We went back to Groundtop for the second time on Saturday. When we arrived around noon, the resort was already crowded. People broke out their grill to make hamburgers, hot dogs, and burritos right in the parking lot. They must be local skiers.

The lines for the lifts were long; therefore, I took Vương to the magic carpet. He skied for three rounds and didn’t want to do it anymore. I went with the older boys on the blue terrain. After Đạo and Đán took off, I paralleled down the first deep slope and waited for Xuân. He came down for a bit, but hesitated to continue. Luckily, I spotted two ski patrols rescuing someone else and asked for help. One of them called other patrols and two more came to guide Xuân down to me. After that we skied together all the way down.

Later on I went to the black trail with Đán. He only started snowboarding not too long ago and he could already get around the black slope. With more snow, the black slopes were more difficult than before. There were more hills and holes. The first time I navigated my way down, I fell into a deep hole. The second time, I avoided it and made my way down. It was so much fun. I wanted to do more, but the kids were tired, especially Vương.

We canceled today’s trip because of freezing rain. The kids also needed to get some rest to return to school tomorrow after three weeks off. I also needed to get back to work after three and a half weeks off. It had been a joyful winter break thanks to the snow.

We went back to Whitetail reopening yesterday. It was crowded. I only skied three times yesterday on the green slope with Đạo, Đán, and Xuân. The rest of the time, I spent running along with Vương on the bunny slope.

He was using a used pair of skis I bought for $20. When I brought it to the ski store to have it tuned up, the technician insisted that he could not work on the binding and insisted that we should replace it. The new binding cost $90—plus $30 for the tune up. After the service, the skis still looked in good condition.

The length of the skis is 90 cm, which is a bit too long for Vương. It is perfect for Xuân, but he is already using a set we rented for him for the entire season. When Vương first tried out skiing for the first time at Attitash in New Hampshire, we rented a pair that was only 78-cm long. In addition, the bunny slope at Attitash was much smaller than the one in Whitetail. As a result, he was using a longer pair of skis and on a faster slope, but he didn’t know how to stop. Instead of plowing down the slope in a zigzag path, he paralleled straight down the slopes. I had to run alongside him and hold his jacket to slow him down or I had to run ahead of him to catch him when he sped up. It was exhausting for me, but he enjoyed it. He loved riding the magic carpet.

Next time, maybe today, I will try to ski along with him to see if it is better. We’re planning on going skiing again today and tomorrow before the kids go back to school and I go back to work. After three weeks of winter break, it will be difficult for all of us to go back.

I took Xuân to ice skating because he was the only one who wanted to join me. I no longer made my kids come along if they didn’t want to. Even though Xuân hadn’t skated for a month, he still had his chops. We worked on his outside 3-turns, inside mohawks, and hockey stops, but he could do higher-level moves like spirals, lounges, and bunny hops. He will finish with Gamma class in three weeks. I wish he would continue into Delta, but he already wanted to quit.

I didn’t do much with Freestyle 3 on my own. Instead of learning new techniques, I returned to the power pulls, something I hadn’t been able to accomplish on one foot. As I was practicing the power pulls, I connected the dots to short turns for skiing. I realized that the parallels, the edges, and the movements were exactly the same. The postures were a bit different; therefore, I imagined holding the poles in my hands instead of moving my arms side to side. I also envisioned myself skiing down a bunny slope instead of an ice skating rink. I kept my feet parallel, bent my knees, and pulled from left to right. I did that for half an hour straight and I could feel the burn on my legs. I can’t wait to apply the techniques to skiing.

Skiing and skating are starting to make sense to me how they can be related. I love these three sports (skiing, figure skating, and rollerblading) and I hope to keep pushing myself to stay active. These sports have saved me from depression, stress, and addiction. They keep my mind strong, creative, and clear. These sports have brought the athletic side out of me that I thought I didn’t have. I might have discovered them too late, but better late than never.

Sunday evening, as we wrapped up our winter break and prepared for the kids to return to schools, we were notified that schools would be closed on Monday due to inclement weather. The kids jumped and screamed for joy.

We woke up on Monday morning with a blanket of snow covering our ground. We dressed the kids in ski outfits and made a bunny slope in our backyard. We skied and snowboarded until lunchtime. After a quick lunch, which was around 1 pm, the snow stopped falling.

With the kids’ help, I shoveled our minivans and the front porch. After the kids went inside to play video games, my wife and I continued to shovel the sidewalk and driveway. We finished around 5pm and were alerted that schools would be closed again on Tuesday. The kids jumped and screamed for joy again as I announced that we would go skiing on Tuesday.

I woke up early on Tuesday to prepare for our ski trip at Bryce Resort. Because the weather was still cold, my wife backed out. She stayed home with Vương. I took Đạo, Đán, and Xuân with me. The drive was two hours and we didn’t arrive until 11:30 am. There was still plenty of time for us to ski. Đạo and Đán took off on their own. I went with Xuân. We started out on the green terrain, which Xuân could plow down with ease. Then all four of us tried out the blue terrain. To my surprise, Xuân didn’t fall at all on the blue slopes. He even skied faster than me.

I started to work on my short turns. I could do fine on the green slopes, but still needed to make wider turns on the blue slopes. My goal is to master my short turns by the end of this winter. Bryce Resort is a perfect place to practice. Its green terrain was long and its blue terrain was not too difficult. Kids under six years old didn’t need a lift ticket; therefore, Xuân was free. I just had to pay for Đạo, Đán, and myself since Bryce is not part of the Epic pass.

As we were skiing and snowboarding, I checked the time and it was already 3:40pm. The last lift would be 4:30pm. Four of us took one lift together. Then the kids decided to play with the snow so I went by myself on the blue slopes. Đạo and I took the last lift together.

As we were about to head back home around 5pm, I received another text message that schools will be closed again tomorrow. The kids jumped and screamed for joy again. We might head back tomorrow for another ski day. What can I say? I love skiing.

Last night, my wife pointed out that I am obsessed with skiing. I looked up the weather forecast to see if it would be cold enough for the resorts to make snow. I searched for ski levels to plan out my lessons. I watched quite a bit of YouTube skiing tutorials.

My wife is correct. I have the tendency to be obsessive. When I get into something, I go all in or as much as I possibly can. From ice skating to rollerblading to skiing, I find these sports fascinating. These sports changed my perspective on physical activities. For the most part of my life, I never thought I could be athletic. I was just a lazy bum. In grade school, I tried to play football and basketball with American kids, but I sucked at them both. I didn’t even understand the rules. Asian kids I hung out with were good at volleyball, but I was just average.

I was decent at soccer, but I never excelled at it. I made it to the JV team in high school as a right forward striker, but I was too lazy to run or to hustle. I avoided getting into contact with my opponents. I waited for my teammates to pass the ball to me. As a result, I didn’t get to play much. In retrospect, why the hell was I even on the team? I didn’t contribute anything.

For a long time, I didn’t do any sports. To keep myself healthy, I started jogging and that didn’t last too long. Waking up early in the morning to go for a run is more miserable, especially in the winter, than enjoyable.

When I introduced my kids to ice skating, I picked it up myself. My goal was to skate around the rink, but when I saw other skaters doing some impressive moves on the ice, I wanted to learn more. I didn’t even know lessons were offered until a mom of Xuân’s friend pointed out to me. I enrolled Đạo, Đán, and myself. Taking lessons opened up a whole new world for me. In ice skating, levels have been established to guide you through your progression. I started out from all the basics and then moved into jumps, spins, and step sequences. The Fairfax Ice Arena used the Ice Sport Industry (ISI) program in its curriculum so I just followed it. I wrapped up my Freestyle 2 group lessons last December. I am at the point where I can learn on my own with Coach Julia’s YouTube videos. I wanted to focus on jumps and step sequences instead of spins.

During the pandemic lockdown, we needed some form of outdoor activities. We biked, but I got bored quickly. Biking up the hills was not that much fun. I resisted rollerblading because it seemed like a dangerous sport. Falling on concrete appeared to be painful. Then my wife bought us rollerblades, helmets, and protective gears for our knees, elbows, and wrists. We rollerbladed around basketball courts and bike trails, but the skate parks changed our game. I can’t remember how I discovered skate parks, but I was so glad when I learned such places existed for free. They were intimidated at first, especially those deep bowls, but they were fun as we made the progressions. I learned and built up my skills from watching YouTube videos. So far, rollerblading is the most dangerous out of the three sports. I hurt myself a few times; therefore, I took extra precautions.

With skiing, my wife brought us Epic passes for the entire season. With a week-long trip in New Hampshire and two days in Pennsylvania, the passes paid for themselves. From now on, our ski trips are free. With unlimited access, I wanted to develop more skiing skills than just plowing down the hills for fun. I planned on taking group lessons, but so far the resorts were short of staff. As a result, I learned through YouTube videos. I wanted to make some skiing progress to allow me to enjoy the blue, maybe even black, terrains.

I am loving ice skating, rollerblading, and skiing because they are similar in a way that each sport gives me the opportunity to develop my skills at my own pace. I don’t have to compete against anyone else. I don’t have to prove to anyone that I am better—something I also wanted to teach my kids. These are the sports we learn together to improve ourselves instead of to compete against each other.

I have been obsessed with practicing because I don’t want to lose all the skills I have gained. If I don’t rollerblade regularly, stepping up on the coping to drop in could be quite intimidating. I wanted to incorporate these sports into my life so I can stay healthy and become more adventurous.

We went to Whitetail Mountain yesterday for the first time in two years. The temperature was in the 50s and rainy. The only two trails that opened were barely covered in snow. Nevertheless, we made the best out of them.

I signed up for a group snowboarding lesson for Đán, but he had one-on-one coaching because there were more instructors than students. Since it was such a great deal, I handed the instructor some extra cash.

Đạo hung out with his cousin. Xuân and I stayed together. Since the slopes weren’t so great, I decided to focus on my short turns. I followed the step-by-step exercise from this video. I made some progress and couldn’t wait to try it on a blue terrain next time.

Before my wife bought Epic passes for Đạo, Đán, Xuân, and me, I told her that I would put our money to good use. So far the investment is already worthwhile.

Last Sunday I drove over 14 hours from Conway, New Hampshire back to Fairfax, Virginia. On Monday, I took a much-needed break from an entire week of skiing and tidied up the house a bit. Tuesday, December 28, marked the first anniversary of my mother’s passing. After writing a post about her in Vietnamese, I decided to take my kids to the closest ski resort. I wanted the day to be a celebration. We packed up our equipment and headed to Roundtop, which was only two hours away from our home. My sister-in-law’s family also joined us.

When we arrived, around 10:30 in the morning, the resort was a bit crowded. We put on our gears and headed to the slope. Đạo and Đán went on their own with their cousin, Khôi. I took Xuân with me on the green slopes. I continued to work on my parallels, hockey stops, and short turns. I wanted Xuân to do the same, but he was still plowing.

Đán, Xuân, and I went over to the freestyle slope to do some jumping and grinding. We started out at the easiest ramp. In the meantime, Đạo and Khôi went to the blue and black slopes. I was surprised that they could do the blue and black slope. When Xuân heard that they could do blue and black, he wanted to try out the blue slope. I took him up to the blue slope with me. The initial hill was a bit too deep for him. I took off his skis and we both slid down on our butts to the bottom of the hill. I told him to wait for me while I walked up the hill again to get my skis. I skied down the hill using my parallels and hockey stops. I made it to the bottom where Xuân was waiting for me. Then we both zigzagged all the way to the lift.

Then I asked Đạo to go on the black slope with me. The first hill on the black slope was a bit steeper and rougher than the blue. Đạo plowed his way down. I followed him with parallels and hockey stops. When the speed picked up, I panicked and lost control. One of the skis popped off. The second time, I also made it all the way down the first hill, but I fell again. The third time, I decided to just embrace the speed instead of fighting against it. I paralleled all the way down and only braked when I was at the bottom. It was quite a thrill.

Đán and Xuân were exhausted around 5 pm and it started to rain. We packed up and headed home. The boys took a two-hours nap while I was blasting JAY-Z and Kanye’s Watch the Throne. We made it home around 8 pm just in time for dinner. I could barely stay awake to eat.

I thought of my mom during the entire trip. Two years ago, I called her up when I was driving home after our ski trips. She always told me to be careful and to take care of myself. She reminded me that I have four kids to raise and I shouldn’t be playing this “dangerous sport.” I told her I understood and reassured her that I took every precaution. Her words rang to my ears as I was driving home in the icy rain. She was watching us from above and keeping us safe. I love you, mẹ!

Today is our last day in Conway, New Hampshire. A week of skiing has just flown by. Between Attitash and Wildcat Skiing Resorts, my body is sore, but in a good way. I really enjoyed skiing. Similar to ice skating and rollerblading, skiing needs practice to improve. Even though I couldn’t make it on the blue terrain, I had reached my goal for the week. I am getting a hang of parallel skiing and hockey stops. I am working toward short turns.

Đán has done really well with snowboarding even though he only had two hours of semi-private lessons. I wanted to sign up for more lessons for him, but both resorts didn’t have enough coaches. He figured his way around the board on the green terrain.

Đạo stuck to skiing and he enjoyed accompanying his brother on the green terrain. I wanted him to learn the parallel with me, but he still preferred plowing down. As long as he was having fun, I didn’t mind.

Xuân only started skiing this week. He had two hours of private lessons. When his cousin, Hân, took his private lessons, Xuân followed along and the instructor taught them both. The next day, they took a group lesson together. They enjoyed each other’s company.

Vương didn’t want to ski all week until I took him on the magic carpet today. Then he wanted to ski. He had such a good posture and he didn’t fall at all. I am glad that he is warming up to this sport.

We’re going to get the most out of our Epic passes. I can’t wait to hit more ski mountains in the next few winter months.

I had eight hours of sleep last night. My mind felt great, but my body ached a bit. After three days of snowboarding and skiing, my body showed its age. I signed up for Xuân and Hân all-day group lessons. They enjoyed the green terrain with their instructor.

Đạo and Đán went on their own and I continued to work on my parallel on the green terrain. Then I decided to take the challenge on the blue terrain. I took the lift up and realized I might have made a mistake, but it was too late to back down. I figured I could plow my way down if it got worse.

I paralleled my way down a bit until I reached the first steep slope. I tried to plow my way down, but it was too fast and my skis popped off. I collected my skis and put them over the mountain side. I walked toward the next slope to take a peek. There was no way I could make it down in one piece. I called the patrol to come and to get me. The patrol asked my name and age to make sure I was not injured. Then he gave me a ride down on a toboggan.

He switched between deep plow, left side and right-side brakes. It was quite incredible to observe. I definitely need to work more on my parallel and alternate hockey stops to have better control before I head back to the blue terrain. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

Due to lack of sleep, I crashed early last night. Unfortunately I woke up around one in the morning with a migraine. I tried to lure myself back to sleep, but I couldn’t. I read a bit until I was dead tired. I caught a few hours of sleep and didn’t think I could ski the next day.

I woke up and felt OK, but not great. I decided to go ahead and ski. I spent a bit of time on the magic carpet with Xuân and my nephew Hân who skied for the first time. I practiced my hockey stop and Xuân followed me. He picked it up fast. We had a lot of fun.

Then I went on the green slope with Đạo and Đán to continue to work on my parallel. I wanted to bring my skis closer together—to the point that they align next to each other.

I need to find a lesson plan to see what I should work on, but I couldn’t find anything yet. Maybe I should try out a blue slope next. I don’t know. I hope I’ll have a good sleep tonight.

I am having a great time on this ski trip with my older sons. I feel bad that my wife is stuck with Vương. We had a set of skis for him, but he refused to try. My wife had to stay with him. I told her I could watch Vương so she could take a skiing lesson, but she didn’t want to.

A week is going by so fast. We only have two more days to ski before heading back home on Sunday.