Syracuse Family Photography-1st Family Ski Day
The Petrie Family
"1st Family Ski Outing"
Yesterday, Bill announced to the kiddos that we had enough snow to finally take a trip to the mountain for some skiing. This would be our first time together skiing as a family of four.
Side Note: Brayden has been practicing snowboarding and skiing for the last two seasons and was ready to try it again. He and Kiki also received skis and boots for Christmas (thanks Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bruce!) so they were eager to try out their new gear.
The room erupted into yelling, cheering, and singing. My three kids began jumping around the room yelling things like, "YAYYYYYYYYYY! We are going to Sing Song Mountain!"
"I want to do (go) ssssshhhhkiiiiiiiiiiii"
The largest and oldest of the three children seem to be most excited.
I am NOT a fan of the cold and often mutter a few choice words about the weather under my breath. I wasn't exactly jumping for joy BUT I love seeing how excited my three kids get about their winter sports.
I've been snowboarding for a few years (because Bill made me...) and would probably enjoy it more if it didn't involve cold weather and potential death.
If you can figure out a way to have hot weather AND skiing AND the elimination of injury, I'd totally be down.
Anyways, I live in Central New York, my husband is obsessed with snowboarding, apparently my children will be too AND this blog post was supposed to be about the awesome day we had so, I better suck it up, buttercup.
Under normal circumstances, it takes us about 1.3446 hours to get ready to go ANYWHERE. We actually beat our average because the kids were so excited to go skiing that they dressed themselves (pretty well, I might add) and all three were waiting at the door.
Every winter item that we own has been packed.
All three children ready to go ;) Who is more excited?!
Where has the time gone? They keep growing..
Brayden-age 5, Keira-age 2 and oldest child, Bill-34 years young
I wasn't sure how Kiki was going to do trying to ski at the age of two. Luckily for us, she's strong and more importantly...fearless. She grabbed her knees, pushed off and plastered a smile on her face (sigh, tear...how is she doing this?!)
By the end of the day, she took off backwards and laughed hysterically the entire time until someone caught up to her (oops, I hope my mom isn't reading this...)
Brayden tried skiing for a few hours and worked on learning how to slow himself down. It is absolutely adorable watching him go on the chairlift with Bill.
I'm glad to be there to watch the father/son bond grow as they share a mutual love for snowboarding. Already, Brayden runs back and forth in the living room doing "half-pipe tricks" and will stop at nothing to get outside to work on his riding skills on his mini snow hill. (Bill couldn't be prouder)
Warning: this post turns a bit sappy as I'm realizing how special today was for our family.
Being a snowboarder was never really on my life's to-do list. I've already addressed the cold factor and most of the time, I'm terrified of falling and breaking something.
I want to enjoy it. I really do. Mostly, for Bill...
I want to experience what Bill feels when he rides. I never knew how passionate he was about snowboarding until we went for the first time. He's a great rider and you can both see and feel his passion for the sport. You can actually see a little glow around him. Sometimes, I come down in the morning and all three kids are watching a pro snowboarding film while eating cereal. (There's that glow around Bill, again)
Sometimes, when I'm in the right frame of mind, I do enjoy it... a little. I find the peace and joy in connecting with nature and doing something amazing with my body... I experience, on a small level, the passion that Bill has for snowboarding. I get a little glow.
Then, I hit a patch of ice, fear for my life and remember how damn cold it is outside.
But, today, I had an ENTIRE day of connection. I watched my family connect. I enjoyed my trips down the mountain. It clicked for me today.
This guy. My third child. My husband has created a lifetime of memories already for us.
These memories might be a little colder than I would have anticipated... but I'm so happy that I've found someone with a passion. I also am happy that I have found someone that I'm willing to go out of my comfort zone for and try new things. Finally, I'm so happy to see Bill creating such a strong connection with Bray and Kiki doing something that he loves.
As we left the mountain, he grabbed my hand and said, "thanks for a great day."
No, Bill, thank you <3
