MOXIE MOM on Life & Kids
Snow Days
My kids and I have two kid buddies over for part of the day (because, after all, parents still have to work, and I have no article deadlines looming and my husband, who worked from home yesterday, said, when he found out 4 kids would be here today, “I think I’ll drive to work”—in Burlington).
Until 15 minutes ago, the house was feeling rather small, so I sent the kids to Elizabeth Park on their own—two 11½-year-olds and two 9-year-olds without walkie talkies or a cell phone. What I envision is someone going down the slide on a sled (yes, they plan to do this) and conking their head, but I’m trying to banish the image. In my parents’ day, folks wouldn’t have given kids on their own a second thought, and we would have roamed the region and likely come home after dark, and if we’d conked our head along the way, so be it.
But I am a millennium parent, and we think about these things, whether we should or not. Still, I need to be here to connect with Grandpa—the kids don’t know—who is bringing presents and might not have another chance if this weather keeps up (he has to drive 17 miles on rural roads), and quite honestly, I could use a moment. But after things are stowed and I’ve had my moment, I’m headed out to play in the snow with the kids. Not to check if anyone’s conked themselves. Really.
leave a comment!Snow Fun
So our trip to Manning Park was a success all around. The first afternoon of skiing was sunny and beautiful, and we practically had the area to ourselves. I say “we”—I mean my family and a few others. I didn’t ski, of course (that pesky ankle healing I’m still doing). 
But I did get to watch my kids ski, the first I’ve seen this season. On our first afternoon, I went to the ski hill with my family and parked myself at the bottom of the hill to watch them ski down. Apparently Ty decided it was a scary hill and they all took so long coming down that I finally asked a guy heading to the chair lift if he would keep his eye open for a family of three. But right after he got on the chair, they appeared over the rise. Ty elected to spend the rest of the afternoon on the bunny slope with his friend, A., who was just learning to downhill ski. Leah was completely comfortable on the steeper hills even though she’s only downhill skied a few times, and the challenge there was to convince her she needed to stay with the accompanying parent. A window into the near future.
In our two and half days, the kids skied, sledded, swam, and roamed the lodge in a pack. I say pack because Manning hosted quite a Bellingham crowd of us—some of us organized to go together, others met serendipitously at the lodge—and the kids had a ball. Manning is great for families because it’s a small resort—really small—and no one can get lost. But still there’s plenty of snow play to be had, and for younger kids (under 13), it’s pretty much a weekend in heaven. (Book early if you’re interested in checking it out!)
