Videos from Her Ski Weekend

What a great weekend.

Do you want some drugs?

Interesting thing happened this weekend. At Granite Peak there is a super fast chair lift that can take up to six people at a time. With such a large group the bigger kids were at times separated from the adults. On one particular ride Taylor, Asya and Courtney ended up on a chair with two teenage boys. These boys offered the girls ecstasy and other drugs. They also invited the girls to join them at their car for some "cool aid". Courtney, the oldest of the three, declined and instructed Taylor and Asya not to talk with these two hooligans. Immediately after reaching our group the girls reported the incident to their parents. If you know anything about the Her men, the dads instantly went into @as kicking mode and began searching for these boys. These boys have no idea how lucky they were. Had the dads caught up them, they would have encountered a world of hurt. That aside, I was so proud of the girls for handling themselves well and appropriately.

Then later that night when the family was swimming at the hotel there was another incident. Apparently some boys were watching Taylor and Asya from outside of the pool making young boy comments about them. As I went to open the pool door to let Pong (Kong's brother) in, I heard him speaking in serious and firm tone. Apparently he was lecturing these boys on their inappropriate comments and giving them a piece of his mind. When the boys came back later to take another peek, Pong made eye contact with these boys and gestured them to keep on walking. It was clear from the look on Pong's face that lingering meant a serious beating. These boys quickly went on their way and did not return.

The first incident was scary. The second incident, more comical. I love how protective the dad's are of all of the girls. I feel so lucky to have family members that would go to any length to protect the girls in our family from harm.

Cliques???

Julia, Logan, Taylor, Asya and Ayden the day after conquering Mt. La Crosse

So Taylor came home yesterday feeling very sad/confused/mad about something that is happening at their school this year. Cliques have formed and she is stuck in the middle. The popular kids came to her and told her that if she ditched her nerdy friends she could join their group. One of her friends has apparently already defected (even though she said she has not).

As I expected my reasonable 11 year old asked why there is a need for a popular group as they are afforded no extra benefits or privileges. Her questions were met with shhhing and idiotic rambling. Taylor expressed that she did not appreciate others labeling her and that abandoning friendships for status was not her style.

In addition to this, two girls from the popular group are trying to hook her up with a boy. The explanation given by these two girls as to why Taylor and this boy should be together...that Taylor needs a man. They keep trying to force the two of them together. When asked if she would be willing to be this boy's girl friend she said no and that she didn't believe 11 year old were ready to be in relationships. They questioned her maturity because she was not ready for a boy friend. Her responses will surely keep her in the "nerdy" group throughout her k-12 education : )

You want your child to refuse to conform, to stand up for what is right and to speak when no one else will but sometimes it pains me to watch how doing so affects her social status. We had a long talk about doing what is right, being secure in yourself and to always uphold your values. It may be painful to resist peer pressure now but it will only make her a better person in the end. The truth is, throughout your entire life, people will categorize you against your will and ask you to change so that they can fit you into categories that make sense for them. It's good to practice now so that when it really matters you'll make the right choice. Oh, and we also talked about how no woman should ever need a man. If she wants one that's great but to need one is just plain wrong.

And it begins...

Start of a New Year

The garland is down, the tree is put away and the presents stored. It always makes me a little sad but it is a physical sign of the clean start of a new year. The Her family is looking forward to a 2011 filled with new adventures.

To close out 2010, below are some pictures from the Radio Disney New Year's Eve party the girls attended.

Toasting the New Year

Thumbs up to a great party.

Dancing the night away.

Yesterday was the girl's last performance. The girls came home full of tears. What a fun run Joseph was. It was an amazing experience and the girls are excited about what the future holds for them. Last photo with the kids cast.

Opening Night

Opening night was so much fun. This has been such a wonderful experience for the girls. The opportunity to be a part of a large scale production and work with such amazing talent has been truly a blessing. The cast includes Anthony Fedorov, American Idol season four finalist; Jennifer Paz, Broadway performer; James Rocco, Ivey Award winning Director/Choreographer and a whole host of other extremely talented actors and actresses.

(The girls with the lead dancer Bridget Noltimier)

The girls favorite part of the evening was the cast party. What a treat to mingle and talk with everyone. What amazed me was how beautiful and thin the actresses were in person and up close. The stage (and I'm sure this is also true of the camera) is so unforgiving. Don't get me wrong, the actresses were pretty on stage but in person they were stunning. It makes you wonder how an average person would look like.

(Balcony view of the cast party)

Anyway, if you are in town and have a chance to see the show you should absolutely do it. Kong and I were so pleasantly surprised at the funny twist of such a well known story. We laughed throughout the whole show. The music and choreography will make you want to jump to your feet and dance with the cast. The show felt more like a party than a theater production. It was so much fun!

(The girls and Anthony Fedorov)

(Taylor, Ayden and Jennifer Paz)

(Director James Rocco)

Skiing Season Officially Open

Kong took the girls skiing last night. Only the bunny hill and one run was open but they still had a blast. The highlight of the night, Ayden getting major air on a sizable jump. The girls have only skied for two season so it was quite impressive that Ayden felt she was ready to try something so daring. As Ayden approached the jump all eyes, of those on the lift and those near the jump site, were on Ayden. Kong could hear chattering from on lookers of whether this little girl was going to make the jump or turn away at the last minute. She surprised all tose who stopped to watch. Ayden was fearless, made the jump multiple times and never once wiped out. We are looking forward to an awesome season of skiing.

Scanner and Pat Down Haters

What do you think about the new scanner and pat down procedure at the airport? I'm sure no one cares about my opinion but I have to say, I am really sick of hearing people irate about it and the boycott initiatives being reported. It appears that it is people in the racial majority who are really against it (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/24/underpants-beat-airport-body-scanners). Welcome to the inconvenience that people of color endure on a daily basis.

Everyday people of color are profiled for any number of reasons, by police for suspicion of drugs, by airport security for suspicion of terrorism, by retailers for suspicion of shop lifting and the list goes on and on. People are all for profiling when it can help protect them from terrorist threat. That is as long as they are not the group that is being profiled. Now that everyone is being subjected to the same procedure people are whining at epic proportions.

I do not disagree that the pat down procedure is extremely invasive and there are legitimate health concerns for pilots but safety is the number one concern. Pilots aside, it is important for everyone to comply with the new procedure. Bombs are getting smaller and smaller making them harder to detect. Remember the Detroit bomber? Cries that not enough was being done to secure safety filled the airways. Now that more is being done people are complaining again. Is this maddening to anyone else but me?

Yes, yes, I know, terrorist will find a way around this, TSA needs more training, these new rules only create fear, there are more effective tools for bomb detection (ultrasound is one example), etc., etc., etc., we can keep making excuses, do nothing and continue to complain or we can get off our butt and make an effort. Even if we are one step behind the terrorist, isn't that better than being 100 steps behind? We want less intrusive procedures but we don't want the government to spend anymore money so what we want is something for nothing. God bless America.

Here is what I propose. There should always be two separate flights. One for people who do not want to go through the scanner or subject themselves to the pat down procedure and a separate for those who will. Then, if the flights of the scanner and pat down haters comes under terrorist attack then no one should complain, their families can not sue airport security or the airline or blame the government for poor homeland security. Problem solved!