The girls had two weeks off for Spring Break and we were really excited about it. I had this "now or never" feeling about them learning to ski, so our first day off we headed up the mountain. Madeleine and Beth had one lesson earlier in the year while Mary stayed home. That plan didn't really meet with her high approval, so this time I figured she ought to come too. I'll admit I felt like I was getting in a bit over my head by attempting this whole shebang. I'm not yet a skier myself and I was pretty clueless where rentals and lift tickets were concerned. But, we bundled up just the same and asked a lot of questions along the way. It was a bit of a haul to get all three girls and their equipment to the right place for their lessons, but we made it! The hardest part was over and the fun began.
Madeleine and Beth were in classes according to their age group and level. Mary was with me and a private instructor. The instructor was a really nice guy who greeted Mary with a big smile and friendly words. He started explaining to her how we were going to get her ski's on, etc. She stood absolutely still and refused to speak. Then, without bending at all, she flopped over backwards and lay on the snow as if she had passed out. At that point I thought, "Ooooo, this might go badly," and intervened. I prodded Mary to her feet and coaxed her through the first little steps, like how to make a "pie" with her feet and how to put the skis on. Still silent and sullen, she followed my promptings. Then she looked up at the instructor and demanded, "I want to go on the lift!" Using a chance to go on the lift as incentive, he took over from there and got her going. He had his work cut out for him, let me tell you. She took to the skis right away and LOVED riding up the lift. She kept laughing and yelling to people below and at one point she started singing as loud as she could up to the tree tops. The instructor was working really hard to teach her speed control and wanted her to ski down in a snowplow. She thought it was hilarious to start in a slow snowplow and then bring her skis parallel, zoom forward, and smash into him. She would throw her head back and laugh every time. He was smiling but his face was clearing saying, "How much time is left in this lesson??" She quit goofing around eventually and by the end of the two hours she was following him down the hill and was able to stop, speed up, and steer on command. At the end of the lesson her instructor happily confessed that he was amazed at how well she had done. He said they rarely have a child that young come for lessons and they've never had one take a two hour lesson - the little ones are usually cold and crying at the end of 45 minutes. (I wondered why they looked at me funny when I scheduled the class. I guess not knowing what I was doing paid off in this instance. Lucky for me.) Although she held up well throughout the lesson she was one worn out, grumpy little bugger afterwards and fell asleep before I pulled out of the parking lot. I have to say I felt pretty much the same, but I waited until we got home to fall asleep. Totally worth it though.
Madeleine and Beth started off on the same hill as Mary and I was glad I could see them coming and going on the lift. They were doing great and before long they moved on to bigger hills. I was disappointed that I couldn't watch them anymore but their teachers said they did great and they both advanced a level. (In the photo below they were taking a break in the snow before their classes began). I feel like we got the girls off to a great ski start this year and next year, while they are all in their respective lessons, it will be my turn to give the slopes a try! We'll see how well that goes when the time comes:) 
For our second Spring Break outing, we went swimming at the rec center (sorry, no photos). There is something about going swimming in the middle of the winter that makes you feel like you are getting away with something. The girls love it! Navigating them through the whole process of bathing suits, showers, etc. used to be overwhelming. Now they are nearly self-sufficient in the locker room and it's a pretty manageable activity we enjoy every now and then.
On day three, we met some friends at a tea shop downtown and had a tea party lunch, British style. Then we headed over to the Children's museum and joined the art class. The artist of the day was Jackson Pollock. With bare feet and their pants rolled up, the girls had a blast splattering and splotching while music played. It is an activity I will definitely recreate at home - in the summer, outside, in bathing suits, with very washable paint, and a hose near- by.
The next two days were full of cleaning and packing in preparation for our big Spring Break adventure. Stay tuned . . .
