Six

the

an upward slope

Last Saturday, the entire family went downhill skiing at the Montana/Idaho border. This has been the mildest winter in Spokane and our weekend have been fairly booked.  Unfortunately, we haven't made skiing the priority that it should be.   Ansel and Emmy have loved skiing from the very beginning (or I should say that Ansel LOVES skiing, but HATES riding the chairlift....still traumatized from last year).  To say that Savanna has hated skiing the previous 4 times that we have forced her to go would be an understatement.  She would shed instant tears just at the mention of the word "ski".  She has mentioned that she would rather be in school, eat worms, clean the house and then go to church for 3 hours.  But even after all of the protests, we weren't ready to give up on her. We have so many family trips planned that revolve around skiing and we really want her to enjoy them with us rather than reading a book in the lodge with the foul-mouthed teen-agers. (O.k.  I was ready acquiesce to the possibility that she would not be a skier and we needed to accept and embrace her differences.  But Corey has so much faith in the sport that he wouldn't give up.) 

I was dreading the day as we were driving the 90 miles to Lookout Pass.  I imagined a day of crying, taking boots on and off, and possibly a little yelling intermingled with stomping of feet.

But  didn't take into account that when you ski in a place where you can choose whether you eat your lunch in Idaho at noon or walk a few feet and eat in Montana at 1pm.  And when  the lift operator, wearing her overalls and galoshes, is personally cheering you on each time you come down the hill....miracles are bound to happen.

Miracles happened 

Emmy was happy from the start. She felt a little unsure at first, as one always does on their first run of the season.  But she was back doing blue runs in no time and repeatedly expressing how much fun skiing was.

This is Savanna'a face before we started.  I actually didn't put the one containing tears...I can't risk being on her bad list right now.  

Ansel needed a little time to get readjusted to his skis.  He moved to a bigger size and we removed the tip connecters.  His first few runs looked a little like this.

And there is still the trouble of trying to keep Ansel's tongue out of the snow

I had never seen a tow rope before and I didn't expect it to be so strong.  I was a little worried that my kids arms would make it to the top, while their bodies were bleeding out at the bottom.  Ansel needed a little assistance at first and Savanna fell almost every time she got on.  But she got back up.  And back up. And back up.   

I took Emmy for a few runs and came back to see Ansel and Emmy skiing down side by side, happy as could be.

Savanna even got bored of the bunny hell and was ready for some real runs....it was HER idea.  She and Corey are the people on the last lift.  Emmy was ready to ride the lift by herself.  Miracles all over the place. 

Ansel is ready to race

By the end of the day, Ansel and Savanna had the hill to themselves and were going up and down without any assistance.  Yeah, they fell a few times.  But they got up and kept on skiing down.  

Smiling.

Snow, Sand and Stone

Corey's parents moved from Thousand Oaks, CA to Boise, ID about six years ago.  I have many fond memories of visiting their home in sunny California .... picking grapefruit and avocados from their fragrant backyard,  jaunting down to Disneyland, day trips to the beach, and lounging on their outdoor swing in the middle of the winter.  I particularly remember a trip about 6 weeks after Savanna was born.  Savanna had colic to the nth degree and we were living in St. Louis, where the winters are savagely cold and the dagger snow blows sideways just to avoid landing in the pit of gloom (I joke about how much I hated St. Louis, but a few fond recollections and lifelong friendships do exist from our four years in the midwest).  

I spent countless hours pacing the hall of our little apartment, trying to succeed in soothing my crying baby, only to give in and join her in audible lamentations.  My personal hue of the Baby Blues was approaching the shade of blue that is almost indiscernible from black (please don't tell me I am the only one who has accidentally worn blue tights with a black dress and didn't notice the atrocity until fully exposed to the public).  Anyway, enough of the tangents.  I needed a change of scenery and the trip to California was a  restorative disimmurement.  The sunny weather and friendly faces didn't cure the colic...Savanna cried on the west coast as much she did at home.... but I could take her for walks and inhale the fumes from the spring poppies and sweet peas, gorging my senses after their postpartum winter fast.  And just knowing that other people acknowledged the inconsolable wails of my new baby helped me feel so much less alone.  

So, although we were thrilled to have Corey's parents and sister (now including a brother- in- law and niece) closer to us..... a seven hour, 3.5 movie drive, I had to mourn the loss of our California visits.  And thus, I didn't give poor Boise much of a chance to impress me.  I thought it was flat and dry and BORING.  And it didn't help that Mom and Dad-in-Law kept going to China to teach for months and months.  And now, they may be off the Africa or Timbuktu or something.  Little by little, I have let myself be vulnerable to Boise's enticements and have eagerly enjoyed finding the many treasures that this part of the world has to offer.  Last week, we picked out seven movies for the drive, and stretched our weekend beyond its limits to continue our courtship with the Idaho Spud Candy Bar capital of the world

Of course, I could just sit and stare at my beautiful niece all weekend, watch the thousands of birds that squabble over the birdseed in the backyard, or eat my mother-in-law's lemon meringue pie and seven layer bars as fast as she can make them.  But, it was fun to fit in some time to inhale as much of Boise as we could while we were there.  So I guess this is my way of saying...."Boise, I think I could learn to love you."

Our first day was spent snowshoeing at Bogus Basin.  There was 3 inches of fresh powder and I think the kids ate about 2 of the inches.  

 The next day and about 45 miles south, we found the Bruneau Sand Dunes, where we had a blast rolling, jumping, and falling down the massive piles of sand.  The tallest single-structured sand dune in North America is found here, standing at 470 feet.  Judging from the amount of sand that we took home with us in our shoes and pockets, it is now rises only 468 feet.  (Sharon and Duane, we apologize for the sand that you are undoubtedly still sweeping).

Day #3 took us downtown to the Boise State Capital building which recently underwent massive rehabilitation.  It is an impressive building and all my kids wanted to do was put their faces in the heating vents.  Hmmm.  My sister-in-law took our 2nd ever family photo.  In spite of the freezing temperature and the abnormally awkward group to work with, she did a fantastic job.  You can see her photography here.