I grew up in Colorado, which is famous for it's winters and winter sports.
I live in Utah, which is famous for IT'S winters and winter sports. Famous enough that the Winter Olympics was even hosted here the year we got married.
But over the years, I have not done a whole lot of enjoying winter or winter sports.
Mostly because A) I really, really dislike being cold, and growing up I always felt cold, and B) Since moving to Utah I have had little babies who would get sick during the winter and we would be homebound.
It got to the point where I would literally shiver thinking about the long, dreary winter ahead, and feeling I would be resigned to the inside of my house during those months.
But this year, I realized perhaps I wouldn't dislike winter as much if I would just get out and enjoy the fun to be had during it. After all, there is sledding, snowman-making, hot cocoa, and for heaven's sake, we live 20 minutes from a bunch of ski resorts! So many fun, active things for our family to enjoy. Trev and I decided it was time to start making enjoying (as opposed to enduring) winter a priority.
So we started out sledding and playing in the snow A LOT.
We tried lots of different sledding hills and there became a constant pile of wet snow gear constantly drying by my fireplace.
Hot cocoa mugs were in constant rotation through my dishwasher.
Morgan even decided to go here to ice skate for her birthday party: (more on that later)
But the biggest leap we took to enjoy winter this year was to get our kids learning how to ski!
We haven't done this in the past because it was so expensive, but in Utah, January is Learn to Ski month. So all the resorts have great deals for kids to come and learn. We signed up, took M&J out of school, and Trev took the day off of work to stay home with our little girls. It was seriously the best day ever! I took a snowboarding class and the M&J did ski school up at the Canyons Resort in Park City.
It was super sunny and warm out that day...just the way I like it! For a girl who hates the cold, this was excellent.
M&J picked up skiing so fast I was amazed! I already knew how to snowboard but gleaned a bunch of helpful tips that made me so much better.
Maybe now I can actually keep up with Trev when we go. Which we plan to do a lot more of. :)
I even made a few new friends in my class!
I got to check in with Morgan and Jake at lunch and make sure they were having as much fun as I was. They were. :)
After lunch, I decided to split from my class and go put my new found knowledge to good use. Plus I was able to get a bird's eye view of my kids really hitting the slopes.
After we were through, we all met back up at the main lodge area. I sat in the sun and waited for them to return. How uplifted I felt being in the beautiful mountains, on a bright, sunny day, enjoy the famous Utah winter and winter sports. This winter has been much, much better.
I haven't even begged Trev to move me to Phoenix this year. Maybe, just maybe winter is growing on me.
I guess embracing it, and enjoying it was the answer.
I grew up on the plains of Colorado. In a tiny town called Byers.
It was one of those towns that if you were driving by on the I-70 corridor and blinked you would miss it. You knew everyone and everyone knew you. And ALL about you. Which was good and bad.
There were no stop lights. No Walmart. The nearest movie theater was about an hour away. My Kindergarten through 12 grade were in the same building. I had 30 something kids in my entire graduating class and we were the biggest class in the school.
It was and I believe still is today, a farming community. But I didn't live on a farm.
I lived in the local trailer park. In a single-wide white and brown trailer at the end of Babur street. I remember there being so, so, so many potholes in the road. To adults driving it was annoying; but to kids it meant a 4-wheeling style car ride, and when it would rain we could ride our bikes through all the HUGE puddles! I don't have many pictures from my childhood but here are a couple I scanned in a few years ago.
I know what your thinking, and yes...my hair was always poofy. :) I also had bangs most of the time. I discovered flat-irons in college and HOLY COW did that change my life!
My grandparents lived across the street. I spent a great portion of my childhood coming in and out of this front door.
Since I grew up in trailer park, you can probably guess that we didn't have much money. And you would be right.
So we hardly ever took trips. But I had a "wealthy" Aunt Vicky and Uncle Bob. I always thought they were wealthy because they had a "real" house, a 4-wheeler, and a boat. Every time we went to visit them my aunt would take us out clothes shopping - and not at Walmart. They were unable to have children and so I was happy to play the part and let them spoil me. They would take us for weekend trips and sleepovers at their ranch. These truly were some of the best memories I have from my childhood. This spoiling treatment made me feel love and special. Those feelings forever cemented in my heart a deep love for them. A love that still grows today. They were second parents to me because they treated me like their own child. They played such an influential role in my life and continue to do so today. They are truly special to me.
Now that I am older, they spoil my kids. My kids have developed a deep love for them as well. So deep in fact, that they beg me to go see them frequently each year.
It's not too hard of a sell because I love going back to their ranch on the plains of Colorado and reminisce about the happy moments in my childhood. I love sharing my precious memories with my kids, and seeing them experiencing things that brought me so much joy in my early years.
My Aunt Vicky and Uncle Bob also took in my cousins Jordan and Ryan when their parents were no longer able to care for them.
Each summer they would come to visit and spend a week with us here in Utah. How these times bonded us all.
They were just tweeners when they started visiting us, and now Jordan is married, in college at BYU-I, and Ryan is getting ready to graduate high school. Time just soars by doesn't it?
Over the years, these guys have become just like younger siblings to me. How I love these two!
I also have a younger brother who lives in Colorado as well. He is a massage therapist/ski bum living in Aspen. Not a bad gig right?! :)
This is his adorable girlfriend, Caitlin. We love her so much!
We refer to them ALL as our Colorado family. So last August we decided it was time to go see them. It started with a weekend at the ranch - chock full of 4-wheeling, riding horses, chatting, movie-watching, picture-taking, and just plain bonding. My kids really think that going to the ranch is just as good as going to Disneyland. No joke!
Can you imagine why?
Colorado gets the best afternoon thunderstorms in the summer. Just enough to cool things down for the evening and leave the earth smelling so fresh and clean.
The annual height tracker needed updated. Check!
If this isn't a kid's dream I don't know what else would be.
They are truly in heaven on the ranch.
I just love watching my family bonding so much.
In addition to all the fun, I was able to do something I think is super-fun as well. Taking pictures! :)
I took a lot just documenting the weekend, but also took my Aunt and Uncle's family pictures along with Senior pictures for my cousin. Those I posted back in September, but here are just a few of my personal favorites.
While we were there, Jordan had just started falling for this boy, Peter Peiper. For reals, that is is name. :)
When we got home from our trip he was waiting on our couch ready to meet us. :) Just like Jordan, we adored him instantly!
Within a few months, this is where they wound up.
It was a whirlwind, but so fun, crazy, tiring, joyful to be caught up in the moment of it. :)
Awww...young love.
Another special thing that happened was the boys (Trev, J, and Ry) went to see the Rockies play at Coors Field!
They even caught a fly ball!! Lucky boys!
AND, we went up to Heritage Square and rode the Alpine Slide and carnival rides! Told you we get spoiled. :)
We visited one my dearest friends in the whole world, Shabi, and her cute family in their beautiful, new home. I didn't think to get a picture because we so busy chatting that it slipped my mind but here we are on a visit a few years back.
Ever since our first high school volleyball season together we have been thick as thieves. She was the setter, and I was an outside hitter. Perfect match. :) We quickly became best friends and she is family in every sense of the word.
How I love her and her sweet little, growing family.
Trev grew up here too, and he was able to see an old high school friend for lunch. So many great people and memories to catch up with.
On our way out back home we decided to take a scenic route, and visit my ski-bum brother and his girlfriend in Aspen.
When going through all this you simply have to stop and take it in:
Here we are heading into Aspen...where the beer flows like wine...(anyone?) :)
This could easily be my favorite burger joint on earth. CP Burgers. Immensely delish! Not to mention it sits right next to an ice skating rink in the winter/mini-golf course in the summer. Doesn't the rainbow in the back make it even more dreamy? Aspen is truly just like a Disneyland for adults. :)
Me and my "big" little brother. :)
Afterward dinner we headed to the local park. Quite easily the most dangerous kids' park I have ever been too. The kids climb on those rock walls and seriously one slip and boom...broken something. But being the great parents we are, we definitely let them play on it and climb to the top as passer-byes stopped and watched in disbelief. We joked that child protective services should be arriving shortly. My question is how this park got approved in the first place. :)
M won a McFlurry compliments of my brother for getting a hole-in-one at putt-putt. You can bet she made him pay up. :)
We sure loved this pit-stop!
The final leg of our journey back to the Wasatch front was halted for about 15 minutes by this mountain mudslide:
The picture doesn't do it justice but it was massive and apparently other cars had been waiting for 4 hours for the road to open back up! We were so lucky to hit this snag when we did. That little piece of knowledge made me feel blessed it was only a few minutes, because it was late and we were all ready to be out of the car and in our beds. :)
Oh what a fun adventure we had! How I love my Colorado family so, so, so much!
And for good measure, here are a few closing pics of bathing the girls the next morning, because I don't have hardly any of me bathing my kids. (BEWARE - Matching Girls in their Birthday Suits)
What a lucky girl I am to have such a great family.
