Fun with the Fam ~ Part I

The fam on top of Storm Peak Mountain.
(I was taking the picture)

I had a great week.  The children had spring break & we went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  If you like to ski & have never been there, you have to go.  It's one of our new favorites.  They have tons of runs, but it's not overwhelming to find your way around.  If you have children (or adults) who like to do jumps, Steamboat has 2 terrain parks and a half pipe.

Our first two day of skiing were tough.  Colorado has not gotten a lot of snow this year, and it was very icy in the morning and then slushy by the afternoon; it was tough on the old knees.  There were big brown patches everywhere.  We're from the south so one reason we go out west is to get our fill of snow.  Sunday afternoon something wonderful happened...it started snowing.  I love me a groomed run with about 2-3 inches of fresh powder.  It's like skiing on butter.  Over 48 hours we ended up getting 6 inches of snow at the bottom of the mountain, so the last three days of skiing were phenomenal.  The landscape took your breath away.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  It's easy to see why people love the west.  You feel God's presence as you stand on top of the mountains.  I know God had fun making the Rocky Mountains.  He knew how beautiful they looked covered in snow.

It's snowing!!!  This is the view from the den.

Of course we had tons of funny things happen.  The fam can't go anywhere and not have stuff happen, it's statistically impossible.  I have a funny story for today & I'll tell you more tomorrow.  (Hey, I have to fill up a lot of days, I gotta stretch it as much as possible.)  I mentioned yesterday that my children are great skiers, much better than me.  Monday we went to a mountain that had mostly black diamond runs on it.  Black runs don't scare me as long as they have been groomed.  Steep no big deal...moguls big deal. 
We were on the highest peak, so there was quite a lot of snow, probably about 6-8 inches in 24 hours.  I don't like that much powder, you have to work too hard to ski in it.  (I'm lazy.)  I made the mistake of following the older kids down a slope with a lot of powder...I found out very quickly that there were icy moguls under the powder.  I just wanted to live to get past the moguls without hurting myself.  Well, obviously I lived, but I came really close to taking Elizabeth out.  I mean mowing her down.  The boys were trying to help me get through the mogul part; Elizabeth had stopped to take a short break & I was making a turn & hit some ice under all the powder & starting racing straight for Elizabeth.  I missed her by the width of a hair & then flipped over myself.  Nice.  They were laughing...not with me but at me.  Elizabeth asked if I was ok, but she was laughing.  I'm just glad I didn't hurt her. 

I can just see us in the emergency room: 
doctor:  "So Elizabeth, how did you hurt yourself?"
E:  "My mom hit an icy mogul on Huevos and crashed into me.  She was out of control and couldn't stop herself."
doctor:  "It's a good thing you were wearing a helmet, or you might have gotten a concussion.  As it is, your mom just broke your leg, so you'll be in a cast for eight weeks, but luckily you won't need surgery."

Now I know why people like flocked trees at Christmas
These were going up Storm Peak.

I couldn't get off the run fast enough.  They thought it was funny, I told them I wasn't doing any more moguls or black runs that weren't groomed.   I kept thinking of those funny squares that say "What I think I do" on them.  I could totally do one for me skiing, but I'm not going to.  (It would be too sad by half.)

We really did have a great time as a family.  I love watching my kiddos do things like this.  I was so proud of them, and it did my heart good to spend some great quality time with them.  It helps me to remember how to take a big breath & praise God for the blessing of my family.

Celebrating Life!
~ashley