Ski Bunnies

For Christmas, we gave each of the kids a set of thermals with the promise of going skiing this spring.  As the year progressed, it was clear that there was not going to be enough snow at any local resort, so Brent and I decided to take a trip to Utah.

Now, let me just point out that this is a bit extravagant for our family.  Skiing with a family of six is not cheap.  But, Brent had this on his bucket list for a while and since he was so excited, we decided to make it happen. I was pretty apprehensive about the whole thing.  I've never been a strong skier and was worried that I'd be unable to help struggling kids.  I was very worried about someone hitting a tree, or going off a cliff, or falling off the lift or just giving up when it was too hard. Seriously, the more I thought about it the more I wondered how this had become a pleasure sport.  It has so many potential dangers!  But, Brent assured me that this would be worth it. So, he did all the planning and I collected all the snow gear we were borrowing.

Research (everyone on Cougarboard) said Brighton was the place for beginners (kids 10 and under ski free) and that ski school was a must.  So, we bought lift tickets, rented gear in Orem and were cautiously optimistic.

The first day, Cody and Sherise brought their boys.  We were all thrown for a loop when the canyon road required chains.  So, we quickly unloaded all nonessential items and hopped on the UTA shuttle.  We were lugging our rented gear and trying not to make it too obvious that we were out of our Arizona element.

Aiden waiting to ski school to start.

Maxwell, Aiden and Sydney excited to get started.

We enrolled the three younger kids in ski school and Brent took Emma on the slopes.



















 After a shaky run on the bunny hill, Brent talked me into going on a larger run with him and Emma.  I was very scared, but he assured me that it was a gentle hill and we'd go slow.  However, as the lift went higher and higher, I became very nervous.  When we got to the top of the hill,  Brent looked at the map and said, "Oh, I guess there aren't any green circles  (out of my comfort zone) on this run.  Only blue squares  (waaayy out of my comfort zone)."   I immediately burst into tears.  "I can't do this!  I am too scared!"  Emma looked over at me and wondered why I was freaking out.  Honestly, it wasn't my best moment.  Brent assured me that I could do it (which was really my only option anyway), and the three of us headed down the mountain.  After just a minute or two, it was clear to me that Brent must have been quite a great skier in his day.  He was a little worried that it wouldn't come back to him.  But, it did.  He was obviously comfortable on skis and was very patient with us who weren't.  It's fun to learn something new about your spouse after 15 years of marriage.  He can still surprise me. FYI- I made it down in one piece, albeit very slowly.

Emma did so great and was pretty fearless.  This is her and Brent at the bottom of the blue square run where I had a meltdown.

All the kids at lunchtime.  This was immediately following ski school and they were all anxious to show off their moves.

I spent the rest of the day with Taylor on the bunny hill while Brent took the three older kids on the real slopes.  I was worried that he was pushing everyone a little too far. But, a few hours later, we met up and I heard about how amazing everyone was doing.  They were skiing!

Maxwell, Taylor and I on the bunny hill lift.

You can guess the rest of the story.  Everyone was amazing!  I became more comfortable with my own skiing and was really enjoying myself.  I tried to reign the kids in from all the perceived dangers while Brent kept pushing them to try new things.  It was a good balance.  We rode the shuttle back to the car exhausted.


Day 2, we drove my parent's suburban up to Brighton and arrived bright and early.  However, it was much colder and very windy.  It snowed all day long.  We bundled up as much as we could, but we were freezing.  Brent got some old beanies we had brought, cut the tops off and we wore them as face masks.  Still, after two hours, we all needed to warm up so we stopped for an early lunch in the lodge.

We got something warm and then finished our lunch in the car while we waited for the wind to die down.

Once it looked a little less windy, we started out again.  Brent, Emma and Taylor hung out while I took Aiden and Sydney.  Aiden was a bit of a dare devil.  He'd weave in and out of the trees and get some air on a few jumps.  Sydney was much more cautious.  She liked to go slow and be in control (something she must inherit from me).  The powder from the storm was amazing.  It was almost fun to fall over in it.  We had so much powder in some places (up to 10 inches) that it would stop us from moving if we didn't have enough speed.

Taylor was amazing.  She learned to turn and was even going on some trails by the end of day 2.

At one point, Brent got in line behind Taylor and heard her singing a jingle to herself, "This is the best day ever!  This is so amazing!  I love to ski!"

By the end of Day 2, we were all sore.  Brent and I could hardly walk the next day.  But, nobody got seriously injured and everyone had a great time.  It was a huge hit.  We will definitely be doing some Jackman skiing in the future.