Scarface

Even though I grew up here in Utah, I have never been skiing. Someone once told me that living in Utah and not skiing is like living in California and never going to the beach. I would bring up the fact that in most places it doesn't cost a dime to go to the beach, there is no equipment involved (although a boogie board makes it more fun), and it doesn't require lots of specialized clothing, only a swimsuit. Plus, it is usually warm and sunny.

Anyway, I'm just saying I know nothing about skiing. The problem comes when my kids participate in the school sponsored ski day. Luckily, my good friend Brynne has helped me walk through all the necessities. Yesterday, Esteban went snowboarding with the school. It was a cloudy day so I didn't think much about the fact that he didn't have goggles. Brynne later explained that the goggles not only keep the sun out of your eyes and your face warm, they protect your face if you crash.

Really. Poor Esteban was doing well for his first day ever on snowboard. He was cruising down the hill when he hit up bump and did eight back flips (I'm not sure who did actually did the counting but, it sounds good). By the way, this pictures doesn't even start to show how bad his face really is. He doesn't seem to care, he still had lots of fun and is looking forward to the next ski trip. I, for one, am not looking forward to when his face gets all scabby in a few days from now. I had him start lathering his face up with Neosporin (what's that going to do while he's trying to keep acne at bay?) hoping to keep his face from scarring for the rest of his life. Poor kid. Instead of being a braceface now he is a scarface. His friends want to nickname him Crash. Something about the idea of my face skidding on the ice down the slope is another deterrent for me. I've come home from the beach with some nasty sunburns but, never with my face looking like this. However, if he calls this fun, maybe I should give it a try, just with goggles next time.