I am not a writer. I dabble in parenting, sport and making fun of myself. I'm good at coffee. I love where I live and the things I get to do.
On our way home from work/bike camp, we spent an hour here… just your average Monday afternoon in Whistler, I guess…
It’s pretty entertaining to, once again, observe the differences between the boys. Will plotted and planned his every move. Rory just sent it!
I’m wearing flannel, for god’s sake. Can we get summer over here already??
Weekend roundup: long run with Lizzie and Erica in a fun downpour, a parade and berry picking. Truly Canadian, eh?
I’m ‘back on the grid’ after 4 days in lovely, rainy Tofino (or ‘Fino, as it’s known to the kids). It was a long haul to get there and home but, in my and the kids’ opinions, worth every minute. It was cold and rainy (except, of course, for the morning we had to leave) and it didn’t matter. It made the place even more beautiful.
Highlights for me include watching Anja collect every bit of shell, crab, seaweed, stick or stone she could stuff in her ‘yadybug’ coat pocket; betting Will $5 he wouldn’t jump in the ocean; losing that bet; watching the kids eat fresh crab for the first time; Anja eating (and enjoying) an oyster; a short run on the beach; being away from the internet/news/phone for 3 entire days.
The quote of the weekend came from Will:
Me: “Will! Be quiet or the neighbours will get mad at us!”
Will (to his siblings): “Guys! Be quiet or the neighbours will shoot us!”
I took over 350 pictures in 3 days. Kids and beaches are so easy. I can’t wait to go back.
After an adventurous day on the mountains last Sunday, I got to thinking about how much skiing has changed for me over the years. Growing up, my brothers and I were turned loose every weekend from roughly late-November to early-April at a tiny little mountain in the Eastern Townships. Regardless of the weather, we’d get dropped off around 8:30am and picked up at 4:00pm.
What we did with the hours in between was up to us… Or so we thought. Our parents’ network of spies kept us relatively in line… That being said, no one ever got seriously hurt, lost or damaged and we learned some pretty awesome skills on that mountain. When we moved out and headed to CEGEP, University, work, etc. our skiing shifted to a mix of night skiing, racing, weekend days, week-long trips away. We started skiing shorter days and enjoying longer après ski times!
Fast forward SEVERAL years and I’d say that 85% of my skiing is done with our kids. Our kids are lucky enough to go skiing 2-3 times a week and be part of an incredible ski school program that has welcomed them since the age of 3. I’ve done the math… by the time Anja outgrows the Valley kids program, I will have done 7 years of ski school drop offs and pick-ups. But based on the skills they’ve learned, I’d say it’s worth it!
In the past, a typical ski day went something like this: Get up whenever. Eat. Ski a few runs. Go home.
Here’s what last Sunday looked like.
6:49am Rory’s up. Wanders in to our room. Mumbles: “I wanna snug dith you”. Move aside, let him in, in the hopes he’s going to let us sleep a little longer.
6:57am Will’s up. Wanders in to our room. Mumbles: “Can I come in, too?” So much for extra sleep.
7:00am. Give up and stumbles downstairs. Time to prep breakfast, make coffee, turn on cartoons and get ready for the day. Jay makes pancakes (or, as Anja lovingly refers to them, MANCAKES!) and I pack a lunch for the day on the mountain that could feed an entire elementary school class.
The rest of the morning prior to departure consists of getting everyone dressed, organized and in 1 place at the same time. Getting dogs out. Making sure we have the gear we need and packing the truck.
Departure!
First stop: 400m from home because Anja wants her coat off and her “tummy hurts”. Basically, she wants attention.
Internal dialogue on the way to Whistler: “Did I remember ski socks for myself? I dunno. I guess ankle socks will have to do if I forgot them. Ski pass? (Give self pat down, find in 3 layers away). I’m hungry. Oh right! I forgot to feed myself. At least it’s sunny. Did I remember sunscreen? I need to pee.”
External dialogue from Rory: “When are we gonna be there”?
External dialogue from Will: None. He has his head in his hands in the backseat. Not sure why, but he’s quiet so why disturb the peace?
Arrival at drop #1: Anja goes to Blackcomb daycare for the morning. Pouts but gets over it quickly.
Arrival at drop #2: Unload gear, kids, selves. Dress everyone: miraculously, we didn’t forget anything.
Begin ski day. First run down, Will takes off (I assume he knows where he’s going…) and Rory heads straight for the trees. Apparently, kids don’t believe in “warm up runs”. End up on Peak to Peak to go meet friends on Whistler. So far, so good (insert ominous foreshadowing music here).
Ski ½ of a run with no issues and 1 photo opp stop. Promptly lose 3 of 4 children in the trees on 2nd half of run. Dispatch parents in various directions, try to keep a lid on panic (speaking for myself, here). 13 minutes later, all 3 kids safely reunited with parents, courtesy of a very nice ski instructor. Exhale. Decide now would be a good time for that warm up run and maybe some lunch?
The rest of the ski day passes relatively uneventfully. Rory does not stay on the trail – ever. Will skis as fast as he possibly can in the middle of the trail. Every run in a series of near misses.
We decide to head to the Valley and bring Anja back into the fold for her first day on skis. We pick her from the daycare where she seems to know what’s coming because she yells “SKI!” as soon as she sees us. She heads out the door with Jay and by the time I gather up her stuff she’s waiting at the door in ski boots and a funny yellow bike helmet.
Meanwhile, the boys are enjoying spring skiing by shedding jackets, mitts and any non-essential layer. Will is lounging in the snow, vaguely watching Anja. Rory has beetled over to the magic carpet and is taking himself skiing.
Jay carries Anja about 40 feet uphill, I wait a bit anxiously to see her reaction when he puts her down and lets her go. 3, 2, 1… GO! She instantly starts laughing and saying “FAST”! She repeats this mantra as we push her uphill to start again… Success!
We decide to head up the Magic chair – the universe’s slowest 3 person lift. I head up with the boys, Jay and Anja are behind us. All I can hear is her little voice calling “FUN!” The plan is to slide down to where the car is parked and head home. Rory and Will clearly have other ideas as they take off and ski on their own while we ski down with Anja (FUN! FAST! MORE!) We end up doing a couple more runs of ‘catch and release’ and calling it a day. Just imagine when she turns 2…
Can’t wait to try it all again. Next time, perhaps without calling patrol.
Oh! Right! I have a blog.
Where was I?? It’s been *crickets* around here lately, haven’t been very inspired to write. Fell off the training wagon (that big THUD you heard a few weeks back). Trying to claw my way back on, but it keeps rolling about 3 feet away like that annoying big brother would do when you were trying to open the car door to get in and all the cool kids were watching.
Anyway, moving on. I was thinking about something to write and figured that if the expression”a picture is worth a thousand words” is still true, then I’ll do a photo post and be miles ahead.
Ever wonder if you can define your life in photos? In 10 photos or less? I pretty much can, I think these sum up my day-to-day nicely these days. What about you?
Edited to add: I wrote this post on Thursday of last week… On Monday I started a new job. So! Add a shot of a different deskin an actual office with humans and a water cooler and a boardroom and a shot of an alarm going off at 5:30am and there you have it. My life.
Starting the weekend off right!
I confess: I did ZERO training this weekend. On the contrary, I ate too much, slept too little, but very much enjoyed my weekend.
Training resumes Monday – I am going to do the sprint in Vancouver in a few weeks then it will be time to head to France!!
Thanks to AA, we spent the weekend aboard “Classique” and headed up to Smuggler’s Cove on the Sunshine Coast. Will loved every minute (as did Rory) and then PROMPTLY hit the wall the instant we came back to the yacht club at the end of our trip.
It was fun and as much as I like being away, I like coming home. Although at this point, I’ve been home for 2 hours and I’m still swaying…
Taking a break from… himself.
Pre-dinner pose.
AC and Will row-row-row yer boat
Buccaneer Bay Beach
“The waaaater is maaaaaaking the belllllll riiiiiing”. Will sang this about 2103984987 times. Can you tell AC is STOKED to hear it again?
View from below deck.
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