Ski Free NH!! What a blessing! Thank you soooo much!

What a blessing we had today! 2 weeks ago we learned that each year in January, NH offers a ski free day for anyone of any age that would like to learn to ski, snowboard, or cross country ski. Rentals, lesson and lift tickets are all free for the whole day! When you have a large family like us, a treat like skiing doesn't come around very often due to the budget! So...I called up our favorite local ski area--Gunstock. About 1/2 hour away from us, and I booked our 4 folks that had already skied before for snowboarding and I booked Edward, Elisha, and Nicole for skiing. 

It was a beautiful day, the snow conditions were great, and we had an awesome time! What a blessing! Glenn took the day off, and we had a much needed day all together as a family! Rosie and I stayed in the lodge area. Rosie had the best time just walking all over the place!!! I definitely got my activity points in today!

Take a peek at the beautiful day that the Lord hath made! We truly did rejoice and were glad in it!
Glenn, Madelyn, Grace, and Jon learned to snowboard today. Edward, Elisha and Nicole learned to ski!

Okay..so truly...how much stuff does one large family need to bring when they leave home at 8:00 in the morning and bring our own lunch, and need to be warm?? Well...take a look...LOTS!

 and lots of stuff! Everyone was loaded down like a pack mule coming into the lodge!

 Here's everyone before we got all of the equipment!

Here's everyone waiting for their lesson to start!

 Jon and Nicole ended up having a private lesson as no other kids showed up!

 I LOVE the above shot of Grace and Glenn together! So nice! Below is the whole gang ready to hit the slopes after our nice lunch!

 This is Rosie saying..."Mom..are you watching me?? I'm going to bend down and pick up rocks and put them in my  mouth!"..."Yes...little Rosie...Mama is not only watching you closely, but also taking pictures of you!" "Smile!"

 Truly...Rosie had the BEST time walking up and down the decking outside the lodge. She also picked up the occasional used french fry someone had dropped and tried to eat that, too!

 I spent a good deal of the day with Rosie in the back pack! She LOVES it in there!

 Thank you Ski.NH! We had an awesome day, and as I type this, everyone in my family but me is fast asleep! They had so much fun they plum wore out!

So...what is the consensus about skiing and snowboarding????
Glenn..."I'll stick with skiing!"...my dear, dear hubby, who is good at anything he tries...usually...had a really hard time with snowboarding. He fell a LOT...and decided to quit instead of getting hurt! He is almost 50 you know!! ssshhhhh!! Don't tell him I said that!
Madelyn.."I'll stick with skiing, too, Mom!"...Madelyn found snowboarding really challenging, too. It was really hard for her!
Grace.."I like snowboarding Mom! I'd like to do it again and again so that I can get better at it!"
Edward.."I LOVE skiing! I just LOVE it!"..my 13 year old son has a need for speed, and the conditions today once the sun came out provided him with just that! He slowed down only for a quick lunch! He definitely got his "monies" worth as they say!
Elisha..."I like skiing a lot. It wasn't fun when I fell, though, coming down a big hill, and slid on my stomach for a long time!...you should have seen Edward's face! He was worried about me!"
Jon..."I LOVE snowboarding! I'm getting really good at it! I loved my instructor, too! Thanks for taking us Dad and Mom!"
Nicole..."I LOVE skiing! I really do!"...Nicole's ski instructor did NOT recommend she go on the chair lift, so she spent the entire day on the magic carpet and little tiny hill. She LOVED it!

Everyone really did have a wonderful time! Thank you dear sweet Glenn for taking the day off from work, and bringing us there! It was a day of blessing!

And..I must close by saying..."don't you just LOVE a bargain?"...we sure do!