our "snowblaster"

Carter Man began a months worth of ski lessons at the beginning of January.  He and Kyle have gone up every Sunday with our friends, Jeff and Lena.  Meadows has a great kids program called Snowblasters ~ same groups and instructors for the month provides consistency for the kids.  Carter was in a green group and his instructor was a young guy named Kelby.  Carter thought he was pretty cool.

Carter and Lena getting ready to start their first day of Snowblasters.

Lena has been doing Snowblasters for several years and is a great little skier - attempting black diamonds at the age of 9 is pretty awesome!

Carter started out on the magic carpet, refreshing the skills that he had learned last year.

Oh I love my little skier!

First time on the chair lift

I love this face - equal parts excitement and terror!
Kyle often spent a part of the afternoons with Carter's group, helping out the instructor.  It's a rule that kids under 7 have to ride up the chair with an adult, so extra bodies are helpful. 

Sunday #2 was more like spring skiing

There was an inversion, so it was hotter up on the mountain than it was in the city.  I think it got up to 50 degrees!  It doesn't make for great snow, but it's so much fun!  Such a gorgeous day!

Working on his wedge on Buttercup

It was so nice, he didn't even need a coat.

Beautiful!

On the third Sunday, I got to join Kyle and Carter up at the mountain (thanks Grandma and Papa for having a fun sleep over with Kennedy!).  It was so much fun!  I loved getting back on the slopes and watching Carter ski down the mountain filled my heart with pride.  Skiing is something that I grew up loving, so to be able to see Carter love it, too, is awesome!

He's improving so much and really seems to enjoy it. 
He has already asked for skis for Christmas and wants to do the Snowblaster program again next year.

My friend Sheri decided to learn to ski this year too.  Since both of her girls enjoy it, she figured it would be a fun activity to do as a family.  I was so proud of her and she did great!  It's wasn't the greatest day, condition wise, but she stayed warm and had fun.  I can see many weekends up at the mountain together as all of the kids get into it.  (Kennedy gets to start next year)

I am so proud of you, Carter! I love that you're excited about skiing and working hard to get better.  Each evening when the boys would get home, Carter would tell me all about his day - talking at a rapid pace and giving me all the little details.  It was so fun to see his enthusiasm.  He learned to "jump" a little, was working on getting out of his wedge and making big turns, could get on and off the chair lift with no problems and even did a little trail run through the trees on his last day.  Daddy took him up the face and took him on a blue (intermediate) run - he had a nasty fall and cried a little but it didn't deter him from trying again.  He's like his mama and just barrels straight down the mountain. 

It's amazing how far he's come in four weeks time.  I'm bursting with pride, sweet pea!

Hittin' the slopes

On New Year's Eve day we headed up to Mt. Hood to introduce Carter to the world of skiing.  And he loved it!  I couldn't be more proud of him or happier that he enjoyed his first time on skis.  We signed him up for a half day lesson and he was with an instructor, Sabina, and only one other child, also a first timer.  They have a great learning center at Meadows, so I felt very confident dropping him off.  This also allowed Kyle and I a chance to get in several runs (we hadn't been skiing since before Carter was born, and it was wonderful to be back at it!)

It was so fun getting to watch Carter in his lesson.  We dropped by, took a ton of pictures and then were off again.  We didn't want to be a distraction and we also wanted to enjoy the amazing snow.  It had snowed all week and the mountain had about 10 inches of new snow over night.  The sun was shining and the runs were awesome!

They start them out on one ski, gliding down a gentle slope.  They try each leg and then were off! 

Looking good, Carter Man!

He did so great!

They stayed on the Magic Carpet area (such an improvement from the rope tow that I learned on when I was Carter's age) and it was perfect for beginners.

It's like he knows just what he's doing...I think the hardest part for Carter was getting up once he'd fallen down.  He didn't mind falling, wasn't scared and had a great attitude.

I had to chuckle...he skis just like I do - heads straight down and loves to go fast.  I can vividly remember my dad trying to get me to make big, wide turns as I'd barrel down the slopes, calling from atop the chair lift "LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT" and I'd just zoom straight down.  Carter did exactly the same thing!  Since we were on a smaller slope, he wasn't able to pick up a ton of speed, but I'd try to get him to turn through the cones and he'd say "but I love going fast!"  Really?  He's never short on surprises!

Once we picked him up from his lesson and ate a quick lunch, we headed back out to the beginners area.  He was bummed that he couldn't go straight to the chair lift and really wanted to go up the "big" mountain.  He didn't believe us when we told him he was actually on the mountain...he wanted to go to the top!  Although after skiing with him for a couple of hours, I was even more thankful for his lesson.  I've been skiing for most of my life, but trying to teach a little guy how to do something that seems so instinctual was hard.  At least for the next several times we go up, we'll get him into lessons.

Daddy joined us for a bit, too.  By this point (I'd been up all night working), I was pretty beat, so Kyle continued to ski while I stayed on the bunny slopes with Carter.  Worked out great for everyone!

Our little skier

Kennedy and Nana came up with us and enjoyed lots of time in the snow and a little time in the lodge too.  My mom was such a trooper...we knew she was cold and probably would not have chosen to spend her day on a mountain, but she made it so much fun for Kennedy.  Pulling her on the sled, making snow angles and just keeping her entertained.  It was such a blessing to have her with us, and I honestly think Kennedy had as much fun as Carter.  We'll get her on skis next year, so watch out!

Thankfully it was a beautiful day on the mountain - Kennedy had a blast in the snow!

Snack time

We got stuck in horrible traffic on the way home and ended up turning around and driving around to Hood River.  It still took us 3+ hours, but we got home with enough time to get ready for our NYE plans with friends.  Not the best way to end a great day, but we managed.