Our Week Away Skiing with Snowbizz

For someone who doesn't like to go back to the same place because I am always wondering whether I will like the next place more, it says a lot that this was our fifth year going on a ski holiday with Snowbizz.  It makes it harder to write a blog post about it as I find I have said so much already (You can see some other posts on Snowbizz here) but this blog was started to record our adventures as a virtual baby book for my children to look back on and we definitely had a week to remember.

We travel with Snowbizz as they make everything so easy and their childcare and ski school facilities are incredible.  The creche is staffed by qualified English nannies and is open from 9-5 every day and the youngest skiers (they teach them from 3) have an instructor and a nanny in their lessons.  It was Finn's first year skiing and there were only two 'Totons' so he had pretty much 1:1 attention in his lesson! The big boys went to ski school every morning which was from 9:30 - 1pm and they ski for two hours of that and play for the rest.

In the morning we dropped all 4 children in childcare and Ed and I had some time together to eat freshly baked croissants in peace, to ski  our favourite slopes and to practice our skills.  In the afternoons we either took the children to the sledging slopes which are located conveniently next to the playground, took them out skiing or sometimes let them have some time in the creche (which they were desperate for) so we could have some calm time without them!

This year Dylan and Archie progressed so much that we could take them all over the mountain and ski with them (although we struggled to keep up with Archie) and Finn found his feet on the snow and did so well in his lessons! Cora loved spending time in the creche and chatted to everyone and anyone and we had a relaxing and snow filled week.  

Dylan's highlights include the evening kids clubs which are different every day (his favourite was the crepe and games night) and we loved that Finn was old enough for a couple so we could drop all three boys and go out for delicious French food (mmm, cheese) with just Cora. The disco was Finn's favourite and Archie loved treasure hunt night!

Finn's favourite part was when we all went up on the chairlift (there are certain times you can walk on and go up and down) to eat at the restaurant in the top and play in the snow that was really deep.  Cora loved 'shledging on my bum' and was so happy to have all her brothers around her.  

Archie loved going fast and really enjoyed having afternoons on the slopes with Ed and I where he could go as fast as he liked and hurtle down the mountains! The boy has not got nearly enough fear (I think I have his share though!).

We stayed in the three bedroom apartment which was a good size for us and had everything we needed including a balcony where we could watch the Totons learning to ski from! Everything was familiar and everyone was so warm and we are definitely planning to go back again! It is such a lovely resort for children to learn to ski at and the customer service both in the UK and in France is outstanding.

The pictures will probably tell you more about our week though, the big smiles, the white snow and the time together.  We love the balance we get from a family ski holiday as we get time together as well as time to do our own thing.

Cora's snowsuit was gifted to us last year from Reima but as she is quite petite it didn't fit until this year! 

We took the children up on the chair lift where the snow was really deep and I sank down into it!

There is a little park on the side of the slopes which the kids love!

I was gifted the most amazing jacket from Helly Hansen which was perfect for skiing!

These kids will find a muddy puddle anywhere!

I went for a walk along one of the hiking paths and found this beautiful frozen stream

It snowed one day (which is when these photos were taken) and it was so much fun to play and ski in!

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Our Family Ski holiday with Snowbizz

I have written about the boys learning to ski and I have written about not being able to ski due to pregnancy, but I haven't written about our week away with Snowbizz properly yet.  It was our second time travelling to the alps with them and it was every bit as fantastic as before.  Please excuse the photo overdose, there are too many that I still want to share.

The little details have the biggest impact as a parent and being met at the airport by the smiling ladies in pink made any flight-stress disappear.  They went above and beyond during every part of our stay and the boys seemed to prefer their company to ours!

It was the first time I have really left Finn and he just loved the creche.  As well as having the nannies cooing over him, he managed to find a couple of girls who loved babies and were happy to read him stories and show him toys all day long.  It was definitely a case of clingy parent rather than clingy child as I felt so strange walking away, but he barely turned his head as I left!  He was always smiling or sleeping when I came to collect him and he won an award on the final day for being such a smiley baby.

Dylan and Archie were given the choice somedays whether they wanted to spend the afternoon with the bloke and I or in the creche and they would mostly choose staying in the creche.  As well as going sledging and for walks in the snow, they dressed up, coloured in, baked cakes and played with the great variety of toys.   They made friends easily and they enjoyed every moment.  Dylan loved the kids club in the evening which had a different theme each night from pizza party to disco and he felt very grown up being able to go to something his brothers were too little for.  

As for the bloke, he picked up where he left off with his ski lessons and loved getting back on the slopes.  His class for ski school was small with only three other students and he felt happy being able to find where he fit best between the classes.

I loved the freedom that comes with childcare, reading my book, going for a swim, wasting time on facebook and of course all the French food.  Everything is right on your doorstep which makes life so much easier with a young family and it took me about two minutes to get from our apartment to the creche or cafe.  

Our apartment had everything we needed, with two bedrooms (bunk beds for the big two) and a great living area.  The balcony was perfect for watching the early risers on the slopes and the kitchen had a hob and microwave so we could cook for ourselves when we wanted too (pretty necessary when you have a child with allergies).  

Our week with Snowbizz gave us a great balance between time together and time apart.  We all loved doing our own thing for the morning and then enjoying family time in the afternoon.  We took the bigger two boys up on the chairlift as walkers to enjoy the views from up high and a different place to eat.  It was easy to have one on one time with them each, or to do things only suitable for the older boys and know that Finn was well looked after and happy.  

We loved that right outside our front door there was a little area for sledging and we even managed to borrow a baby sledge for Finn, although as they don't do helmets that little he had to stay on the flat ground - Archie was more than happy to brum him along!

My little sister is working at the resort as the head nanny, so not only did the boys get to see their much loved Aunty NatNat, I also knew how great the creche staff were and felt happy handing my babies over.  I was so impressed with the quality of the childcare on our last visit that we were already confident that the boys would love it.

Don't forget to check out my post on 5 things not to miss on a Snowbizz holiday.

We had an amazing family holiday with Snowbizz and can't wait to return.  Everything about it went smoothly, the boys learned so much, I got to rest and Finn smiled all week,  Thank you to Snowbizz for inviting us back.

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