Stuck

Earlier this month AH and I were skiing with the kids on a beautiful Saturday morning.  As we made our way up the lift, at our favorite little ski area, the backside of the mountain opened and we decided to hit those trails first.  Being a nervous intermediate skier I opted not to follow my family down the black diamond run, but instead took the longer, easier way around… only I missed my turn and ended up having to ski back down to the main lift and come up the hill again.  When I reached the top I waited patiently for AH or one of the kids to ski by.  While standing there I noticed the Ski Patrol roping off the entrance to the backside of the mountain; the side of the mountain where my family was last skiing.  Not a good sign.  I asked a nearby ski patrol volunteer what was going on and he said that the lift on that side of the mountain had just broken down.  It was running on backup power to get the skiers out of that area and would then be closed until it could be fixed.  

I waited for a long time.  I watched people ski by from the area of the broken lift and continued to wait until no more skiers were coming.  Thinking I must have somehow missed my family I finally took my skis off and trekked over to the broken lift so see if it was still operating.  Turns out it wasn’t and it was full of passengers all hanging in the air.  After a few attempts to get the lift engine working again, to no avail, the ski patrol quickly called in a rescue code and all the ski patrol members from all over the mountain came to help evacuate the stranded skiers off the lift, including my family. 

AH and Beeb had it fairly easy, being the last skiers on the lift they were a mere foot and a half off the ground.  AH jumped off and helped Beeb down.  Mr. B was in a bigger pickle being several chair ahead and truly stuck 40 feet in the air.  It took about two hours for the patrol to get all the skiers back on the ground.  Unfortunately because we were on the backside of the mountain everyone had to hike up a fairly steep hill to the top to be able to ski back down to the lodge and parking lot.  I was able to reach AH by borrowed cell phone and realized he and the kids would be one of the last ones up the mountain.   Knowing my kids would be working hard just to walk up the steep hill I decided that I had better go down and help AH carry ski gear up.  I found them ¾ of the way down and AH was indeed carrying all the skis.  It was slow going but we all made it back up to the top and were happy to call it a day (what a workout!).  The resort compensated everyone for the hassle with a free pass for another ski day and drinks at the lodge.  AH claimed all our free passes and is using them to ski with his buddies who don’t have a seasons pass. 

For the most part the people who were stranded had smiles on their faces when they reached the top of the lift.  Some were sourpusses and grumbly and I avoided them.  Sure it was an inconvenience and folks had to work hard to get up the mountain, but overall everyone was okay, got in a good hike (ha ha) and the weather was very nice and not raining/snowing/windy.  Plus we all learned how the Ski Patrol gets stranded skiers off the lifts – very cool! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-Winter Break: Sunriver

Last week we enjoyed a week off from school and I decided to take the family to Sunriver, Oregon to ski the great Mt. Bachelor (my favorite ski joint).  AH's brother and family joined us, and AH's parents even came for a few days of frolicking fun.

Snow in the rainy PNW has been sparse this year with no exception for Sunriver.  I was so disappointed that this was my family's first impression of a winter wonderland that I love so much.  My previous winter visits had always included a lot of snow.  Thankfully by day two a nice storm rolled in and left a few inches for us to enjoy in the lowlands. 

The mountain itself had been having daily snow leading up to our visit as well as and during our stay, so there was always fresh powder to be found.  Though the snow was perfect for skiing it also included heavy winds and fog that made our first couple of ski days a little less enjoyable.  However on our last ski day the clouds lifted, the winds died down, and we had a gloriously sunny day that allowed us to actually see the terrain we were on!  AH and his brother were able to hit the more advanced sections of the mountain and enjoy long ski runs through untracked powder.  Everyone had a great time.  Here's a recap in photos:

On the drive home we made a short stop at this WW I memorial in the shape of

Stonehenge that overlooks the Columbia River.  

The Lion King

Beeb made her acting debut this month in The Lion King.  She played the part of Sarabi, Simba's mother.  She had a fun time during all the play practices and the actual performance. 

 

Roar!

Home School: Month 1

This past December AH and I decided that the best educational environment for Mr. B would take place at home.  It was a discussion we have been having for years but when you know it is right you make it a reality. Mr. B finished out the month and following winter break he and I started his "new school" at home through our school district home school partnership program. 

Week 1:  I was a total mess.  The curriculum we ordered hadn't arrived and I wasn't sure how to teach him each day.  I had many conversations with the teacher who runs the home school program and she was able to help me find a structure that would work for us without the formal workbooks. 

Week 2:  Now we are rolling.  We have a schedule that seemed to be working each day.  Expectations are clear but I'm noticing that not all computer work time is being used properly.  Must keep an eye on that.

Week 3:  Still learning and growing but I am monitoring all computer time to make sure Mr. B stays on track.  He's not so happy with this but I am.  We are using Khan Academy to teach and reinforce grade appropriate math skills.  I really love their "coach" option that allows me to send specific skills to my "student" to work on.  I also love how it tracks the usage of time and even breaks it out into "video vs. skills practice" so I know if he's really working or just pretending to watch videos.  Learned this week that Mr. B never fully picked up how to do division in 4th grade!  I was so shocked, but it reinforced my belief that we made the right decision to move his education home.  He picked up division quickly and he loves his new accomplishments.

Week 4:  Curriculum arrived!  Now what do I do?  This first week was an adjustment in learning how to use the teacher's manual with his books.  Lots of reading and a little bit of planning but it's coming along. 

Week 5:  We are catching our stride.  Fewer tears and more celebrations.  He's loving it and even told me he likes having more time with just me each day.  It has really helped strengthen our relationship. 

Cons of homeschool: 

• You have to be home.  My time has now become his time and I am still working on finding my new normal for my own activities.  Some activities I have dropped and for others I am making adjustments, such as being much faster at doing them (like grocery shopping). 
• You have to have strategies for dealing with a frustrated child.  We have our rough moments when learning is hard.  I appreciate all those wonderful friends who have demonstrated great parenting techniques that I am now using during some of these hard moments.
• There has to be structure.  It can be very easy to just have a "field trip" but it can't be every day.  Kids need structure.  I need structure.  This isn't the case for all homeschool families but it is for mine. 

Pros of homeschool:

• I am home more.  This has meant I cook more (healthier meals for everyone), household chores are getting done with more regularity, and I am spending less money because I am not running to town several days a week.
• I'm my child's greatest influence again.  I really love this.  5th grade through middle school, I have heard, are the worst for kids.  Somehow they get exposed to the worst things you don't want your child exposed to, by the most uninformed or experienced non-experts (their peers).  I like being the person who he spends the majority of his day with - the person he comes to to ask about those growing up questions.
• I can now see how he is learning and I can ensure that each concept is well understood and executed before we move on to the next step.  We were finding that in public school he was getting 4 out of 20 problems right on a test or worksheet (nobody notified us until the end of semester) and then the class would move on but Mr. B hadn't learned the previous step.  No more!  Some skills he picks up right away, others we spend days practicing until I see that he has mastered it. 
• Learning is so much faster with 1:1 time.  There are no distractions, I can see right away if he is understanding the principle of it or if I need to tweak how I am teaching it to help him understand.  It's all good.

I am sure there are more items for each list but these are the most obvious that immediately come to my mind.  I am really really loving having him home.  He is great to have around more, he is such a sweet boy, and I love our reconnection now that I have an extra 6.5 hours with him each day.