Goodbye Winter....Hello Spring:)

For most of February I prayed against the abnormal weather that was melting what little snow we had and causing rain storms instead of snow storms. Mostly because our Mother/Daughter crew had decided to do our cross country skiing in New England instead of West Virginia to ensure snow, hahahaha. So of course the snow in New England was barely there while West Virginia, like much of the middle east coast, was racking up record breaking snow fall most of the winter. When the crew flew in Thursday not only was it not snowing, but rain was falling steadily. Discouraged we decided to spend Friday shopping and sightseeing. We headed north to Mt. Washington, which is where I worked in the summer of 2003, the hotel is stunning and a solid piece of the area's history. That far north we were excited to see snow on the ground as well as coming from the sky. The next day we woke to snow cover in Jackson, but even so decided to head north again to Sunday River, Maine to make sure we had good skiing. There was tons of fresh snow, and we had a great day skiing up and all around the mountain. We had enough ridiculous falls and hilarity coming down ungroomed trails that other skiiers coming up the mountain stopped to ask what was going on. After such a great day on the trails we headed to Nestlenook Farm where my cousin Tasha and her boyfriend Isaac took us on a sleigh ride, we started the ride huddled under furry blankets and drinking champagne, stopped to feed the european deer, and took in the stunning scenery. The farm is lit up with over a million lights and is looks like it's straight out of a story book. Honestly it was amazing, much thanks to Tasha and Isaac. After one last day on the trails in Jackson, we headed back south to my place, and shortly after the girls headed out of town. Me, moms and sister on the Veranda at Mt. Washington Hotel
Linds, Megan and I on the trails
Waiting for our sleigh ride

You would think we were little girls while we were feeding these deer, it was so exciting

That Monday my prayers for snow came to an abrupt halt, and by that weekend we had that first hint of spring that is always so magnificent. When the temperature hits 50 degrees and the sun was shining, and we stayed outside all day doing everything we have been deprived of since that first snowfall in October. It happens every year, even though we shiver a little, we ignore it because even though the weather is starting to turn, everyone knows its a tease and we will be forced indoors again before we can really start to enjoy spring. I'm not worried though, it's coming :)

Olympic Memories

With the closing ceremonies in Vancouver last night another Winter Olympics came to a close. As usual there were moments that surprised, saddened, stunned and impressed. All the things I look forward to. Stars were made and broken, often all in one event. And as usual, the team representing the home country stepped up and created history, as well as some of my favorite moments. Here is a list of my top 5 Olympic moments from Vancouver.
5. USA vs. Canada for the Gold medal in hockey. Hockey is one of the few sports I don't follow really at all, but I truly enjoy watching the fast paced game. The final game was thrilling with the US coming back from 2-0 to tie up the game with seconds left. Canada ended up winning the Gold medal in overtime, and while I am an avid fan of the US olympic team, this was okay with me. For the Canadians to win at the sport they most identify with, on home ice, on the last day of the Olympics is a moment that will go down in history for them. I'm just glad the US put up one hell of a fight :)
4. Bode Miller shows up to the Olympics. Miller has spent a lot of his career not quite meeting his potential. He has an outrageous amount of talent, but never had the work ethic necessary to really push himself to his best (according to all the experts). Many trashed the young man for not taking it all seriously enough, and even as a fan I was disappointed in his inability to buckle down and pull it together for the biggest winter sports stage. So I was ecstatic to see Bode show up for the Vancouver games with a different attitude. Even, by his own words, not in the best shape due to late decision to try for the Olympic games, Miller showed some of his best stuff and walked away with a medal of each color. Which, of course, makes me wonder what he could have done at his best physical fitness with this new attitude...3. Chinese gold in pairs figure skating. This story has all the good makings for a movie. Two people working together, platonically, for years. A devastating injury puts all they have worked for at risk, but more importantly brings them together in a new, romantic way. United in every way now, they decide to come back and try for Olympic gold at the advanced ages of 31 and 36. The performance they put out in the short program literally left me a little breathless, giving a new definition to the words, "in unison". Aside from the stunning physical show they put on was the couple themselves. You could see they joy they got just from being around each other and I think it translated itself onto the ice which contributed to the eventual gold medal win. They were happy just to be skating together, and their vow to have "no regrets" if they walked away with less then gold, made them an easy couple to root for.

2. Canada's first gold on home ground. Alexandre Bilodeau competed in the men's moguls final, putting up one of his best runs ever left him in first place, unfortunately the favorite to win was still to come and a good performance would put Bilodeau in second place. The scores came down and this young man and the Canadian crowd there supporting him were up and roaring as Canada finally had a gold medal on Canadian soil. There would be many to follow, but this first one stuck with me. The excitement of the whole event gave me goosebumps everytime it was recapped or replayed.

1. Joannie Rochette's short program performance. I don't know how to describe how I felt about this performance. Watching someone go through the most terrible time in their life on a world wide stage should make you feel bad for them. Joannie Rochette didn't even give me the chance for that. Two days after her mother's death, she stepped onto the ice and delivered a brave and emotional performance. It was a tribute and stunner all at the same time. I watched with tears the entire, near perfect, performance and felt some of her pain when her face crumpled up as the music ended. The performance earned her a bronze medal and hopefully the beginning of some healing.