Allow me to introduce the wonderful Alena from Charmingly Chandler! Actually, I’m assuming you already know her because of her awesomeness.

So far, the stories we’ve read have been summer vacations with the fam. Alena mixes it up a bit and we get to see a family vacation story in the winter! With pictures! Alena: it’s all yours!

Who thought snowboarding would make a good vacation?

When my husband got home after being gone for almost a year and a half we were ready for a vacation. Something relaxing, fun, and taking advantage of the weather. Our vacation would be in December, so it seemed like a no brainer that snowboarding would be in our future. But, I should have known better. I am not what some would call graceful. I am not “sporty” by any stretch of the word. A good vacation should include things like massages, fruity drinks with umbrella’s, sand and sun. But that’s what I know now. What I knew then was I was married to a man that has always been an adrenalin junky. If it is on a board, or wheels, and it goes fast, it’s his thing. So I was going to put on my brave face and get on a board that goes down the mountain on snow. Added to all of this, we were trying for a wee sized Chandler. It was like all the perfect ingredients for an eventful vacation right?

We make the drive to Colorado in one of the worst winter storms the mid-west saw that year. We spent most of the drive being on the look out for the other one. If it was too horrible to drive in at all, we would have stopped. It was managable. Not pretty, not easy. But we made it. Taking way more time than it should have. The stressful drive should have been foreshadowing to events of the week. Again, I can’t be clear enough to tell you I am not a person that finds great joy in things like surfing, snowboarding, inline skating, skiing, body boarding or anything else. I take joy in re-lax-ation. So when we rented our boards and brought them back to where we were staying and the work was beginning, it was a bad sign.

Work? On my vacation? No thank you. But that’s fine, I was actually oddly excited to get going. I had visions of amazing my husband with my mad skills on the board. I was pumped. We met up with a couple of our friends the first day. We picked up our lift tickets, and got on our little lifty-do-dad that would take us to the main top mountain. I decided I wouldn’t be outragious and try to actually go down a path. I stayed with the “magic carpet”. Where Cody attempted to teach me how to stand with my board on. I can hear him in my head “Alena, you’re letting your body be lazy. Stand up and don’t float towards the trees”. I stood half up, headed towards the trees and stopped. Crying about how he was a jerk, I hated it already, I couldn’t even stand up, and I wanted the beach. But I’m not one to easily give up. And while he headed down the black diamond something or other, I kept at it. Until some guy wearing bright red came down to the kiddie area (which let’s face it..is where I was. Still trying to stand up while some kid who can’t tie his shoes is learning how to turn with ease. Punk.) He said that they were temporarly closing the mountain for snow. We could hang out in the lodge and wait it out if we wanted. Which we did. Because the lodge? It’s warm. And it has a fire place. And hot coco. And a glove warmer thingie. Not even 10 minutes of sitting attempting to thaw, the same man comes and tells us “You’s gotsta go”. They closed the mountain.

When we finally all made our way out and heading back to where we were staying I was disappointed. I was defeated by a BOARD and SNOW. What kind of woman can’t stand up? Oh hell nah! The next day I was on it. I was determined. Even if we had to pay someone who charges way too much to teach me how to not break my bones but move in the direction of the bottom of the mountain, we would.

Fast foward. We get there, a sweet not-hard-on-the-eyes-but-don’t-tell-my-husband man takes on the task of teaching me to stand up. And what do you know! My ‘I’ve been riding for a billion years and can teach anyone’ husband was teaching me how GUYS stand up. Which seems to be different from how GIRLS stand up. Oh happy day! I can stand.

I can go!

I am on a roll!

I can even stop with out falling every time! I was on my way! Watch out slopes….Immmmm comminnnggggggg.

Skills y’all. That’s what I have. Because what you don’t see here is that my board? It went over my head. I flipped. I don’t know how I flipped. I don’t know how I managed to do so much awesome going like 1/2 a mile per hour. But I did. The instructors were running towards me. My friend couldn’t get her board off fast enough. But me? I was busy dieing of embarrassment. And trying to force air back into my lungs. And do a mental check of all the pains I was feeling to make sure I was ok. Because I know better than to call the medic people to move me. Oh no. We’re Chandlers. We don’t do that. Luckily, I just had some bumps and bruises, a busted ego, and a swollen knee. This did give me a free ticket to put my feet up in the lodge, play checkers with a stranger, and drink hot chocolate. Score one for me!

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. We hung out, we went to eat at places. We tried to relax with our friends. And then I started to feel sick. “Altitude sickness” we decided. It was the only explanation of the symptoms: nausea, vommiting, dizziness. We left Colorado on Saturday. And then on Monday I woke up and it clicked. The symptoms hadn’t gone away. In fact they were just increasing. Even though we were home. No longer under the hold of high altitudes. Luckily it was easy to figure out the problem, too bad it took a REALLY long time before I was cured.

So this vacation was full of lessons. 1) boards, snow & Alena don’t mix. 2) A husband is never qualified to give lessons. 3) if you are dizzy test. 4) Beach is best. 5) days away from home with your significant other are always worth it. Even if you twist some things, end up with some bruises, and cry a little.