(thanks to david baek for the great photos in this slideshow!)
i've been wanting to take mimi skiing so she could learn how to do it from an early age and not end up like me, terrified of those icy slopes. so finally, we were able to get a weekend to go skiing. we teamed up with the Baek family for this trip and i am so glad we did because i know mimi would not have enjoyed this trip nearly as much as she did without having friends her age there. and of course rob and i also enjoyed the adult company and the fact that we didnt have to play entertainer to our almost 5 year old child the whole time!
the kids played and played and played and every time we adults were sure, SURE, that they would run themselves ragged and would collapse from exhaustion, they proved us wrong time and again with unceasing bursts of energy that left us completely flabbergasted. but it was sooo nice to see mimi having fun, so nice. so worth it.
the kids started ski school early the next morning after our arrival to Wisp (in maryland). thomas and julia had actually come up just a couple of weekends before so this was their second trip up there and they seemed quite comfortable. this was mimi's first and i thought it was nice that she had some 'seasoned veterans' to go with. but sadly, they separated her from thomas and julia at the school (even tho we asked that they be kept together). the class started around 9ish and ended at noon (we only signed up for the half day program). because of mimi's peanut allergy she was only served fruit for snack, which is important to note later. (had i known that was all they had to serve to my peanut allergic child, i would have packed her a more fortifying snack. lesson learned.)
i had been meaning to get out there to take pictures and catch some video, but i was stuck in the hotel room a bit longer than i thought i would be after feeding, changing and napping ozzy. by the time i got out to check on mimi, it was already 11:45 and class was almost over. i caught the tail end of the session with the video camera. she seemed to be fine but when she got to the end, you can see her rubbing away tears. by the time i got to her, she was full out sobbing and clinging to me. after having her scream at me that she never ever wanted to come back here ever again (i told her, it's okay to fall. you just get back up and try it again. she glares at me thru her tears and says, "you didnt!" dang. she got me there) and then learning from the instructor that all she had was a couple of apple wedges for snack, i figured a lot of it had to do with low blood sugar.
i got her into the lodge and gave her some juice and food, her mood lifted greatly and she was back to being happy and declared that she loved skiing and she couldnt wait to get back out there. (i had to force myself not to roll my eyes at her). after some talking, i was able to deduce her unhappiness was with the fact that she fell and couldn't turn without help. this is a constant refrain in mimi's life... whenever she starts something new and has to 'work' at it she gets upset. she wants everything to come effortlessly and when it doesnt and she can't do it perfectly on the first try, she gets really, REALLY bent out of shape. i told her i thought she did great and she yelled at me, 'THE TEACHER DID IT ALL! I WANTED TO DO IT MYSELF!!!" you can see in the video how the instructor is indeed physically guiding mimi quite a bit:
after lunch, rob took mimi back out on the slopes to practice and they stayed out there for a surprising amount of time. i was inside taking care of ozzy, but i heard later that she was doing really well on her own. she came back in all smiles.
the next morning we all went tubing. it was my first time and it was surprisingly fast. little julia was cracking me up telling me that it was MUCH too fast for little girls. :) unbeknownst to me, the middle lanes were the steepest and i took mimi on that for our first time and literally caught air on parts of it and was terrified by the fact that mimi's tube and mine were only connected by the strength my mittened hands. mimi was too scared to go on it again and truth be told, i wasnt too keen on it either. we stuck to the baby slope for the next hour or so, me hauling the tube up by foot because there was no magic carpet lift for the tot slope. tiring but mimi enjoyed it.
later, Rob came by and took over pulling mimi up the slope and julia too. and i got up a wild hair and went back up to give tubing another go. it wasnt any less hair raising the second time, so that was it for this still-ground loving girl.
when we arrived home that evening mimi said that was the best trip ever. and really, i had to concur.
i've been wanting to take mimi skiing so she could learn how to do it from an early age and not end up like me, terrified of those icy slopes. so finally, we were able to get a weekend to go skiing. we teamed up with the Baek family for this trip and i am so glad we did because i know mimi would not have enjoyed this trip nearly as much as she did without having friends her age there. and of course rob and i also enjoyed the adult company and the fact that we didnt have to play entertainer to our almost 5 year old child the whole time!
the kids played and played and played and every time we adults were sure, SURE, that they would run themselves ragged and would collapse from exhaustion, they proved us wrong time and again with unceasing bursts of energy that left us completely flabbergasted. but it was sooo nice to see mimi having fun, so nice. so worth it.
the kids started ski school early the next morning after our arrival to Wisp (in maryland). thomas and julia had actually come up just a couple of weekends before so this was their second trip up there and they seemed quite comfortable. this was mimi's first and i thought it was nice that she had some 'seasoned veterans' to go with. but sadly, they separated her from thomas and julia at the school (even tho we asked that they be kept together). the class started around 9ish and ended at noon (we only signed up for the half day program). because of mimi's peanut allergy she was only served fruit for snack, which is important to note later. (had i known that was all they had to serve to my peanut allergic child, i would have packed her a more fortifying snack. lesson learned.)
i had been meaning to get out there to take pictures and catch some video, but i was stuck in the hotel room a bit longer than i thought i would be after feeding, changing and napping ozzy. by the time i got out to check on mimi, it was already 11:45 and class was almost over. i caught the tail end of the session with the video camera. she seemed to be fine but when she got to the end, you can see her rubbing away tears. by the time i got to her, she was full out sobbing and clinging to me. after having her scream at me that she never ever wanted to come back here ever again (i told her, it's okay to fall. you just get back up and try it again. she glares at me thru her tears and says, "you didnt!" dang. she got me there) and then learning from the instructor that all she had was a couple of apple wedges for snack, i figured a lot of it had to do with low blood sugar.
i got her into the lodge and gave her some juice and food, her mood lifted greatly and she was back to being happy and declared that she loved skiing and she couldnt wait to get back out there. (i had to force myself not to roll my eyes at her). after some talking, i was able to deduce her unhappiness was with the fact that she fell and couldn't turn without help. this is a constant refrain in mimi's life... whenever she starts something new and has to 'work' at it she gets upset. she wants everything to come effortlessly and when it doesnt and she can't do it perfectly on the first try, she gets really, REALLY bent out of shape. i told her i thought she did great and she yelled at me, 'THE TEACHER DID IT ALL! I WANTED TO DO IT MYSELF!!!" you can see in the video how the instructor is indeed physically guiding mimi quite a bit:
after lunch, rob took mimi back out on the slopes to practice and they stayed out there for a surprising amount of time. i was inside taking care of ozzy, but i heard later that she was doing really well on her own. she came back in all smiles.
the next morning we all went tubing. it was my first time and it was surprisingly fast. little julia was cracking me up telling me that it was MUCH too fast for little girls. :) unbeknownst to me, the middle lanes were the steepest and i took mimi on that for our first time and literally caught air on parts of it and was terrified by the fact that mimi's tube and mine were only connected by the strength my mittened hands. mimi was too scared to go on it again and truth be told, i wasnt too keen on it either. we stuck to the baby slope for the next hour or so, me hauling the tube up by foot because there was no magic carpet lift for the tot slope. tiring but mimi enjoyed it.
later, Rob came by and took over pulling mimi up the slope and julia too. and i got up a wild hair and went back up to give tubing another go. it wasnt any less hair raising the second time, so that was it for this still-ground loving girl.
when we arrived home that evening mimi said that was the best trip ever. and really, i had to concur.
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