Eleanor and Henry hit the slopes this week for some spring skiing. They have both tried skiing before, but this year was the first time that they really seemed to “get” it. By the second day, they were both coming down the bunny hill with minimal help, and by the end Eleanor was had totally conquered it. She could get down the hill all by herself, making awesome “s” turns and turning to a stop at the bottom. Henry had good balance and could make turns by himself, but sometimes got a little distracted and needed some help slowing down. They were both really excited about riding the chair lift, and by the end they were both getting off without falling. We had a couple of great instructors, and Eleanor really opened up to both of them, telling them all about her school, her cousins and her stuffed friends. She and Henry apparently loved to sing songs while riding the chair lift. Mom, Dad and Lala and Uncle B got to ski a few runs with the kiddos, and it was awesome to see how excited they were. From the top of the lift, they both announced “Follow Me!” and took off down the hill! Eleanor had been a bit apprehensive about the ski trip, but one night she described the trip like this, “I thought it was going to be the worst day ever, but it turned out to be the best day ever!”. In addition to skiing, the kids got to go tubing down the hill, and enjoyed a really fun climbing gym at the bottom of the mountain. One night, we went back up the mountain for dinner and smores, and Henry slid down a covered tube slide that dumped him out so he slid across the snow. One day after skiing, there was a clown doing “free” balloon animals, and of course Eleanor and Henry both wanted one. Thirty minutes later, they each had a cool balloon monkey in a tree. Eleanor requested a pink monkey, and Henry initially requested a train, but when the clown couldn’t do that, he asked for a brown monkey. We also got to meet up with Aunt Jane, cousin Adam, and soon-to-be-cousin-in-law Begonia for a relaxing carry out dinner.
Earlier in the week, Eleanor had a school field trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Mom was one of the chaperones, and they both had a fun time.
