For RJ's 8th birthday, he received 2 Washington Capitals tickets. Luckily Doug's flight from Chicago was not delayed so I landed at 5pm at Reagan Airport. Sara dropped off RJ and took Julia to the burning of the palms.
Stop 1: Panera for dinner
After a walk we arrived at Panera Bread for dinner. Only complaint was that there was not a soda fountain - after all it was Fat Tuesday - no more soda for 40 days for Doug.
Stop 2: Caps Game
RJ was super excited and pumped up the entire game. Our seats were ... well ... we didn't pay too much. The game started well with the Caps up 3-0. Then they decided to play defense to protect the lead. This worked except for the fact that the Winnipeg Jets tied the game 3-3. Overtime. Shootout. Caps Win!
The $9 soda that was as big as RJ's head had free refills ... so Doug's Fat Tuesday turned out well.
We had a fun and action packed trip to Whitetail. Guests included the 4 Grays and Pilar & Javier. Arrived on Friday night, stayed up late. Skied from 8:30am - 9:30pm on Saturday, stayed up late. Went tubing on Sunday.
The Boys
The Girls
The whole gang
And some other random photos.
While riding the Northern Lights chairlift, things always seem to come to a grinding halt as we are passing our house. As you can see, it was ski-in (sort of) and hike-out.
The day started at Granddad's house at about 7:30am. The late rise was due to the fact that we watched the Duke - UNC game until 9pm the night before. After the big Duke win, we decided to run around the neighborhood jumping around to get rid of all the excess energy.
After church and the garage door repair, we headed home for hockey. RJ got to play goalie and had a lot of fun. He paid attention to the game ... for the most part.
Presents
RJ opened presents which included Plus-Plus, Caps Tickets, a new golf driver (scheduled to arrive in 2 days), a bike speedometer (arrives tomorrow), Calvin and Hobbes, a new belt, pickleball paddles, a new Nerf gun, swim pants, and a few other things.
For dinner, RJ chose Moby Dick's. Dessert was the highlight with a ski-cake that Sara and RJ put together!
Aunt Debbie drove up from North Carolina with the Raleigh Wheelchair Rugby team. The tournament was at The St James in Springfield, so we watched a game before going to Vivienne's birthday party. After the game we got to practice our skills in wheelchairs.
After trying to maneuver a wheelchair, I decided that the sport was a lot more difficult than it looked.
We got to host the Skuperbowl in 2020. The list of guests included the usual crowd with a few new folks from the neighborhood and parents/school friends from St. Agnes. The best thing about the Skuperbowl is that it forced us to clean up the trains and tidy the house.
There were only 8 entries for this year's prop bets ... so 6 right took the prize. I used the money to get 5 shirts cleaned and pressed ... score!
Julia and Dad finally talked Sara into giving her a haircut. After 5 1/2 years of growing, there was plenty to donate with enough left over so Julia still has long hair.
Immediately following the haircut, Julia was pleased with her new doo. And so far the plan is working out for Sara as well because ...
a. The blood curdling screaming from having Sara comb her hair was replaced by Julia combing her own hair (about 20 times in the first 3 hours).
b. The pain of putting her hair in a pony tail was replaced by Julia doing it by herself.
It was a big risk, but turns out it was a risk worth taking.
On New Year's Day we headed to Whitetail for the kids first attempt at skiing. Shockingly there was pretty good snow on 4-5 trails despite temps in the 50's.
Day 1:
After receiving a lot of flak for not arriving at 11pm on New Year's Eve, Doug decided that we would get the 4pm - 10pm ski pass.
At 3:59:50, skiing began with 'lessons' for RJ. By the end of the day, RJ was skiing greens with more confidence than merited. Next Julia received 'lessons' and encouragement. By the end of the day Julia was riding the magic carpet and holding onto my poles to go down greens.
Why you should not push your luck.
RJ convinced me to ski a blue with moguls. After getting 20% down and realizing that we bit off more than we could chew, a ski patrol hero carried RJ down the slope and let him ski the last 30% by himself.
Julia and Doug started going faster on greens. Julia turned into me to stop while we were holding onto the same poles. I fell on her head. Sara had to come comfort her.
Day 2:
We convinced the kids to go to ski school/camp to learn what to really do. Great choice! In addition to learning proper technique, the kids got a snack with juice and goodies. Sara and Doug skied wide open, freshly groomed trails in warm weather while the kids learned.
Towards the end of day two Julia was able to turn and aim towards my ski poles near the magic carpet.
After the ski lesson, RJ was declared a skiing savant by the instructors. During the second class session they moved him to a different group which featured an actual race down a green trail.
After class I took this video:
Day 3:
Rain. No skiing.
Day 4:
RJ's buddy Emmett joined the fun for day 4. After rain the day before and 50 degree temps, the trails were starting to show some wear, but we skied all day anyway. By the end of the day, everybody was exhausted. RJ put himself to bed at 10pm - which seems to have become the standard bedtime at the ski house.
Julia and Sara skiing a green trail.
RJ became a bit crazy. Skiing near the edge and looking for trouble became part of the norm. Quick turns after exiting ski lifts gave RJ the opportunity to jump down short cliffs. I need to make note of directions to the nearest hospital.
