It would be impossible for me or Peter to imagine having a child that didn't love to ski. It has been a large part of both our lives for a long, long, long time - before we really even remember. But let me tell you, even with these high expectations, it is impossible to describe the pure joy we have watching our little gal LOVE the mountains, the snow, the feel of a slope beneath her feet, the FUN of playing in the snow with us and her friends. It is just awesome!
At 2.5 years old, it is her favorite thing to do! The sound of her squeals and shrieks and "can I go down one more time?" is music to our ears! We have been about 5 or 6 weekends this winter and plan on being up at Bridger Bowl until the snow is gone. She LOVES it. We are excited to see what each new season brings as she just gets better, stronger, more confident, and more free to ski with her own style! She has graduated past the little bunny lift and now skis on legitimate "green" runs on Virginia City and Powder Park!
Check out these videos of her skiing this weekend. We are quite the sight to behold right now. The little tyke shredding it up on the mountain, the harness, the 8-month pregnant whale of a mother wearing her husbands oversized clothes, poor Peter trying to "pizza wedge" at a near snails pace behind Matine and not run her over... It's a WHOLE lot of effort and gear to lug around for a day, but all worth it as soon as we see her big grin take over her face.
I am trying all my old ski instructor tricks to get her to turn her skis across the hill, keep her hands in front of her, look up, and try to slow down on her own. MOST are working. Her favorite game yesterday was "Polar Bear rescuer" where we were looking for lost baby Polar Bears in the "forest/trees" and she would ski from side to side to look in the woods to find polar bears that needed to be reunited with their mamas. It was all she would talk about and eventually we had snow balls that were Polar Bears (of course) that we had to transport down the hill and back to their mamas in their caves. She loved it and was VERY determined to find them and "save them." She is so freaking sweet I can't stand it! She even wanted to take her snowball Polar bears some hot cocoa when we took a small break.
The new set up... harness and BIG hill... NO more bunny slopes for this kid.
Loving Powder Park lift with Mom and Dad
You can't say it was a great day until you produce "helmet hair" like this!
Mattie is one lucky gal. She had THREE doting dads to take her down the slopes this week. With Grandpa Scott in town, Jim Pa, and dDad having most of the week off of work, she got an entire day at Bridger Bowl - and let me tell you, she milked it for all it was worth.
The child hardly stopped to eat or rest, she just wanted to SKI SKI SKI! At one point, she had all three of them holding out their arms, skiing backwards, giggling and laughing with her as she glided across the snow, fell down (on purpose), and demanded hand-holding and backwards skiing.
It was two thumbs up (or one big one with mittens) before skiing with dad.
Our future little tele-skiier in the making.
She politely asked for her "grandpas" to ski with her some runs. So, how many granddads do you think it takes to get a 2.5 year old on a lift?
Skiing between the two old guys ... loving every minute!
They all LOVED it. I am pretty sure the grown ups had more fun than she did and I am not sure that is possible.
My big belly watched from the lodge and came out after most runs to snap some pics and give my un-needed encouragement. I love living 20 minutes from a ski hill!
This weekend we are taking a road trip back to Showdown (where we went last year with the Harrison's) for a day of skiing and some soaking at the White Sulphur Springs Motel / Pool! The Roger's family will be with us this year, so I am certain Matine will love having a sleepover with Logan, William and Sophia!
This time last weekend we joined the Harrison Family (see Melynda's blog for her account of the weekend) for our 2nd Annual Winter Ski / Fun Weekend (that's what I am calling it at least). Last year we joined them in Neihart, MT for some downhill skiing at Showdown Ski Resort and XC skiing at Kings Hill Pass. This year we met up in Polaris, MT at Elkhorn Hotsprings. They are an excellent family to "travel" with because they, like us, are independent, fun and just ready to go.
This is the face of winter fun!
We met up with them on Friday at the Patagonia Outlet in Dillon for some shopping and then caravanned through the beautiful Pioneer Mountain Valley to our destination. We stayed in the cabins there at the "resort." I use this term loosely because despite the quaint appeal of the exterior, they are "rustic" in most ways. We didn't seem to mind the sagging, three legged beds, or the archaic wood stove that was either really HOT or OFF. We didn't even mind the drafty outhouse, shared by the culdesac of cabins --- there was SNOW! Sadly, snow has been hard to come by this winter and we are just fortunate we only had to drive 3 hours to find it.
Peter and Henry quickly packed down a sledding course with snow shoes and the kids spent most of the weekend screeching down the hill and asking to be pulled back up the hill. Thank goodness the dads took care of most of the treks back UP hill. I manned the landing at the bottom of the hill and made sure the kids didn't go off course and careen into the outhouse or trees.
I am not sure I have ever seen Mattie have more fun. She LOVED the sledding. She NEVER got too cold, wet or tired. She even did about an hour of sledding at abbot 8pm IN THE DARK with her headlamp on (which is also a favorite possession and great toy for a kid, thank you cousin Gwenna).
We intermingled some walks across the bridge to the hot springs to soak in the mineral pools, a little bit of XC skiing (this consisted of a very slow ski/walk on the road) and for Mattie, some walking around in her snowshoes, rolling in snow, and eating snow. The dogs were also quite happy getting to run and frolic and be free of fences for the weekend.
There is also a very "Montana-esque" lodge/restaurant that served food and a continental breakfast each morning (included with our cabin rental).
The Hoffmann's came down for a bit on Friday night and a bit of sledding on Saturday too.
It was a great weekend that helped us feel like we actually live in Montana for a winter. I wonder where next year's destination will be? Somewhere that can accommodate ANOTHER little kiddo .... that's for sure!
cousin time in the cabin - sleeping bags and a floor - always good entertainment!
morning snuggles with my gal... doesn't get any better (unless it was on a not-so-creepy bed)
Just like most people can only take the Cottongim's in little doses, so I will give you the Holiday blog posts. It was a full week of fun, family, and Holiday cheer. Dad got here on Tuesday, Clark and Sammi on Wednesday, and we didn't waste single minute of the entire week. We put Clark and Sammi on a plane this morning and I am just now catching my breath (literally). It's been nuts. The good kind of nuts that leaves you smiling and counting your lucky stars.
We started the week with a great night out to dinner at the 2nd Street Bistro. We ordered a million appetizers and many rounds of drinks. They must have seen (heard) us coming and stuck is deep in the "wine cave" of the restaurant where our voices could soar and talk loudly over one another. Bless Matine's heart, she is learning how to be a loud know-it-all from the best!
Nona and Jimpa at dinner (Mattie STILL wearing Grandpa Scotts glasses).
Thursday morning we were determined to find snow. We drove to Red Lodge where they are having a legendary early season. This apparently is the ONLY snow in the state right now and they had just received 16 inches within the last 3 days. We had to see it to believe it.
Clark said Sammi had one final test to determine if this relationship could really work ... Would she like skiing? He says she doesn't have to be great at it, but had to like it. Being the sarcastic ass that he can be, he teases her about not ever being on snow because of her upbringing in the "sands of Baghdad", etc. ...
Clark and his beauty, Sammi.
Sammi passed the test! It was her first ever time on skis and within a few hours she was linking turns, stopping, and skiing all over the bunny hill and beginner lifts. She even managed to smile while doing it. We had a great a time in Red Lodge. The snow was really that good and dad, Clark and I all got some fluffy powder runs in. I am so happy to get a couple of days in before I am too top heavy to ski safely. The baby (and me) enjoyed that powder and skiing a bit too fast .... Yippee!
We stayed at The Yodeler Motel in Red Lodge - great place. They are catering to the active/outdoorsy crowd and have in room steam baths, a ski waxing room, hot tub and discount lift tickets. Clean, nice place with great people behind the counter. I will be leaving a great recommendation for this place on the online judgement sites!
Cottongim Ski Club is BACK!
Me and my pops! Love this man.
The only pics that we took in Red Lodge were with the iPhones. The rest of the week is documented much more thoroughly. More to come...
Grandpa Scott is in town. This means that we get to SKI! Grandpa Scott's reason for living is to be in the mountains, skiing, with his kids. Now that he has a Granddaughter to teach to ski .... well, you could just put a check-mark on his bucket list and call him "the happiest man on the planet."
Thursday, Matine and I went to Bridger Bowl with Grandpa for the first ever "Three- Generations of Cottongim's Ski Day." The commemorative t-shirts are in production as we speak. It was a blast. Matine was even MORE enthusiastic about skiing and was completely in love with the small lift on Snowflake. After she heard Grandpa say once, "we're flying!" as we boarded the lift, she screamed it each time we got on the lift. At the end of each run, she would look at me or Grandpa, grab our hands and scoot her way to the line again, saying, "more ski?" Well, after that I think short of murdering puppies, Grandpa would do just about anything for her! And vice versa.
We rented "real" skis and boots this time - no strap on skis. She loved them and managed quite well. She even tried to carry her own skis all over, while walking in the moon boots.
That is 2 thumbs up for all the fun we are having!
"we're flyin!!!!!!!!!"
Hey now, you aren't supposed to let me go too far by myself!
Grandpa treating Matine to some snacks and hot chocolate... A KEY ingredient in our ski fun.
Grandpa, but your helmet and goggles are so cool!
Proud momma an her little helmeted ski bunny.
It has been a great week - skiing on Thursday, Saturday and today, lots of relaxing and playing with Grandpa, trips to the gym to play with friends, dinners out, lovely brunches at Pine Creek ... Grandpa and Matine are having the time of their lives!
Melynda Coble-Harrison is a writer. Because she is such a good writer, she won a free trip by winning an article submission contest to Visit Montana. The trip was skiing, a nights stay, and dinner at Showdown Ski Resort and Bob's Motel in Neihart. She was nice enough to share her winnings with the Howell Family. So Saturday morning we loaded up the car and made our way to Neihart and Bobs Hotel. We stopped along the way for a soak in the mineral hot springs in White Sulpher Springs, then to Kings Hill Recreation Area in the beautiful Big Belt Mountains for some cross country skiing.
Always ready for activities that require helmets.
This would be our first "downhill ski" day with Matine and her first time on skis. Prior to this we have strapped her to our back or pulled her in the Chariot on XC ski adventures. When we told her that when we ski we wear helmets ... she was psyched. Her helmet had to be worn before we even got our coffee for our road trip on Saturday morning. You think I am kidding. She wore the helmet for the entire road trip.
Peter and I, minus Matine (I had already strapped her into her carseat and I wasn't about to do that again).
The Coble-Harrison Family - Melynda, Henry, Anders and Finn
A little stop in White Sulpher for soaking, lunch and family photo ops!
With Paci inserted, Matine strapped in to her first pair of skis. On the XC ski journey on Saturday, she made it about 10 feet and had enough. Granted, she is pretty sick and had no nap. She quickly opted for dad's back as we enjoyed a little wide-open space xc-ski adventure.
I was a junk-show! I was so excited and so focused on making sure that Matine had her hat, gloves, paci, jackets, snacks, sunscreen, etc ... that I managed to make it to the ski area WITHOUT my own gloves or hat. There are benefits to never cleaning out your car. I found old, smelly socks for my hands and Peter's fishing "Buff" for my head. A little ridiculous, but it did the trick. Thank goodness Matine was properly dressed.
Kings Hill Recreation Area. We did a little trail breaking to get away from all the Snowmobilers and find a bit of quiet.
Entering the small and quaint, Neihart, MT --- and the "IN-convenience" Store on it's one and only main road.
Did you know that Bob's is THE place to stay? We were hoping that Edna and the band would be playing Saturday night.
Saturday night we had a lovely dinner at Bob's Place. We hit the hot tub (the highlight for Matine thus far). That's right folks - TWO soaks in one day! The kids (and parents) were pooped after driving 120 miles, skiing, managing children, dogs and gear, and then a relaxing soak. We hit the sack and most of slept fairly well. Sunday morning was a big day. It was the first time for all the kiddos to be on downhill skis (and this also means the first time for us parents to GET our kids on downhill skis)!
Our goals were this:
1) Make sure Matine had fun in the snow
2) Make sure Matine had fun "on" skis (even if this meant 2 minutes)
3) Make sure Matine stayed warm and fed
It was a success! The warm and fed part were easy - it was mid 40's, sunny, clear skis. We couldn't have ordered a prettier spring skiing day. The warming house / lodge was walking steps from the "bunny hill" and we could go in and out all morning and afternoon, making sure kids were happy and filled with greasy snacks.
The morning was a bit rough - again, Mattie is defnitely sick with something and crabbier than usual. She wasn't really into wearing the skis and she didn't really want to do anything but be held. We managed to get her fairly comfortable in the backpack and we did a couple of green runs on the main hill. She LOVED the ski lift and we heard a few screaches of excitement as Pete skiied fast with her down the mountain.
After lunch she was a different baby - happy, fed, a bit more rested and she was eager to get on those skis! This attempt was 100% successful and as she strapped those boards to her feet and rode the "Magic Carpet" up the bunny hill she was all smiles behind those Barbie sunglasses and pacifier (we cannot get that thing out of her mouth!).
She was literally SQUEALING as she rode between Pete's legs run after run. When we would get to the bottom she would say, "more!" It was so much fun!
on the ski lift with dad... there is a grin behind that paci, I swear.
"ready GO! " Something she said alot as she slid down
Anders and Melynda on a real run! Anders did GREAT for his first downhill trip - and had a great time!
The old ski school instructor skills, coming in handy - not really. I just held on tight and made sure not to get too tangled in her little wobbly appendages.
We got him on his skis for the first time this season (and ours) .....
We even got JimPa on REAL snow, not just the magic carpet at Sun and Ski in Tulsa!
It was so great to be at Bridger Bowl!
Clark and Pete even got a little caressing love time in on the lifts.....
Pete and I managed a smooch or two as well....
As you can see, Uncle Clark is a pretty cool dude! He loved on Matine, hung out with his sis, gave her some good advice and even more importantly, some good laughs! I love you little brother. I am the luckiest gal on the planet to have you as a brother and best friend.
