This is a great adventure.

I really can't get over how exciting this trip has been.  Honestly, the excitement I feel about the kids' skiing (Vivian's advancement in particular) is like that of a first time parent with a baby who just learned to walk.  I want to shout from the mountaintops!  Good thing I'm in the mountains...

Henry, Evelyn, and Olivia skied with us parents today while Vivian took another ski school lesson.  She had one other little girl in her group, and the instructor pushed her to the max in a great way.  After lunch I asked Robbie to take us back to the top of the mountain to ski down the long green runs to the bottom that we enjoyed so much with the big girls yesterday.  Olivia and Evelyn follow right behind Robbie, and they control themselves beautifully.  When they lead, they navigate the mountain easily.   They seem ready to ski whatever lies ahead, and I am always the pokey one bringing up the rear.  It was different skiing the very long run with Henry.  He was freaked out by the height we climbed on two lifts to reach the peak.  He crashed on a tree pathway and slid into deep snow.  He started screaming for me, and I had to get out of my skis and run uphill through deep powder in ski boots.  I was certain he had broken his leg from his yelling, but he was just really scared.  He later got ahead of us and went on a path other than what Robbie planned.   At that point I sent them on ahead and went to the base to wait for Vivian's lesson to end.  You'll never guess what I spied.  She was going down the bunny slope, but she was skiing over a snow ramp doing ski jumps.  She tried it about five times before she landed her final attempt!  Robbie had returned with the other kids, so we all got to cheer for her success.  The best part was that the ski instructor explained he had taken her up the high speed Union Creek lift where she successfully skied down green runs that I had been doing.  She was off the beginner part of the mountain and super slow Kokomo and Lumberjack lifts.  She really wanted to ride the fast lift to show us her skiing skills, but Henry and Evelyn were cold and exhausted.  We skied from 9 am until 3 pm with just a short lunch break.  As usual, Robbie doesn't mess around.  It was snowing a blizzard and in the low 20s.  Olivia and Robbie said they'd take her on the run.  Robbie said she did an awesome job.  She wiped out a few times on the steep sections, but she did so well and had so much fun that once they got down to the bottom Vivian asked to go back up to ski down again!!  We are all so proud of Miss Viv.  Birth order is such an interesting factor.  I believe Vivian just assumes she should be able to do what the big siblings do, so she tries hard and succeeds.  This is a great adventure.