A few weeks ago, JUST as the weather was starting to turn warmer here, we loaded up the kids early from school one Friday and headed out on our first ever family ski trip! Ryan has been wanting to take the girls skiing for the last year or two and we finally felt like they were old enough to maybe actually enjoy the process.
And, maybe even more fun than the skiing part was the part where friends joined us! Real live friends...it was really quite lovely and such a fun change after just nearly a year of basically everything being canceled. We rented a house near the Dells with Jamie and Zach and Chris and Brenna and we had the most lovely weekend. Of course, 5 little girls between 8 and 2 made it a fun adventure for the littles too.
Since Abby was 1, we've planned a trip to the Dells each spring, usually with my friends Mike and Kristina and their family, along with Jamie and Zach. That was canceled last year and Ryan threw us our very own pool party right in the garage, and while that was fun (at least the kids loved it!), this was better! And, honestly, even though the pool wasn't a huge water park, we all felt much safer in this version of water park. Just one normal hotel type pool (in the lodge just up the road) and a hot tub. Even though there wasn't a huge water slide or play area, I honestly think the kids had just as much fun swimming here than they did in the big water parks. So, win win!
The girls and I and the Brackemyers left work early on Friday so we had a few hours of hanging out poolside solo before the rest of the crew got there. The pool was totally empty except for us and we even had a good old fashioned Wisconsin Friday Night Fish Fry from the little bar/restaurant that was attached. It was the perfect way to spend a Friday night and one of the best nights we've had in a long long time. We drank too much, I laughed until I almost pee'd and my cheeks hurt the next morning. Of course, the gin gimlets helped! We stayed up until 1pm (yes, even me!) and we really had the best time just hanging out laughing.
Our trip happened in late Feb and there's no way we could have guessed that it was likely the last good weekend of skiing for the season. That Saturday it was nearly 50 degrees and the sun was out in full force. Jamie/Chris and I didn't end up getting lift tickets (figuring someone was going to have to hang with the little kids) so we spent the afternoon at the bottom of the bunny hill sitting in the sun, with a cooler full of snacks and drinks. It was really quite lovely!
Stella and Abby were old enough to go to the official ski school lessons so we enrolled them and headed to the bunny hill with the littles. The ski school was happening right there in the same spot so we got to watch all four kiddies which was nice. I give Ryan all the credit for working with Hazel. I didn't help her on the hill one time - which sounds lazy, but I think the kids just loved having Ryan around and were happy to get a break from me. The feeling was mutual - LOL!
All four kids did such a great job. I think Hazel might really have been the best of all four, she was fearless and wanted to keep going. By the end of the afternoon Ryan had her steering and stopping, doing pizza and French Fries, and really, what more do you need at 5? Both kids asked if we could buy them ski gear and go again next year, so I'm thinking we'll try to get another few weekends in next winter and maybe Ryan will get his wish after all - that we become a ski family. I think he and Murph are already planning trips to Colorado and Banff.
And, with this final post, I'm hoping we're done with pictures of snow in the background. I'm ready to move onto spring and outside activities that don't involve snow pants, gloves, hats, mittens, boots and all the other things! I'm ready for sun, boats, tubing, camping, the pool and all things summer! Admittedly wishful thinking for mid March in northern Illinois, but a girl can hope!
