Ski Day Fail

Trying to make a knee brace look good.

This year I made a switch from Ski Instructor to Ski Team Coach.  You may think there isn't much difference between the two, however, you would be so wrong!  Although the fundamentals of skiing is the same, ski racing is a whole new ballgame!  Now, I have had a lot of competitive experience throughout my life, but nothing I've done compares to ski racing!  Slalom, GS, whatever...it's all intense!  Basically you throw all fundamentals to the wind and it's all about getting down that mountain as fast as you possibly can!  The kids on ski team are amazing!  So much talent and so little fear (at least they don't show it).  Instead of spending the day on the mountain on Greens (sometimes blues) and teaching how to wedge or parallel ski like previous years...I'm spending the day running the kids through gates or skiing crud on black diamonds (hoping that I look like I know what I'm doing, ha!)  I was hoping that switching to Ski Team Coach it would push me a little more and challenge me with teaching higher level skiing.

Unfortunately, it all came to a halt when I ate sh#t while doing a warm up run with my group.

Yes, a warm up run!  So lame.  I wish I had some epic story to tell...but alas, I don't.  Just skiing down (it was a groomed run and everything) making some GS turns with my group following along behind me when I caught an edge and down I went.  I felt my knee twist and it hurt like the dickens.  I sucked it up and tried to shake it off by skiing a couple more hours with my group...but by lunch I had to throw in the towel and accept the fact that it wasn't getting better.  

The next day I got it checked out, x-ray showed fluid/blood around the joint and I was referred to a orthopedic specialist.  He suspects a meniscus tear.  However, an MRI would tell us for sure.  I'm under workers comp. and instead of an MRI they have decided I should do a few weeks of physical therapy.  So, in the meantime I get to accessorize with a sweet knee brace.  And no work.  No ski team.  No nothing.  

 (warning: a lot of complaining coming)

I feel old and helpless.  I hate not being able to move like I normally would and do the things I normally would do.  Not only is my knee an issue but my hip is starting to pay the price as well.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm of how I'm walking or what, but I think my hip is hurting worse than my knee at this point!  I wake up with it aching soooooo bad!!!

I feel like such an old lady!  (wait, did I say that already?)

Anyway, this has been a difficult stretch for me.

I've been pretty down and out...I hate that.

How am I supposed to survive the winter if I can't ski?!

I'm hoping that nothing is actually torn and with a little time off it will heal up in no time and I'll be back to my normal self...instead of bitchy mom, who is about ready to just chop my leg off completely because it's pretty much useless to me at this point.

Tomorrow I meet with a physical therapist.

Wish me luck.

The ski life.

A couple of weeks ago Ryan and I had a little ski date at Sundance.

It was glorious!  We had been meaning to do since my birthday and finally got around to it.

And of course a ski date isn't complete without nachos at the Bearclaw!

And then, just this last week while my brother, Andrew, was in town we hit up Snowbird!

This was my first time skiing there!

 I was a bit out of my comfort zone on the tram up...can we say crowded?

As you may already know...I hate tight crowds...especially in small places.

I know I'm smiling...but really, not a fan of the tram.

But the tunnel...

 ...that was pretty cool!

I mean, come on!  We went through an entire mountain...in a tunnel...crazy!

So yeah, the Bird is pretty cool...however, some of those runs were pretty intense!

And to top it off we skied on a day that was super foggy and snowy, I didn't know which way was up or down!  I was pretty much skiing blind on some of those runs!

Andrew, Ryan, Me and Jeff on the lift.

We had such a good time!

And that leaves me to today...which marks my last work day at Sundance.

Kinda bittersweet.

We had a good season.

Until next year!

Now bring on Summer!

End of the season.

The Sundance Snowsports crew, 2015.

See if you can find me...I'm standing next to my bearded brother.

Another season is coming to an end.  The mountain is closing for skiing on Sunday.

Bittersweet.

It wasn't the best for snowfall, in fact, it was one of the worst in history.  But we made do, and still had an awesome season.  I love working with this group of people, and of course with my little bro.

I brought my uniform home to wash it yesterday and had to empty it of everything that has collected in my pockets...thought I'd share, because I always find it fascinating how much stuff can accumulate.

We have:

name tag

PSIA level 1 pin

"Believe in Steven" button

a handful of zip ties

numerous foam stickers

chocolate gold coin

an edgie-wedgie

two Sun Dollars

sunscreen

chapstick

gum

employee I.D.

responsibility code cards

season pass

This is kinda on the light side too.

On a different note...Spring has Sprung here and it's beautiful!  

Picture from my walk this morning.

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Making Changes

 This was last Wednesday skiing with my little ones.

This was this Wednesday trying to paint while nursing a sick one.

Not ideal for sure...she came down with a stomach bug, most likely she got sick from Morgan who stayed home from school on Monday.  However, Morgan wasn't sick to this extent.  Anyway, so I painted like a crazy woman in the morning while Piper slept then I cuddled on the couch with her for about 2 1/2 hours watching numerous Pioneer Woman and House Hunters episodes.  Yep, guilt free sofa surfing!!

So yeah, painting.  There are some big changes happening around here.  As you are probably aware (or not) my two oldest (Haley and Morgan) share a bedroom.  They don't always get along...in fact they have pretty much opposite ways of life.  Haley is much neater and likes to have her room clean and in a certain way (most of the time) and Morgan on the other hand isn't so much that way.  But, I was (note "was") holding on that they still share a room because it helps them to understand to compromise and work together...important life skills!!  

Well, I hit the end of my rope!!  The older they get the more fighting and bickering they do....it's awful!  Several weeks ago in the midst of one of there fights (and girls can get pretty physical, it's not just boys!) I barged in and began removing every toy, craft, doll, EVERYTHING that they held dear out of their room.  I stashed it all in our spare room and boy oh boy did I have their attention then!!  Let's just say there were a lot of tears over this one!!  To earn their things back they needed to get along (NO FIGHTING) for three days in a row and then they could pick ONE item to get back.  Then another three days for another item and so on and so on.  They eventually got everything back.  But, Ryan and I have decided that it's time they each have their own space.  

Soooo, we are moving Haley into our spare room (our futon will be moved to the basement/craft room) and Morgan will be moving into the room that Piper and Rory share.  And Piper and Rory will be still be sharing, but will move into Haley and Morgan's room.  Does that make sense?  It's time anyway for Piper to move out of her toddler bed and Rory to move out of her crib and into the bunk bed.

I'm actually pretty darn thrilled about this, as I think it will relieve a lot of the fighting between the older girls.

And all the girls seems to be excited about it as well.

So hence the painting.  I've painted Haley's new room a turquoise color...however, what I thought was going to be a very light turquoise turned out to be much brighter!  I'm not that keen on it (but perhaps it will grow on me) but Haley is in love with it!  I guess that's all that matters.

We still have quite a bit of work to do...new beds to purchase and lots and lots of cleaning!  There is so much stuff that needs to be thrown out or organized before these kids make the move into their new rooms.

And if you are wondering, it hasn't even been a year since redoing their rooms the last time.  Ah, good times.

The little ones' room.

Hope ya'll are having a great week!

Ski Lift Selfie

 It seems Jeff and I have a little tradition going on...an annual ski lift selfie. 

This year...2015.

And last year...2014.

Both were taken on the same lift (Arrowhead) and I'm pretty sure in the same spot.  I didn't realize it until after we took the picture this year that I remembered....hey, I think we did the same picture last year!  

So, I think it's going to be a thing now.

Happy Wednesday!

Skiing with my Littles

Yesterday I took advantage of having nothing on our schedule in the day.  I took Piper and Rory skiing...by myself...which I'm pretty proud of if I do say so.  Any parent that has taken children skiing know that this is no easy task.  But I did it!  And we had FUN!

I worked on the tow handle with Rory while Piper did laps around us...luckily we pretty much had the run to ourselves!  

They insisted on going on the big chair lift before we left which I was a little apprehensive about doing but went for it anyway.  They did great!  I just put Rory in front of me and held her close down the steeper sections.  She's so light I could carry her in my arms skiing down if I had to.  But we managed just fine. 

It was such a nice morning...granted, a lot of work...but fun.  

They must have worked hard too...

...this was them as we pulled into the garage.  Yes, Piper fell asleep with a sucker in her mouth...probably not the safest.

I'm going to try to do this as many Wednesdays as I can.  We're going to have our entire family skiing together by the close of the season...mark my words!!

Enjoy the holiday weekend ya'll!

Rockin' the Wedge!

My bro, Jeffy, sent me these pictures from last week's ski outing with Rory.  I was going to pick just one, but then I decided I loved them all.  Rory is just so little!!  She looks like a little dumpling with all her ski stuff on.  

Here she is, rockin' the wedge!!

Speaking of skiing...I have my on snow assessment for my Level 1 Children's Specialist tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Our MLK day.

Yesterday afternoon marks a very monumental occasion…we got this little one (Rory) on skis!  Which means our entire family was skiing at the same time!  It was awesome!  It's a really great thing when our family hits a mile stone.  Ryan was skiing the mountain with Piper.  Haley and Morgan stayed together and skied on their own and would meet back up with Rory and me on the rope tow every now and then.

But yeah, I'm so proud of Rory!  We still have a bit of work to do as all she wants to do is zoom down the hill with straight skis…doesn't like stopping and doesn't like being helped (she's a stubborn one).  One good fall and she'll change her mind, but I opted to keep her safe and everyone around her for that matter as she was ready to plow into anything in front of her!  We'll keep working on that whole stopping thing again…she'll get it eventually!  But it was so fun to watch all the other girls cheer her on and encourage her.  Why can't they be nice like that all the time to each other?!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Review

Sundance ski season has come to a close.  Kinda bittersweet for me...I'll miss working with my brother and all the great people I've met, but I'm ready to get back to regular weekend routine and catch up on everything else I've let slide through the cracks.  It got pretty hectic some weeks that's for sure!

Riding the lift up for our last early morning clinic.  I'll miss getting those first tracks Saturday mornings! 

We had a little fun on Saturday (since there were no lessons) and several of us skiers did some snowboarding for the morning.  And some of us (such as myself) have NEVER done it before.  

 My first run wasn't pretty...actually my second run wasn't much better.  But it was all good fun.

Taking in the view one last time.

And then on Saturday night my cousin Travis and his family gave us a visit.  They were in town from Texas.  We had never even met his two boys...so you can see it had been way too long!

Travis, me and my brothers Matt and Jeff.

I'm feeling very short in this picture!  How is this my family?!  What happened in my genetics that they skipped the tall gene?!

 And finally Sunday we had one last ski day as a family.

And I'm happy to report that there were no tears and everyone had a blast!

And one last video for your entertainment...I just can't get enough of her skiing!

This week we're kicking off the girls Spring Break!  

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Got my pin!

I went to my ski assessment for Level 1 last week, and I'm happy to report that I passed with pretty good marks and came home with my pin!  Yep, I'm a professional now.  Yay me!

We're winding down our season...only a month left.  At least I hope we make it to the end of the season.  With temps in the 60's these past few days the snow is melting fast!

Yesterday was beautiful!  The girls played outside for hours, it was wonderful!

Barefoot in March...gotta love it!

Happy Monday!

Ski Clinic

Last Saturday my brother, Jeff, and I went to an all day ski clinic that our supervisors held for any instructors that wanted to attend...a great opportunity to improve my skills...which I might add, I need!  We were lucky because our group ended up being nice and small.  There was a photographer that tagged along snapping tons of photos and we were also filmed so that we could actually see ourselves in action and pinpoint changes we needed to make to our skiing.  I try not to be hard on myself, this is just my first season.  But it's hard when I can't seem to break some of my bad habits and it can get quite frustrating for me.  I'll keep working on it!

But the days that I get to step away from the norm (doing a backwards wedge with a five year old on the tow rope all day) and actually SKI is so fun!!

With a few of my colleagues on the summit of back mountain.

Me skiing down Bishop's Bowl.  

Most likely what I'm thinking..."Don't fall.  Don't fall.  Don't fall."

Jeff's turn.  

Jeff is quite good I might add...one of the best on the mountain!  

Maybe some day I'll be able to ski like him.

So tomorrow I'm going to Deer Valley in Park City to test for my Level 1 for PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America).  I'm a little bit nervous about it, even though everyone assures me I'll do fine.
Wish me luck!

Weekend Review

This is what we were welcomed to when arriving to work Saturday morning.  This would be the path leading to the infamous stinky yurt.  Don't worry, this yurt is not open to our guests...but this is the yurt that houses all of the instructors gear, and when you get 60+ ski and snowboard boots stored together, well, you get the idea.  But don't get me wrong...I am very grateful for that yurt.

So yeah, snow, and lots of it.  The problem:  we had lovely powder snow earlier that week and then Saturday we got wet heavy snow...the perfect recipe for avalanches.  There were road closures throughout the day, and people were getting stuck everywhere...it was a mess.  It snowed ALL day and I was soaked to the skin by the end of it.

It rained all day Sunday in the Valley...it was awful.  All of our snow in our yard as melted away and we are now left with lovely mud pits everywhere, which are so much fun when you have dogs.  Yuck.  I usually welcome warmer weather, but this year I would rather have snow.

On a different topic Ryan and I were invited to a special screening for the movie "Rising from Ashes" last Friday.  We got a babysitter and everything so we could go, and I'm I glad we did!  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!  It's so inspiring!

Ryan with Abraham and Obed, two teammates from the movie.

This week we're gearing up for Valentine's Day!  The girls have their parties at school and I'm teaching Piper's Preschool tomorrow and having a little party.  And of course I'm super excited for my traditional Valentine's dinner on Friday!

Family Ski Day

 I had to work yesterday morning (yesterday was a holiday so the kids had off school), but I was able to get the afternoon off!  So we took advantage of the sunny warm weather and Ryan brought the all the girls up for some skiing.  Now we have never ALL skied at the same time before.  Usually the little ones have to stay home with Ryan or me.  So this was no small task to get everyone on the mountain!  And it meant that Rory had to be in the pack, also not easy.

Let me add that when Ryan and I moved here and went skiing we saw several parents who put their little ones in a pack and skied.  We thought this was absolutely crazy and borderline child abuse.

10 years later...here we are.

But you know...it's so great!  We had the best time having everyone together!  And I'll add that Ryan was very cautious even though he had Rory yelling in his ear to go faster.  

This marked the very first time Piper has skied and I was so impressed!  She took to it so well, even throwing in some dance moves on her way down.  What a ham.

It was such a fun afternoon...we'll have to do more often now that we know we can do it!

The past week or so.

Seems like life just got crazy...or crazier anyway.  

I decided to do a quick update with some photos from the last week or so.

Rory's very impromptu birthday party.  Seriously, it was so spontaneous that Ryan and I ran out and bought her a present literally an hour before it...with her in tow.  Thanks to my mom who was totally cool having all of us bombard her house to celebrate last minute.  And the only reason it was last minute was because the rest of the week was too crazy, plus my dad was flying out of town...it was kind of then or it wasn't going to happen.  Hopefully she won't remember it being too lame.

She did an awesome job at blowing out the candles...only a little bit of spit hit the cake.

We have been getting slammed with the snow fall the year!  And the temps are crazy low!  Like highs in only the teens and lows in the negatives!

Of course the dogs love this time of the year because they now live in the house.

And of course Haley spoils them rotten.

I started working on Friday...I'm currently three days in.  Still finding my groove, but I enjoy it.  Although, being on the mountain when the high is only about 10 degrees is a bit out of my comfort zone.  When I get home I'm I cannot warm up...it isn't until I take a very hot, scalding shower that I feel better...and hot chocolate helps too.

Sunday afternoon we finally decorated.

It's very Christmasy in our living room now!

And we picked a different kind of tree...I love it...although we had to chop the top off to get it to fit in the room.  But I think it's so pretty!

Tomorrow, it's more skiing.  Haley's class is coming up to Sundance for the Ski Utah program...so that should be fun!

Happy Monday!

The big news.

Well, after 9 years I'm now officially employed again.  Shocked?   I know, me too kinda.  

I'm joining my brother at the Sundance Ski School...yes, I'll be a ski instructor.  It's now become a family affair.  I've been keeping it under wraps because I wouldn't be able to bare telling people that I didn't get the job if that were to happen.  But this morning I got the official word that I indeed got the job...so I guess I can share the news now.  

The interview process was interesting.  The first step was to interview at a massive job fair...this was quite nerve wracking for me!  The last time I was interviewed was 13 years ago!  I'm a little out of practice!  Plus, the average age of all the applicants surrounding me was about 20...I was feeling a little old.  But never the less, it went well and then it was on to the next step...the on mountain interview held at Brighton.  Unfortunately, it DUMPING snow...blizzard conditions really!  And cold!  A shock to the system as we had been enjoying weather in the 70's that very week!  Anyway, we were divided up into groups and they basically watched us ski, stopping often to give us instruction.  I was pretty nervous going into it...I just didn't want to be the worst skier and I really didn't want to fall!  Luckily neither was a problem.  Anyway, it went well, and here I am!  Employed!

This year as been such a growing year for me in so many ways!  For so many years I didn't really stray far from my safe haven home and the whole mom thing.  Especially when Ryan had a desk job for all those years...he had nearly 12 hour days including 2 + hours of commuting everyday.  I had two small children (Haley and Morgan) at the time, and my days were long.  I loved that I was a mom...don't get me wrong...but I never did anything outside of that.  Guilt, fear, shyness were just some of the reasons I didn't want to either.  I was comfortable at home.  Yeah, I would go on the occasional bike ride, or take walks on the path near our house...but my kids were always with me.  

This is the first year that I started getting more involved with things outside of motherhood.  Ryan now has a job that is flexible...he is home more and can work with my schedule.  It has been such a blessing for the family and my sanity!  I'm realizing that it's okay to do things for myself...it's okay to take breaks from the kids.  I know this may seem silly to some, but I had such guilt leaving my kids and husband behind while I did something fun.  

However, Ryan has been so supportive and pushes to get to involved in things.  My ski pass was the first that got me going.  Getting in the car and going up the mountain by myself to ski was a pretty big hurdle for this homebody to get over!  And then yoga (which Ryan totally got me involved in)...it's been nearly a year now that I've been doing it.  And it's something I look forward to...every mom could use a little zen!  And of course we can't forget the mountain bike series I did this summer.  

I never knew how important it is to do things outside of motherhood until this year!  It helps me feel young and alive!  And I think it's a great example to my kids.  I want them to see me outside of motherhood...I want them to know I can kiss their scrapes, read with them, and cook up a darn good dinner, but also, that I can shred the gnar, or rip some brown pow!  

So being a ski instructor is just part of the adventure!  It's getting me out the door, getting involved, and meeting new people.  And getting some ski deals for our family doesn't hurt either!  And I'm so blessed that Ryan has a schedule that allows me to do something like this.  And that he supports me with these crazy ideas!  We make a pretty good team, him and I.  

Jeff and I

Sundance Ski School, Veteran and Rookie.

Happy Monday!

Deer Valley

Jeffy, Ryan, Me, and my dad on the lift.

We scored some free tickets for Deer Valley in Park City from some pretty awesome friends.  Thank you, thank you...as we couldn't afford that place any other way!  For the record, I have never been to any other resort besides Sundance in Utah.  And of course Sundance has a little special place in my heart...it's our home away from home in the winter.  But, oh my goodness, Deer Valley is HUGE!!  We had such a great day!  Everything was perfect...the weather, the food, the company...we had a blast!  

My mom watched the little ones (thank you mom, you are a hero) and the older two ended up walking home with friends after school and stayed with them for the afternoon.  It worked out great!

Today we are gearing up for Piper's little Birthday party this evening!  

Happy Weekend!