Chapter Five* (The Ski Trip – Part 1)

So. After much tribulation we had set time for a “date” to go night skiing. My family lives in an area of the province that receives a LOT of snow and as a result there are several ski hills in the area that employ a good number of people. My parents happened to know a couple that worked at one and they had invited our family to attend a ‘friends & family night’ to go skiing for free! My parents invited me, and I in turn invited the Hubster.

After learning about his accident I didn’t want to ask the Hubster to drive up (it was roughly 1.5 hours from where he lived) and I didn’t own a car. So I also invited my best friend Bo Bandy along for the trip as a) he had a car, b) is one of the most fun people I have EVER met and my family loves him and c) if things didn’t work out with the Hubs there was at least someone there that I could hang out with! It was this night that really pushed the Hubs and I together and Bo Bandy loves to take credit for it. Let me explain…

The day of the ski tip arrived and the Hubs was dropped off at my university (I was living on residence at the time) sometime in the late afternoon. I guess it didn’t even really occur to me to try and look nice as I knew I’d probably get dirty / messy while skiing, so the Hubs’ first impression of me was… well, he was surprised. Haha! The only times he had seen me was when we were out, and in those instances I always tried to have a ‘polished’ look– it was back when I used to spend a fair amount of time getting ready. Picture this: I came out of my house with no make-up, hair not done (I have naturally crazy wavy / curly hair that is INSANE when untamed), in a torn over sized sweatshirt, Napoleon Dynamite boots and my “Green Giant” slush pants. I used to own this DISGUSTING forest green slush suit (it was all I had that was ski-appropriate… haha). So I had these green green green pants and matching jacket, and from that moment until the day he encouraged me to finally throw it out after we were married he began calling me the “Green Giant” every time I put it on. This is the only picture I have of it, and it was taken after we had been dating for a month or so. It’s a little creased as it’s been in the Hubs’ wallet for nearly 3 years:
Annnnnyway. So, that’s what he saw when he got out of the car… but apparently his mom, who dropped him off, thought that I was cute. :) We all piled into Bo Bandy’s little standard car and drove to B Town. We got to my parents house, and I can’t even begin to imagine how awkward it must have been for him. My family knew and loved Bo Bandy from previous visits, and the Hubs was unlike any man that I had ever dated and brought home before. I distinctly remember Peeah sitting on the couch reading a book when she met him, and she wasn’t sure about him because he was so different from the last person that I had seriously dated and because he was a little standoffish. He was really just a little shy and extrememly overwhelmed. Most people introduce their significant others to their families after several weeks or months of exclusive dating, but I decided to break the mold and do it before he had even officially asked me out. Haha!! But really, let’s evaluate: the Hubs is from a quiet family of 4; he has only one sibling. They are calm and enjoy activities of a quieter nature. My family is… loud. I have 5 fun-loving, CRAZY siblings and we all get along really well. When we are all home together there is no space and we do stupid funny things together that usually involve a lot of laughter and a lot of noise. Let’s just say that getting used to my family was an adjustment for the Hubs. haha! :)

After gathering the troops together we all headed over to the ski hill and got outfitted with our gear. This part of the story is important: I, having skied before and fallen in love with it, chose skis with poles for extra balance. Peeah chose the same. Bo Bandy, wanting to be extra adventurous chose ski blades without poles. The Hubs and Teep chose to try snowboarding. After getting our gear we all headed out to the hill together. We initially had no intention of separating, but Peeah was nervous (it was her first time skiing) so I ended up staying on the kiddie hills for a while to help her get the hang of it. The Hubs and Teep wandered off first in search of a hill bigger than 5 feet and I continued to teach Peeah and Bo Bandy [also his first time] the ropes. After a few minutes Bo Bandy also got bored and wandered off and I ended up skiing with Peeah. We finally made it to the ski lift and began enjoying the slopes. Little did we know that by the end of the night one of us would end up with a concussion… but that’s another story. :)