Skiing with the kids

Leading up to Christmas, a lot of snow had fallen on Mount Hood (unlike last year!), so Jared took Claire and Jacob up for a ski day. 

 

We had lots of clear skies and sun! The snow was incredible - even though we stayed on the lower part of the mountain and on the groomed runs, it was super soft!

 

It took Claire a few runs to remember what she had learned last year, but she was up and at it by lunch time, and spent the entire afternoon doing great! She holds her hands out in front of her a little like a T-Rex!

 

Jacob enjoyed going on the terrain park. He went over the little box obstacles and, with a little encouragement from me, tried a little jump at the end a few times. The first time, he landed forward and did a sweet penguin slide at the end. Since the lifts we ride are 2-seaters, and because Jacob is more confident on his skis, I would ride with Claire. Jacob was a trooper riding with others and by himself. I was grateful for his good attitude and willingness to let me ride with Claire.

 

We had a fun time together on the ride down - which took for-ev-er!!! It took us 4.5 hours to get home because it was a busy day at the resorts and because of icy roads. Luckily, we were able to get out of the car, read, and sing songs to pass the time. "Mario" (from Mario Brothers) even joined us for a long portion of the ride and had Jacob and Claire roaring with laughter as he extolled the virtues of real Italian pizza and expressed his utter disgust at non-authentic ingredients (like pineapple!).