Bridger Bowl (Dec 27th)

Soooo, I realized that it was taking me longer than I wanted to post about Christmas due to trying to organize pictures while uploading, so I decided to get smart and organize them before I started blogging, in the hopes that I could catch up faster. We'll see how fast I can post now!! Back to Montana & Christmas:

The view from the top/the six kids


Since we were up in Montana, we couldn't pass up skiing. We decided two days after Christmas was a great time that we could all go. Turns out we were absolutely right. The night before it had dumped snow onto Bridger, allowing us to have 18+ inches of fresh powder!!! Now for those of you who haven't skied before, there is nothing like skiing on powder. It's amazing! It's also a wee bit difficult. All of the in-laws (who by the way are much better skiers than those of us who grew up in Montana) found it fascinating. Apparently, even skiing in the Alps, Colorado, New Mexico, etc. didn't hold a candle to it. I honestly can't remember what skiing was like (since I can count how many times I've skied on one hand!), so it was hard for me to compare. It was fun nonetheless. I enjoyed how it wasn't icy.
We left "late" b/c I wanted to feed John one more time before I left him all day (wow that was hard). It turned out to be just the right time, b/c by the time we had to turn in our skis, all of us were ready. We started out all in a big group on the bunny hill, which by the way they put in a lift, so we got practice right away in getting off the ski lift, something my sister and I are not the greatest at. I was surprised at how quickly I picked it back up. My sis-in-law & Chris were the first ones down the hill. Chris has skied the most recent, and Sarah's mom used to be a ski instructor so she learned how to ski when she was four.
Once we all made it down, we decided to attempt a green. My dad & I remembered Alpine being pretty fair, so we headed for it. Again, Sarah & Chris were the first at the bottom. My sister had a wee bit of trouble, and so Dave stayed back to help her out. T, decided, what the heck to just go for it, and was quite humorous to watch as he fell more often than he skied! Well, maybe not, but he did lose his balance quite a few times. My dad ended up staying with Sarah & Dave for the morning, while the rest of us continued on. We set a pre-determined time to meet back up, and then were off.
It turns out that the time Chris said was Texas time, but dad took it as Montana time, so we had a wee bit of confusion, and a good half an hour was spent waiting at the designated place. Chris agreed to wait, while the rest of us grabbed some grub! Of course, since it was nearing 1:00, all of the soup & chili was gone, so I settled for a hamburger (weird-just not skiing food!)
After we all joined up, dad joined us for the rest of the day. We attempted some blues. (Yay!) Both Dad & Chris got stuck in some pretty intense powder-up to their waists! It was quite amusing.
All in all it was a great day, but I was ready to get home and see my bug! He did really well, thankfully, as the night before we had left him, after he was asleep, and ended up waking up, and staying awake until we got home from our movie. Here are some pictures from the day:


My dad & me on the first run


Aren't we cute! The background almost looks unreal, but yes, we were really there

The morning group

T & Sarah-before T got covered in snow


Notice the difference in the amount of snow between the two. Sarah-no snow; Dad-covered. Sarah never fell the entire day. She was the only one.


I think this should be on Bridger's flier promoting skiing there. Chris looking all professional kicking up some powder


The view from the lift-look closely, and you'll see dad & T & Sarah


The first time I seriously fell. I hit some crazy powder, and couldn't control my skis and ended up tumbling, and landing backwards down the hill. This was shortly followed by Chris falling on the other side of the hill, and T falling shortly thereafter. Of course, Sarah made it to the bottom without any trouble. She actually "hiked" back up to help me get out of my conundrum.


Dave & Sarah after a long hard day skiing! Sarah looks like she enjoyed herself, even if she says she didn't


Yay!! This is how John bug greeted us when we arrived! His shirt says, "I get my good looks from my dad." Yes son you do!

For more pictures (lots more) please see http://picasaweb.google.com/armyforchrist/Bridger