Been a long time since we rock and rolled!

Quoting Led Zepplin to start a family blog, but boy I didn't realize I hadn't posted any pics from Christmas.  WEAK!  It was a fantastic holiday, the Lord blessed us w/ good health and good spirits.  We have made some new friends through hockey and kids' school and Businesselite is cruising along w/ real progress these past two months.  Anyway there are a few pics from Christmas.  The rest are life as it happens.  And some video of Alena's gymnastics.

Alena finished her first session of Gymnastics and continues to do well w/ her Jazz dance.  She is very disciplined w/ her school work and is simply our little sweetheart--although she has her moments.  Emma is swimming her tail off.  Owen is obsessed w/ hockey and he and Hugh are skating like demons.  Audrey is talking (demanding "I do, me do, I do") a bluestreak and couldn't be a more spirited and happy child. We love her so much we still can't believe she is ours.

What we are most proud of recently is we got the 4 older ones on skis two weeks ago on a trip to SkiRoundtop.  We went w/ another family who have 3 boys.  Hugh is in Spanish and skates w/ their youngest, Owen plays hockey against their middle.  The weather that weekend was cold, colder and coldest! 1* when we started out, 7* for a high Day 1 and sub-0 windchills.  But they never complained and skied all day both days.  By the end of Day 1 all had been on a chairlift and down a full green.  The three older ones were on blue by Day 2 and managing very well.  I love skiing but haven't found the opportunity since we have lived here to get them on the slope, always something going on.  Audrey played in the lodge w. Kathie and her friend Barbara.  Next time the mom's hit the slopes.  The kids got the whole apres ski experience w/ the hot tub afterwards.  Hugh liked the "magic carpet"  and bunny hill and was content there as long as Kath or I could watch him cruise.  Why no pics?  When are hands are less full and the weather less cold!

The following weekend (this past one), I loaded up the 3 older kids and a friend of Owen's and we headed to SkiWhitetail.  These are all places I had never been.  These Mts (uhhh hills) are about 1500 to 2000ft, the longest run might be a mile long w/ 600ft + of vertical drop.  Something i have learned about the entire Appalachian range while Mt Biking it is that all trails are cut on the sides of these steep, long mountains.  These older Mts run diagonally as opposed to the jagged, rocky ranges out west.  If you have ever driven across PA you know how disruptive these angular Mt ranges can be to a highway that wants to go in a straight line.  So you generally bike up many switchbacks avg about 20% grade.  Usually the trail tops out and you can ride the ridgeback of the Mt.  Whereas in the Rockies, the trails might be longer and at greater elevation but they don't always have the steep grade b/c you aren't going straight up. Well, the ski resorts are no different so they can pack a lot of trail onto a 1500ft Mt.  Each as about 20 runs w/ some legit black diamond.
 In fact, we dropped down a "chute" that had at least 10ft of float before you hit snow and it wasn't powder, it was hit, cut through the ice and kill speed before you hit the bumps.  It was over quick but no less technical than what you can get in Colorado.

Well, at Whitetail, we had another beautiful sunny morning.  Got there around 8am, it's only an hour away and were on the slopes by 9am.  The kids loaded up on the lift and we were off, Emma, Owen and Aidan together and Alena w/ me.  To see the kids, (not suprising Owen, w/ 4hrs of skating a week) get how to carve their skis was really gratifying.  I loved skiing when i got the hang of it (ages 10-16), but then took about 20yrs off to do other things.  When i got back to it 4yrs ago I swore I would get our kids out.  Well it took an invite from our friends the Robbins to make it happen (Aidan is a Robbins, has been skiing since four and has migrated swiftly to boarding--he and I could have skied anything together, a really good little athlete).

Emma and Owen didn't like following me down and practicing turns, in fact only Alena paid attention to her ski instructor from Roundtop.  Was she as fast down? No. Was she as aggressive w/ her turns? No.  But after an hour following me down the greens.  We all headed over to the blues.  At this point it was really busy.  I get the kids off the lift and to the start of our trail.  I had skied this quickly by myself and had two options to get down, one included going through some moguls, the other down a black diamond.  Emma and Owen who had handled blue at Roundtop, were surprised by the narrowness and steepness of this hill, they got way too much speed right away and crashed.  Who made it down unscathed other than getting cut off by a boarder?  You got it, my slow steady carver of turns...Alena!  God bless her in her all pink out fit.  She focused on the fall line and carved turns down it the whole way.  Going faster than she had before, but totally in control.  In the meantime, it was Owen's up, but Emma's down, no wait, Owen's down and Emma's up, all they way down.

To conclude, Alena skied the blues a couple more times while Emma and Owen went back to green to get their legs under them.  Owen did a blue again w/ me and both he and Alena made it down their first black, a steep wall of ice called Drop-in.  They both fell, but they got up and carved it down.  Emma was happy just cruising, so i let her go, no reason to force at this point and I was glad to see her working turns as she learned a lesson watching her little sister.  

We don't often brag on Alena, mainly b/c she is quiet, sweet, loving and really easy.  If all she had in life was stuffed animals to play w/ she is content.  Well no more, I got me a skier(s) and that has me more excited than any activity or sport they could do.  Skiing like cycling is freedom. You, your equipment, your senses, the outdoors in a sweet mix of thrill and relaxation.  Now to get the three labs on the chairlift.

Audrey is next, no worries there, she is all athlete and coordination.  My worry w/ her is downhill racer!!!