Utah Family Vacation

OK...I can't believe how much fun we had at Utah! I also can't believe how great JoJuan can ski! Shocker to her big sister but she is really getting good..though it doesn't hurt to live so close to the best ski resort ever! So props to JoJuan and Gregg who put together a ski family outing so perfectly that it is literally no stress and no work. They make us park a "mini coop" distance apart from them and then at lunch they pull out camping tables and chairs and they serve a full course meal--including hot chocolate and cookies as desert. We eat everything they have and then we pack it all up in five minutes, replace the removed gear and head back to the slopes. Here are some fun moments:

1.) Connor learning his turns...he's not just snowplowing it down the mountain anymore!

2.) Connor skiing in the trees!

3.) Colin learning the lifts by himself

4.) Colin going down any mountain in front of him...(Uncle Gregg did have to save him once though as Aunt JoJuan and Connor looked on in fear and fascination)

5.) Regan teaching my kids the slopes at Solitude and Alta

6.) Jaden helping Aunt Krista at Solitude since I was with Kaya and all the other kids left me in the powder. Jaden stayed with me so I wouldn't lose my way..so sweet!

7.) Aevan and Bryce putting me to shame as they sped down the mountain. Check out JoJuan's blog if she updates it!

8.) Kaya refusing to let anyone but me ski down with her but JoJuan gave me three runs down Solitude...dear, dear sister. Poor Kaya had a fever and cold but she still skied half the day with me our first day. At Alta...she skied all day and was trying to put her own ski's on without any help. She thought she was a pro but my legs tell a different story after snowplowing all day with Kaya and the hula hoop!

9.) Bryan's ski boots not arriving until Tuesday instead of Friday as promised by the USPS.

10.) Having a pool party with water slides and whirlpools. My kids can't decide which day was the perfect day!

PS...got to say that Gregg's brother in law really hooked us up and made the whole vacation better with all the free ski passes and rentals. It's good to know a co-owner of Ski n See!

High Altitude or Attitude?

Meet Great Grampie

Steve came up this week-end to visit his Dad, Bob, so we all headed to Scott and Sue's for a family feast and some typical antics. We were having a hard time rounding up the kids for a group picture so I thought I would tell them they could all swim in Scott and Sue's new pond in the front yard. (Wind storm has quickly been replaced by rain and serious flooding) It got them all together but I thought they would take one look and not want to go into the freezing water but I underestimated their desire for adventure. Swimming suits were pulled out and they were ready to jump right in. I let Sue be the bad guy and squelch their eager plans. So...some grumpy, and knowingly tricked kids were then forced to pose in the pictures. I hope Sue got some better shots because NONE of my pictures had everyone looking at the same time. Still priceless and worth all the drama.

PS. Holly you will love this. Connor came up with a game similar to "bike tag". He called it Cat and Mouse and the game was for him to be swinging on the wood swing Scott has in their loft for the kids while Andrew and Colin were supposed to try and crawl under the swing, while in motion, to get away from the "cat". Of course on the first run of this game, Connor was the cat and in the swing while Colin was the first "mouse". Surprisingly, Colin got hit in the head with the wooden swing. Ahhh....now I know he has some of me in his little Doherty body. It makes a mommy proud.

The wind storm of 2010

As many of you have heard, at least I think I have complained to you all, we had a massive wind storm that would make a tornado look twice at the destruction. I haven't taken a lot of pictures but there are at least thirty trees in our back yard that were blown down. We could hear them groaning all night, think Lord of the Rings, so we slept in Kaya's room which we figured would be the safest. No trees hit the house but the wind took sections of our roof as a souvenir! When I woke up the next morning I went to get a glass of water and saw a new mountain in our back yard. I literally screamed in surprise! Once we got the OK from Brian, Connor and I went to investigate and I took these pictures as proof. For once, no exaggeration was required :)