For probably the last seven or eight years, we’ve spent Christmas Day here in New York and then headed down to DC to celebrate with my family over New Year’s Eve. This year, because our house project will start the first week of January, we decided we wouldn’t be able to make the trip. We did, however, come up with a pretty good alternative: skiing in Ellicottville with our friends!
Our friends are serious skiers, and have a place about 50 minutes from East Aurora where they spend every weekend during ski season. They are gracious enough to let us come visit a handful of times each year, which is REALLY great now that we’re trying to get Maelle on skis as well.
Their son is just a year older than Maelle, and they are such sweet friends.
Don’t let her face fool you; she actually really likes skiing but was not having it at her lesson that day. (One of the other kiddos basically cried the entire time, which did not help.)
In even bigger news, I SKIIED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWENTY YEARS! And I did really well. (I’d been trying to mentally prepare myself for the worst.) I warmed up on the bunny slope a couple times, then tackled some green runs and had a great time. The conditions this year haven’t been the best, so I was glad to have done as well as I did.
The following day was New Year’s Eve, and we celebrated early with the kids by watching videos of other countries’ celebrations. Maelle participated in the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes–one for each strike of the hour–with their kiddos.
Once the kids were in bed, the adults enjoyed a late dinner, toasted to good friends, and watched the ball drop. I think we’ve decided this just might be our new New Year’s Eve tradition!
Happy New Year!
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