If I worked outside all day, I’m sure I’d feel differently but I really enjoy the winter. I know it’s chilly and all, but how can you not enjoy how God provides shimmery white snow and diamond-like icicles to brighten up a gray winter landscape?
Something else that makes winter fun are toys and activities. I’m way thankful for a husband and a father-in-law with a love for the snow. They spent lots of time and resources teaching the boys how to ski, and that’s one of those things that you just don’t realize how cool it’s going to be some day. It was surely worth the work, because now we can all do as a family, together. It’s really a super blessing. We were also excited and thankful this year to be able to have 2 Quad-runners and a dirt-bike for the boys. Steve surprised them on Christmas, and they were blown away. We didn’t want to damage the grass around our house too bad, so we only ride when there’s snow on the ground.
Great fun!
And over Christmas break, we visit with family and stay at a place where we can also enjoy some time skiing and snowboarding, and enjoying the off-roads.
When we return home, the boys’ Ski & Snowboard Club starts up about the first or second week of January. The school offers a great package from Blue Mountain for the kids, and allows family members to buy lift tickets too. It really makes a difference in the cost for how often we can get up there. We’ve been able to purchase all of our own equipment, mostly through ebay and craigslist which is a little easier on the wallet, making the trips to the slopes even easier. With our ski lift passes already in our pockets, we pull up in our vehicle, grab our gear, walk through the lodge and out to the turn-style and get on the lift! How much easier can it get? And before you know it, you’re at the top of the mountain – what a cool view you get to enjoy after making it off the lift — which in snowboarding is an accomplishment in itself if you don’t take others out first or face-plant yourself (which I’ve done more than once!).
We all started out on this journey as skiers, but now five of the six in our family snowboard. Tyler tried it once, thought it was cool, but still prefers skiing. Steve got back on the snowboard wagon this year (he did it back when it first was cool 25 years ago!) but thinks he wants to switch back between snowboarding and skiing next season. Meanwhile, Christian, Gabriel and I have been loving our boards and working on tricks and jumps. I of course am a little slower and not as risky as those two – I tell them often that the best part of their youth is having no fear. For instance, this hill looks scary as you’re coming down it, and it took a lot for me to even get near it finally. Gabriel has tried twice but he’s so lite he hardly makes it to the peak. And then there’s Christian (he’s the jumper with a grab – way to go Buddy!)…
In our downtime at home when it snowed but we weren’t making a trip to Blue (that day), we set up a few things in the backyard to practice on…
One of the best memories of this winter though was when Blue Marsh Lake froze over and we were able to skate around and enjoy it. It had been so cold consistenly for so long that when Steve drilled down into the ice in one spot, his 5″ drill bit didn’t even break through the ice.
There were parts of it that were so clear you could see the bottom. Then there were parts that were too rough to skate over. And then there were just little things about the ice that made it fascinating.
We had out last snowstorm in April, and it was here and gone. Steve took Christian and met up with Dad at Blue for their closing weekend. Well, guess we can pack it all away now ’til next year! 🙂
-M
