There is absolutely nothing in the world like watching your own child learning and loving a sport you know your entire family will enjoy and that will be a big part of family fun.  Nothing, except, maybe, for being able to teach that sport.  This love of teaching children is something that is unmistakable for anyone who meets Mike and Kelly Stephenson, the new owners and operators of Ski Bluewood.

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday and I was headed up to Bluewood with Ethan, my 8 year old son.  It was a big day for both of us.  This was going to be Ethan's first time skiing, ever, and for me, it was going to be my first time skiing in 10 years (and first time with shaped skis).  A short 1.5 hour drive from Tri-Cities got us to the 4,545 ft elevation of Bluewood's parking lot.  A quick and easy trip through the rental shop and Ethan was ready to learn!

The learning school meeting area at Bluewood is just perfect.  It is a wide open area of snow, flat enough that beginners can get the feel of having skis on their feet without sliding out of control.  Kelly worked the basics with Ethan here and I took the opportunity to get in a run or two.  Mike was kind enough to give me some great pointers on skiing with shaped skis (remember it's been over ten years since I've skied!) while giving me a run-down of the mountain.

Bluewood is the second highest ski facility in Washington with a peak of 5,670 ft.  While boasting 24 runs and two triple lifts it is truly a mountain for the whole family: enough long cruising green runs for beginners to enjoy, yet enough black diamonds, including some of the best tree skiing around, to keep things interesting.  After some runs on their platter-pull area to get used to my new skis it was time to go back and check on Ethan.

The huge grin on his face was all I needed to see to know how much Ethan was enjoying himself.  The instruction was great too - he was ready to start making some slow snow-plowing runs with Mike already.  Almost a dozen or so runs later Ethan collapsed in a tired, happy pile at the bottom of the run and announced loudly: "I'd like some hot chocolate please!"

I can't say enough great things about Mike and Kelly.  They obviously are living out their passion and their love for teaching children is contagious.  Everything about Bluewood, from the friendly lift operators to the wonderfully helpful information booth and rental staff to the first class teaching staff told me Bluewood is going to be a great mountain for my family.

As we drove away, Ethan announced: "That was AWESOME!  I LOVE skiing!  When are we going again?"  "Soon," I told him…"real soon."

Oh, and by the way, the bruised lip?  It was from PE class at school - not from the mountain, and Ethan had so much fun he forgot it hurt!

Stay tuned for more about Bluewood and Sporthaus, including Mom lessons, little sister Natalie's ski adventure, clothing tips and more, on the MOM blog.