Who knew?

The kids have been bugging us to take them skiing for a while now, so two weeks ago we ventured out. It was one of the many weekends this year that we got a huge dump of snow - so there was probably about 4inches of powder. Perfect for an almost 3 year old, a 4-1/2 year old and a 6 year old who have never been on skis before.

The Princesses started out with an hour lesson with a pro. By the end of the hour they were riding the magic carpet on their own and flying down the bunny hill solo.

The King hasn't been on skis in 20 years, so he decided to get comfortable on his own for a while.

Baby Blue Eyes was too young for a lesson, so we got a harness and I headed up the bunny hill with him. Three times down the hill and he ditched the harness in favor of smooth sailing! He was having a little trouble with the concept of a "pizza stop", so whenever he wanted to stop he would either sit down or do a somersault through his skis. I was sure that the first time he got a faceful of snow, that we'd be done for the day. I was SO wrong. He came up laughing and excited to get back up again.

I was so amazed at how quickly each of them picked up the sport. Four and a half hours later (at 8pm & just 1 hour past bedtime), they could barely pick up their feet. Screaming "Just one more run!" and kicking all the way, they could barely pick up their feet and none was in any shape to carry their skiis back up to the van.

That was my first lesson. I had my boot bag strapped over my shoulder with three helmets hanging off it. I was carrying one set of skiis and poles behind my back, while balancing Baby Blue Eyes piggyback style on them. Needless to say . . . I was glad we didn't bring the camera!

Since that first day, the kids have been begging us to take them back again. Today was sunny and warm (-2C), so we got up and headed out first thing this morning. This time we were smart and brought a toboggan to carry all the gear. It was a bit of a different ride, with no powder (given our 7C weather yesterday). But the end result was the same -- three kids very unhappy about having to leave!

Unfortunately I don't have a single photo of them learning to ski. I couldn't find any room on the toboggan for the camera! :)