This year for our annual Sun Valley trip we headed to a new spot. It ended up that way for a few reasons and it was a fun change and extra fun to be able to all be under one roof. The cabin was a family friends and they were so nice to let us all stay at it up in the mountains 45 minutes east of Park City. Our drive wasn't the best we've ever had, but we made it and the trip started off with some fun for the kids with a Ranger ride up to the cabin. Cars aren't allowed up to the cabins so we had to load our all our stuff up and drive up in the ranger. The kids of course thought that was awesome! The first night was low key. Hanging out and catching up. Boyd and Brewer pretty much disappeared with Emmett downstairs and were unseen for hours at a time.
Friday morning the skiers headed over to Park City to ski at Canyons. It was VERY warm that day, but we had a lot of fun. Poor Beth was sick and didn't feel good most of the time, but was a good sport. Boyd did great! The green runs were a little to easy and short for him and the blue runs were too long for his little legs. But he was a good sport and continued to make good progress. He's even managed a few parallel turns from time to time. Between Boyd having a hard time keeping up on the long runs, Beth not feeling well, and leaving Brewer at home we decided to head home a little earlier than the rest of the crew. By the time we got home Beth was feeling a lot better and the boys picked right back up playing. Phil and I were in charge of dinner that night and we brought a chili that was dang good! The kids couldn't hardly wait to get into the hot tub. They promptly put their swim shorts on and Brewer his floaties and just hung out around the house until it was time to get in. They even watched part of a movie in their swim gear. It was pretty funny.
Saturday was Valentine's day and Boyd was excited to share and hide the valentines we made for everyone. He got up and hide them all in the living room before anyone else got up. A little after breakfast we all got dressed in our snow gear and layers to head out for a little sledding and snowmobiling. It turned out to be another super warm day and we were stripping our layers before we knew it. We spent ours out in the field playing around with the kids. They were thoroughly entertained either by the sleds, the snow mobiles, the ranger or just playing in the snow. It was a lot of fun for everyone to be able to do an activity together. The rest of the day we played outside, Emmett tried skiing for the first time and naps for kids and adults. =) Some of the girls got to play Dream Phone which was hilarious. Appropriately Beth won, although she wasn't thrilled by her crush. But it was entertaining for sure. Grandma and Pop Pop surprised the adults with dinner at a restaurant in Kamas while they kept all 6 grandkids at the cabin. That was extremely nice and brave of them considering it was dinner time and bed time. We had a great time at a cute little place enjoying the atmosphere and each other.
Sunday morning we all hurried up to get ready to church and piled into the Ranger and down to the cars in our Sunday clothes. We drove about 6 miles before we heard from Grandma and Pop Pop who had left earlier that it was Stake conference and to head back to the cabin. It was a good effort right? That's what counts. =) Pop Pop led us in a little devotional. We started off with a song and it was so cute because both of my kids stood at the front and sang "I Am a Child of God". I had no idea Brewer even knew some of the song. And maybe he didn't because after the beginning he only sang the last word of each line and a second after everyone else had already started singing it. But it was a tender moment that touched my heart.
After naps on Sunday we took Brewer out side to try skiing. I've never seen him more excited to do anything before. He was giddy putting on the boots and then finally the skis outside. Phil and I were pleased and surprised at how well he did on the little road. If he started to get off balance he was able to correct himself and keep going. The slope on the road was very gentle so it will be interesting to see how he does on the bunny hill. It was so fun to watch him though. He was very proud of himself and thought he was so big, which he was! A few times he would tell Phil or I that he broke his leg. We would explain to him that he didn't break his leg and he would correct us and say he "almost" broke his leg and then giggle. It was so cute. Later in the evening, Amy convinced everyone to play sequence. Phil was a a good sport and some how the boys managed to win BOTH times. I'll still hold firm that they are cheaters.
We thought we would have more time to play on Monday, but it turned out that it took a little longer to get the laundry though and the house cleaned before we left. But we were still glad for the part of the day we got to spend with everyone. We were so happy that everyone was able to come, with the exception of Clark. He's always missed when he's not able to make it. We especially loved spending time with Sweet Caroline since we haven't had much time with her. She definitely fits her name and is just the sweetest happiest baby. Everyone loved holding and playing with that sweet babe! Of course Boyd bawled in the car when we were leaving and even though it's sad, it means it was a successful trip filled with lots of fun with the people we love the most!
