A String of Purls: Skiing!!!!

We have been excited about this little trip for awhile now! I knew going into it that it could go horribly wrong - bad weather, warm weather, sickness, toddler tantrums, a complete dislike for snow skiing....

But....it was awesome!

I'll start at the beginning - Wednesday morning we left around 9am to head west. I'm not even going to talk about all the weather happening back here. I was SUPER stressed. I don't do bad weather. I don't even like thunderstorms. I'm petrified of natural disasters. So, I'll leave out all the alerts and emails we were getting on our phones ALL DAY, not to mention the photos on social media of everyone huddled in their bathroom. By 6pm, I was convinced our house and cars were destroyed, let alone who knows how how the doggettes fared in all this.

Ok....enough paranoia...back to the trip!

Emma never eats breakfast, so of course, as soon we got into the truck, she was hungry. No biggie...Chickfila to the rescue!

We tried for some selfies, but Emma was WAYYYY TOO COOL for that.

She is obsessed with the makeup I gave her. She told us on the way that she was putting on her makeup for the mountains.

The drive went fine - super weird. Rainy and dark one minute, blue skies and sunny the next. We stopped in Boone for lunch at McKethan's BBQ. The brother of some friends of ours is the owner, so we made it a point to go in.

Y'all, it's delicious...and so cute inside. It's not your typical greasy BBQ joint. Think Fixer Upper meets BBQ - vintage style lighting fixtures, the smell of wood and cedar inside, and modern-vintage seating.

I got the sampler - awesome pimento cheese and the best variety of pickles ever!!

Brent went all out and got the ribs combo plate...I nibbled on it too and the ribs were outstanding.

Emma went for the healthy route and got the salad bar...and this salad bar was really nice. I'm not a salad bar person, or really even a buffet person (something about food sitting out and multiple people standing over it makes me cringe). But this salad bar was really nice. It had really fresh choices.

Ben came out to meet us, and we all got a free t-shirt.

{Emma refused to take hers off until bedtime..}

When we got to Blowing Rock, we went to this great park in the center of town to get some wiggles out. It was really windy, and getting colder, but we loved it.

We ate dinner at Storie Street Grill, and it was delicious. Don't judge...but we totally let her watch a DVD at dinner. Brent and I could actually talk to each other and enjoy the meal. Emma was a bit tired after all the travelling, so she was not in the best mood...so we were THOSE parents that allowed this:)

Thursday morning we woke up to this!!! Super psyched!!

I drove to get us some coffee, and took this pic from the truck.

After some coffee and a cinnamon bun, we headed to Sugar Mountain. We waffled back and forth on where to go, and ultimately decided on here because it was close, cheaper, and they had other things to do there in case skiing was a bust.

Now, Emma had been talking skiing up for quite some time. She's never seen us do it, so I have no idea where she learned it from, but she seemed super excited to go. She loves snow, so at least that hurdle was covered. But I had no idea how it would go.

She was super excited to get her skis and had no trouble with the boots at all. I thought things could go south here since ski boots are not that easy to walk in, but she didn't complain at all.

It was windy and snowing, so we bought her some goggles. Again - I thought it might be a waste of money and she would refuse to wear them...but she loved them!!!

Here we are, ready to head out!!

I didn't rent skis yet, because there was no sense in us both wasting money if Emma hated it. So I was the cheerleader/picture-taker/crazy stalker mom.

She was all smiles, so pumped!!!

And off they went....she had a blast the first time down!!!

They take this conveyor belt thingy up the hill, and Emma did fine on that too. It's single file so you have to trust that she won't move or fall off.

Skiing on her own!!

Coming off the belt...she only needed help the first 2 times, then she came off on her own without any problems. It did make me nervous though....

I adore these next pictures....first of many daddy daughter ski trips down the hill, I hope:)

Emma had excellent balance - I was shocked. She could even steer a bit too, but every so often, she needed a tug or pull. Of course, she hated any help!

I decided I would rent skis and get a lift ticket too, after seeing that she was loving it.

I will admit that I am a bit more cautious and maybe over-protective than Brent. So, naturally, Emma hated that. This video is a great example - basically, I am trying to help Emma and she is telling me to get the heck away:) You can even hear her yell at me at the end....threenagers.

Emma did get tired and after another hour, we had to carry her off the slopes while she screamed. No biggie though...we'll just head inside for some hot cocoa and a beer:)

Brent got to ski on his own for a bit, while Emma and I watched from the lodge. It was a super fun time, and I am so glad!

The next morning, it was still snowing, so we walked to The New Public House for breakfast. WE stayed there on our last trip, and I loved it. A great place to stay or eat.

We sat right by the fireplace, and had an awesome meal. There's something about being warm and cozy inside, yet looking out on a snowy landscape that it just so beautiful.