Ski Utah!

The 2nd day of our family reunion vacation to Utah was spent on the slopes at Beaver Mountain up Logan Canyon. This was the 3rd and final day that week that my dad had taken anyone in the family who wanted to go skiing/snowboarding. My oldest sister Lisa and her family went all 3 days, as did my sis-in-law Jen and her two oldest daughters Aspen and Libby. My youngest sister Trina and her fiancée Dan went one day earlier in the week, and then Josh and I and our three oldest boys went on January 2nd.

I just love this photo of Malcolm; I think he looks like a model!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the mountain--clear blue skies, and there wasn't a lot of people (apparently because some schools had started that day, the Christmas Break crowd wasn't all there). My dad paid for all of our passes, the boys' rentals, and their lessons, too. It was so generous of him, and I think it made it just that much more enjoyable for myself not feeling the financial strain of it all!

My dad was SO HAPPY all day!
He loved skiing with his family!

It has been 6 years since Josh and I have been skiing; the last time we went we tried to teach Ammon to remember how to ski (we had taken him once 2 years before that is all). When my dad said that we'd be skiing for the reunion this year, I wasn't sure how many of my family would even want to go. Ammon remembered not liking skiing and Jonah and Micah have never been. Surprisingly, though, Ammon said he wanted to try snowboarding and the twins wanted to try skiing. My dad signed all three of them up for lessons, and since it wasn't a busy day, they received private lessons. Ammon had a two-hour lesson with a fantastic young instructor, and by the end, he was really liking snowboarding. Jonah and Micah took an hour-and-a-half lesson from an older gentleman, and they were starting to get the hang of it by the end of the day.

Ammon with his instructor



Micah & Jonah getting off the conveyor on the bunny hill,
and their instructor is right behind them.

Even though it had been a long time since I'd been skiing, I picked it right back up. Josh and I went down the mountain a few times together while the boys were in lessons. I had forgotten just how much I used to LOVE skiing! I can't believe I ever stopped!

When the boys were done with lessons, Ammon went on the bigger hill with Grandpa and his cousins, and I stayed on the smaller lift with the twins to help them feel more comfortable and confident in their newly acquired skills.

Micah--learning how to walk sideways uphill



Jonah--ready to tackle a new hill for the 1st time

I took my camera along with me, and since it wasn't snowing, I was safe to keep it under my coat all day. I was able to take a photo of every person in our group, which made me a happy girl!

My dad--still has a smile on his face!

My sis-in-law Jen--who also took photos with her smart phone

My niece Aspen--who skied on black diamond moguls!!!

My niece Libby--who just learned to ski this year, too!

My sister Lisa--the last time we skied together,
I was in still in high school!

My bro-in-law Mack--I rarely saw him all day
because he went on difficult trails.

My nephew Malcolm--who had some funny stories
about getting lost in the trees among the powder!

My nephew Quinn--who just started snowboarding last year,
and he was daredevil enough to try some black diamond runs!

My son Ammon--staying in the upright position after his 1st lesson!

My husband--funny story about this photo:
he was speeding behind me, then he stopped abruptly to get snow all over me,
but instead, his ski got caught in the powder and it knocked him over!!

All the ladies: Kala, Lisa, Jen

Group skiing at the end of the day, L-R: Micah, Libby, Jen, Jonah, Lisa, Josh

Group shot on the last run of the day, L-R:
Jen, Lisa, Ammon, Libby, Mack, Jonah, Malcolm, Josh, Micah
(we don't know where Quinn & my dad were)

Grandpa with some of his skiing grandkids (he's still smiling!) before heading home.

We all had a great time going skiing/snowboarding together! On the way back to Tremonton, we dropped off Ammon, Quinn, & Malcolm in Logan for a night with their Uncle Mick. They went to watch the new Hobbit 2 movie and ate dinner. When we got back to Tremonton, ate dinner with my mom and Kanyon, and then Mom & Dad, Lisa & Mack, and Josh & I and the 3 younger boys went to the movie theater in Brigham City to watch "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". It was kind of slow to keep the boys' interest, but I truly loved it. It was a great story, with humor and clean language and action. All in all, it was an awesome day!