Mt. Buller

   Last Saturday afternoon, around 4:00, Andy decided that winter was going by fast, and we should go to the snow. Not just nearby Lake Mountain (site of our infamous u-turn) but all the way to Mt. Buller, which is almost four hours away.

   I agreed, if he could find a place to stay that night near the mountain, thereby breaking up the drive. To be honest, I felt that he had about a 0.01% chance of finding a place on such short notice. A man on a mission, Andy headed to the computer, phone in hand. The first few places he tried were fully booked. He tried a place that had Hotel in the name, but was told it was a restaurant. Ooo-kay. But within a few minutes, he had a place in Mansfield. When told it was a backpackers room, albeit one that our family would have to ourselves, Andy cautiously (and wisely!) checked with me first. I gave it the green light, and he quickly booked the room. 

   With the clock ticking so-to-speak, we flew into high gear. Andy started pulling out all the required snow gear. I headed out to pick up the girls from their playdates. We packed clothes and snacks, loaded up the car, and were out the door by 6:00. We picked up pizzas on the way, and put the audiobook version of James and the Giant Peach on the iPod. We got through several chapters before we realized the iPod was still on shuffle....oops. No wonder we were a bit confused!

   Driving at night worked well. Eventually Aliya took a bit of a nap in the car, while Alanna read. Once we were out in the boonies, which surprisingly doesn't take long, we looked out at the beautiful night sky, amazed at how many stars we could see. Alanna stared out the window and to her delight saw several shooting stars, probably from the end of the Perseid meteor shower.

   We arrived at our accommodations without much difficulty. The kids were thrilled that they BOTH got to have the top bunk. Not a problem since there were actually 4 sets of bunk beds plus a single bed in the middle. They also loved the little numbered wooden lockers that could be assigned to each bed. Aliya declared she loved it so much she wanted to live there! Not sure what that says about our house...maybe just that we no longer have bunk beds.

   After sending my mom a bunch of pics from the trip later in the week, she complained commented that I wasn't in any of them. Out of 150 or so pics, I was indeed in one of them. Here ya go Mom:

Our fancy digs

   The next morning, we stopped off at a local place to buy lift tickets, a park entrance pass, and new gloves for Alanna since we'd forgotten hers in the rush. Then we were off to the mountain, about an hour's drive.
   As you can see from the pics below, we couldn't have asked for a better day. Sunny and warm, and the snow was nice and soft--very important for a beginning snowboarder! After renting gear, we took the girls to their lessons  and Andy headed for the chairlift to get in a few runs. I stayed to watch and photograph the girls, which was good because 15 minutes into Aliya's class we were told she couldn't continue without a helmet. I quickly ran to rent her one.
   The girls did awesome. After lunch and a little more practice,  the girls were ready to try the bunny slope! 

Heading up

View from the top

Where's Waldo, er, Alanna?

Just like surfing!

Snowbaby

Bye-bye baby

 Because the day was so beautiful, the kids didn't get cold and wanted to stay later than we planned. We tried to stick with our motto, "Quit while the quittin's good," but it was so nice, and frankly we wanted to get every penny's worth. Skiing, like everything else in Oz, is crazy expensive. Aliya fell asleep on the shuttle bus from the lodge to the parking lot, and they both slept much of the way home. Still, it was well worth it, and a completely successful last-minute trip. It was especially welcome for Andy who really enjoyed the crunch of the snow under his boots and the crisp, thin mountain air. With the crazy hours and his crazy workload, it was nice to really get away from it all.