Blue Sky Ski Day

Ski lessons may be complete, but that doesn't mean that ski season is over.  This just means that we get blue sky days to ski together as a family.

For Mommy and Daddy, this means a day of A LOT of work.  There is nothing easy about hauling gear to ski.  Add in a couple of kids with their gear and it quadruples the work load, but it's totally worth it.  We have so much fun skiing with the boys.  It also flexes our creative juices, like pulling them with the straps on Daddy's snowboard.

The goal of the day was to increase Kellan's confidence on the slopes, so we planned an entire day to ski the green runs that he was familiar with.  This took some patience from Oliver too, but he was up for it.  He's such a great big brother, Kellan is very lucky to have him.

Over the ridge came Kellan and Daddy.  He may be skiing the greens today, but before we know it, he'll be skiing the bumps that are currently off in the distance for him.

Oliver likes to mix it up and hit all of the side trails.  Someday, he won't be cruising over these side trails.  He'll be flying over them.

At the bottom of the first run, Oliver gave Kellan an impromptu congratulations hug.  It was the sweetest thing.

Back up the lift, we were at it again.  We also learned that if Oliver went there, Kellan wanted to as well.  This included skiing under the sign.

It's so much fun to ski as a family and we try to take a photo whenever we can.

Mommy, Oliver, Daddy and Kellan hammin' it up.

We treated the boys to the Derailer for lunch on the patio.  After eating, they convened to the steps for a brotherly chat.  Oliver was giving Kellan a bit of ski coaching.

These boys steal our hearts away.

As I said, if Oliver will go there, so will Kellan.

Kellan challenged me on this tree run.  We told him "no" and he stared at it for the longest time.  He finally said, "well, what if I just do it" and started pointing his skis that way.  In normal times, I may be stronger in my "no".  I thought about it and wondered, "hmm... why not".  He went from being very slow and cautious on the greens to wanting to tackle a tree run.  Worst case, he would never want to do it again.  Best case, he would love it and it would push his skiing abilities and confidence.

He chatted the entire way down and went slow, but he loved it!

Goes to show, Mommy and Daddy don't always know best.

On the lift for one more run, this time, it was a 3 person chair.

Daddy and Oliver in the back.

Mommy and Kellan in the front.

What a glorious day we had!

Kellan did fantastic and Oliver was amazing with his patience.  It's been 8 years in the making, but all of the waiting and work it has taken to get here has been worth it.