Second best date ever…

Crushin’ on each other in the mountains.

“I’m so proud of you, hon. You’re no wimp, that’s for sure!”

Be still my beating heart, ladies. Nothing like  adoring praise from your husband!

My husband took me cross-country skiing this weekend. It was my second time ever trying the sport; my first time was about a year ago on a super flat, super short route around a golf course.

This time we were doing it for realsies… on Mt. Bachelor. I was quite excited because it was a gorgeous day on the mountain… crystal-clear blue skies, warm sunshine, and the prettiest snow I’ve ever seen! It didn’t take me long to get my ski-legs under me, and before I knew it, hubz had me gliding along “blue” trails, which basically means hilly paths.

I was a bit nervous to glide down the hills at first because I was afraid of losing control and crashing. It didn’t take long for my nerves to settle down allowing me to just have fun! I shot down one hill after another, yelling to my husband ahead to get out of the way because wasn’t slowing down! 🙂

He always met me at the bottom with a huge grin on his face. “Nice, hon! You’ve got the hang of this! That was a sharp turn too!”

Where’s Leanne?

The cool air felt refreshing on my face; the scenery was so beautiful. We were the only ones on the trails most of the time. We took the time to stop and be present… both in nature and with each other. The air and trees and snow were silent. It felt like we were standing in the middle of a  painting; I felt like I was enjoying a piece of heaven.

Handsome hubby, leading the way.

Heading back around the second half of our loop proved to be much more challenging because all the hills we had skied down were a steep climb back up! I fell multiple times going up hill as I tried to figure out the best technique to climb with long slender skis attached to my feet. I eventually figured out a good sideways approach that didn’t tangle my skis in front of or behind me… which is why I had kept tripping over myself. I wasn’t graceful by any means, but we trudged up those hills with a lot of laughter! 🙂

And of course my husband greeted me at the top of each hill just as he had done at the bottom… with a giant grin and a hearty “Well done!”

This definitely goes down as our second best date ever–(the number one spot still goes to parasailing last summer!) And, I feel like I found “my winter thing.” I’ve got my spring/summer Northwest active lifestyle down, but I hadn’t ever found a winter activity that I loved. I don’t enjoy being cold, and downhill skiing is no fun for me because I typically spend more time on my face than on my skis.

Now I can officially claim myself as a cross-country skier!

Official cross-country skier!