A Day of .... skiing, snow boarding, trying to get down a mountain, trying to stay alive, trying to teach 2 boys to snowplow/make a V/make an A....make whatever letter you can to make yourself STOP! During the holiday break, Clay, Laura, Shane, CJ, and Preston drove to Sipapu Ski Resort to ski/snowboard for the day. It had been about 6 years since Clay and Laura had been skiing together- so we were excited for the opportunity and thought we better seize the moment, or it might be another 6 years before we get the chance again! Well, it seems like everyone else in New Mexico had the same idea! The place was hopping with people! We had to wait for 2 hours to get rental equipment and a lift ticket. It was beyond ridiculous, but after a 4 hour drive, we weren't about to leave! The workers were going crazy. They said they had never seen so many people there in over 52 years! After we finally got our gear, we tried the bunny slope- yeah, that didn't go over very well..and since Laura is still an amateur herself - she really isn't the best teacher either....so we were all relying on Clayboy's skills and master teaching abilities to help us! Since the bunny hill wasn't working so well, we consulted with each other on what to do and decided to brave it and just go up the mountain and teach as we go down...yeah, BAD IDEA, I would not recommend that teaching style! First off, CJ really didn't like the ski lift ride (but neither does Laura...so we know where he gets it!) and then, for the next 2 hours...yes, 2 hours people....we worked our way SLOWLY down the mountain. The kids did really well when they were focused and determined, but when they got frustrated, started crying, and got tired and cold....yeah, it got pretty ugly at times! There were moments when the boys were laying in the snow, crying, saying they give up, begging us to take them inside, and all Clay and Laura could do was look at each other think...."What did we get ourselves into...." We told the boys the only way to warm up - was get to the bottom...so lets go. Pep talk after peptalk, using the ski pole as a bar that connected skiers, and sometimes just sliding down...eventually we made it to the bottom! All it took was the bottom of the hill in sight... and a fire was lit in the boys... bam, they were excited again and ended the hill strong. We were all very grateful when we landed on level ground! By this time we all physically and mentally tired! But, we only had about 1 1/2 left on our passes...so we decided to take turns going down the mountain without children - and do it as many times as possible in the remaining time. Clay and Laura went first....yeah, Clay got a little too ambitious with Laura - she is still at VERY beginner levels of skiing and he attempted to take her down a too advanced route (super easy for him...he just floated down the hill) - Laura was not very happy about that one...not happy. But, eventually she made it tumbling down the hill...where she told Clay she would never trust his judgment on the difficulty of a route again! The adults continued to take turns, where we were each able to get a few more runs in. We thought for sure that the boys were done after their 2 hour trip down the mountain and would want to take their skies off and relax until it was time to go, but NO! Surprisingly, after they got something to eat, they both strapped their skies back on and went out to the bunny hill to practice. When it was time to go - they were all smiles, wanting to do it again, and happy as clams...all memories of the tears, tantrums, and fits on the mountain must have been forgotten - hurray! They are already asking when they can go again. Well, I'll be...... It is always difficult to try something new - and this was CJ's second attempt at skiing and Preston's first. So, the fact that they ended the day with smiles is a huge plus - can't ask for more than that.
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