Priceless

I was almost ridiculously excited this weekend when the stars aligned and we were able to work out a babysitter AND a posse and hit the slopes to snowboard. As I mentioned earlier, I missed last season since I was busy baking a baby, so when the opportunity presented itself to go on Sunday, we took it. The weekend went something like this:

Saturday: Get out all the gear, the boots, the boards, try them on. Boots and board fit great...and I think I remember how to fall on my face with a 2x4 strapped to my feet. Coat and pants...don't fit so great. Stupid deflated tire around my middle. Off to buy a new coat and pants, because I'm not missing another season.

Sunday: Wake up, feed the baby, get half the gear on...on the road up to Schweitzer, but a quick pit stop to drop Anna off at G&G Meyer's house (which is conveniently located on the way up to the mountain). Quick feeding before we leave, then we're off! Pit stop at Spud's (mmmmm) in Sandpoint for lunch so we can take advantage of the cheap Sunday afternoon rates at Schweitzer, then up the mountain we go, meeting Colby and Karl, Colby's sister, Danielle, and her brother, Connor. Amazingly, we all arrive in Sandpoint at exactly the same time.

Up top, get parked, get the gear on (pump, to try and offset the milk reserves I'm using up for this little extravaganza), hike over to the parking lot lift and up we go...only to spend another hour or so getting all our gear adjusted. ;o) Such is the way of the first trip out, but we all finally got going and got 5 or 6 runs in before dark and found our "sea legs". I was shocked at how quickly it all came back...since I expected to spend the whole day on the bunny hill remembering how to fall down, it was an unexpected bonus to pick right back up where I left off and actually get to go on the grown-up's lift. Even better, the weather was decent and most of the runs were, too--after much grooming, they finally have a decent base and we even found some great powder.

At the end of the day, it was back to the Jeep for the long drive back down the mountain (not before pumping again)...but with the bonus of getting to see our little baby girl and have dinner waiting for us at G&G's. Maybe not quite the same routine as in the pre-baby days, but the everlasting appeal of snowboarding is the chance to feel like a kid again, even if you're old enough to have one yourself. Not to mention the exercise...I have sore muscles in places I didn't know I had muscles!

So, in the end, the "old saying" still goes...new winter coat: $200...new snowboarding pants: $70...getting your fat backside back up on the mountain...priceless!