2007-1-14 Downhill skiing

We went on the first ever Bloom family ski day at Welch Village about 40 miles south of here. Even though there has been very little snow in the area (less than 6 inches for the year, the ski areas are making snow and have all their runs and lifts open. You can see that beyond the ski area, everything is brown and bare.



None of us have very much experience skiing, nor do we have equipment, so we rented it there. This was Hailey's first time ever, and Ray and LeAnn haven't skied for about 20 years. Mariah and Kara both skied for the first time with their school's ski club.

After learning how to go up the chair lift and few trips down the short hill, we were feeling good about tackling something bigger.

Ray went up the big lift first to scout out some possible routes down to match abilities. Ray, Kara and Mariah were the first to attack the larger hill, although still at a beginner level. Soon Hailey and LeAnn were to follow. We started to spread out and try some different runs with varying difficulties. Everyone had a great time and no injuries were sustained, just some sore, aching muscles. The hardest part of the whole experience was walking around with our ski boots on in a permanent forward leaning position.

Towards the end of the afternoon as it was starting to get dark, it started to snow. The small flakes would sting the cheeks and make it hard to see as they got in your eyes on the way down the hill. this was supposed to be the start of a 5"-8" snowfall overnight. Unfortunately from the kids viewpoint, there will be no snow day as it is already a holiday on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.


Kara is looking forward to her next ski club outing this Thursday as she will tackle larger hills than she did her first time out last week. Hailey will be going skiing with her 5th grade class next month and is looking forward to going again now that she has some experience.

2007-01-06 Horseback Riding

It has been a warm and relatively snow-less winter this year, so the normal winter activities of sledding, building snowmen and ice skating have been few and far between. The local tubing hill has not been open, and the outdoor rinks have also stayed closed. It has been nice not having to do a lot of shoveling of snow, but changes what you think of for winter outdoor activities.

Hailey decided to try taking horseback riding lessons with a friend of hers. Hailey has been riding before on trail rides, but the size of the horses has always made here a little uncomfortable. By taking some lessons, she can become more comfortable with the horses and enjoy trail rides.

She had her first lesson on Saturday. Before the actual riding, she learned about the care and grooming of a horse. She brushed and cleaned the horse she would be riding, then put the saddle and bridle on.

She was able to learn how to mount the horse, and was able to do so without using any booster or stool. That is long way up for a small girl.

Most of the riding was tethered to start out with, but eventually was able to start trotting with the horse. The hardest part was learning not use the saddle horn for hanging on, but to balance and use her feet and the stirrups.

After the riding, she took the gear off the horse and cleaned it up again. This time, she even had to lift its feet up and clean out its hoofs.

All in all, she had a good time and is looking forward to her next lesson.