The best day of the year (so far)

Yesterday we went skiing at Showdown, our local ski resort. It was a perfect family ski day. It was Asher's first time skiing, and he did great. Jackson was fearless, and we had a great time being together as a family.

When I was younger, I didn't necessarily love skiing. I hit a tree when I was 9, and didn't enjoy it much after that. But my parents made me go despite my protests. They kept telling me that if I didn't go skiing with them, someday I would regret it. So I went with them. I was never great, but I was okay and I eventually grew to like it again. Today is the day that I say, "thank you so much for making me go skiing!" (I realize how ridiculous that sound.) We have been taking Jackson skiing since he was 2 (and just barely two.) And when we go, Mitch takes Jackson and I just follow behind. Today we took Asher for the first time, so Mitch needed to be with Asher, so I skied with Jackson. It was so fun. I had a little buddy, and for the first time I wasn't riding the lift alone. I was so happy that I was a good enough skier that I could help Jackson. He skied all by himself, but he would need help if he fell and got tangled up, or if he lost momentum on the flats. Jackson amazed me. He wanted to do everything, and he could. He wouldn't even let me help him off the lift. He decided on his first run that he would like to go off a few jumps, and so he did. He was so good. He worked so hard that by the end of the day he was saying that his legs were "cracked". Asher was a little champ as well. He is fiercely independent. He wanted to take off from the very beginning. He was able to ski short sections by himself. By the end of the day, he had to get on and off the lift by himself (with a little boost), and was constantly saying "faster daddy, faster!!". Not too bad for a two (almost 3) yr old. When he got up this morning he tried to run from his room to the car so he could "go ski, go ski!" We had to hold him back and tell him there was time for breakfast.

Asher was obsessed with t poles, he called them "ropes." We gave in and let him have one for a little while. It didn't last long, but it was pretty cute.