August: The Sunday of Summer

August seems like the last day of a long weekend: sweet and mildly depressing. With schools beginning mid-August in CO (what the #!*@&??), this feeling grows more profound the older my kids become. I don't remember this sensation growing up, I suppose because school ended in June. Thus the beginning of August felt like Saturday night, and the end more like Sunday afternoon. I'll stop the analogy there.
A nice aspect of this month has been visiting with family that have come through our area. Anna and Isaac had loads of time to play with their cousins, and we've been fortunate to have Jon's cousin stay with us for a couple of days and join in the fun. These times remind me why we moved here in the first place, and reinforce our confidence in the decision. Family is so very important.

Sleep is also very important, and we continue to struggle on that front. The party-like atmosphere has made bedtimes even more of a battle, and naps are all over the place when they happen at all. So it's no wonder that the kids spent the last 24 hours fussing and bickering and flat-out fighting. But Isaac's asleep now, and Anna's had a decent rest, so everyone is in better spirits. Even me!

In other news, I'm already debating whether to rejoin our CSA next year. I like the fresh veggies and the variety and the "oh, what's in the box this week?" anticipation. [Kohlrabi! Amazing space alien vegetable!] But in truth it's a lot of effort for very little consumption by anyone other than myself. I do count it a victory that Jon ate a good amount of kale cous cous salad (among his least favourite foods), and even Anna had a helping. I'm alternating weeks with another family, so maybe if we do the same thing next year it will be doable. And maybe the kids will eat more greens as they get older. Maybe even Jon will eat more greens. I am skeptically optimistic.

Kale is not the only thing in season around here: Legos have arrived in our home. For some time Anna had expressed interest in Jon's Star Wars Lego sets so the other day I finally sprang for some pinkish blocks. (Pink to balance out the large number of Star Wars and Halo-themed sets that we already have. And she just likes pink. And why do I feel like I have to justify this, anyway?!) She enjoys creating amazing little structures and houses and castles and vehicles and will sit there for literally one or two hours working on stuff. Nothing else has ever held her attention like that. Pretty cool. So far, no Lego pieces have been spotted in the toddler's mouth, which is even cooler. Now if only it wasn't so horribly expensive.

Skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing

We just got back from a ski vacation with Jon's family. This is something they do every year, but it's the first time that Isaac and I went long. It was a lot of fun! The resort is geared towards families, and there is a great little ski school where Anna took her first lesson. She loved the school and the little practice hill, and was excited to go skiing the next couple of days. I wasn't sure how she'd take to the sport, but she has shown no fear. After practicing on the bunny slope Jon took her on the ride (her term for the ski lift) to the top of the "big hill" and they went down a few times. He holds her between his legs, and off they go. They even did a few jumps in the terrain park, at her request. As a bonus, she also went skiing with her auntie and grandpa, using a harness. I'm so glad she enjoys this most Colorado of sports, and next year I'd really like her to learn how to stop.

Jon spent a day a different resort with more challenging runs. He's a fantastic skier and I was happy that he could go. I'm told the weather was perfect and the views were great. He hasn't had a chance to really ski since we moved here so this was a perfect opportunity.

The accommodations were comfortable with a hot tub* in each room. The latter was quite useful for getting the kids to wind down after a fun day with the cousins. [Alas, while it may have helped the kids fall asleep, it did nothing for keeping Isaac asleep. He hated the pack 'n play and either Jon or I ended up "sleeping" with him in the adjacent big bed. By "sleeping" I mean he got up every hour to scream, kick, play, pull hair, cry, giggle, or wiggle himself dangerously close to the edge of the bed. At home we were finally able to let him cry it out. After 45 minutes of sobbing (both him and me), he zonked out. And slept until 7 a.m. Nice.] Our socialite daughter wanted to spend all her time with the cousins, and considered this event a giant sleepover. The only difficulty was that she was unable to understand why her older cousins (all boys) declined to play "princess."

Isaac also liked all the people and excitement, and especially the two Hot Wheels school buses that he promptly found and hugged to him for the duration of our stay. He loves wheels, that boy. I can only imagine what madness the age of Lego will bring.
In the mornings, while everyone else was out skiing, I would take Isaac to the sledding hill. The resort keeps a nice little slope with some tubes and sleds, and near that is a huge pile of snow with tunnels, a.k.a. large pipes, that kids can climb through. Isaac enjoyed sledding, until Mommy made the mistake of turning the sled by putting down her boots. After a face full of snow, he decided that the little snow mountain was more his speed. Actually, I think his favorite thing was just to wander around looking at all the skiers, the lifts, and the people. He was quite the picture of cool, in his Laplander hat, snow suit, and sun glasses. This is a little man who seems to be biding his time, planning his one day assault on the slopes.

Myself, I was able to go snowshoeing a few times, which is a few more times than I expected. Between the odd trail marker and some guess work we forged a trail through the trees, on the outskirts of the runs. Although snowshoeing on groomed trails is okay, I prefer a bit of powder and an incline. Otherwise it feels more like hiking than shoeing. I look forward to the next time, which at this rate will be next year.

The one unfortunate thing was that Jon's skis de-laminated, which means the two planes came apart. I think that's the term. Anyway, they broke. He took great joy in tossing them in the dumpster while remarking to onlookers, "We're supposed to return the skiis after renting?"
So the question is whether he buys new gear, and it's a big question because of the implications. Ski gear isn't cheap, and if he buys new stuff it will be because we've decided that skiing is one of our family "things." That is, it's an activity and a skill set that we will invest in as a family and take time to do. And make no mistake, it is an investment in terms of money and time. If you ski, you already know this.
It would also be a sacrifice on my part. I don't really enjoy downhill. I did it from the time I was in junior high school until mid-way during graduate school. I've skied in warm weather with the sun on my face and in bone chilling cold down to -25 C. I've skied on glorified hills, in Canadian Rockies, and in the Sierra mountains. One day I just realized I didn't like it. Maybe it was the cold, maybe I just didn't learn properly, maybe I hated waiting in line for ski rentals, or maybe it was the adrenaline (I have so much running through my veins already). Whatever the reason, I stopped skiing and started snowshoeing.

So here's the plan. I will take a lesson with Anna and we will (re-)learn together. In a decade or so, once the kids are up to Jon's level, I will again don my snowshoes and take off into the trees while they scream down the chutes and moguls. Or maybe by then I will enjoy downhill again. After all, it can be a family activity. I mean, how many sports can grandparents do with their grandchildren? Not many. So yes, I will get with the program. We live in Colorado, after all. Skiing may even be a law here.

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[Mom: I feel I should assure you that the tub is cleaned between occupants, otherwise I agree that it would be gross.]