Skating and Skiing

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Matthew "ice skating" and Margaret taking off...

As with the others, we've introduced ice skating at age 4 so that they could build another skill set, have the ability when fun opportunities arise, etc.  Michael played pick-up hockey for years and absolutely loved the sport and exercise and Little Miss is fascinated by figure skating, so it's something worth doing for a couple of years.  

But Matthew has shocked us with this one.  The kid who was riding a bike at lightening speed at age 2 and swimming at 3 simply cannot manage to stand up to save his life!

Bless his heart, he has stuck with it and given it his all each week without complaining...and his poor bottom MUST hurt.  But his final week, we turned a corner after free-skate and "nailed" it during his lesson.  That's all relative, of course, but he suddenly was able to prevent falling, get back up, make intentional forward progress AND backwards motions!

Successful ice "skating", finally!

And then, there was skiing.  During the mildest winter we can remember, we're desperate to teach him before our trip out west next week but there's been no snow!  We've literally had lessons cancelled because the entire mountain was closed:-( 

Of course Matthew surprised us again by not wanting to participate during the first part of his lesson, but after I talked to him, he was back out and eager to learn.  By the end of the day, it was, "Mom, do you want to see the awesome things I can do?!?!"  

Matthew's first time on skis.

Off to the lift with his buddy and instructor....

"Want to see the awesome things that I can do??"

Down the training hill...pay no attention to the dirt and grass inches away:-(

Crash landing, but smiling...

The mark of a great ski day...

Now, it's off to Steamboat, today!!!!!

Steamboat 2017

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Friday after school, we headed to NoVa to stay with Aaron and Erin before our flight to Denver.  Such sweet and gracious friends, the kids had a ball with their four and we felt proud of ourselves for turning in at 1:30am.  They're just those kind of folks....never short on conversation...and never time for a picture:-(

 

Matthew and sweet Tess "choosing" a movie, but who has time to stop and watch a movie?!?

Thankfully, our flight from Dulles to Denver was as easy as it could have been.  The kids did great and we were 45 minutes early, so Michael and Andrew made it to the #1 DU-#12Duke lacrosse by faceoff rather than halftime!  A 60 degree and sunny day in February was perfect for the game, and not unusual, either.  Emily picked up the rest of us and our mountain of luggage (thank you Southwest for free bags!) and we met them at the game before a grocery store run.  

Then we were off to the Hanley's place west of town.  Such sweet friends in a beautiful house since we left.  Their three (ages 10-14) entertained our kids so beautifully....trampoline, basketball, golf cart driving...what more could ours want?? I absolutely love how with kids, sometimes nothing matters.  These kids had never met each other and somehow it didn't matter at all!  Yet again, no time to capture the moment.  

We darted back to Em's house to meet Okoth (former co-worker) and Sara and their precious second, Lily (18 months)...Sophia was at a sleepover:-)  Good people.  All there is to it.  We got good word and health updates from Okoth.  Between Okoth, his Dad, Sara herself and Cathy (aunt), they've dealth with more cancer (and serious cancer) the last 10 years (and currently) than anyone ever should.  But they take it head on with a great attitude.  What else can you do??   No picture....theme here??

Upslope!  In honor of the Woods, of course! This is hoping for VA distribution someday. 

 

 

Sunday morning brought with it a Costco run (brilliant move) and a delightful church service.  Unfortunately, John and Margaret Bell are out of town (vising Jim and Pattie in PA, no less!) but we still enjoyed an incredible service with stunning music, as always.  We certainly miss Michael Pohlenz's 60-person choir and Jane's weekly applause-worthy organ playing.  Since we've left, many of our friends have secured a place in the mountains and become weekend-warriors in the winter (Hughes, McLain's, Hanley's).   Some of our older friends were at church----had nice visits with the Wiltshires and the Quins, among others---but even the Kalans, Murrays, Bells, etc. were all out of town.  So we'll just have to go again!

And off to the mountains we were!  An easy drive up, we checked into the Steamboat Grand Hotel and checked our pulses.  I'd forgotten how incredible this hotel is, with every amenity we could need.  Graciously offering us thier time-share week, Bill and Donna provided us an opportunity that words cannot describe.  Mary Kathryn and Henry's sweet family from Boulder was waiting, so we met them at the closet bar.  Yep!  Kids played in the late night room and we enjoyed a few drinks with friends....the kind of friends where we never know how long it's going to be between visits or in what state we will rendez-vous next, but it's always awesome when it happens:-)  

Jason and Emily followed and met us in our "apartment" for dinner and late night hot tub/pool with the kids.  We enjoyed catching up with them until WAY too late:-)  

Monday was our day of logistics....picking up our rentals, securing our pre-ordered passes, exploring the hotel, hiking Fish Creek Falls, and tubing at Saddleback Ranch.  

Can you see the falls??  Can't wait to take them back to see them roaring in the summer.

Overlook Trail with my CO native and enthusiast.

None of us had tubed before (on snow, anyway) and it was an absolute blast for everyone!  About 25 minutes outside of town, it was worth every minute of the drive.  Monday night we enjoyed another dinner at our place with Jason and Emily and more hot tub and pool.  Why not?  The kids LOVE the pool b/c of the colorful lights and the trees and fences all around are dripping in lights.  Needless the say, the grown ups MUCH prefer the hot tub, but have each done our time in the pool.  

Matthew on "the best part" of tubing...

Tuesday could not come fast enough!  We dropped Matthew off for ski school and hit the slopes with Andrew and Margaret only to determine that Margaret had seemingly forgotten EVERYTHING she learned last winter!  Last February, she was bombing down the slopes of Massanutten with us demanding that she find her control and not just her speed.  Tuesday, she acted like she'd never been on skis.  We took turns trying to get her back up to speed, but it was not happening.  Poor Andrew was ready to take off, but won the brotherly patient award for the day.  Margaret was responding better to my instruction, so was going with me, but we decided to bail on our original plan and get her down to the bottom sooner for a confidence break.  We took a risk by taking a short cut down a blue....after all, blues are blues for a variety of different reasons, so you never quite know what you're going to get.  Heavenly Daze, evidently, is blue b/c it's so steep....NOT what we needed under the circumstances.  Andrew, who had been doing great, immediately panicked.  And there was no way Margaret was doing any turning or stopping.  Next thing I know, Michael and Andrew are skis off and walking.  Margaret's going between my legs with all of her weight in my arms---the greatest quad work out I've ever had.   Michael had been carrying her between his legs, but I insisted that her skis at least be on the snow.  If you want a serious quad work out, you go down a seriously steep ski slope with all the weight of the 6 year old in your arms (and on your back, of course).  Sheesh!  Several people asked if they could help, but what could they do???  Meg and I made quicker progress than the boys and then a ski patrol stopped me.  She had just talked to Michael, who wanted to make sure that we were okay (now out of their sight).  She was the sweetest woman on the planet and quickly hooked us up.  Margaret and I were only 200 yards away from a flatter green but I asked if ski patrol could be called to help the boys, who were still on boots on the steepest part, which was too steep even to walk.   So ski patrol was sent to give Andrew a ride down to us and Michael followed.  I cannot even explain what a physical work out it was nor a mental and emotional test.  There is no explanation for the attitudes that Michael and I each had preserved when we reconnected except for the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit.  There have been similarly trying situations in our years together that have not ended as gracefully, but we laughed, stayed positive for the kids and were on with our day.  We refused to be labelled those ignorant East Coasters....rather, it was a life situation where we took a risky short-cut with the good of the kids in mind and simply got burned!

 

On a positive note, we took a little break and then Margaret and I had a mother-daughter ski time.  All of a sudden, she was back to where she had been!  The child went from barely standing to completely competent on any green and with any stop necessary in a matter of hours. Phew! 

Next stop was meeting Buck and Cammie Latta!  Wonderful church friends from Denver, of course they were in Steamboat now, too, with OH friends.  We visited for a bit before retrieving Matthew from ski school.  His report was great and he learned the basics that we could have never taught him.  

Matthew on ski school:  "Mom. I have good news and bad news...."

So we hit the slopes for our first family run ever.  There were ups and downs, naturally.  Tears were mixed with cheers.  Matthew was doing great, but it didn't take much to set him back mentally.  And Andrew was ready to take off, so we soon split up to cap off the day.

We lacked the classic CO Bluebird Day, but that's okay.  There's always next year. 

Tuesday night was our first quiet evening in "the apartment" with dinner, plenty of screen time (not gonna lie) and the nightly pool/hot tub adventure.  Wednesday's ski day was all over the map.  Family runs, split up time, hot chocolate breaks for Matthew, Michael and me begging for some snow.  It really has been dry and warm here just like on the East Coast, so the conditions have not been what we hoped and there were definitely some icy spots that we had to train the kids to avoid.  Clearly abnormal conditions for CO, but all persevered, we tag teamed, and realized that Matthew will enjoy TWO days of ski school the next time we come:-)

Wednesday night we headed to Ken and Peggy Carlton's house here.  Their son, Chris, played lax with Michael at VT, so he's known them for 25 years, but not seen them in 20!  Ken was a navy pilot based out of NoVa (Chris grew up in Vienna).  After retirement, he worked as an engineer long enough to make it possible for them to retire with a place in Steamboat and one on the eastern shore of Maryland.  Not bad locations to split their time!  Michael had set up for us to see them and they were the most delightful hosts they could have been!  Their house is simply stunning with an amazing view of the mountains.  It's the perfect mountain home, complete with frequent moose visits at their window!  It's all well to have them peaking in your windows, until you let the dog out!!!  The Carlton's were so patient with our overly excited kids and so delightful to get to know.  As Michael pointed out, the three retired Navy pilots we know are some of the most laid back people we know.  After all, if you can break the sound barrier and then land a jet on a ship, the rest of life is pretty easy....not a whole lot is worth getting worked up over. 

"NOOOO!!!!  We don't need a mid-week nap!!!"

The Carlton's views of the slopes. 

  

Moose, moose, everywhere!

 With 3-day passes, Thursday was our day off.  We hit the beautiful library downtown, some galleries, and then Strawberry Park Hot Springs.  We'd been once before, but not in the winter.  It's pretty spectacular to explore the various temperature pools with mountains of Aspen trees dripping in snow while fresh snow falls on you.  Good stuff.   

We tried to hit Happy Hour in Gondola Square, but with the Wintergrass Festival having just started, everywhere was packed.  

So we landed right back where we started night #1 with Mary Kathryn and Henry...at the DiamondBack Bar underneath the Grand, where the sign depicts a dancing queen that has splashed right into her own martini!  But yes, this was the perfect spot, yet again.  

We perched ourselves in the bar while the kids entertained themselves in the deserted late-night room, already set-up with their light show to entertain their post-midnight crowd.  Needless to say, the night ended in the hot tub and pool, with Andrew trying out the Dry Sauna and Steam Room for the first time.  Think he's more comfortable in the sauna, "I had to breathe so heavy in the steam room", but I'm proud of him for being curious and giving it a shot.  

Friday was our 3rd and final day on the mountain. We finally got snow here (7" overnight at the base, 13" at the top), so we were hardly the only people ready to ski.  Weekend warriors were up from Denver already and the fresh powder brings out all of the locals.  But lift "lines" are all relative here.  We started on Matthew's training slope first and then went higher up.  He was struggling with keeping up with the big kids and staying in control.  The powder was a new feeling for him, even though wonderful.  He was doing absolutely great and we were SO very proud of A and M for being patient with his speed.  But he got a little cocky on one run, took a pretty good tumble, and that was it.  I sent the others off and waited for his tantrum to end before talking him into finishing.  He actually skied down beautifully, but was done.  And this is exactly why we would have waited another two years for this type of vacation had the opportunity not presented itself.   So hot chocolate and hotel time it was----the VERY most important thing is that he have positive memories of Steamboat and skiing, not that he ski as long as we would have wanted.  

Apres Ski!

Family train for Matthew's first real run - Andrew and Margaret were so incredibly patient!

Lift jokes

Nightly shenanigans running to the hot-tub

 

 

 

Margaret's Journal

Our favorite artwork in all of Steamboat were several in our room.

Margaret and Matthew on a bunny slope

 Matthew Cruising

Back in Denver, Red Rocks is a must, though less profound covered in snow. You can still see downtown, the Tech Center, and the airport, though.

There are friends in your life with whom you can pick up right where you left off no matter how long it’s been.  That’s Buck and Cammie Latta for us, no doubt.  In the 7 ½ years since we moved, we’ve only seen them once or twice at larger church group functions (Super Bowl and pool parties).  But this time, we were lucky enough to have them to ourselves and their family gave ours their Saturday night.  We swore we’d take a picture and somehow in the four hours we chatted endlessly, there was no time to stop for a shot.  Kierra and Flynn were awesome with our kiddos, who also didn’t notice how the time had flown. I think we have some new pen pals, too.   

As we fly back to DC, I can say with relief that the logistics of our trip could not have gone more smoothly.  Michael and I both mostly disconnected from work and other commitments.  The kids, for the most part, were really great, too.  We needed this.  I don’t think we knew how badly we needed this.  Andrew and Margaret are ready to move….Matthew said he would miss his friends and school:-)  I reminded them that if we moved out, we would not be skiing weekly and our family not together all the time as we still needed to go to work and school.  When they jumped on their home-schooling plan, I reminded them that was not in the cards! 

We had a very full but very happy agenda.  While many friends were out of town for President's Day or spring training, we packed in everyone else that we possible could.  It was nice to crash with Emily in Denver on both ends of the trip.  Now we need to get a full size trampoline, apparently! Bill and Donna were so very gracious to give us their space there and we're hoping we can make this an annual event...maybe even coincide with them one year since we couldn't this past holiday season!  

Coming home was bittersweet.  I imagine it always will be.  Being in CO felt much more comfortable than I had expected.  We shall see what the future holds.  We definitely plan to be back some day, it's just a matter of when. 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!