We got away last weekend. Since the boys had 2 days off from school, we were able to find someone to preach and we were able to borrow a friend's car so that we could visit the beautiful mountains for a refreshing winter break. We stayed at a mission holiday house with beautiful views of the snow peaked mountains nearby; a 5 star hotel couldn't have been situated nicer. 
Since I haven't been well for awhile, I didn't ski (sniff sniff). I LOVE to ski; THE funnest thing on earth to do! The boys were able to go skiing though. They all do very well and thoroughly enjoy a day on the slopes, just like their mama (smile).
I learned to ski as a young child and always thought that was something my kids had to learn. It's one of those sports that is much easier to learn at a young age. And I think once you learn to ski, you can always ski. Even if you don't ski for years and years, you can always pick it back up again, kind of like riding a bike.
Teaching my boys to ski was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding, things I've experienced as a parent. They all learned to ski between ages 5-8. (I think the younger the better!) When we lived in northern Japan, we were less than an hour's drive to several great places to ski. Each year I would take the boys skiing several times. Since we were always on a shoe-string budget we had miss-mathced 2nd hand skis and boots, but it worked. I never could get myself to pay the money for ski lessons. Instead I just watched the ski instructors and did what they did, but it worked.
How fun to look back at these pictures (they look so little!!!). How thankful I am for these opportunities and experiences for my kids. And What wonderful memories of days skiing; yes, challenging and exhausting, but ohhh so much fun.
