Snow Creek

Grant and Brady and, of course, Nick were dying to go skiing this year. We just didn't have time with sports schedules and work to fit in a trip to Utah. We heard about this ski resort called Snow Creek in Missouri. Skiing in Missouri? What?!?

Our friends went last weekend and had a blast, so we decided to give it a try. It was small (we're talking Missouri here...not really known for their mountains) with only 4 lifts, but we still had an awesome time. We'll definitely go back in the future since it was an easy 4 1/2 hour drive. It was a perfect weekend trip.

Grant and Brady took a snowboarding lesson for the first time.

This was Drew's very first time to go skiing with us. It really was the perfect place for him to learn. There were lots of easy runs for him to practice on. He took a one hour private lesson, and then was pretty confident to ski all over with me.

Grant riding the lift

Breakfast at Waffle House on the 2nd day. Eating here made us thankful for Oklahoma's "Clean Air Act". We're definitely not used to sitting in a smoke filled restaurant. Gross!

Drew riding the lift with Nick

Brady on the lift

Drew

Drew was so fascinated by how the ski lift worked. I thought he was going to fall out of the chair since he kept leaning back to try and figure it all out.

Taking a break for lunch

Drew picked up skiing so fast. Our other kids didn't learn to ski until they were 6 and 8, so I wasn't sure how Drew would do. I think being close to the ground is helpful. I learned to ski when I was 18, and it wasn't so pretty.

Drew was exhausted by the end of the day. He skiied 6 straight hours the first day, and 7 the second day with just a short break for lunch. He did way better than I could have ever imagined on this trip. Hooray for kids growing up and making vacations easy!

My four boys!

Grant goofing off with his Waffle House hat. Trust me...he wasn't the goofiest looking person in the ski rental area. We definitely saw a different crowd of skiiers at this resort.

We finished off our trip by tubing for a couple of hours on this hill. It was so FAST! I was scared, but I don't think any of the kids were. (That's Grant at the bottom of the hill)

Proof that I was also on this vacation. :) When you're behind the camera, you're noticably absent from all the pictures. Drew was playing around with my camera in the hotel and snapped this pic of Brady and I.

We came home on Sunday evening after visiting some of our church's historical sites. We spent time at Liberty Jail and Independence. None of us had ever been to those sites, so it was a great way to spend our Sunday.

Hopefully next year we'll be able to take a bigger ski trip, but for this year, we were just happy to spend a little time on the snow. Nick said it's like eating a bite size cookie. It tastes good, but it leaves you wanting more.