Ski Season is Upon Us....

That's right, my friends. And let me tell you, it is no picnic!!
Have you ever gathered up skis, boots, helmets, goggles, ski pants, gloves, coats and hats for four kids? (plus getting the baby ready). All in an hour? It makes it even harder when these children have a habit of shedding their stuff piece by piece as they roam around the house. It makes it really difficult to find it all the next time we go.

So......on Wednesday....WE HAD A TALK (more like I yelled, they listened) on the way home from skiing. I told them to put their gear in one place...all of it. From now on I was not going to worry about it and if they couldn't find their stuff by the time that we needed to leave, they would not ski that day. (MEAN MOM, I KNOW!!!) But you know, it is so stressful to try to tend to each of them all at the same time. And it's not like I can say, "Well, you can go without... (FITB)....today." All equipment is required by this Mom. (no helmet, no skiing). Good news is that all the helmets are hung up, skis were left in the trunk of the van, boots are on the boot rack in the basement, gloves and hats are in the basket and coats are hung up. Yesterday I nagged and nagged until it was done. I felt so mean, but justified. You know, I don't take them skiing for me. I take them because they love it. If they love it, they need to put forth an effort to be responsible for their gear. 'Nuff said.

Speaking of which.....

THIS is what happens when your big sister talks you into skiing the Main, and you really don't have the required experience to do so.

I had to alert the ski patrol after he sat way up at the top for twenty minutes. Eventually he took his skis off and walked down. His very loyal big sister, Lundi, never left his side. I'm glad she took it upon herself to get him out of that mess, since she was the one to get him into it.

When they got to the bottom I said "How was it, Harrison?" He said "Well, it was really big. I should stick with the Beagle." Aaaaahhh, yes. Lesson learned.

They skied until 6:15 on Wednesday, so it was dark by the time we left. Caleb said "Night skiing is so cool and it seems like you are going so much faster. Can we please take one more run?" But by this time the two littles were

miserable, cold and hungry so we finally left and came home.

Starting Saturday Caleb and Lundi will have additional lessons (after their regular Saturday Ski School) to learn the basics of racing. I'm not sure they are good enough skiers for that, but they really want to do it. We'll see how it goes. I get so nervous when they do stuff like that. I strive for balance in the "let them be, but keep them safe" department. I guess I know how my Mom felt when my Dad let us ride motorcycles when we were little.

KKS