Just One More

Just one more post about vacation, and then I will stop, I promise.

We made the long trek home yesterday from Colorado.  I learned a few things.

1) It takes an immensely long time to drive through Denver between the hours of 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning.  We cruised along at a top speed of 35 mph for way too many miles.  I hate to think what it was like between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m.  Or maybe Denverites just don't go to work as early as the rest of the world.

2) My kids have absolutely no appreciation for how easy their lives are.  On the way home I was sharing with them that Thursday afternoon would be a day of helping around the house.  They moaned and groaned.  I, of course, launched into the "we just took you on a ski trip, so you WILL help out with getting the house cleaned up..." lecture.

My oldest immediately blurted out...."And all God's children said..."

And in unison, the two boys shouted..."BOOOOOO!!!"

3) In addition to my husband being the most patient individual on the planet (see previous vacation posts), he is also a genius.  Before we left to go skiing, he told me that he thought we should stay on Central time the entire time we were in Colorado.  I thought he was certifiably C.R.A.Z.Y.  How does one spend five days and four nights in another time zone and not switch over to that time?

Here's how: You put the kids to bed at their normal bed time (yes, even on vacation), which means they wake up in their normal time zone regardless of what the clock actually says (think daylight savings time).  Then you take them skiing for the entire day, feed them dinner, take them swimming, and put them in bed at 8:00 p.m.  They are so worn out, they don't even realize they are going to bed an hour earlier than normal. Repeat the above plan each day, and when you drive back home, you have absolutely no time change issues. Brilliant.

I will say it.  My husband was RIGHT, and I was WRONG.  It happens now and then (sometimes on an hourly basis).

Vacation is over.

Thankfully, Spring Break is not.

And better yet, March Madness begins today! It's a little bit like Christmas in this house. :-)
 

Still Injury Free

Day 2 of 3 is complete.

No broken bones.

No close calls.

Unless you want to count the little guy not getting off the ski lift.  Thankfully the nice lift operator quickly stopped the lift and they helped him down. The good news (not to mention, surprising news)... he had the common sense not to jump.

 

They are still loving it. 

On the way back to the hotel the youngest asked if we could move to Colorado.

We may have created a monster.

Not One Single Picture

I can't believe we spent the entire first day on the slopes and did not take one picture. 

I will say, though, of all of the activities to participate in while taking pictures, skiing does not rank high on the "easy" list. 

The most frustrating part of the day:

It takes at least 95 hours of preparation before you even see the snow.  Rental  lines, lift tickets, fittings, sunscreen, 14 layers of clothing, getting the ski boots on, learning how to walk around in those obnoxious boots, stuffing pockets with snacks, etc., etc., etc.

The most predictable parts of the day:

My husband has to be the most patient individual on the face of the planet.  The rest of us are skiing idiots, so he had to do all the work.  Not to mention, he wanted to teach the boys how to ski, so no dropping them off at ski school.

The oldest child is our cautious one.  He took it easy, making sure he had control, and figured out how he could improve each run he went on.

Our youngest child is anything but cautious.  He was more concerned about speed and how many times he could ride back up to the top.

And me? I'm still bad.  And I still despise the chair lifts. And I think I would prefer a good book, a laptop, and a warm ski lodge.  That's all.

The funniest part of the day:

The teenage girls hitting on my 8 year old and telling him how crazy cute he is.  There was a ski competition going on, and during lunch my little guy leaned over and whispered to me, "Mom, that table of girls thinks I'm cute." I thought he was having a major ego moment, but sure enough, soon they started talking to him and telling him that he was adorable.  He was embarrassed, and I could barely contain my laughter.

The best part of the day:

Both boys loved it, which was the whole point of the trip, so all is well.

No broken bones, which makes Day 1 a success.

What It's All About

The past four years have been one crazy ride of basketball.  

Four years ago someone asked my husband if he would be willing to coach a group of boys in a first and second grade basketball league.  Since he loves the game of basketball, and hoped our son would love it as well, he said yes.

Back then they looked like this.

And they played like this.

 

See how that looks like utter chaos?  Well, it was.  There was tons of coach involvement, and a significant amount of traveling, double dribbling, and missed shots.  I am fairly sure the clueless moments outweighed the focused moments by far. 

But now they look like this.  

They are bigger.

Stronger.

Faster.

And a whole lot more focused.

The best part is, they are fun.  Don't get me wrong, they can be intense.  But they also like to laugh, cheer, and encourage each other to be better than the game before.  My favorite part about this team is that in almost every game they play, they have a different high scorer.  No stand-outs, no hot-shots, just solid basketball players.

This season has been rough.  We won the first two games before Christmas, which determined that we would play in the toughest division from that point on.  It meant that we were primarily 4th and 5th graders (we have one 6th grader) playing the hardest teams in a 5th and 6th grade league.  We lost.  A lot.

Until yesterday.  Yesterday the boys fought like crazy and won their first game by two points.  They moved into round two and won their second game by 19.  This put us against a team in round three who heartily trounced us earlier in the season.  Four intense quarters and one overtime later, our boys came out victorious with a 2 point win. They were supposed to play for the championship today, but the games were canceled due to snow.

The boys were out-of-their-minds excited.  My husband was on top of the world. The fans were proud of their team.

I am positive my husband and son will remember this game and this day for years to come.

But my husband will also forever remember the fan who approached him after the game.

He said, "I know I am for the other team, but I just have to say, if Inman had to lose, I am glad it was to your team.  Your boys are good sports and they are fun to play.  And your fans are great, too.  You deserved that game.  Congratulations."

That, my friends, is what I consider a classy fan.

And while winning is fun, that compliment made our day.

Because that's what it's all about.