A Real Snow Day!

I remember when I first started working back in October that our school would be taking a trip up into the mountains come January or February. Obviously we were excited to be getting a free trip to the mountains, but I totally ended up underestimating the fun of the field trip!
Last Monday we met at school at 7am and got on a bus with the three oldest grades and headed for Granada. It was a pretty warm morning but ended up being a ridiculously warm day!! We got to Granada and a tour guide jumped on the bus and we made our way up the winding mountainous road. About 30 minutes later we spot a tiny little mountain town in the middle of snowy peaks - beautiful!! The mountains are the Sierra Nevadas and I'm pretty sure that's the name of the town too. We kept heading up until we reached the sledding hill!! The whole purpose of the trip is to let the kids see and experience snow since it NEVER snows in Almeria/the La Mojonera area.
So we paired up and went sledding for about 45 minutes! The kids were so cute and so happy to be out playing in snow! It was clear to see that I was ecstatic to be sledding as well. Nothing like the Bent Tree hill but it was fun to have to maneuver your way through crowds of people not paying attention haha After sledding we went to a high altitude sports training facility! They have a soccer field (covered in snow), swimming pool, lots of basketball/handball courts, a practice sprinting track and then a pole vaulting area. It was ridiculous. No sightings of Michael Phelps or Fernando Torres sadly. I almost went to ask the secretary woman if people of that caliber would be showing up any time soon but resisted.
Next we headed into the cute ski town and ate lunch! It was such a cute little town with a delicious bakery! Why we decided to eat before heading back down the mountain is beyond me though. About 5 minutes into the ride down the winding mountainous road, the barfing began. SO GROSS. Poor little kids who couldn't help themselves. Apart from the smell it was a beautiful, scenic ride down with a lake straight up in the middle of the mountains. Thankfully we made it back to level ground and the kids started feeling better!
Our next stop was downtown Granada to go ice skating! How I have missed ice skating! A new mission for when I return home is to learn how to ice skate like a hockey player - lots of fast skating, quick turning, backwards... no twirling or jumping like formal ice skating if you will. I would surely injure myself from that.
The kids were hilarious at ice skating! One little girl fell just about every 20 seconds but she had the biggest smile on her face every time she hit the ice. The teachers got out there as well and were pulling kids up and helping them stand and skate - it was a fantastic trip! Funny thing about Spanish ice skating rinks - they make you put plastic bags over your socks before you step into your skate. Also, the ice skates were rollerblade style with buckles instead of laces. I liked that style - maybe NC has just not gotten up to speed with the times and newer ice skates. Highly possible.
Then we came back to La Mojonera. Some good flicks were showed on the bus and the kids now think Stephen has 7 wives and I have a husband named Max. And tomorrow we are taking another field trip to begin the festival week!! Can't wait!