Last year, we took both boys out of school for the day and took them skiing. We got them lessons. Bob opted to try snowboarding and SJ stuck with skiing. There was hardly anyone there, so they got a private lesson (although we had paid for a group lesson). SJ was giving the instructor some difficulty, but thankfully the instructor was super patient and determined. After their lesson was over, we spent a couple of hours on the bunny hill practicing what they learned.
After we took a break for lunch, we got them on one of the lifts and made our way down one of the green hills (beginner hills are labeled as green). Bob did not like the lifts AT ALL! He was so scared of falling off the chair and getting hit with the chair as he was attempting to get off. This seems reasonable to me, since these are my fears as well. Needless to say, Bob was not too keen to go up the lift again. He decided to stay at the bunny hill. SJ and my husband went up the lift a few times without us. Once SJ got a handle on the "French fries" (going straight) and the "pizza" (stopping yourself), he seemed to really enjoy it.
When it came time to sign the boys up for the ski program, SJ was super excited, but Bob opted to not sign up. My husband tried to talk him into it several times, but he is a stubborn little guy. A few months ago, my husband took SJ to get skis, rental boots, a helmet and other ski accessories. When we got a few snowflakes a couple of weeks ago, SJ was ready to go. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough snow in the mountains to ski.
This past weekend we did get more snow. SJ was ready to go again. My husband checked the ski report and they did have some snow at Hidden Valley. They were having an opening day special, so the lift tickets were reasonably priced. They left early in the morning. My husband said there weren’t many people there, so it was a great day for SJ to start skiing again. They didn't have all the trails open, but they had enough to satisfy SJ and my husband.
They did one or two runs on the bunny hill and then got on the lifts. SJ did such a great job. He had a little trouble getting off of the chair the first time, but after that he did much better. They started off with a few green hills. SJ was skiing so well that he would ski right up to the lift line. He fell at one point, so he called for my husband to help him up. As my husband was trying to help him up, he almost fell on SJ. SJ managed to get up and started skiing down the hill. When my husband caught up to him, he said that they should try that again. "I almost fell on you, SJ," my husband said. "Yeah, it was fun. Let's do that again," said SJ. "No, we aren't going to that again," said my husband.
They went up the lift again and this time SJ wanted to try a blue hill (medium difficulty). SJ did pretty well on it, but then they stayed on the green hills. My husband said the day was great except for the fact that it was so cold. After they skied for a few more hours, they came home. SJ was very excited to tell me about the trip, but he was also very tired. I am glad he has found something else that my husband and he can do together. What a great bonding day!
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