We....need....to.....get....away!

So, I know. It has been a looooonnnngggg time since I posted. I am so sorry, but fortunately I have an excellent excuse. Scott and I took advantage of our Christmas presents from my parents....gift certificates to the ski resort near their home. Add that to the promise of childcare for the day and night and you can bet we were anxious to redeem our gift. We realized it has been over a month since we have had time away from our boys. We love them so much, but I know that personally I treat them much better when I get breaks. And I think a marriage should always come before parenting. And we need a little time together.

I haven't gone skiing in a few years, so I knew my skills were a little rusty. And all of my skiing experience has been in North Carolina(I am not counting that ski trip in North Alabama...ha!), so I know I am not that good. But I distinctly remember being proud of myself for going down MOST the black diamonds in my previous trips.
Here is a photo of the whitetail trails for reference during this story.

We started out slow. First trip down was on the bunny slope just to get our balance on skis figured out. I noticed early on that my skis were so much faster than Scott's, but I just figured it was due to my superior skiing skills(hahaha, funny) Then, we headed up the green circle. For good measure we went down that slope a few times, trying out all the different routes from the top. I knew I was ready for the blue square. I was feeling so confident on account of my "skillz" as I flew by my husband. Scott agreed that we could try the next level and we headed up our third lift option. This lift gave you plenty of routes. After we were spit off the lift, I glided around to check out the slopes to the left. I couldn't even see of the edge. That was the highest point I had ever skied from and I was starting to get nervous. There was no turning back now, so we headed down the hill. It was about 1/4 of the way down when I realized that maybe I wasn't as skilled as I thought and that actually I DID NOT want to go as fast as my skis seemed to want to take me. I know how to turn pretty well(I enjoy cutting a spray of snow behind me) and I understand how to stop myself, but for some reason I was out of control. After two big falls just short of a yard sale(my gear almost came off), I was shaking in my rented boats. When we got to the bottom, I was determined to never go back up that lift.
I was really scared.
After a break and a ski length change I felt much better, though. I never knew what a difference the length of your skis can make on the experience you have. I told the gal that checked me out the first time that I didn't want to go that fast, but somehow I still ended up with longer skis than Scott. My next few trips down the green were much better and I did eventually go back up the blue. But I never set foot on the black diamonds. Maybe I am getting more afraid in my old age(I AM almost 29) or maybe I am more afraid now that I have two little children depending on my survival. OR most likely it is just that we were at a better ski resort than I have ever been to and my previous black diamond trips were not as impressive as I had thought.
We did have a blast and can't wait to start teaching our boys how to ski. And some day we want to go out west and take a trip. I want to try this powder everyone talks about instead of the groomed icy mix that we have in the east. Smiths? Gaskills? Maybe a trip in 2012? HAHA, I could never plan that far in advance. But let's keep it on the possible family trip list.
And maybe after a few trips I can try those black diamonds. I will keep you posted.