Family Spring Break Weekend

Cheryl had offered the girls a little while ago to either go to spend the weekend up in Sunrise and playing in the snow or to go to California...and to our surprise and our wallets pleasure we headed for a small but eventful weekend in the White Mountains. We drove up through Globe, Show Low & Lakeside-Pinetop to enjoy some of what we though might be the last winter weather in Sunrise...but boy were we mistaken....No Snow, at least not in most of the areas outside of Sunrise...most were in full spring mode and had little if any of the white stuff around.

But as soon as we got into the sunrise area we found tons snow and a hill right next to the ski park that looked great for sledding. we all donned our winter gear and trodded down a steep hill to an area with a hill perfect for sledding. The snow was packed deep and was a little hard as no new snow had fallen in over a week, but it was pretty and it would do just fine. All of the girls and even cheryl got into the spirit of sledding down the hill for about an hour and a half. After tredging up the hill numerous times with more gear on then normal they all got tired out pretty quickly so we headed to the resort (ok, lets not embellish here -- I would hardly call it a resort -- in fact it was more like a motel 8 with no smoke detector). The girls were really excited to find out they had a heated pool (albeit very small pool) and a spa for them to enjoy...so we got in our bathing suits and jumped in for some warm fun amidst all the snow.

Soon after we headed for town to grab some dinner some 25 miles away (not close, but their were no other choices) and found Charlie's Steakhouse that filled out tummies and then some. Cheryl had the largest rib plate I had ever seen and I had a half chicken (This place had no portion control built in) plate. The food was very good and the time as a family was even better. After dinner we headed back to the motel (see I won't call it a resort again) to hit the pillow for a hopeful nights rest before all day skiing and lessons and snow fun. Everyone headed to bed and were asleep until 11pm when we awoke to Payton getting sick all over her and Natalie's bed. Unfortunately all over the sheets, pillows and floor as well. YUCK!!!! We rang the desk for some assistance and by the time we got everythig cleaned up and payton re-washed they arrived with some new sheets and a few pillows -- but no blakets, and no fitted sheet....it was hard to rig the bed for the kids so we just got the sleeping bags out and decided it was better than nothing.

Well morning arrived and thankfully everyone was healthy and no more sickness. We were all a bit tired however. We got to the Ski park, paid for the kids lessons, rental gear and lift tickets and we were off to get fitted for boots and skis. We then waited and made snow angels until 10am when the kids (Alexxis & Natalie) could start their lessons. They began their lessons, and I also grabbed my ski's and hit the bunny hill to practice as it had been 11 years for me....and an evolution of skis in the past.

I got the hang of the parabolic skis relatively quickly and really felt confident and comfortable. So I got a few more runs on the bunny hill down and made sure I was turning and stopping appropriately before I hit the real slopes. I hit the moderate hills and really was enjoying myself after a few succesful runs down but on the 4th run I got a little faster than I had anticipated and started to slow down by turning when I caught an edge and over I went. Not to the back mind you as you are supposed to fall on skis -- but instead right over and onto my right shoulder....I heard a pop and I presumed to lay there for a few minutes to see how bad I had injured myself.

Once I got up I got dizzy and my shoulder was really hurting so I sat down for another minute and decided i would snow plow the rest fo the way down the hill to get to the aid station. Once arriving down at teh end of the slope I told cheryl my day had ended and off I went to the Aid Station. They felt around and decided I had sprained the shoulder bad and maybe even a slight dislocation. Well, there went the day -- probably for the better anyway as Cheryl was readyto pull her hair out after 4 hours standing in the cold windy snowy morning with Payton being -- well lets just say not being so cordial and fun...Girls were also done with their lessons and complaining of hurting feet and toes....so we left and off to town to find an urgent care. We ate along the way and by the time the Ibuprofen set in I was doing better. I had it in a sling most of the day but we avoided the ER and we decided to just go back and get some Pizza for the night and watch a movie. It was great fun and we enjoyed the day despite the troubles.

We drove home on Monday through some really wacky weather -- Snow ovenight of about a foot, then out of the snow to sun, back into snow, ice, hail, sleet, and even rain -- all within the course of getting from sunrise to home in about 4 hours. It was a wild weekend but well worth the pain and the expense for some great memories and eventually more skiing as the girls are smitten with it. Well that was our adventure....God is always so good to us and watching out for us even when we don't see things coming...Love to all of you....

Here is a fun video for your viewing....

God Bless,

Gabe & Cheryl.