Paige Lee Hoyt

As it turns out, earlier in the day Wednesday, while in Physical Education class at school, Paige sprained her ankle. She did quite the number on it too. Getting the belt was worth enduring the pain of walking however, so Marna wrapped her up, I gave her some ibuprofen, and off we went. Two days on now (it's Friday as I type this), and while she's still got some bruising on her ankle, she back to bouncing around the house like normal.

Unlike the alpine slide, which gets snowed over during the Winter and becomes unusable, the coaster is built on a set of elevated steel tubing, and is open year round. The sleds are still wheeled, but they are attached to the track itself. This gives you the ability to really hit top speeds without the danger of rolling. And for added security, there's even a seat belt.

You hop on the sled and buckle in, enjoy a five minute pull to the top of the hill, and then are on your own to coast down as fast, or slow, as you might want. You control your speed via two handles on either side of the sled. Push forward to get more speed, pull back to slow down. The default position is all the way back, so if you just freak out (which does happen) and let go the controls, you simply come to a stop.

As you might image, being the adrenaline junkie that she is, Paige was thrilled with this ride. Due to weight constraints she rode with Marna, and while top speeds are somewhere in the 25 mph - 30 mph range, it just wasn't fast enough for her. She has to be eight (8) years old and 54 inches tall to drive her own sled. The anticipation is already building. We managed to complete the ride about twelve (12) times. Apparently the record is 37 times in one day. We are already planning a trip to beat the record.

While fascinated by the mechanics of the gondola itself, the heights, swaying and speed had no effect on Paige. If anything, it made her more excited to ride it. This picture was taken on our way back from a busy day of activities as the base of Peak 8. As I am sure you can tell, she is just horribly nervous. Er, wait. That is to say that her mentality was that of "I own this place." And indeed, that's about how she gets around the whole town. It's really fun to watch her openness towards embracing new experiences and adventures.

When we got there, while I little icy in spots, there was still enough snow to get in some sledding fun. While Paige has been tubing, I don't recall her having gone sledding before, so we approached the hill with caution (despite Paige wanting to go straight to the top). After a few runs starting from gradually higher on the hill, we reached the top. A few more runs later, and Paige was already plotting the best launch points to hit all the jumps further down the hill.

Paige was sad to leave, but bribed with hot chocolate, we made our way back to Main Street, and caught the shuttle back to our room. The week is still young though, so we will keep our hopes up for more snow, and another chance for more sledding.

We checked in late Saturday afternoon, and had our annual vacation opener dinner at Mi Casa. Sunday included grocery shopping for Marna, the pool for Paige and Daddy, and a whole lot of nothing for the remainder of the day.

Grand Timber has all the amenities you could want, but of particular interest to Paige are the heated pools and outdoor hot tubs. There is just something about swimming around in a heated pool, while it is snowing all around you. Leave your head out for a while and your hair will start to freeze. No bother, just dip under the water, and you're all thawed. Ready to entertain Paige for another hour of swimming.

Recently there was an opportunity to participate in a regional tournament. That is to say competing for medals against students from Paige's school, as well as other schools in the Southwest. While I was a little tepid on the idea, Paige really wanted to participate, and Marna felt that she was ready to get her feet wet. So we invited the grandparents and headed to Colorado Springs, CO to put Paige's skills to the test.

I know, you're thinking "Paige, in a taekwondo competition? That sweet little, happy go lucky kid in combat?" Yup! Turns out that skipping into the room with pink flip flops is actually her secret weapon. She's all smiles until the pads go on, and then ... watch out! Paige is so aggressive in battle that she has even been used as an example to other kids, boys even, at her school.

At her level, competition consists of two parts. The first part is a panel of judges (experienced black belts) reviewing her "form". For each belt there is a standalone set of moves designed to show that she has mastered the skills necessary to achieve a new belt level. This is called her "form." No sooner did she take the first position than the judges could easily be heard saying "Whoa, look at her focus!"

The second part is a series of head-to-head competitions with others green belts that are roughly her height. Why height? Because taekwondo is Korean for hand and foot. The more reach you have, the more lethal you are with the techniques. In head-to-head, the match runs until one person gets three points. Strikes to the body and head are legal. Once the match is over a bracket starts to form. Each competitor works their way through the bracket until placement is determined.

On her form, Paige received a silver medal. Given that she's only been a green belt for a few weeks, that's pretty darn impressive. On sparring, Paige received a bronze medal. The shortcoming that allowed points to be scored on her were mostly around poor blocking. She's great at throwing kicks and standing her ground, but she let's her guard down to fire off the kick. That presents an opening for her opponent.

Back at class the next week, guess what they started working on? Blocking. Once she gets that down - watch out! The next tournament is in Spring of 2012.

The white belt focuses mostly on basic stances, taekwondo knowledge, and escape skills. It has six moves to it's form, which is what the students get tested on to move from level to level (belt to belt). The yellow belt takes it a little further and introduces some basic kicks and punches. The form there is eight moves long.

The green belt itself actually consists of three levels. The first level is denoted by a white stripe in the middle of the green. The second level takes the belt to all green. The final level is a black stripe in the middle of the green. And from there, it is on to a blue belt.

The green belt is where things get a bit more serious - pads are required for sparring (essentially fighting) every class. The form is still eight moves, but the moves aren't single motions, they become a combination of motions previously learned. Paige has already gotten the basic form down. With each level of green, she'll be expected to demonstrate more and more precision and accuracy - everything from the direction her feet are facing, to the crispness of the moves.

It is also worth nothing that the green belt level introduces board breaking. Yup, that's right, little Paige is learning to break boards with different types of strikes. And so far, she has really taken to it and is doing well. And this isn't some flimsy basal wood. This is half-inch pine. I kid you not. Paige can punch right through that wood.

Board breaking will actually be a part of Paige's test to get her blue belt. Depending on how well she masters the green belt skills, she should test for the blue belt around Spring 2012. In the meantime she'll be working her way through the green belt levels becoming more and more skilled. Or as I like to say "dangerous."

The choice this year was an "Alien Princess". And don't drop the "Alien" or "Princess" part of Paige will throw a fit. When the costume arrived, the thing that Paige took a liking to right out of the box was the silver boots. She liked them so much that we let her wear them a few times prior to Halloween.

And let me tell you, costumes have come a long ways from since my day. I remember the grocery store options with cheap plastic outfit and mask. They'd rip if you so much as moved. This costume was durable to say the least. It's a pity that she'll only fit into it this year. And even though the costume may go, I'm sure the boots will get their workout so long as Paige can squeeze her little feet into them.

Unfortunately, I had to be in New York for Halloween night, so I missed out on the trick-or-treat tour that we'd normally do around the neighborhood. Additionally, some of the folks we used to go with have moved since last year. With this in mind, Marna took Paige to the Halloween party being held at her taekwondo school. From there, she went with a friend from the school and her dad in their neighborhood.

Next year, Paige. Next year.

The Two Below Zero sleigh and dinner ride starts at the Frisco, CO Nordic Center, about fifteen minutes away from the lodge in Breckenridge, CO. Once all the parties arrive, pictures with the sleigh and mules get taken. From there we load up and take the 3/4 mile ride out to tents for dinner. The tents themselves have come a long ways since we started going. It has been great to see their business grow.

Dinner starts with nice warm soup, followed by chicken and steak dinner with vegetables and a baked potato, and finishes off with a slice of warm apple pie. And it's all baked right there on the premises. Along the way, musician David Peel plays entertaining songs on the center stage. Some are more for the kids, some more for the adults, and always a foot-stomping good time.

The evening finishes up with the return sleigh ride where you can pick up souvenir pictures of your family with the mules. It was a fun this year as all the others, and we look forward to the next time.