Trial departure!

Less than a week until we hop on a plane, but our year off officially began with Paul's last day of work last Friday. We bundled the family into a car and headed to Jay Peak in Vermont. Our packing was less than efficient and we (ok I) forgot a few key things (e.g. U.S.$$ that we had purchased for the trip, balaclavas because surely it wouldn't be cold on a ski trip etc etc) so we considered this a trial run from which we surely learned many important lessons we can apply to our upcoming bigger departure. Our time in Vermont was fantastic with amazing weather - warm and sunny for the learner ski day,

freezing and blustery but pure powder on the second day,

and then incredibly clear and cold our final day on the slopes, by when Jacob Paul and I had reached expert level (ha ha) and also borrowed enough cold weather gear from my far more prepared sister to be almost comfortable skiing down the slopes and riding on the unnervingly swaying chairlifts.

When I say learner ski day I do mean learner, Tom and I were about the same ability level except that when he fell down on the magic carpet it kept moving

while when I bailed they had to bring the magic carpet to a grinding stop. And I won't even mention my spectacular yard sale coming off the actual chair lift for the first time.

After three days of downhill (for me Paul and Jacob - two days for Thomas and Kyra so they could go to the waterpark with the cousins on the third day) we had a beautiful day for a cross country ski expedition with the whole family, Henry in the poke being pulled along by Ben

and Tom and Alice making heroic and valiant efforts (while stopping occasionally to complain - Tom finished off his trail by taking off his skis and walking the rest of the way, skis in hand) and Jacob and Kyra trailblazing ahead.

We discussed the highlights on the long car ride back to Toronto, and all agreed the terrific meals - fried chicken, pulled pork, homemade pizza, with plenty of Ben and Jerry's and homemade cookies for dessert - prepared in the fully equipped kitchen at the farmhouse we stayed at were near the top of the list. 

Also greatly enjoyed were the comfy reading spots

many hot tubs spread throughout the house - not one, not two but three, the last with a spectacular view outside the farmhouse but which unfortunately resulted in a rather impressive waterfall - apparently through leaky jets - into the living room upon whose discovery that particular soak was abruptly halted. The incredible scenery and views at the top of Jay Peak were wonderful, and we all loved the snowy extension of winter that we could actually get out and enjoy rather than hibernating as we often did in Toronto this year. The only negative we experienced was the hairy drive home from the hills on Tuesday after the blowouts, our rental car only had all season tires so we basically just skidded down the hills, coming to a stop at one point perpendicular to the ditch/snowbank we luckily didn't crash into.

Visiting with friends and family was another highlight. One night we were happy to have Rachel's good friends Fran and Kevin over for dinner, and we were all captivated by the adorable Odin. Paul and I and the kids also had a nice visit with Kelly, Mike, Gavin and Luke, friends from Kenwood Avenue, who invited us over for some cold local microbrews and Vermont cheddar at their chalet after our first day of skiing. The most wonderful aspect of the holiday of course was the chance to spend five days and nights with Rachel, Ben, Henry and Alice. It was a terrific way to be together before we embark on the big trip and don't see them for five months :(.

So, now that we have had our intro trip (and unpacked, done the laundry from the trip and recovered from the illnesses that struck everybody on the drive home from Vermont - thanks kids for not being sick on the ski hills!) we are ready to repack and launch into the next phase of this year!