Cooper Hits the Slopes

Last week we took Cooper to Steamboat for his first ski trip. Let me tell you, between ski school and only having one kid with us, there was something that happened over that weekend that resembled an ACTUAL VACATION. It was lovely.

Now before you start feeling too bad for Sister, know that she was home with Papa who was filling her days more than I could even dream of. One of the days we were gone, he took her to: Hermann Park to feed the ducks; the Children's Museum; out to lunch (and somehow home in time for a nap); to go see her first movie - Cinderella (although she apparently lasted about 10 minutes); and, out to dinner! Suffice it to say, she did not even greet me when I got home. She clearly had a better time than she would have in ski school day care. She clearly had a better time than she does with regular old mom who does things with her that include the grocery store, gasp!

Back to the ski trip... Traveling with 4 year olds is down right easy. They carry their own bags! They are easily and quietly entertained on the plane! No diapers or extra gear! Sorry Sis, talk to me when you're potty trained and through the threenage years.

After our flight, we were up and running pretty quickly. (FYI, Houston - Steamboat is a direct 2-ish hour flight and we were at our condo within about 30 minutes of landing!) Cooper was anxious to play in the snow which was thankfully still around in the balmy spring weather!

The next morning, we all geared up for a day of skiing and ski school for Cooper. We were a little worried about how he would do. He's not usually so great dealing with new places. Or new people. Or being out of his routine. Or away from home. But other than that, this kid is totally flexible!

As it turns out, all of the angst was for nothing because he totally did great! I'm sure there were more than a few tears but by the time we picked him up he was smiling and yelling at us to "WATCH ME!!!" as he skied down the ski school hill. He got to move up a (half) level on the first day and was able to balance on his skis and stop (using the edgie wedgie). OK, so we are not headed to the Olympics any time soon but he had a blast and was begging us to take him up the mountain. AND, most importantly, he had a lot of fun. I mean, who wouldn't want to learn how to ski from a bunch of 20-somethings who feed you pizza and chocolate cookies and teach you games like "Sheep Butt" and "Who Tooted"? No, I haven't asked to be filled in on the rules for those...

The little ski bum after day 2 on the slopes. Dudealicious.

Apres ski snowman!

First time up the ski lift!

I don't think I realized how amazing ski school was going to be for Kyle and I. Not only did they teach Cooper the basics, they fit him with boots skis and a helmet which he got to keep at the school overnight. No hauling extra gear for us! And, even better, it lasted from 9am to 2:45pm which meant we got to have almost 6 hours of uninterrupted ski time and went on lunch dates.

Win. Win. Win. All around, win.

Also, I've decided that spring skiing is totally my jam. As it turns out, in my 30s I'm definitely more interested in being warm and not going too fast so between the warm weather and the wet snow I was a happy girl! Direct quote from Kyle, "You look like you know what you're doing up there. You also look like you really do not want to fall." Fair.

So maybe I'm not headed for the Olympics anytime either but I too had the best time and it warmed my heart to watch Cooper do this: