Dear family and friends
OK – I’ll try to get back to the blog. This week has been
crazy with both Regina and I working very late each night. Friday was an early
evening as we both quit work a little after 6:00. Practically a half day!
Let me start by saying that our Mammoth vacation was a blast
– for all of us. Here is a little review of the second half of the week!
On New Year’s Day we slept in until 8:00. It was a leisurely
morning compared to most. Generally on these trips we (the skiers) are up at
around 6:30 and out as soon as we can. This day we relaxed in our pajamas and
sipped our coffee by the fire and watched the Rose Parade. Later in the morning
we got Grayson ready to go and headed up to the main lodge for his lesson at Disabled Sports Easter
Sierra (DSES). After the lifts closed we headed
back to the condo to get ready for dinner at our favorite restaurant for
Regina’s last night with us. The five of us had a wonderful meal and a
wonderful time together.
The next day Austin and I were up and out as fast as we
could to catch our last opportunity to ski some more challenging terrain
together. We got in about two hard hours of skiing before heading back to the
condo to get Grayson ready for his last half day of lessons. After the lesson,
we beat feet back to the condo to pick-up Regina and take her off to the
airport for her flight home. I came back to the condo and Austin, Xixi and I chopped
and cut the fixin’s for my Dutch Oven Beef Stew. Here is a picture
– some assembly required. (The wine is for the chef!)
The balance of the week we were without adult supervision,
but we managed to stay out of too much trouble. On Thursday we started Grayson
on full day lessons. My intent was to take the first few days of our trip to
build up his strength and become adjusted to the mountain again before going
all day. Thursday, Friday and Saturday he skied from 9:30 to noon and 1:00 to
3:30. To get him there by 9:30, Grayson had to get up at 7:00. It takes about 2
hours to get him up, fed, showered, and dressed in many layers before we can
get out the door. Interestingly enough, it is the ski socks that I find most
difficult to get on him. Putting knee socks on another adult is a challenge
that I have yet to master, but I manage to get it done – unless I can talk
Austin into doing it for me! Austin and Xixi were great help every day and
helped make it a great vacation for me by shouldering some of the load.
As my father used to say, Friday night was “musgo” night. That is when you look in the
refrigerator and say, “This mus go, that mus go…” because there was no way that we could take it
all home. We had quite a combination of dishes and managed to polish off most
of the leftovers. Saturday night we celebrated by going out to dinner before
starting to pack up. We finished packing and loading the car on Sunday, then
drove to the Main Lodge for one last afternoon of skiing before heading home.
The skiing was great fun and it was in a snowstorm – more snow on the ground
for our next trip!
Over the course of the week, Grayson improved tremendously.
While he had moments that you would expect for someone so cognitively
challenged, he also had flashes of brilliance. Here is a clip of him on the day before we
came home, on a run down Solitude back to Chair 10. I was amazed! He really
has a knack and an aptitude for this – and the good news is that the chair lift
does the hard work for him!
We are still basking in the glow of the trip in spite of
returning to a madhouse at both of our places of employment. It was a great
vacation!
Pax!
Brant
