Family ski trip

The day was gorgeous and sunny. It was a Saturday with nothing planned and nothing to do. We hemmed, we hawed, and finally, decided to go skiing!

The kids got dressed and we loaded the van. By 11 AM we were headed to the ski rental shop to get skis for all the kids - yes, all 6! None of them had ever skied before, and we never stopped to question whether we were crazy or not taking them all skiing, with just two adults.

Within 30 minutes we were in and out of the ski shop, loaded into the van, and headed up the mountain. We parked in the free parking lot, loaded onto the free shuttle and got dropped off right in front of the lodge. A quick walk up to the bunny hill and we were on our way. (The bunny slope is free at Big Sky Resort - so we didn't need any tickets. And, all Big Sky residents in K-8th grade, get free season passes as well!)

The reality started hitting home when we were crazily trying to get everyone's skis on, and figure out how to get all of them up the hill without causing a local catastrophe. Big Sky Resort has a great bunny slope lift - it is called a "Magic Carpet" - it is a rubber mat that whisks you up the hill (well, not really that fast - these are beginner skiers, after all!). But, it is this little mat you just stand on - kind of like the moving sidewalks (but up a hill) in the larger airports.

We managed to get a majority of the kids up the hill and I volunteered to be the first one to go with the kids down the hill. Mariyana went first - I was skiing backwards, and she skied frontwards (most of the time!) facing me. She didn't have much patience for learning the snowplow - didn't understand why she couldn't just ski like all "those people over there". It took some stern words to let her know that all started out with the simple snowplow and that she needed to learn this before anything else. She got a little mopey, and I know didn't believe me, so it was onto another child, who was a little more willing to try. John mostly stayed at the bottom of the hill and make bathroom runs!

Sasha was next and had the most amazing contortions of the legs and arms you have ever seen! He hardly looked like a natural out there. Sasha is the type of kid that doesn't really try very hard - if it is too hard, he shirks away and gives up. However, he is also great at blending in, and it takes a lot of work to notice that he is giving up and not trying. We went down a couple of times, and once he had the hang of what to do, it was up to him to be willing to try. He would just keep sitting down!

Then it was onto Olesya. She probably picked it up the fastest, except for Mariyana (who finally came around and decided Mom was right, and she would do what I told her to do!). After just a few times down the hill, she was good to go on her own.

Then it was Vanya's turn. John had gone down with him and gotten frustrated, so it was my turn to try. I spent most of the remaining time working with Vanya. He could not get his legs to go into a snowplow! I spent most of the time on my hands and knees (all contorted at funny angles because I had my rather-long skis on the entire time), placing his feet and skis in the correct position. The next morning, my arms ached, and I had bruises on my knees! In fact, I was so tired at the end of the day - I think it would have been less work to just go skiing myself! But, not nearly as enjoyable as far as the day went.

Vanya started getting the hang of it toward the end of the day. That freed me up to work with Lillia a little. Unsure how she would like it, we started out slow, but that wasn't for her. It was a struggle to ski backwards fast enough to stay ahead of her. Considering her skis were crossed more than they weren't she did quite well. She didn't really leave the ski hill able to venture down the hill (safely!) by herself, but wanted to go again, so that was a good sign.

I know you are all wondering about our dare-devil, Anabella. At the ski shop, she was so excited about wearing her ski boots, walking around and saying "ski!" Unfortunately, by the time we reached the ski hill, it was getting to be naptime, and her enthusiasm was outweighed by fatigue. Most of us had stripped off various amounts of clothes because the weather was so gorgeous and the sun was so warm. Anabella figured that nice soft pile of clothes at the bottom of the bunny slope looked like a great place to take a nap. She laid down and was promptly asleep in just a few minutes. My only regret is that we didn't get a picture of her sleeping!

By about 3:30, the kids were getting tired and hungry, and we packed up and headed home. It was a great day - and we looked forward to the next day, which was going to be the following Wednesday. Wednesday was a homeschool ski day, and John already had taken the day off work! We were looking forward to another fun day on the slopes, as were the kids....