Big White

Yay! I went skiing! Big White was really nice and I had a great time. Too bad my legs held up for only 2.5 hours.  I got six runs in (2 greens and 4 blues) during that time.  It was bliss.

We went with two other families and it was such a treat to be able to hang out with my friends for a few days. Sophia had three playmates and they kept her entertained, which meant more “me” time.

Work has been so busy lately that I didn’t really think about the trip until the day before. This was how prepared I was - as we started our road trip, I asked Ed how long he thought it would take for us to get to Kamloops. Uh, Big White is in Kelowna, he said. (Kamloops and Kelowna are about 170km apart.) No, it’s in Kamloops, I insisted. He gave me the Google maps directions. Yeah, Big White is in Kelowna. Good thing I wasn’t the one driving! Then on Saturday morning, I was getting ready to head out the door to go to the ski lodge. I had everything except for my ski jacket. I thought it was in the car but it turned out to be nowhere. Well, it was actually back home, on one of the stools in the kitchen. Ugh! Good thing there was a ski shop in Big White that rented out ski jackets. I spent $30 renting one for a couple of days, instead of $300 buying a new one.

My rented jacket

Sophia had lessons (Sat and Sunday) and she was awesome. She did the pizza stop and went down the bunny hill just fine. She started doing a few turns by the end of the second lesson. She had a bit of attitude in the beginning of the Sunday lesson but then changed her mind halfway through and wanted to ski. Then at 3:30pm, when the magic carpet stopped, she cried and cried because she didn’t want to stop skiing. Crazy kid.

Go, Sophia!

With Judy, the instructor

Practicing with Daddy

Falling over was fun, apparently

The drive home was a little treacherous. Sure am glad Ed was driving because it was stressful. The mountain road was very snowy and there was an accident ahead of us, which halted traffic at a couple of areas. We were afraid we’d have to sit there for a long time while crews cleared the road. Luckily, we didn’t wait too long. And the Subaru AWD performed well in the snowy and slippery conditions. Unfortunately, our wind shield got hit by a stone and cracked during the drive home. But I’m just glad we got home safely.

Very foggy and snowy Coquihalla Hwy

Trucks waiting to be towed uphill

I love skiing and going on ski trips with friends. We used to do this annually before we all had kids but the ski trips stopped for a few years while we waited for our little ones to get a little bigger. Now, we’ll have to make sure to get back into making this an annual get-away. It’s a wonderful way to spend a long weekend.

Skiing, finally

The last time I skied down a blue or black run was four long years ago. Finally today, I got some skiing time in the blue runs in Big White. Ed and Sophia were signed up for a Dad and me ski lesson, and meanwhile, I spent two and a half hours skiing on my own. Glorious!

On our way to Big White

No more thumbsucking

During our last visit to the dentist last fall, I was told that Sophia’s thumbsucking was changing the shape of her upper jaw and affecting her bite because her upper teeth were being pushed out and forward while her bottom teeth were being pushed inward.  Based on what I’ve read about thumbsucking, I was under the impression that I could wait until Sophia is 4 to 5 years old before taking specific measures to stop the thumbsucking.  But hearing that from the dentist made me start researching how we can help Sophia stop sucking her thumb.  I decided to try TGuard, based on the very good ratings on amazon.com.  

S checking out the TGuard

Sophia started wearing the TGuard during the Remembrance Day long weekend.  She wore it day and night throughout that long weekend, then wore it only during nap time and at night for the next three weeks.  From the time she started sleeping with the TGuard on, she actually stopped putting her thumb in her mouth.  And she did not complain or whine about wearing it.  Nor did she seem upset about not being able to suck her thumb any more.  In fact, she would ask to put it on when we’re getting ready to get into bed and even mastered putting the bracelet on with little help from us.  She got to put a sticker on a poster when she woke up after successfully not sucking her thumb at night or during a nap.  And as a special reward, we let her pick something that we would buy for her.  She chose a mermaid dress.  We don't normally buy her rewards but this was such a big deal that we decided to get one for her.

We are so impressed with her and proud of how well she handled everything.  She has not shown any interest in sucking her thumb since end of November and I am confident that she is definitely done with the habit.

Two months later, the big callous on her left thumb is almost all gone and most importantly, her teeth's alignment have improved considerably.  Her top front teeth have moved inward and her front bottom teeth have straightened out, too.  I am so relieved!

Well done, Sophia!  We are so proud of you!