gear on.  (Look at the trees...aren't they gorgeous?)

Don't they look ready for a fun day on the slopes?

Unfortunately, before I could get a terrific picture of Valiant, I got this picture.  Yes, this is what you think it is. This is what happens when you come down the slopes via Ski Patrol toboggan.

First we were at the First Aid Station...aren't the flamingos a festive touch? (Kate?  Flamingos at the First Aid station?!)  Ski Patrol gave Valiant a hot water bottle to take the chill off while they figured out what the boy did to his knee.

They had to cut open his "actually long enough jeans", which caused his mother a twinge of pain.  Turns out he broke it...sigh.

Next stop, the ER.  Look how kind Charming was to point out where the injury is?  (Okay, he was actually threatening to poke it!)  A few x-rays and a CT scan later, it turned out Valiant had a fracture of the tibial plateau. 

Monday saw us at the orthopedist (holiday week=crazy schedule).  Fortunately, he didn't seem to damage the meniscus or the ACL, so, if he can keep from displacing the fracture until the 5th of December, he'll have a quick and easy recovery (otherwise we're looking at surgery).  We definitely had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  (Keep your fingers crossed that I can keep a 15-year old immobile for another week.)

So, our first ski outing this year was not quite what we'd planned.  Still, the conditions on the mountain were awesome until the mishap and we all had a blast.  Charming and Buttercup are ready to head back up the mountain and I'm right there with them (we'll just have to find something to do with Valiant while we are skiing)!

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!)