Ski Bum!

I have a lil Ski Bum on my hands! As many of you already know, we introduced Harrison to downhill skiing last winter, when he was only 2 yrs old. My parents outfitted him with his own set of skis and boots, and he couldn't wait to hit the slopes! We took him out a few times last ski season and he did quite well, considering his age! He has been asking us all winter to go back to the big mountains to go skiing, so on Sat we finally had a quiet weekend with great weather, so we packed him up and headed out to Sunshine Village Ski Resort to enjoy a great day on the slopes!!!

As soon as we arrived he was anxious to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain and to get on the chairlift that would take him to the summit! Amazing how much he remembered from last year! He told us "I ride gondola up mountain and eat at restaurant at top!" I got him to agree to start with the magic carpet on the Kiddy Hill, however that was not enough to fill his appetite for adventure and destruction!!! He was determined to get on the chairlift and ride it to the top and ski down from there....no Baby Bunny Hill for this Hurricane!!! After several turns on the Kiddy Hill, with little help from mommy, my Dad booked him in for a private ski lesson! Imagine...a private lesson for a 3 yr old kid!!! How can you tell he's the first grandchild, and a boy after having 2 daughters!? So I pulled him off the hill, not without a huge meltdown, as he kicked and screamed to go on the chairlift, while everyone stared at me as if I were beating him senseless! (which at that point did cross my mind!) I got him to eat some lunch and rest for a few minutes before he had to be at his lesson.

Then we took him down to Ski-School, where he sat in the snowbank, and to which he anwered anything you tried to tell him with, "I'm waiting for my ski teacher...I'm waiting for my ski lesson!" He was far too busy to talk to us! Hilarious! Finally his ski instructor showed up~a nice young Aussie named David, who took him away on a small hill just for the Ski School kids, with big padded colorful blocks at the bottom for crashing into at full speed! We left him alone with his new teacher, and all he did was look back at me over his shoulder and call out half-heartedly "I will miss you mommy!" And away he went to learn how to master the slopes, and soon the moguls!!!

After an hour we went to fetch him, however he was already in the daycare area playing happily with the other kids, so we left him there for the afternoon while we continued to enjoy the adult runs in the gorgeous spring weather, and the non-existant line ups at the chairlifts~it was great! We picked him up from the daycare at 4pm, and he still had it in his head he was going on the chairlift and going to ski at least one run with us! Since, from my last Blog entry, you all know there is NO changing this kid's mind, we reluctantly agreed and caught the last lift of the day, up to a run we knew he could mostly handle! I say mostly handle, because there is one really steep part, that is hard for a little guy to navigate alone, so my Dad guided him down the hill sideways between his legs!

Other than that, Harrison tackled the real thing with determination and a great persistant attitude, that will allow him to accomplish great things in life! He never gave up, no matter how many times he fell down on that snow covered mountain! He kept telling me, "I know how to ski. I can do it!" Now you can teach your kids a lot of things, but that kind of persistance to press on through all kinds of challenges, that drive and focus on success is a gift you are born with! I have been both blessed and cursed with an extremely determined and goal oriented child, that does not give up easily. Blessed because this attitude is a wonderful attribute in successful adults, however at times I feel cursed, as they are often the hardest children to parent! As long as I channel it responsibly, he should be the most athletic and career minded kid out there!

So be watching for my Ski Bum on the Canadian Ski Team at the 2014 Winter Olympics!!! For any of you interested, I can send you an original of his autograph now, while the price is still right, however the longer you hold off, the less I can guarantee it will be free!!! Any takers!?

PS I tried unsuccessfully all day to post the ski pics to this entry, however the same message of cannot find server kept popping up, really frustrating me! Not sure if it's my server or the Blogger one that's causing trouble, however I will keep attemtping to get the awesome Ski Bum pics posted for you enjoyment!!!