Saturday, January 18, 2014

Winter Park Ski School - Week 2

In less than a week, Kellan went from not wanting to ski again to saying he loved skiing and he couldn't wait to get back on the slopes (whew!).  Oliver had been on fire with excitement to get back out there all week.  It was awesome to see their enthusiasm.

On Friday, Patrick had a late flight in for work so Kristi and I took the boys up to Winter Park so that we could get them settled in at a decent time.  Keith and Patrick followed up several hours later.  Thankfully, Kristi has a very handy third row so that our grand plan would work out.  It was so fun hearing the boys have conversation amongst themselves.  Owen and Oliver solved six year old world problems in the back while Kellan and Cole solved three year old world problems in the middle.
The tunnels going up the canyon were a big hit for Kellan and Cole.  
They waved their hands in the air 
and yelled like they just don't care.

Meanwhile, it was nothing but serious chatter in the third row.  Kind of how their Dad's role.
Once at the condo, Kristi whipped up some dinner that she had prepared in advance and the boys enjoyed it while they watched the classic Jungle Book.  It was a crowd pleaser for all six of us.
After dinner, Oliver assumed the man pose once he discovered the lounge chair.
After the movie, it was PJ time.
Oliver, Owen, Cole and Kellan.
I can't believe how big these four are getting.
I'll spare you of the photos where they thought I should take images of their cutie pie bottoms.  It was a bit much.  I dread the teen years and gross habits with all boys around.  It's a good thing that I grew up with brothers and uncles all around.  I know what I'm in for.
Ok, so we had to bribe them to take the photo so that they could have dessert after the photo op.
Oliver, Owen and Nilla wafers.
Cole and Kellan with their Nilla wafers.
The boys were super excited to share a 2 bedroom condo so that they could have a sleepover in the living room.
Oliver and Owen pretending to be sleeping.
Cole and Kellan getting ready to sleep.
For the record, they lasted in the same bed for about 20 minutes before Kellan decided that he wanted to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room.  Someday, they'll pass out in sleeping bags like their big brothers did.  Until then, three year old silliness got the best of them.
The next morning, we were up and at 'em bright and early and the boys were marching down the hallway to head to ski lessons.
There was a bit of a march to the slopes, but the boys were so excited that they clomp, clomp, clomped the whole way there.
Just to give the blog crowd an idea of the sea of ski school, here it is.
Eventually, Oliver and Owen's class came down to get in the lift line.
Owen on the left in Orange, Oliver on the right in green with a black helmet.
It was fun to listen to their instructor, Jordan, talk to the class.
He was explaining to them that skiing is the game of "hurry up and wait" and they hurried to get in line and then had to wait their turn.  The boys really like Jordan and they have a great time with him.  
Kristi and Patrick stayed in the lodge with Jeff and Marion to work (yes... they all had their laptops out and working) while Keith and I hit the slopes.
We headed over to Mary Jane where this sign claimed that we were at 10,700 feet.
We headed out on our first run, which had big warning signs that it was long, steep run of bumps.  Well, we decided to tackle it since it was going to get us to where we wanted to go.
There it is... long, steep and lots of bumps.
Later in the day, we found some great runs and views at the top of this peak.

We promised the boys that we would take them up for a run after lessons this day.  So, we rounded them up and headed for the lift.
Ham Fam in the ski lift line all together for the first time ever.
Oliver, Keith, Kellan and Carrie
Ham Fam on the lift for the first time ever!
Oliver, Keith, Kellan and Carrie.
Kellan LOVED his first lift ride and wanted to ride it a few more times.  Lucky for him, we squeezed in two runs before we were the last ride on the lift at the end of the day.
At the top, we had to suit up and get ready to go.
Oliver was SO excited to have us on the runs that he had been on the past two weeks.  His job was to lead the way down the slopes.
Finally, we were shuffling off to the top of the run.
We saddled Kellan up in the same harness that Oliver wore when I taught him to ski.  The difference was that Kellan liked hanging out, which meant that he would bend his knees (good) but he wouldn't hold his own weight.  See below.  I suspect those bent knees were about the time that I was telling him to use his legs.  He did so great though.  I could tell that he had been learning balance and how to control his skis.  I was so happy to show him what the goal was  by watching Oliver and giving him the feel under his feet.
There we go!!
Mommy and Kellan on the left and Oliver jetting down on the right.

We were so impressed with Oliver too.  He has really taken off this season, literally.  He was FAST!!  Not only was he fast, but he had very controlled turns and stops.  The most impressive is that he skis, bends down, picks up snow, eats it and never misses a beat.  Ic an't say that we are impressed that he's eating snow, but the fact that he does all of the without slowing down, the boyz got skillz!  Going forward, he has requested steeper runs and more chair lifts.
Here we come!
Oliver in the lead with Mommy and Kellan bringing up the rear.

Up until this point, Oliver has said that he wanted to play football for the Broncos when he grows up.  Now, he is saying that he doesn't want to play football but he wants to be a professional skier. I think this is definitely a goal that I could get behind.  Can you say Winter Olympics 2026?

As you would expect, on the way home the boys fell asleep.  It was funny hearing the dueling snoring.  As we approached home, they woke up in time to get home and have dinner.  What a truly great day!!!  It was a gorgeous day to be in the mountains.  Keith and I loved having a date day on the slopes together, but the four of us agreed that our favorite run of the day was the one that we did (ok... it was two runs) as a family of four.  We can't wait to do it again next week!

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