All in the Family.

I love to ski.  I love everything about it.  I love the snow, I love the cold, I love the gear.  I love being outside in the mountains, surrounded by God's great majesty.  And I love going fast, really, really fast.  Instead of spending our honeymoon lying on a beach and baking in the sun, we were skiing at Lake Louise and Banff Springs in the Canadian Rockies.  

For the past few years, it's been frustrating for us to live so close to Lake Tahoe and be unable to go skiing because the children were too young to go with us.   Two winters ago we drove to Lake Tahoe and arranged for a babysitting service to come take care of our children in the hotel so we could spend a day on the slopes.  The babysitting service stood us up (with nary a phone call), and I was forced to spend an entire day in the hotel with three children while my husband was skiing with his brother.  It was sheer torture for me.

Yesterday was a milestone moment for us as a parents.  Unfortunately, I missed the actual moment, but I was able to witness it after the fact.  My husband took Barrett, along with a friend and his daughter, to Donner Pass for Barrett's first attempt at skiing.

I was unsure as to whether Barrett would be able to tolerate the cold and/or physical exertion required, but she succeeded with flying colors.  She was lit up like a Christmas tree last night as she told me about her day.  I think she's hooked and I couldn't be prouder.

I'm having visions of a family skiing vacation.  It may be one or two winters from now, but a girl can dream.