Skiing, again and Chloe turns 4!

Last week, we went back to France for another week of skiing. Although we were not the only people to come back within one season, I am pretty sure we were the only Americans to make their second trip within a six week window.


We made the trip down over two days. In the middle of France we came upon a maroon Buick labeled County Sherrif with lights and sirens. It also had a Missouri license plate in the back window and 911 and Dare stickers on the back fenders. Hysterical! I would love to meet the person who had that shipped over here.

We stayed in a different chalet this time with 2 British families. As before, we were really lucky with the people we shared the chalet with. They were good company and the kids were all happy together. We also shared our time with the host and chef of the chalet. We had a lot of funny conversations about weights and measures and were comparing our new friendship to the "special"  relationship to that of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. By the end of the trip, Colin's British accent was in full force and even Chloe was slipping a few British accents in as well.

Chloe just fit that age requirement to start ski lessons through the French ski school. Her class started in "the garden" which is just off from being level. She learned to put her put her skis on and also managed to hold onto the rope lift. By the middle of the week, the French instructor wanted to kick her out of the class, telling us she was too small. As before, the company we booked the vacation through has a staff member to help with their guests taking lessons. They told us that Chloe was making progress and should stay. Chloe's helper, Matt, had her riding the button lift up a small green slope the next day. We were told on Friday that she actually got on a chair lift! She still has a long way to go, but she likes being on skis and asked to go skiing one more time on the day we were packing up to go.

Colin getting off the lift and the strangers responsible for his safety.

Colin continued in the program that he had started 6 weeks ago. Even though he started with the next level, Flocon, he was bumped up to the 1 star group by the second day. At this level, the start using poles and gradually stop snowplowing and start practicing parallel turns. For Colin's ski lessons, the group meets at the ski school to put on their ski bibs that typically states their level. From there, the group heads off to a chair lift. Only one ski student is allowed to ride on the lift at a time and the all meet at the top of the lift. It seems very unnatural as a parent to send your small child off to ride a chair lift with several adults who often make conversation with them. But as one of those adults, you are very protective of those kids, making sure they aren't in danger of falling off. I am also always talking to them, asking them what class they are in and how long they have been skiing. We would often ski by Colin's class, as they were skiing on the same blue slopes that we were.

On Thursday, we celebrated Chloe's 4th birthday with the entire group in the chalet. Our chef, Rhys, made a chocolate cake and the other kids surprised her with presents! I think it was one birthday we will never forget.

Friday night, the kids were presented with their ski school pins acknowledging their accomplishments. Although we were happy with what Chloe had achieved, We were so proud of Colin. He class was not easy and he worked really hard.

It was another awesome ski vacation. If we had found out about this company when we got here, I sure it would have been at least a yearly trip. We definitely are planning on doing more skiing when we are back in the US.