Back to School part 2

Guess who else is going back to school this fall?

Yep.  Me.

I wanted to take the next class in the digital photography series, but the only one available was at a really horrid time slot, like 2-5 pm a couple days a week. And that just wouldn't work.  Life just doesn't get any busier than that time slot.

So I went a different route.  I'm taking a photoshop class. I try not to think about it too much though, because I really am not trying to pursue any kind of career in photography, so it kinda seems like a lot of money to spend on a hobby.

I've come to the conclusion that taking pictures of your own kids is one thing, but taking pictures of someone else is quite another.

So Photoshop.

My teacher seems pretty cool.  For starters he's a retired animator from both Disney and Dreamworks.  But the class is already overwhelming and scary and I'm already questioning what I've gotten myself into.

And then there's the fact that I feel like a fish out of water.  For instance, everyone else in the class has a plan and a real reason for being there.  We had to fill out this little thing on line introducing ourselves to the class and telling why we are taking this class, etc, etc, and after reading everyone else's I was starting to feel a little inadequate.  Some of the other introductions read like they had just copied and pasted from their resumes.   They were already marketing professionals looking to further enhance their skills.  Some were "professional" photographers, some were art majors hoping for a career in design/animation/art etc.

This is what I wrote-

Hi! 

I'm just taking this class for fun.  I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

 I'm a stay at home mom of four kids (ages 7-16) and an amateur photographer with a husband who is "highly encouraging" of my efforts to get a higher education and broaden my horizons and challenge myself in new ways. (some might say pushy) The last class I took was intro to digital photography and we used Photoshop Bridge a teeny tiny bit and my interest was peaked and this class happened to work the best with my schedule. So this is the one I picked.  Plus, I usually hate every picture I'm in, so the thought of photoshopping myself is really intriguing.  I just hope I am not in over my head. 

Wish me luck. I think I'm gonna need it. 

Alpine adventures

One of the kids' favorite activities while we are in Utah is to visit one of the ski resorts with an Alpine Slide.   There's definitely a decision to make here since doing BOTH generally isn't in the budget.   For about the same price they can go to Park City or Snowbird.  

At Park City, the rides are definitely funner, (The Alpine Coaster is about the funnest thing ever. Seriously.) but the lines are usually long and they get to do each thing only once. (and by "each thing" I mean just the Alpine Slide, and the Alpine Coaster)

At Snowbird for about the same amount of money we can by day passes and do everything as many times as we can stand. I mean, sure the Alpine slide is less than 1/2 the length of the one in Park City, but you spend a fraction of the time in line so it kinda evens out I guess.  And there's a bigger variety of stuff to do.

This year we picked Snowbird. 

John was out of town working, but my dad agreed to come along and help. 

By far, Christopher's favorite activity was "The Big Slide". 

Fortunately, you have to be 7 to operate one of the sleds yourself, and he had just turned seven only a few weeks prior.  He went over, and over, and over again.  After the rest of us began tiring and thinking we had about as much mountainside amusement park fun as we could stand, Christopher was negotiating for "Thirty more times."

We went up the mountain on the tram and walked around for a bit and took in the gorgeous scenery.  The kids were disappointed that there wasn't any snow left up there at the top (there was some the last time we went up there a few years ago)

 

There was also this other chair ride, similar to a zip line, but you are strapped into a chair, and then propelled backwards quite a distance to one end of the ride, and then shot back down the mountain, at which point when you reach the bottom, you come to a screeching halt. 

I didn't much care for this ride. Too much lurching.  Despite the fact that you are strapped in securely, you still feel like you are going to fall out of the chair at both take off and ending.

It was a mostly successful outing minus the part where Maddie flew off the Alpine Slide on her way down. She's not quite sure what happened.  One minute she's flying down the slide and the next she's sliding down the mountain with the sled on top of her.  She suffered scrapes on her elbows and knees,

a twisted ankle, a bruised ego,

and the loss of a shoe. 

Since she could barely walk, Nick did his best to be the knight in shining armor and made my dad help him with the "Boy Scout Carry".

Then he was able to locate and retrieve the shoe by sledding down the mountain at a snails pace. (They wouldn't allow us to walk up the mountain next to the slide)

The glory of his hero moment was only tarnished when he jumped up off the slide victoriously, holding the shoe high above his head, at which point the shoe flew out of his hand and landed only inches away from a stream.  Seriously, a slight breeze might have caused the shoe to be lost again.

We finally left in that afternoon in various states of crabbiness due to pain, hunger, fatigue, thirst, etc. A rather successful outing I'd say.