Because someday it may be the only thing he looks forward to in life

I finally took Ethan snowboarding on Friday morning. I took him to the Solitude resort when he was 4 years old but he was too scared to ride the ski lift. I had to carry him up the hill on my back and run down the hill beside him as he rode and catch him before he shot into the parking lot.

Last winter, I was too busy to take him and I didn't want that to happen again this year.

Picture info: Saying "Cheese" sort of works. If you need some boarding gear in Salt Lake then visit Broken Board Shop by the Albertsons store near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The girl that owns it is a friend of ours. She's cool and nice. She tried to give me the sweatshirt for free but I told her she should at least make $1 above what it cost her. I'm a tough negotiator.

Here is Ethan eating lunch. Does anyone ever forget their first $9 hotdog?


And here are some short, short videos of Ethan boarding. Apparently, turning on your digital camera in 20 degree weather is like stuffing a handful of snow down someone's shirt while they are asleep. I turned on the camera and tried to take the video but a synthetic voice issued forth from the picture taker, it said, "FAQ this!" and turned itself off. I believe "FAQ this!" is a derogatory remark in the langauge of consumer based electronics. Needless to say, because of the battery's unwillingness to work in the cold, the videos are 1 second and 3 seconds long.






We had a good time. Mostly I just held his hands and pushed his board in the right direction with my board as we rode but in the flatter areas I let him ride by himself. He has really good balance and can reach dangerous speeds, despite his inability to stop himself.

We had to leave early so I could go to work. I said, "We'll come back later." and he said, "Like tomorrow?" He lives to shred now.