Well, that was a whole lot of fun

The madness that is the Ansari love of skiing officially has two new initiates. After a fun (and work packed) X-mas season, we packed up the bags, tossed the baby boy off to my parents, and headed to Truckee, CA to our dear friends' parents home. Matt, Megan and their two awesome kids Casey and Claire hosted a fantastic week of powder filled madness, the first of many for Cal and Spence.

All 5 kids took 3 days of lessons (except for the one pukey day for Claire... boo) while the adults gave themselves daily reminders that we just aren't 20 anymore. It snowed an amazing 20 inches during the second night, and we headed out like kids to a candy store. After our first run, the legs were screamin', the bodies were covered in the snow from multiple major diggers, and the sweat was pouring under our pile. It got easier as the day went on, and we finished the day feeling great. Northstar is a really nice mountain.

The nights were filled with hot tubbin, Highlights-and-Lowlights, giggles and games. When it came time to ski with the kids, they amazed us with their new skills. It's fascinating how the personality of the kid comes through. Cal skis exactly how they taught him, with meticulous attention to his snowplow form and beautiful little S turns. He is in control at all times, proud of his precision. Spence is like a little maniac, skiing with his skis in parallel at all times, slowing down with one turn that either finishes with a full 360 spin or a wipeout. Either way, he smiles and starts bombing it again.

Cal, Claire, Spence, Max and Casey (boys sporting post-hot tub mohawks)

Final Hot Cocoa

We did finish with a flourish when we awoke to a snow storm and news that I-80 to the airport was requiring chains on all vehicles that didn't have 4-wheel drive (i.e. our rental car). Omar and Matt were casing gas stations at 6:30am, found a pair, came home, found out they were the wrong size, returned with all of us in tow, bought the second pair (and no, they don't take returns on the ones they sold you 15 minutes ago) and put them on. All of this before 7:15am. Yippee! That's the way to wrap things up! We made our flight home, and now all are in bed.

Thanks Matt and Megan (and family!). We had a total blast. Next year, 4-wheel drive!