Halversens Hit the Slopes

Well, we made it through a full day of skiing. I'm here to tell you that taking five kids skiing is a true test of your parenting grit, but it was worth it.

We were up at 5:45 and in the car at 6:30. We were to the resort at 8:30. The small kids were scheduled for lessons at 10:00, and yes, it took us the full hour and a half to get everyone into skis. When you first get out of the car, everyone is freezing. So begins the hunt for gloves, hats, coats, etc. Then we trek over to the lodge, and after half an hour waiting in line in the rental shop everyone is dying of the heat and off come those same gloves, hats, coats, etc. while I'm frantically trying to keep track of all 14 gloves knowing full well people will be wanting them again in another half hour. Then someone's boots don't fit and have to go back, some kid's socks are too lumpy, poles are being poked toward people's eyes, Lauren's bindings get installed on Ethan's skiis and vice-versa which doesn't really work out too well, and by the time everyone is in skiis and standing on the snow, I'm pretty much ready to go home.

Thanks heavens it was 10:00 by then and time for lessons. So for and hour and half the small kids have their first ski lesson and Gar and I take off with the big kids. This method of not teaching our own kids to ski comes from advice from my parents coupled with some experience trying to teach my own kids piano lessons. It's just better when someone else handles the first crash, the first ski coming off and all the rest.

So after their lesson, they show off their skills a bit and then we head to lunch. Finding a table and procuring all necssary food items could be another whole paragraph, but it would be much like the paragraph about renting skiis, so just feel free to use your imagination. After lunch the little kids have a second lesson. Turns out that a second lesson in the same day is wicked cheap, and we are not so dumb as to say 'no' to another hour and a half of getting to ski with the big kids on something besides the bunny hill.

By the time that is over, the kids are doing very well. Everyone can stand up on their skiis and can stop, usually. Lauren and Ethan can both turn well, but Ethan chooses not to. Annie is not great at turning, but for five years old is rockin' it nonetheless. The rest of the day and into the evening was spent skiing with the kids. All three braved the actual chair lift. Ethan loved it and was soon sent off skiing with Audrey and Tanner. His only problem seems to be a complete lack of fear. Also, as previously stated, he sees no need to turn, as that would just slow him down. So he gets in his little snowplow, points 'em where he wants to go, and goes. He has proclaimed skiing his new favorite sport, but he says that about whatever he's doing at the time. Lauren only went a couple of times on the lift and did well, but in the end she was a little more comfortable on the bunny hill for today. Give her time. Annie did go on the chairlift, and skiied the whole way down between my legs. She loved it because she got to go fast, but in the end, she wanted to stay on the bunny hill too. I must have gone up that rope tow with Annie 50 times. My snowplow is lookin' good.

We all took one more short break for some hot chocolate, and ended up skiing from 10am until 8pm with a total of only an hour break. That's nine hours of ski time. We were amazed that Annie lasted that long. Once we were finally back in the car there was a flurry of eating, but when that was over and lights were turned out, the kids totally crashed for the car trip home. We arrived home just after 11pm. It's Monday now and I'm still recovering. The day was not without some tears and some frustration, but in the end everyone felt good about their mad skiing skills, and Gar and I made it through in one piece.

Here are some photos. Sorry there aren't more. Gary's camera was flipping out because of the cold. He could only take one or two pics at a time and then it would shut off. He did manage to get a video of Lauren. Love you all! Jenn



Ready for lessons...





Hitting the slopes...















Yes, the big kids were there too. I swear Audrey was very happy all day, and yet, this is the one and only picture we have of her.



Tanner's big moment of the day involved hitting a tree, and he's got the scrapes to prove it!

Edge of the Earth

Just in case anyone has been wondering if we fell off the edge of the earth, the answer is no. Not yet anyway. Life is just busy.

Let's see... We have a tradition of watching a series of movies for New Years Eve. We've watched everything from the Back to the Future movies, to Harry Potter movies, to the Toy Story movies, and this year we watched Star Trek movies. It was a total nerd-a-thon, but it was fun. In case anyone cares, we watched the old Star Trek movies, numbers 2-4. Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, etc. I told you, nerdy. We always let the kids each pick a food item to have for the party so we end up with Costco cream puffs, little smokies, and the like. Big fun. This year we added 'hot cocoa loco' to the mix. We stole the idea from my cousins, Greg and Kim. It went over great with the kids. I forgot to take pictures.

In preparation for our June move we have put the house up for rent, and getting it clean enough for all the photos that are now online was a nightmare. Not that the house is generally terribly dirty or anything, but they didn't want us to have a garbage can or a pile of paper visible anywhere. I took pics of the house because it looked so great, followed by pics of the closets where we shoved everything because it was so funny, but I haven't yet even moved the photos from the camera to the computer.

Annie had a 'Potluck Pajama Picnic' in her Kindergarten class last week. Everyone, including parents, came in their jammies and brought food that starts with the letter P, but I forgot the camera.

Audrey played violin at the District Solo and Ensemble Contest last Saturday. This is a day where you get to go play your musical instrument for someone who is an expert in the field (like maybe a college music professor, or a violinist from the Seattle Symphony, and then they critique your performance and give you a score. Big fun) I didn't forget to take pictures of that so much as Audrey would have killed me. If you think she hates getting her picture taken around the house, you should see trying to video tape a violin solo. She played in two ensembles and did one solo. She did very well. I accompanied her for her solo which I absolutely hate. Every year her music gets harder and I have to practice more and stress out more that I'm going to mess her up. Audrey and I both agree that Solo and Ensemble is our least favorite day of the year.

We had our New Beginnings program in Young Women's and it was a ton of work, but it turned out well. I took pictures of that, but they too are still stuck on my camera.

Tanner has been very busy with his camera and computer, but I haven't yet posted any of his new stuff. It took me months to get those latest short films posted. He made them around Thanksgiving. I think one already has a sequel, so you can be looking forward to me getting around to posting that in 3-4 months!

So things are busy but good. We still spend most of our time driving around to lessons and orthodontist appointments, but are taking some time out for fun this weekend. Valentine's Day is the only Saturday during the entire winter season that Audrey does not have Youth Symphony rehearsals, so we are taking the whole family skiing. The three small ones have never been before, so we've got them scheduled for some lessons. Hopefully it will be big fun for everyone and not big tears. I promise to take my camera this time!

Also, spring soccer is upon us and I'm sure I'll be adding to the existing hundreds of soccer photos I've already taken. Lauren, Ethan, and Annie are playing. Heaven help us.

Love and have missed you all!
Jenn

Don't know when this blog became my diary, but hope you will all forgive me-