Ski/Ride Lessons

We took our first ski/ride lessons last weekend, but I didn't bring a camera (beside my phone, which doesn't zoom enough). This weekend, I made SURE I brought one. (Not my good Canon one, for obvious reasons!)First, Ashlyn and Matt and Sierra took their lessons....so mommy could be with Sierra (duh! LOL!).  Ashlyn and Matt are taking snowboarding lessons, while Sierra and Kristen are taking skiing lessons -- they don't offer snowboarding lessons for 4yr olds. So, one parent and child will both be on the same page.  :)

Ashlyn and Matt were able to go on the Magic Carpet this time, and board down the bunny hill a few times. I got a few pictures of them, but the camera doesn't zoom in as far as I'd like before shutting off (the lens is broken....). 

Ashlyn (blue coat) and her instructor on the bunny hill.

  This was Sierra's first lesson, since they were booked full last time. She was throwing a HUGE fit and wouldn't go to her class, and she refused to be a "Panda Cub" (the name of the class). I told her she could be a "Sierra", and that I would go with her into her class and help her learn to ski. The instructor also has cute little critters to clip on them while they're learning (if they want to). Sierra chose a frog puppet (the only puppet!). It stayed tucked in the top of her coat the entire time, and she even checked to make sure he hadn't fallen out a few times! CUTE! Halfway through the 2 hr. lesson, they take a break and have hot chocolate in the Children's Center. At this point, she wanted to ski with the instructor and looked up and said, "Bye, mom!"  and went to have hot chocolate and finish the rest of her lesson. She didn't look for me or cry for me when they returned to the snow! YAY! She was even putting on her skis by herself at one point, so she could be ready to ski down!! After one run down, she saw me and said, "Mom! I did it!!!" with a HUGE smile on her little face!  :)  It was priceless! She *has* taken to liking the instructors emergency landing to heart, though, and when you ask her what she learned she'll tell you, "You make a pizza (wedge), and then you fall on your hip!!"  LOL!!! We'll have to work on breaking her of that....   ;)

  You can see a video of Sierra telling me about her first day skiing HERE!

After all of their lessons were done, we went and grabbed some lunch at the lodge there, while waiting for Kristen's second lesson to start. (We didn't know that they only did the 2nd and 3rd lessons at 10 and 130, which was the reason for the extra long day on the mountain this time.)

The Lodge

 

During Kristen's (mine) lesson, there was only 2 of us....so it was more like a semi-private lesson, which was great. We did a couple refresher runs down the training school hill, then went up the Magic Carpet to the bunny hill for 3 runs. Then he took us to the chair lift to the top of the mountain for a run down! I was slightly terrified of the chair lift....getting on AND off, but the instructor rode with me since I'd never been on one (the other girl in the class had). And going down was quite nerve-racking as well! It wasn't a busy trail, but when people would come by, they were flying past and it FREAKED me out and I would freeze up and crash. LOL I think I fell about 4 times coming down the big mountain...not too bad. More than halfway down, my left knee started getting weak and it was freaking me out more and I would tense up and make a mess of my turns, but I eventually made it down...all in one non-injured piece.  :)  I just wish I had packed the camera with me so I could've taken some pics on the lift and at the top of the mountain (11,700 feet). But, with my falls, I probably would've lost the pics I am actually able to share now!!! LOL!!

We all had a GREAT time, even if some falls happened, and we had some crying and clinging in the beginning.