A Little Weekend Winter Escape

Our timeshare week in Chelan came up for the beginning of February and typically we wouldn't use it, but I looked up online to see if the small ski resort and tubing hill would still be open. And as luck would have it, they were still going to be open, so we took the opportunity to take a little weekend getaway to play in the snow a bit.

We left right after school on Feb. 1st and arrived late in Chelan. It was chilly there and the lake was really low. Definitely a difference from when we are there in the summer. There wasn't any snow at our place, but we decided to drive just up the hill a bit to the Echo Valley Ski and Tubing Area to where there was a little snow left. This is a great volunteer, non-profit ski resort. Nothing big, just tow ropes, but a fabulous place to teach your kids to ski! And it felt like almost Spring skiing conditions. No jackets needed as long as the sun was out and not behind a cloud.

A view of the lake and snowy hills from our unit

Cammy took off on the tow ropes really easily, which is something she wasn't really familiar with. She just did her own thing going up and down the little hill practicing her basic skiing skills. We took advantage of this opportunity with Hailey and pulled her up the hill part way and sent her down. She didn't attempt the tow ropes, but did manage to master her turning and stopping skills (and we were exhausted after an amazing workout of pulling her up the hill over and over!). We rented Brielle a set of skis, but kind of regretted it after she quit only 30 mins in. We decided one more year for her and she might be ready to learn and stick with it.

Had to get a picture before Brielle quit

Jason is a super helper with these kiddos!

These two are going to be great skiers!

After a bit of skiing we took a break and hit the tubing hill. We all had fun, but Brielle didn't last too long before being done and Jason did one run and was done due to his tailbone. It is a lot of work to pull those tubes up the hill, as they don't have a little conveyor belt like bigger tubing places have. So none of us last all that long.

The last ones standing on the tubing hill!

Sunday the 3rd was our going home day. We decided not to watch the Super Bowl and played around at Wapato for the day before heading home. We did a little beach and pond exploration in the morning. It was really windy out there, so we didn't last too long. It was fun for all of us to be able to walk on areas (like the fishing pond) that are usually full of water. We did some Valentine's Day crafts in the rental kiosk and then us girls rented some ice skates to take out to the little ice rink that Wapato has (Jason chose not to skate due to a tailbone injury he got getting out of our car in an icy parking lot on our drive to Chelan). The girls did great on ice skates and I helped Brielle skate with a walker for a bit. Thank goodness she didn't last long, as my back wouldn't have outlasted her due to me having to bend over so much to help keep her upright! We had such a fun time getting the little ice rink all to ourselves!

The traditional picture of the girls every time we are at Wapato

Exploring the beach in the cold and wind

Checking out treasures we find

A look back at the units from the beach

Trekking back

On a buoy in the lake where we usually swim

In the middle of the fishing pond

The girls ice skating

Sisters are great for helping!

We left enough time on our drive home to make a stop in Leavenworth. The girls have been continuously asking to take a carriage horse ride every time we are in Leavenworth and we never seem to time it right, have the exact amount of cash, or just have enough time. So this time we FINALLY got to take the carriage horse ride around the town! We ended our stop with a fun gingerbread treat from the Gingerbread Factory before heading home.

In the horse carriage

A fun little ride around town

The girls with the horsey

Mini gingerbread people cookies

A cute little place to eat at the Gingerbread Factory

And just when we thought we were getting away to find snow, we end up coming home to snow starting to fall...and sticking! Such a fun way to come back home!