Targhee Ski Trip

We took our annual (I guess you can't call it annual because we haven't been in a while) ski trip in January.  Our kids have all learned to ski at Targhee ski resort in Wyoming-- it's just over the Idaho border.  It is a great place to take the family because they have ski school and daycare for the kids.  We didn't go last year because I was pregnant and then Ashlyn was born and we hadn't really talked about going this year.  The kids brought it up how they missed going last year so we decided to head up to the slopes.

We left on a Sunday evening after all the meetings and interviews had been squared away.  It takes about four hours to get up there and the kids were all crowded in the car but it was a good time to talk and share stories.  The movie player in this car has never worked.  Sometimes I wish we had it but most of the time I'm grateful that it doesn't work because the kids have decided they like hearing stories from James' and my childhood.

We started ski school bright and early the next morning.  Luke decided he had learned enough at ski school so he set out on his own.  Lindsey wanted to learn to snowboard and enlisted me to join her.  Heather, Savannah and Matthew went to their respective classes.  This was Matthew's first time skiing.  Savannah had been once before but didn't learn much and Heather was a pro.  Lindsey and I managed to get into the same class despite the fact that she was considered a junior and I was an old lady.  By the end of the day I definitely felt like an old lady-- in fact, I think I wanted to cry!

For those who have never tried snowboarding, allow me to share my perspective on the sport-- it is painful!!  There is no way around the fact that you have to spend time on your rear end.  This may not seem like a problem when you purposefully sit down to strap on the snowboard, however, once you are down, you have to get back up which involves getting the aforementioned rear end up off the ground.  This didn't seem to be a problem for Lindsey but it was for me.  It took me a while to figure out why my arms and shoulders were so sore because they aren't really used as you snowboard, then I understood that pushing myself up all the time was putting great strain on these muscles.  I had decided to give up and ski the next day but Lindsey begged me to be in her class again so I consented.  I weighed the value of the mother/daughter bonding moment against the pain involved and chose the mother/daughter bonding.  However, when we showed up for class, the instructor insisted on separating us and having Lindsey join some girls her own age.  This meant that I was in a class all my own (physically and literally).  It was not the morning I had imagined.  I had a young man who became my private teacher.  He was very patient but I can imagine what was going through his mind.  To make matters worse, Lindsey's teacher would holler my name and shout accolades every time he passed me with his class.  I think he was trying to make me feel better for splitting me from Lindsey but it was awfully embarrassing.  My misery finally ended when the class did at lunchtime.  We spent the remainder of the afternoon together.  Heather became my support as everyone else would ski off without me, including Lindsey who had mastered snowboarding.

All in all, it was a great trip (despite the pain).  Matthew realized he loved skiing.  Savannah gained a lot of confidence in her abilities.  Heather and Luke increased in skill and Lindsey learned a new sport.  James and I just sit by the fire and smile.