Adventures by Mom

Everything you need to know, but nobody tells you about when it comes to motherhood, marriage, and life in general.

Veterans Day Gratitude

The part that I really noticed was all who have served and their families.

All of the creators at Adventures By Mom have very special veterans in their lives. Both of my grandfathers and my dad served in the US Military Forces. I was scrolling through FaceBook when this Alex&Ani calendar came across my feed. The part that I really noticed was “all who have served and their families.”

A day to show gratitude to those who protect our freedoms. . . and their families. The and their families part had not entered my mind before. It always does on Memorial Day, but not Veterans Day. A chance to recognize the challenges of those left at home, or hopping from military post to military post as a spouse. When my dad was drafted and sent to Vietnam, my mom was left home with a newborn daughter. Thankfully, she had a strong support system to offer help when needed. We were blessed that my dad, her hubby, safely made it home.

I thought about the other parents I know, and grandparents, who have children in the military now. The parents of soon-to-be graduating seniors in high school who’ve already enlisted, or applied to military colleges. I know they are so very proud of the choices their child/grandchild is making. I also know there is a worry that can’t be truly and accurately described.

Thank you. Veterans – thank you for your service, dedication, and loyalty. Families- thank you for the worry, the sacrifices, and the support you give.

Gratefully – Adventures By Mom

Covid-19 Pandemic 2020

Extended Spring Break turns into quarantine. Covid-19 Pandemic put a huge pause on life.

I see so many posts on Facebook, Twitter and IG from teachers about missing their students. The ones that get me the most – are from high school teachers, and parents of seniors about all that is on hold . . . prom, graduation, senior banquets, and all that comes with closing one chapter and beginning another. The ones that make me smile are the ones from parents begging to be rescued from teaching their own children. We are all in this together.

As an educator and a mom, I had so much running through my mind. After taking some time to really process and think about what I can control at this moment, here’s what I came up with.

What are you thankful for?

This is hard for all of us. No one wants to be quarantined. But attitude and mind set make a huge difference. Here’s what I can be thankful for:

I am thankful for social media that it allows me to keep up with friends and family. I ignore all the negative and pandemic posts.

I am thankful for all the people who are supporting the population – medical professionals, grocery store personnel, first responders, and everyone who is staying home to #flattenthecurve. Everyone who is doing his/her part.

I am thankful for a home that allows me to stay safe and comfortable.

I am thankful for resources – grocery stores – even partially stocked.

I am thankful to be with my favorite people – even if I don’t tell them often enough.

What do we need?

It would be helpful . . . .

If we had an agreed upon schedule for functioning in our house. Teen boys don’t make this as easy as it sounds. But, if I remember the toddler days – they weren’t the best at sticking with schedules either.

If we set daily goals and expectations of things to accomplish. Not saying it will all get done, but at least it’s a starting point.

If we remember we are all doing the best we can navigating uncharted waters. Everyone is doing the best they can with what they have and what they know.

If we ask for what we need. This is harder than it sounds.

If we give ourselves and each other space and grace.

What are you thankful for? What’s helping you get though?

Stay safe and take care!

Keystone Adventure: Try not to Die, or Break Anything

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resort provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

After a day of private family lessons for skiing and snowboarding, you would think we would be set! Ready to hit the slopes solo! Well. . . two of the four of us were comfortable with that idea. The other two were going to try not to die, or break anything! Ready, or not – we were on our own!

Keystone Adventure: The Boys Perspective

After a day with a private instructor, both of the boys felt confident in his abilities to be on his own. There was a lift within walking distance of our hotel. The boys studied the map of the slopes determining which ones they wanted to take. They knew what signs to follow, and where to get back on the lift. They planned and mapped out their day! After making sure the boys knew to stay together, stay on green runs, and to check in at least once an hour, we turned them lose. Up they went for an adrenaline filled day of zipping down the mountain. Then, the hubby and I hopped on the next lift. We had a lot of guidance and practice yesterday. We were ready to do this!

Keystone Adventure: Schoolmarm, Here We Come!

Green Run in Keystone
From the top of Schoolmarm.

The plan was to ski the 3.5 mile run called Schoolmarm. The ride up was breathtakingly beautiful. It was early in the morning. The air was crisp and dry. At one point, it looked like there was glitter in the air. I love glittery things, so of course I was excited. “Look at the glitter in the air!” Remember when I said that sometimes you had other people on the lift with you? Well, there was a random man on the lift with hubby and me. He very calmly, and dryly (no pun intended) replied, “It isn’t glitter. It’s the reflection of the sunlight off the crystallizing moisture in the air.”

I knew it wasn’t really glitter. It was, however, stunningly beautiful and a little bit magical!

We made it to the top, and managed to exit the lift without incident. No one fell down. No one was run over. The lift did not have to stop. At this point, hubby and I realized. . . there was no turning around. You can’t take a lift down the mountain, only up. We had to ski down.

We had lessons.

We did okay yesterday.

We could do this. Easy peezy, lemon squeezy.

Keystone Adventure: Sticks of Death

Ski rescue
Not how you want to get to the bottom of the mountain.

Here were my thoughts:

Ok. Pizza stance to gain control before starting downhill. I got this. Next, slowly move the feet to French Fry. Point the toes in the direction you want to go. Doing ok. There are a lot more people up here, going really fast. Wow! Look at that snowboarder going up, almost crashing into the trees and flipping around! FOCUS on your FEET! PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!

Whew, I slowed down and managed to come to a stop. Try again. Pizza to French Fry. Again, trying to focus on my feet with so many other things around. Did I mention it’s three and a half MILES to the bottom. Skiers zipping past. More snowboarders. Skis are at French Fry. Speed is picking up. I keep trying to pizza, but it’s not making me slow down. Panic is setting in. Losing control of feet, arms, body. . . .skis cross in the front. I really don’t know if I face planted, or tumbled a bit. I know my head banged around in my helmet. The wind was knocked out of me, and I was face down in the snow.

Stunned, I realized my legs were a little tangled. My skis were still attached to my feet. A little girl, maybe 6 to 8 years old, stopped and asked, “Ma’am, do you need some help?”

“My legs are a bit tangled. I’m not sure how to get them untangled.”

“Let me take off your skis.” And she did. Just like that.

Once my skis were off, I could at least roll over and attempt to sit up.

Side note: I tend to be a control freak. And, when things get out of control I tend to have panic attacks. The thing about a panic attack is that you can end up hyperventilating. There wasn’t even enough oxygen for a panic attack!

Once I regained my composure, I put my skis back on, and started down again. Slowly, cautiously, attempting to control the sticks of death I had strapped to my feet. After a bit, hubby caught up to me. He crashed, too! He said he came flying past me and yelled, “Hey Babe!” I guess I was so busy trying not to die, I didn’t notice. His crash was so grand the ski patrol brought him his ski saying, “Sir, are you Harold? We found this about 80 yards back.”

And we still weren’t close to the bottom. We crept down the mountain at a turtle’s pace in full, power pizza mode. Once we were safely on a flat surface, we agreed – we were done. We are not brave and daring. We both had to be in one piece to go back to work after the holiday. No one wants to meet a medical deductible in December!

The boys were having a marvelous time! They found our adventure hysterically funny. Truly, they were glad we were ok, but they did think it was comical. Hubby and I clomped back to the hotel. We changed into warm, comfy boots, and took our ski gear back to https://www.d2dskis.com/. There were very understanding when we explained that we didn’t wish to die, or break anything on this trip thus, we needed to return the gear.

We enjoyed the rest of our afternoon enjoying the Matterhorn nachos and beer from Go Big Burger at the Mountain House Food Court.

Nachos
That’s a giant pan of nachos!

One more day left for adventures!

Keystone Adventure: Ski Lessons

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resort provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

Keystone Adventure: Try not to break anything, or die.

If you’ve been following along with our adventure, then you know this is going to get a little crazy. If you’re new to our adventure let me fill you in. Long-story-short, we are a family of 4 from Houston, Texas. The climate and altitude vary greatly between Houston and Keystone. This is our first venture into snow and ice. My two boys, ages 13 and 16, are beyond thrilled and having a blast. Hubby and I are hoping to return home in the same condition in which we left. If you want to start at the beginning our adventure click the following link: http://keystone-ski-adventures

Ski and snowboard lessons are on the itinerary. Going into this trip, I knew my boys would pick up skiing, or snowboarding, pretty easily. I did have some concerns about strapping skis to my feet and hurtling this 40+ year old body down a mountain, but my hubby seems to think it isn’t going to be that difficult. So, after we get into the multiple layers of clothing, there is a brief discussion about what shoes to wear. The boys and hubby are wearing the ski/snowboard boots. I am wearing my warm, comfy, walk around in the snow boots. Hubby, “If you wear you ski boots, then you have one less thing to carry.”

The ski boots do not allow you to move your ankle very much. Given I am not the most graceful being to start with, yes – I am one of the lucky few who can trip on a flat surface, and I didn’t think tromping about in heavy, clunky, thick, plastic boots on stairs and ice was a good idea. Once the boys and hubby realized I was not going to be persuaded to wear the clunky boots all day, we gathered up all of the gear and headed out.

We had three sets of skis and ski poles, my boots, and a snowboard. Well, let me tell you when you see people walking around with their skis thrown over the shoulder like it’s so easy. . . NO IT’S NOT! My skis kept coming apart, slipping off my shoulder, bumping into things around me. Seriously, I can only imagine how much personal space people were giving me at this point. We finally made it to the bus stop without injuring, or maiming anyone.

Keystone Adventure: How to put on skis

ski school
Keystone Ski School

We find the ski school building pretty easily, get checked in, and get a locker. I needed to lock up my warm, comfy boots and our backpack of snacks and supplies. I manage, with hubby’s help, to get my ski boots on. Yep, still slightly uncomfortable, but I really didn’t have a choice if I was going to ski. We were given directions on where to meet our instructor. I clunked out of the ski school, walking like Herman Munster.

Ready to ski
Ready or not, here we come!

We met our instructor Trent and, since we were carrying our gear, we could take the gondola. Up the mountain we went. Once we exited the gondola, we clomped over to a little bunny hill. The first lesson was how to put on your skis. The directions sound simple enough: The toe of the boot goes in first, then put weight on the heel of the boot locking it in place. Got it – toe, heel. I managed to get one ski on! Then, I attempted the second ski. Now, Trent said to make sure you were standing so that your skis would be parallel to the mountain. You should be going across, not up, and not down. And, put on the downhill ski first. Well, I managed to get my second ski on, but then slid backward just enough to get the back of my skis crossed, and over I went. I should’ve taken that as a serious warning sign. If you can’t even get the skis on with the instructor helping you step-by-step, you might not be coordinated enough for this sport.

I tried again. This time I was more successful. I managed to get both skis on, not get tangled up, or fall down. YAY me! The hubby and boys had no issues at all and really didn’t seem impressed by my ski-putting-on ability. Now that we knew how to get our skis on, we had to learn how to take them off. There’s a lever in the back you push with your ski pole, or your boot, and it unlocks the boot from the ski. Easy enough! I managed to get both skis off. Next, we put one ski back on, and Trent had us practice going in a circle. Push, glide, repeat. Make your toes point in the direction you want to turn. Push, glide repeat.

Take that ski off, put the other ski on.

Push, glide, repeat. Keep those toes going in the right direction. Push, glide, repeat.

Keystone Adventure: Pizza, French Fry, and Ski Walking

Finally, we got to put both skis on and practice going in a circle. Trent talked to us about “Pizza” and “French Fry”. I put them in quotes because he wasn’t talking about lunch. You make your skis go in the shape of a slice of pizza, like a wedge, to slow down, or stop. You want the front of your skis to come together without crossing, or getting tangled. French Fry is when you want to go straight and fast, so your skis are parallel to each other. You also want your skis parallel when you are pointing your toes the way you want to turn. This is how you are supposed to control your speed and direction as you maneuver down the slope. The mountain was fairly flat where we were, so there wasn’t that much gravity working against us. Then, we had to learn to walk up-hill, in our skis.

This is not difficult, but awkward and tiring. You side step up the hill. Start with the uphill foot. Step, and use the edge of the ski to dig into the snow for traction. Now bring your downhill ski up. Repeat until you get where you want to go. Be cautious because if you don’t use your edge enough on either ski, you will end up doing the splits.

Keystone Adventure: Downhill skiing, finally

Once Trent felt like we had the basics down, we moved to a slightly longer, a little more steep bunny hill. We still weren’t ready for a full green run. Side note: if you’ve never been skiing, or don’t know much about it, the slopes are called runs, and they are labeled by color. Green is the easiest. Next is blue. Finally is black, and then you venture into diamonds. The more diamonds the steeper and more dangerous the run.

Now, back to skiing. We used a people mover sidewalk to take us to the top of the larger bunny hill, then we practiced skiing down. We had to make turns, going from one side of the hill to the other to help control our speed, and then stop at the bottom. Once Trent felt like we were comfortable at this level, he moved us to the next level.

Keystone Adventure: Ski lifts

ski lift
The view from the ski lift.

To get to the next level we had to take a ski lift. Again, this is one of those things that looks really easy. And, it can be…..it can also be scary, nerve-wracking, and panic attack inducing. You stand in an area with at least one other person, sometimes as many as three other people, to wait until the lift guy/girl tells you to go. Then, you all shuffle, shuffle, shuffle your skis as quickly as you can, watching over your shoulder so you see the lift coming. The lift seat will hit the back of your legs. When that happens, you have a seat. Both ski poles should be in one hand. Try not to whack the person next to you. Then, you ride up the mountain. Feet dangling, nothing but the open air around you. Try not to drop anything because it could land on someone skiing below, and can be difficult to get the object back.

When you get to the top, you have to have both poles ready. Your skis will hit the little bump,and you have to stand up right away. There’s just enough bump to help you get off, then an immediate downhill slide to help you get out of the way of the next group coming off the lift. Now is not the time to fall down. You will get ran over, and they will have to stop the lift while you get out of the way.

On one of our trips up, Harrison’s ski got tangled with mine. We managed to get seated, but in trying to get our skis untangled, he dropped one of his ski poles. Thankfully, it didn’t land on, or impale anyone, and someone was nice enough to grab it and bring it up to him.

Keystone Adventure: Trees and Cliffs

The next level involved a serious curve in the run. If you didn’t make the curve, there was a good chance you would run into the trees, or go over the edge of the cliff. I don’t know if the cliff had that far of a drop, because I wasn’t brave enough to ski over and take a look. Slowly and carefully, I readied my stance in the pizza formation. Then, began to move the feet facing forward to be more french fry-like. And off I went. I tried to make my toes point the direction I wanted to turn. I turned a little, but not enough. The trees were getting closer, and I was picking up speed. I went back to the pizza stance. I slowly came to a stop before hitting the trees.

I tried again, and again, and again. Each time I seemed to have a little more control over which direction my feet were going, and the speed at which I was moving. Instructor Trent said I seemed to have it down. Harrison was doing amazingly well. Hubby, well. . . . his comment was, “I didn’t think it would be this tough!” Trent spent some one on one time helping hubby get his stance and form correct. Then, things seemed to get a little easier for him.

Keystone Adventure: Snowboarding

Ready to snowboard!

My oldest son, Harley, wanted to learn to snowboard. He thought it would be easier to pick up because of his ability to ride a skateboard, ripstick, and longboard. Trent told us right away, he really didn’t know a lot about snowboarding, but would teach Harley everything he did know. So in between teaching us the beginner skills for skiing, he was giving Harley pointers and tips about how to use his toes and heels to turn and stop. Harley managed pretty well on his own.

Once we progressed to the bigger bunny hill, with the curve in it, Trent called one of the other instructors, Jonny, to help Harley. Now Harley had a snowboarding expert as a private instructor. The two of them took off. The next time we saw them, it was lunch time and Harley was having a blast. Jonny was complimentary about how quickly Harley was picking up the skills and advancing through the maneuvers. By the end of the day Harley was zipping down green runs doing spins, jumps, and ollies.

Keystone Adventure: Time to turn us loose

A huge debt of gratitude Trent and Jonny. Our skills would not have advanced at the rate they did without the guidance of these two instructors. They were kind, patient, and non-judgmental. At no point did I feel awkward, or self-conscious in attempting to learn something new. I absolutely would use the Keystone Ski School for another lesson.

To read the adventure of skiing without instructors check out: https://adventuresbymom.com/keystone-adventure-novice-skier/

To read more about ski wear, check out https://theeducationaltourist.com/

Keystone Adventure: Pond Hockey and Ski Gear

This is part of a series of sponsored posts. Keystone Resorts provided complimentary activities for our family to enjoy during our stay.

After a morning of snow tubing and exploring the snow fort, we were ready for lunch! 9280 Tap House in River Run Village was the perfect choice. The boys enjoyed root beers, while hubby and I enjoyed the beer of the day. French Dip sandwiches, french fries,and hot wings filled the table! The food and service were good! After our late lunch, we hopped the free bus back to the Hyatt Place.

You can imagine after a morning of playing in the snow, tubing, and fort exploring – while still trying to get used to the thinner air….we needed a break. I think even the boys took a short nap!

Pond hockey
Harrison playing pond hockey

Keystone Adventure: Get your Gear!

One of the priority activities for Harrison was to play pond hockey. He has only played on indoor rinks in Houston. (Yes, we have ice hockey in Houston.) He brought his skates, stick, helmet, and gloves. We were set to go skating that night. We dressed in our multiple layers, hopped on the free shuttle, and off we went. We were one stop away from the 5 acre lake, when Harold’s phone rang. It was https://www.d2dskis.com/ calling to see if we wanted to get our ski gear early. We were scheduled for 8:00 PM delivery, but they could bring it early if we’d like. So…..we stayed on the bus. Back to the hotel. The guys who delivered our gear were friendly, knowledgeable, and patient. They explained how all the levers worked, how to put the boots on, what to turn to tighten things, or loosen things.

Keystone Adventure: Can we just skate?

We stored our gear in the bathroom, because, well that’s where it would fit and not get knocked over and tripped on. We later found out the hotel had lockers for gear storage! Then, we headed back out to ice skate. Grabbed the skates, stick, helmets, and gloves. Back on the bus we went. Off at Keystone’s Lakeside Village where the lake is located. Into the activity center. And came to a sudden, screeching halt at the end of a v-e-r-y long line. As we made our way to the front of the line, we once again signed the waiver that we wouldn’t sue anyone if we were maimed, injured, or killed while ice skating. Apparently, recreational winter sports require lots of waivers. Once the waivers were signed – off we went to put on skates. Well, three of us had skates. Hubby decided he would let Harley use his pair since Harley had long since outgrown his. Somehow, one of the bolts that holds the blade in place had come loose and was missing. You can’t skate with your skate blade slipping, and sliding out of place. So, now we have two frustrated people. Harley because he doesn’t want to wear rental skates, “they aren’t as comfortable and they never fit right!” Hubby because, “what the hell happened to my skate? It wasn’t like this when we left Houston!” Maybe because we’d watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation just a few too many times, I kept hearing Todd and Margo having this argument: “Where’s the bolt to my skate Todd? I don’t know Margo!”

Keystone Adventure: Now, we can skate!

In the meantime, my hockey player is getting his skates on – and heading out. I put on hand-me down skates that no longer fit Harrison. I skate over to where there is a thick plastic wall put up to form a make shift hockey rink. I’m a little anxious because, well one – I can skate, but I don’t stop that well until I run into something. No fancy, snow-flying, hockey stops for me! And, two. . . there a quite a few older guys on the rink. And by older, I mean probably between 20 and 30 years old – but older than my 13 year old son. I watched for a while. Harrison was hesitant at first, but once someone passed him the puck he was good to go. After about thirty minutes they all threw their hockey sticks in a pile on the ice. Then, one guy started sorting the sticks. Whatever side your stick ended up on was the team you were on. So, here was my 13 year old son, playing a pick up game of pond hockey with a bunch of slightly inebriated locals. He held his own and had a blast.

After I was comfortable with him being out there, I ventured into the bar area where hubby and Harley were hanging out. I ordered a lovely glass of red wine, served in a small plastic cup. Fancy, I know! It was then Harley noticed they had a Wii game. The challenge was issued. Of course he beat me at Wii Tennis. I beat him in bowling. He beat me at golf. By the time we were done with our game of golf, Harrison had come off the ice and was ready to go.
He skated for at least two and a half hours! And, a sixteen year old boy played Wii with his mom. Memories made!

Keystone Adventure: I didn’t fall down!

ice skating
ice skating on a frozen pond

We were happy to get back to the hotel. The next day was going to be very busy and a good night’s rest is needed. Ski and snowboard lessons commence first thing in the morning! Check back for more Keystone Adventures. We haven’t even been skiing yet!