Ski Trip Part 2

Mom, Dave, Kasi, Kennidy, Brandon, Brad, the kids and I were the first ones up to the cabin.  When we arrived Mom and Dave were at a restaurant/bar with live music.  After we got everyone settled down and the cabin safe on Friday night Kasi, Kennidy and Brandon watched the kids for us so we could go get dinner and listen to the music.  It was nice having a little date and spending time with Mom and Dave.  Plus the food and music were really wonderful!  

The boys trying on their winter gear before we packed it up

Kasi and Mom cooking dinner Sundaynight

Saturday it was in the 20’s and we spent the day skiing.  Before we left for the day to ski we took Joel and Vincent outside in the driveway and let them practice skiing.  They didn’t have a clue but they were having a good time.  Our original plan was to let Vincent ski all day if he wanted to and to get him a lesson but once the babysitters arrived all he wanted to do was play with them, so we let him.  I was really excited to ski and I didn’t want to beg him to come with us.  After lunch Vincent was begging to go skiing so Brad took him to the bunny hill where I met up with them.  Vincent was convinced he already knew how to ski and didn’t need our help because he learned all about skiing on Mighty Machines.  He was actually doing really well and was trying to listen but after listening to his mommy, daddy, grandma and aunts all telling him what to do he just tuned us all out and did what he wanted to do.  We were going to get him a lesson but it was a little too late in the day for lessons by the time we inquired.  There is a hill called Big Bird that is small but you take a chairlift up to the top.  Vincent wanted to go on it so badly so we took him up two times after he did pretty well on the bunny hill.  He fell several times on the way down but loved it!  Vincent then noticed that the Big Bird chair lift was red, yellow and blue and all the other chair lifts were only red.  He concluded those must be better!  His goal was to ride a “real” chair lift before we went back home.

Vincent back from skiing!

Brad and Vincent on the chair lift

Saturday night Joel got the stomach flu.  He was acting completely normal but he was vomiting and a little slower than usual.  Mom, Dave, Alyse, Jill, Joe M. and Joe G. were all at the restaurant listening to more live music.  Kasi, Kennidy, Brandon, Brad, the kids and I were all hanging out at the cabin.  They had offered to watch the kids again, but I felt bad ditching them and Joel was sick and it wasn’t nice to leave them with a puking kid.  My mom had planned on lasagna for dinner that night, but that takes at least an hour to cook.  Around 6pm when my children started acting like they had never eaten in their whole lives there was no sign of my mom coming back to make dinner so I recruited Kasi, Kennidy and Brandon to help me make dinner.  Actually I mostly just directed them, I was busy holding Joel and Cecilia so I wasn't a lot of help.  We couldn’t find a good pan to make lasagna anywhere.  We finally found a really deep casserole dish.  We had to break the noodles to make them fit and the lasagna was unusually thick!  It was at least 6 layers.  I lost count.  We all had a lot of fun spending time together making food and goofing around and playing cards.

Dance Party!

Vincent helping Aunt Jill and Aunt Alyse

Sunday morning Joel was acting perfectly fine so we left him and the other kids with the babysitters and headed out to ski.  There was a lot of fresh snow on the ground but it was only 4 degrees out and I don’t even want to know what the windchill was that day.  It was freezing!  Every 5-6 runs Brad and I would go inside the ski lodge or restaurant on the slope and warm up.  It was fun when you were skiing but the ride up the chair lift was so cold.  Late in the afternoon we headed back to the cabin to grab Vincent and take him out to ski on the green hill close to our cabin and let him go on a “real” chair lift.  When I arrived at the cabin I walked in to the sound of Joel puking.  Just what a mother wants to hear.  He had been fine all day until that second.  My sister Jill and my mom were on clean up duty while I took care of Joel.  Actually Jill ended up on clean up duty several times over the weekend and I owe her big time!  Needless to say we told the babysitters we didn’t need them the rest of the day and I stayed back while my mom, Brad, Kasi, Brandon, Dave and Kennidy all took Vince skiing.  They were gone 2 hours and only went down the hill 2 times!  They said Vincent did a great job.  He was so excited to tell me about it and really enjoyed himself.  I was sad that I didn’t get to join them but Kasi took a video of him skiing and it was a lot of fun to watch.

Joel and Vincent skiing down the driveway

Jill and Kasi

Sunday night almost everyone (except Brandon, Jill, Kennidy, my kids, and I), spent a lot of time in the hot tub out on the deck in below zero temperatures.  They seemed to be enjoying themselves.  I was enjoying my time talking to Jill and Kennidy about Jill’s wedding plans in the nice warm cabin.  Slowly one by one people left the hot tub and headed to bed.  I was trying to stay up so I could take Vincent to the bathroom around midnight.  Finally it came down to Brad, Joe M. and Joe G. in the hot tub.  I went to bed and figured they were grown adults and could take care of themselves.    Alyse didn’t seem to think they could and an hour after I finally went to bed she woke me up to wrangle my husband.  I told her to just boss him around and tell him to get out of the hot tub but apparently that didn’t work and she felt the need to come back and wake me up 15 minutes later.  Keep in mind I had not been asleep as long as Alyse had, I had two sleeping kids in my room and Cecilia was actually in my bed cuddled next to me.  Plus, I have seen Alyse throw Brad out of a room before and I was pretty sure she could of handled him. 

Joe G., Kasi, Mom, Joe M., Dave and Brad

Alyse!

Well she convinced them to get out of hot tub but all three of the guys were very loud when they came inside.  I finally got out of bed and headed upstairs to see what was going on because Brad was the loudest of the three.  The guys were all having a lot of fun but let’s just say that Ralphie was there.  Brad's name when he is intoxicated.  He hasn't made an appearance in a very long time.  I tried to politely and nicely talk some sense into him but he was really loud, I had 3 sleeping kids and he was mouthing off like Vincent does.  I had to get him under control and fast and I used a stern voice to tell him to stop and I directed him away from the table he was laying on and toward the couch.   By some accounts I picked him up and threw him on the couch.  The people giving those accounts weren't exactly sober so take it for what it is.  Brandon helped me set Brad up to sleep on the pullout couch.  Brad was loud and I was not letting him close to our room where he could wake up the kids.  Actually he was really funny and kept telling me that Alyse was trying to kill him and that he loved me but I looked like Alyse and that wasn’t good because she was trying to kill him.  I managed to convince him I didn't really look that much like Alyse.  He was actually quite comical and reminded me a lot of Vincent.  I am glad that they all had a fun time together and I was even more glad that Brad was feeling fine in the morning.  I was surprised at how perky he was so early in the morning after sleeping in a wet swim trunks, but he then whispered to me "I think I am still drunk." and that explained everything.

Me and Brad

\\

Me and Kennidy

Kasi and Brandon

It was a fun time skiing and spending time with my family.  The only things I would change would be to make the trip longer, a more kid proof cabin and no sick kids.  Actually we are probably going to have to rethink family vacations where we don’t have our own cabin to stay in and we are going to need to bring babysitters the kids know.  Joel was very stressed by the whole situation (new people, not his normal routine, being sick, etc) and he scratched the top of his head open again along with a few spots on his face.  I forgot his sleep hat at home, so we couldn’t do anything about it but hope he wouldn't scratch at night.

Mom and Dave

Jill and Brad