After a week in Boston visiting a dear friend in hospital, I was ready for Spring Break. On a Thursday afternoon we swooped in and collected Evan from school and kept driving west through the emptiness till we got to Santa Fe.
Jo had found us an amazing home nestled in the Santa Fe National Forest about 25 very bumpy minutes from town. By Saturday morning we were on the slopes at a tiny ski place called Sipapu. Evan and Vivian kept the jokes flowing.
"Why did tigger put his head in the toilet?"
"To look for Pooh!"
"Why did the ski instructor put his head in the toilet?"
"To Sipapu!"
Sipapu would be what I would imagine a small family ski place from the 50's to be like. I was introduced to skiing in my mid thirties at mega ski resorts like Breckenridge. Multiple peaks, a few dozen lifts, thousands of skiers. Sipapu is different. That Saturday morning they were in the midst of their cardboard derby - a fun hippy family event watched by almost as many people as participants. Vivian and Evan joined the other kids and happily played in the snow and skied and watched the derby while Jo and I skied a little. By mid afternoon we had to retire to the shade because it was too hot in the sun.
Tim, Karen, Ava and Z showed up later that weekend and the kids went wild. We repeated the ski experience a few more times at Sipapu and one day Tim and I went and skied the Santa Fe mountain. The kids did some death defying sledding on ice. Vivian, it turns out, is a extreme thrill seeker. We took the kids to the Georgia O'Keeffe museum and an amazing crazy place called the Meow Wolf that is impossible to describe. We met other Austin friends, ate fantastic New Mexico cuisine, chilled in the hot tub, watched a movie at the Santa Fe Violet Crown, and felt a bit like we were visiting Austin but not quite.
The kids spent many an hour playing and flighting with each other. One memorable quote is worthy a mention. Evan was describing to Karen how is likes the Percy Jackson book that he is reading. "It's the best book in the world" he said. Vivian was with him. And being keenly aware of her writing partner's published work, Vivian gently said "Well Evan, it might be the best book you've read so far", trying to get him to leave room in the future to be able to say the same thing about Karen's books.
By the end of the week I had more than my fill of being in a house with lots of children, though individually they were mostly darlings. And if the snow isn't always so slushy I could be pretty easily convinced to make a spring trip to Santa Fe an annual pilgrimage.
The drive back was desolate as expected and we mostly listened to Harry Potter Book 6 and a lovely story called Esperanza Rising and got only one speeding ticket. We arrived back at the white wooden house close to midnight and were out back on the road next morning to visit Grandma and the cousins.
It was almost impossible to wake the kids up for school on Monday morning. I'd say that's a sign of a good spring break.
Jo had found us an amazing home nestled in the Santa Fe National Forest about 25 very bumpy minutes from town. By Saturday morning we were on the slopes at a tiny ski place called Sipapu. Evan and Vivian kept the jokes flowing.
"Why did tigger put his head in the toilet?"
"To look for Pooh!"
"Why did the ski instructor put his head in the toilet?"
"To Sipapu!"
Tim, Karen, Ava and Z showed up later that weekend and the kids went wild. We repeated the ski experience a few more times at Sipapu and one day Tim and I went and skied the Santa Fe mountain. The kids did some death defying sledding on ice. Vivian, it turns out, is a extreme thrill seeker. We took the kids to the Georgia O'Keeffe museum and an amazing crazy place called the Meow Wolf that is impossible to describe. We met other Austin friends, ate fantastic New Mexico cuisine, chilled in the hot tub, watched a movie at the Santa Fe Violet Crown, and felt a bit like we were visiting Austin but not quite.
The kids spent many an hour playing and flighting with each other. One memorable quote is worthy a mention. Evan was describing to Karen how is likes the Percy Jackson book that he is reading. "It's the best book in the world" he said. Vivian was with him. And being keenly aware of her writing partner's published work, Vivian gently said "Well Evan, it might be the best book you've read so far", trying to get him to leave room in the future to be able to say the same thing about Karen's books.
By the end of the week I had more than my fill of being in a house with lots of children, though individually they were mostly darlings. And if the snow isn't always so slushy I could be pretty easily convinced to make a spring trip to Santa Fe an annual pilgrimage.
The drive back was desolate as expected and we mostly listened to Harry Potter Book 6 and a lovely story called Esperanza Rising and got only one speeding ticket. We arrived back at the white wooden house close to midnight and were out back on the road next morning to visit Grandma and the cousins.
It was almost impossible to wake the kids up for school on Monday morning. I'd say that's a sign of a good spring break.
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