A very long post in which Georgia learns she isn't very good at skiing.

We are back from Vermont. Our first family ski trip. Well actually we were going up to stay with our friends anyway (who are right into skiing) and Matt suggested that we all going skiing too. "Come on, it will be fun." he said. I wasn't that keen on me going. I have a history of bad knees and I'm not really a sporty kind of person. Beside I find it hard enough getting the kids dressed for school without all the other paraphernalia that skiing entails. I tried to palm darling hubby off for snowboard lessons with our host and another of his guests, but then Matt decided he'd just do both. But he INSISTED that I do the day ski lesson with him and that it wouldn't be fun without me.

By the time we got up to Vermont it was very late (seemed every other person in NY and CT wanted to go up for the best snow of the season as well) and darling hubby had started to come down with my cold. Even after an early night he wasn't up to the snow boarding on the Saturday and then cancelled his ski lesson on the Sunday. That's fine I thought, I'm here, I may as well do it anyway.

Fortunately there was masses of snow up there....This is Ella in the back yard. It was cold and crisp and the snow was soft and fluffy. Gusts of wind would send it all flying back up into the air as it was just snowflakes resting on top of each other.
Great fun for trying to walk through and throwing yourself back into to make snow angels....
But absolutely no good for sledding in...
I didn't get photos, but earlier in the day the boys had been out in the back yard "swimming" across the snow.

That night was our 70's combined birthday fondue party which was of course messy and loads of fun. But we had to be up early the next morning to check the kids into ski school at 8.30 am.

So off we all went (our host commenting that he was exhausted just watching me trying to get 4 kids kitted out in underlayers, overlayers, hats, gloves etc.). We were one of the first families to check in but it still took over an hour to get sorted out with all the ski hire boots, skis etc. And it was hot in there, so by the time we actually got out into the snow, Remi's head was steaming. And by then the kids were hungry again so we had to feed them before dropping them off.

Oscar went off to the advanced group as they made him do a little run and apparently he had learned enough from his 4 day ski trip in grade 5 in Australia to be deemed a "skier". Remi and Kit were put in the same group, and Ella in another. I have to say that I didn't really get to watch them much as my lesson started (eventually) and I had to pay attention. But I did see Ella on the ground a lot when I looked around...waiting for someone to help her up. I thought she was going to hate it.

My own lesson started off really well and I have to say that early on I was one of the better ones. I wasn't scared and I was quite enjoying it. It was also just so beautiful as it snowed all day. My boots however were slowly cutting off circulation in my feet and by lunch time all I wanted was to take them off and wriggle my toes. (Why are they so uncomfortable...I kept eyeing the snowboarders boots and wishing I'd chosen to do that instead). But of course it was the busiest weekend of the season and after walking around and around and around trying to find the ATM to get some money to buy some lunch, then trying to find a table, I gave up and put my tray on top of a rubbish bin and ate standing up. I then went and found a table out in the snow and took off my boots for a while before just wandering back to our area and giving it all another go.

(I'm sorry this is going on, but it's for my family so I don't have to write it more than once).

We were on this little tow bar pulley thing that would carry you up the tiny slope and then we'd come back down. You had to grab it as it came around and it would pull you forward up the hill. The reason I mention it is because I am so sore across the back of my shoulders. But I was actually enjoying this little bit of skiing and had been going at it for about 20 minutes before our class met again. I had fallen once, on my very first run and was glad of my helmet, but after that I was OK. By the time our class had started again, my feet had gone numb again and I had to take my boots off and stand in my socks in the snow (and fell over while desperately trying to free my feet). After a few more runs on the tiny slope they deemed we were ready to do a real run.

So up we went on the chair lift (for what seemed really far to me) and as we were getting off, my skis caught in the girls next to me and I fell. But that time I was feeling a bit nervous and on our first little run down I went a bit too fast and nearly fell...and it "was all down hill from there". I just kept going too fast and wasn't able to control my turns enough and it got to the point where I was falling every time we did a little stage. I even managed to fall over standing still! It was at the point where I went careening off into the woods and powder snow that I'd decided I'd had enough, started blaming Matt for making me do it and then bailing on me and I "threw my toys out of the pram" and actually started crying. I was exhausted (I swear it takes more energy to get up than to actually ski) and all I wanted to do was take the damn boots and skis off and slide the rest of the way down on my bum. But no! They made me ski all the way down. But that was it for me. NO MORE! And fortunately it was nearly time to pick up the kids.

So I went and watched Ella and even though she'd fall over, she could go up on the teeny tiny tow bar and ski down the teeny tiny slope and stop and she was having a ball. Over where Kit and Remi were (on my starter slope) Kit was falling over, but getting up and riding the tow bar up and skiing down and having fun. Remi was skiing down that slope and weaving in and out of the cones and when I said it was time to go was really disappointed because his teacher said he was ready to go up to the next level (Oscar's group) and ski down the slope I'd just fallen down. Oscar came back and he'd done my terror slope a few times AND a harder one. They all wanted to go again the next day!!!!! And yet here I was in pain and agony on the verge of tears again. Just goes to show that you can't teach an old dog new tricks!

Then on the way back to where we were staying (remember it had been snowing all day) our lovely car just hit the bend wrong and went off the road into a snow drift. Fortunately we were right behind the house so I just got the kids out and walked them round, woke our hosts who were napping after a hard day on the slopes and then began the saga of getting the car out. Fortunately they knew a guy who eventually came and towed Matt out, but that must have been after nearly an hour of trying to dig him out. Of course the truck with the grit came around AFTER the car went into the snow! Here is a photo of the hole the car left, and it looks pretty lame except that Nicola said that when she went around the front to try and dig the wheel out she stepped in snow up to her waist!

But apart from all that and the fact that I can hardly walk, move my arms, yawn, move my neck, and certainly go "ow, ow ow" every time I try to go up and down stairs, we had a lovely time. The kids played with their friends and played with the playstation (the only time they are allowed something like that) and pool on the new pool table, and we lounged and played in snow and caught up and relaxed. I felt like we'd been away for ages.

Yesterday before we left we went into Manchester again to do a little retail therapy. Actually we went to have lunch, but the kids were so cold that we went into the GAP store to get them another layer (it's all outlet and very cheap) and there's something about going into shops like this that is so nice...(I just loved the icicles).

That's no one we know by the way. And we also picked up some clothes for Matt that he needed. It was a fun little outing. But when I saw Ella leaning against the display bed in Ralph Lauren yawning I knew it was time to hit the road.

And here's Ella with her "snow man" she and Francesca made. They sculpted it out of the pile of snow where the drive way had been cleared. She says it has a face with eyes, but all I could see was the carrot nose sticking out of it. That girl makes me laugh. As we were driving along, I was moaning about how sore my forearms were from pushing myself up every time I fell over, to which she asked incredulously "you have four arms, Mum?" And she was serious. We all fell about laughing and Matt nearly had to pull the car over. She was horrified and embarrassed, but it was just so funny.

We got home late last night and the kids were starting to feel it in their legs (Kit's shins are covered in bruises from falling over). We are all pretty exhausted, and I'm so glad that the kids don't have school this week. I had planned to take them into the city, but I can't actually walk well enough yet (my knees are well and truely done!). Fortunately we had a lovely surprise with our package from our miniswap partner arriving today...but more on that in a separate post tomorrow.