Farewell in Flag

Eric has to do a four month pediatric rotation in Salt Lake City, so we took him as far as Flagstaff to bid him farewell. The kids had no school on Friday, so we headed up early so Stacie and I could hit the slopes. Eric was supposed to be able to come early, too, but it didn't work out. Work stinks sometimes!

I have only been skiing once in my life and it was ten years ago. Stacie said I had nothing to fear, for I was with her. We got all of our gear and headed out. She showed me a little girl that had her toes close and her heels spread far. "See that? That's called a 'pizza.' Just do that and we'll talk more on the lift at the bunny slope." No problem. Really??? "Stacie, I can't even get goi...WHOOSH!!! HELP!!! I'm pizzaing, I swear! I'm pizzaing!" Finally, I came to a stop, only to be greeted by a hysterical sister with tears running down her face - not from fear. From laughing. Alright, let's try this again. A little more pressure on the inside of my feet. I'm feeling confident. Nope. Thank goodness for big giant poles! However, it was at this point that I informed Stacie that she was the WORST ski instructor ever!

After we made it to the lift and had a little photo shoot, I asked her if there was anything else I needed to know - like how to get off. "Just scoot to the edge, bend your knees a little and turn." Awesome. I'm sure I can handle that like a pro after almost dying trying to get to the bunny hill. Thank goodness for strapping young employees to scoop me up and out of the way. We were off to an awesome start. (Note the awesome rainbow sunglasses. Stacie forgot to tell me I'd need some, so we borrowed the only available pair from lost and found. I felt like a million bucks!)

Luckily, with Stacie's fine instruction (I have to apologize for the above said comment) and my stunning natural ability, the rest of the day was actually a lot of fun. I'd go from feelings of fear, to exhiliration, to fear, to exhiliration - several times down the hill and it was worth it every time. My balance was pretty good, but I never did master the pizza. I'd shoot down the hill with no real plan of how to control my speed. I kept trying to watch Stacie's new skills she'd been working on, but I usually ended up yelling out an apology as I flew by. My turns eventually got a little better, and as long as there was plenty of space and no little kids I did okay. I did come in a little fast to the chair lift line one time (we had moved up to the beginner's hill by now) and plowed into a snow boarder. Thankfully, she had a good sense of humor and popped right up, dragging me up with her.

The weather was perfect and the views were amazing. Especially as the sun was setting over the mountains. I think we were definitely the cutest snow bunnies there!

Me in all my glory (I knew I was a goner the second I felt my ski catch on some snow. It was a wipeout worthy of a replay - if only we had a video camera)....

....and Stacie in all of her glory.

After several good hours, we took our tired, achy bodies to Salsa Bravos to finish off our sister outing. It was a great afternoon/evening. Thanks for such a fabulous time, Stac!

Meanwhile, the kids had a wonderful time with their cousins, and of course their cousin's stuff! Did you know that that was a REAL army helmet? How awesome can you get? Chase also taught them how to make a baking soda bomb. Best cousin ever!

We were a little worried about how Ashlyn and Hallie would get along. They both have strong little personalities. They had SOOO much fun together. Phew!

We were also lucky enough to watch Taige and Brooklyn play basketball. Rarely do we get the chance, so I was really glad we were able to go and cheer them on.

The major highlight that the kids were looking forward to was sledding. Hallie wasn't feeling well that morning, so Ashlyn got to wear all of her snow duds. I think she looks pretty cute all bundled up.

I actually don't have any sledding pictures. Stacie must have them all on her camera. However, I was lucky enough to capture Eric's snowboarding attempts! "It's been awhile - the snow was bad - yada, yada..." Love you, honey!

Ashlyn wanted to make a snowman, but this was as far as we got! The snow was too icy and hard. I think it was pretty cute... :)

The event ended in a major snow fight. Mainly Kailan and I against Eric, with the other kids making our difficult job even harder.

My hair was a solid block of ice after Carter and Isaac packed the snow in over and over again.

Don't worry. I'm not the nice sort of mom. I totally got my nine and six year olds back!

We were supposed to say our farewells Sunday after church, but a snowstorm came in later than planned and we decided to give it another night instead of driving in it. I mostly think we were stalling. Monday morning, Stacie watched the kids so Eric and I could go to breakfast, then it was time to load the car and say goodbye. We're now two weeks down, with three and a half more months to go. It's no fun for either one of us, but Eric gets to come home for a week soon and I'll go visit him for a week in April. As soon as school is out, we'll all go up for the last month. I can't wait! I know it's a short time in the grand scheme of things, but I'm still anxious for it to be over. We are meant to be together! Darn that crazy thing called love....