A Second Family Skoarding Day!

After cancelling our second, family ski day of the winter scheduled for MLK Day, I transferred our lift tickets and rescheduled Ella's ski lesson for the following Saturday, January 22nd.  Since my mom asked us all to take rapid, Covid tests before she was willing to come watch Emmett for us, we all lined up in our kitchen on Thursday night and crossed our fingers that we would get six negative results.  Luckily, we all tested negative and so my mom agreed to come down for Emmett's birthday party on the 21st and then spend the night so that she would already be here bright and early when we had to leave at 7 a.m. on the morning of the 22nd.  We pulled out right on time Saturday morning and made the long drive to White Pass where we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and the largest crowds Ron has ever seen up there due to a massive kids' clinic going on that day.  Luckily, we  were still able to make it to the ski lesson area in the nick of time and sent Ella off for a 2-hour private lesson with her instructor, Mike.  Ron then spent the morning snow boarding on the lower mountain with Logan off of the beginner's chairlift while Lia and I worked our way up the mountain to ski a few runs before lunch time.  The views were stunning with a snowcapped, Mt. Rainier standing tall in all her glory.  

After making our way back down the mountain, Lia and I met Ron and the two younger kids at the car for lunch.  Ron and I then switched passes and children and he then spent the afternoon on the top of the mountain with Lia while I forced Ella to go down the beginner's run with Logan way ahead of us both times.  Although she totally learned how to turn during her two-hour lesson, Ella was still much more comfortable on the magic carpet hill.  As a result, she struggled to have a good attitude skiing with me and continued to fall over and over again after making a few turns each time.  So, unfortunately, our time in the afternoon on the beginner's hill was not as fun as I had hoped it would be, but Logan and I tried to be patient and we all survived.  After throwing in the towel at the chair lift, Logan and I agreed to head back to the magic carpet hill with Ella the last 30 minutes or so of the day and she perked right up and flew down the hill every single time without falling once.  So, at least we were able to end the day on a positive note.  Overall, I am just grateful to have had the chance to get our three children back up on the mountain a second time together and to enjoy a beautiful day outside.  Since we are now embarking on one of the busiest winter seasons of our family career, we will not have the opportunity to go skoarding again until mid to late March, so I am so thankful that we were able to make this happen with the help of my wonderful mom who watched Emmett for twelve, long hours for us while we were away!

The stunning view of Mt. Rainier that greeted Lia and me when we got off the chairlift at the top of the mountain.

Lia and me with Mt. Rainier in the background.

Mt. Rainier and mama.

Lia with Mt. Rainier behind her.

A family photo we managed to get someone to take of us next to the lodge after lunch.

Another shot of the fam before we split up and headed our separate ways.

Logan did a great job snowboarding with Ella and me and totally took care of himself which I was grateful for as I had my hand's full with Ella.  He would quickly snowboard down a large section of the run and then stop and wait for us.  He did this over and over again.

Ella giving me a smile at the top of the chairlift before heading down the mountain.

Ella looking cute after making one of her many falls.

Ella skiing across the hill.

Ella skiing towards me.

Ell coming to a stop with the help of a snow plow.

Logan snow boarding towards me with Ella in the background.

Logan smiling at me as he fell backwards.