Hitting the Slopes!

Over our 2 week holiday break, we decided to hit the slopes for our very first downhill skiing experience. We chose the perfect day... Cooper was healthy, the weather was above zero, and we had a fresh coating of snow.

Our parents decided to enroll us in Kinderschool at Christie Mountain.  It was a great way to learn how to ski with great instructors!  Since Cooper and I both play hockey, we were very quick learners and moved to the "bigger" bunny hill after just an hour of instruction.

I was able to make nice beautiful turns, while Cooper chose to "go fast" and would ski straight down the hill. This truly is a personality thing.

Here is our ski video from the day (I am in the front making turns, Cooper is heading straight downhill).

While we had lessons, our parents took some pictures of us and then they were able to hit the slopes for some "adult" hills. Mommy found it coincidental that 18 years ago, they met at Spirit Mountain in Duluth, MN.  They were both volunteer ski instructors for Courage Duluth, helping skiers with physical limitations learn how to ski.  She had seen Daddy a few times at college, but they officially met at the bottom of a ski hill.  Daddy asked her if she wanted to ride the chairlift up with him and well, they say the rest is history.

Back to us.... I had a good 'skate' type style while skiing, must be from hockey.

Cooper is uncomfortably brave.  He thinks going fast means you are a great skier.

I loved our day skiing!  We spent 6 hours on the slopes and were wiped out at the end of our day.

Here is my ski instructor.  Ironically, his Dad was a teacher of Daddy's in high school!

Cooper loves his button which says, "I learned to ski at Christie Mountain!"

His ski instructor was a younger girl (not sure how old) but thankfully she humored Cooper's need for speed.

Until next time....

The day after we went skiing, my boy scout troop joined many others at Camp Phillips in Haugen, WI.  It was a very cool experience.  We shot a REAL gun, learned how to make fire, had an awesome s'more snack, and mostly hung out with lots of boys and Dads.  Mommy had the day "off" meaning she went to a fitness class and then worked at school. 

We had a "cold" day due to -50 below windchills.  We were only back to school for 2 days and then had the day off.  Luckily, I was able to start my rock collection in my new tumbler (no photo yet) and I played with the coolest toy a boy could ever receive... snap circuits.  It was a Xmas gift and you snap these circuit switches and thingys all around this board.  Eventually, it makes light bulbs turn on, a propeller spin, and music/sounds play.  I can play with this for hours.

In random news... we took this picture of our old girl, Liberty.  Mommy saw this picture with a caption, "Aged to Perfection" and this really fits our loveable Liberty.  She loves the snow and her daily walks.

Mom is part of a ministry group for women/Moms at our church.  She was asked to be a small group leader and she gladly accepted.  She is enjoying her ministry group; last week they had a fun event where they dressed up for a fancy tea party (hence, the huge hat) and listened to a local speaker who Mommy knew from teaching.

We invited the Picks over for dinner and to catch up.  If you remember, Jenny was our daycare Mama for many years.  Here is Mason (my age)~ we had fun playing together and watching our newest DVD Home Alone 2 (because the first video just wasn't enough.)  

And here is Ms. Willow ("Will") who is adored by so many.  She has a million facial expressions and just cracks everyone up.  She truly is a gift and we are so happy to see her good health and big smiles!

We were so blessed to have a last minute invite to watch our cousin (technically, second cousin) Camden play hockey right here in our town!  They had a Squirt Invitational, so his team from MN decided to play in the tourney.  They took 3rd place and we were able to spend the entire day watching him play, we swam at their hotel pool, and we took a tour and enjoyed Leinie's Lodge during one of their breaks.  We just adore their family and treasured our time together.

And finally, I had my first handy task as a boy scout.  We had a Rain Gutter Regatta (boat race) last night.  This involved making a boat (yes, there was a kit), but Daddy was researching the "perfect" finish to make the boat fast.  Well, I didn't win, but I sure had fun! 

 We have a small troop (just kids from my school), so we were all mixed into one group.  My first race (it was like a bracket tournament) was against a 4th grader.  Um, sure not really fair, but oh well.  He won.

 My cheeks were puffing and blowing.

 You race each competitor twice (switch gutters each time), just to be fair.

 I then raced a boy from my class, he also beat me, but I was getting into the groove and realized that long, slow breaths are the ticket.

Although I didn't win the trophy, I still received a ribbon.  I am excited for more races to come in scouts.  This has been a fun group/activity to participate in!  Thanks for tuning in this week!