Snow Holiday

One big highlight of our holiday last week was a quick trip to the snow.  The children have looked at snowy travel brochures, stories, weather reports and websites for a couple of years, so this was a much anticipated experience!

We stayed at a resort in Jindabyne, and drove into the Kosciuszko National Park twice, to the snow fields at Perisher.  Despite being the end of the season, there was plenty of white stuff to play in ... just a little icy and slushy at the base of the hill.  The roads were clear and dry, not crowded, which made the trip a 20 minute breeze compared to Pete's tales of 3 hour bumpy rides using chains in a crawling stream of traffic.

The children built snowmen.  Elijah threw snowballs for us all to dodge.
Elijah's snowman video on YouTube

Pete tirelessly dragged the toboggan up the mountain, again and again, sometimes with Jasmine onboard!
Jasmine's toboggan ride on YouTube

I haven't skied before, and I'm not sure whether I want to!  Pete thinks I'll be a natural at it but I'm scared of the sliding sensation and the momentum ... so we'll see.  The toboggan was incredibly fun!  In a year or two we might all return for a week, for the whole kit and kaboodle of ski hire and lessons.  This will thrill Jasmine, who was begging to join the snow school we saw.

Driving through the country between Canberra and Jindabyne was delightful for me (aside from the good old 'are we there yet?' chorus ... partly alleviated with new CD's and audio books from the library).  So much about the countryside really tugs at my heart and makes me reflective and dreamy.  And I loved being on an unfamiliar road and seeing new sights, like these rock formations in the middle of sheep paddocks!!

It probably doesn't look that exciting, but I find rocks and farms aesthetically appealing and inspiring.  While Pete drove, I jotted down verses of country ballads which I might sing, if I was that way inclined!

It was warm enough for us to set up camp in the carpark for the day, right near the snowplay area ... a convenient spot for dressing, snacking and resting.  After an active morning, Jasmine and I stayed in the car the second afternoon, as she was tired and had enough of being wet.  We played connect four, and she even did some school work in the car!  That wasn't my intention when I threw in a few workbooks for the trip (mostly out of guilt about our recent month off "school"), but Jasmine seemed relieved to do something familiar, and I was glad as she stopped complaining.

Meanwhile, the boys were on the mountain and Elijah became fearless on the toboggan!