Month: January 2012

Sundance Snowboarding

14 inches in one day? I’m so there!
Last Saturday we got a ton of snow up at Sundance so I went snowboarding, my true winter love.  Every run was powder, assuming you stayed in the trees.  The fresh air, the speed and the snow were exhilarating.  There is nothing like snowboarding for that natural high on life feeling.  My first time on the slopes this season was a blast.  It was awesome… and tiring.  After only an hour and a half my thighs burned, my butt was cold and visibility was close to zero at the top of the lift.  I could barely see the chair in front of me on the top ridge because the wind was blowing the snow everywhere.  Then I got a call from Mountain Dad that little g wasn’t taking the bottle.  So I quickly came back to reality and back to the truck.  Was it worth being in the wet, driving snow for just a few runs?  Absolutely.

Snow Crunchers

Destination: Sundance Nordic Center
Location: Provo Canyon
Time: 2:45 pm

Can an almost three year old wrangle snowshoes? Absolutely! I was so proud of Big E yesterday when we tried out his snowshoes for the first time.  He walked around like a pro with very little falling or awkwardness.  When he did fall he said, “I think I can, I think I can,” while getting back on his feet.  I was so surprised that on his own he made the connection to have a positive attitude while trying hard things.  Can you tell what bedtime book we read earlier in the week? Thanks to Grandma for sharing her life motto via Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could.

I wish I could brag about the awesome hike we did but Big E was too busy throwing snowballs, climbing on snow piles and admiring the groomer machine to even leave the parking area.  Little g on the other hand was too busy screaming at the outset and sleeping at the end.  I’m still counting this as a successful adventure because we got outside, we did something active and we tried out a new sport.

MSR kids snowshoes – easy enough for a 2 year old to walk in, although the straps were a little long.
I finally got smart and used my husband’s over sized coat to keep me and little g warm since my coat won’t cover both of us.
Big E found the trail groomer to be the most interesting part of the day.
The snowshoes worked so well that Big E’s foot came out of the boot before the boot detached from the snowshoe.

Union Station

Photos from the Ogden Union Station
Big E watches the train go by.

 

Mountain Mom, little g and Big E working on the railroad.

 

Big E’s favorite playground

The goal of this blog is to do outdoor activities with my children, however with a coughing baby and 25 degree weather the idea of going outside yesterday was too cold, even for my adventurous side.  Instead we went with Grandma to the Ogden Union Station.  Outside there are big engines to look at and climb on, but watch out for slippery snow up top.

Inside there was a large open waiting area, a small train display and caboose to climb on outside of the museum.  In the museum we played with handheld trains, on the handcart and on the caboose.  Big E’s favorite part by far was chasing the electric trains that run through the panorama describing the connecting of the transcontinental railroad, especially since he got to push the button to make it go.

As is always the case, tears came at some point on the trip.  In the gift shop there was a tiny train engine that suddenly became the object of Big E’s deepest desires.  Whining, crying, and on the ground pouting commenced.  Luckily Grandma was there to remove him from the feet of other museum goers; with little g in the pack it’s hard to lift an almost 3 year old.  I tried bribery, comfort, ignoring and physical removal from the situation but as is often the case distraction was the only real cure for his tears.  I thought the incident was over but later Big E brought it up again.

During lunch Big E suddenly said “The pee is coming! The pee is coming!”  At home we’ve been practicing going pee on the potty and since this was the first time he has instigated the potty training I jumped at the chance to practice.  We rushed to the bathroom and then back to our table.  After lunch was over E went potty again and then announced “Now I get the train!”  His joy was almost tangible, so much so that I could not refuse.  We bought him the tiny overpriced train and he has not let go of it since.