We've decided that this trip goes down in the books as one of our best family trips ever!! Wow, was this trip so much fun!! Not only were we able to see all of our Utah family but every single one of our snow dreams came true!! We will not wait another 4 years to go back, that is certain!!
We flew out with Jordan and Shanda's family which is best case scenario because all the kids were so content to be on the plane with their best cuzzies.
We flew in Thursday evening and spent the first 3 nights in Salt Lake City and stayed with Jake and Tiff and their family. They let us have their whole basement (plenty of room, so comfortable, and the kids were in heaven!) It was so fun!! We went to breakfast the next morning then sorted through our snow gear and dressed ready to find some snow!! Jake and Tiff rounded up some sleds for us and we drove into the canyon and found the perfect place to play in the most beautiful snow!!! The weather was beautiful... not too cold and sunny!!
The snow was soooo delicious!!
Snow Angels!!
Our Snowman!!
I've seriously never seen bigger smiles on my children. They were all so happy!!
Snowball fight!!!!
All the sledding you could imagine!
Later that evening we met up with all the Provo/Orem folks at the cutest little bowling alley in Heber. It was so fun reuniting with all the cousins!!
A little late night puzzle action!!
The next day we got tickets to go snow tubing at Soldier's Hollow. This was a lot of fun, too!! We each had our own tube and just held onto one another and raced down together.... we picked up quite a bit of speed. After our 2nd run Benny said he was all done and ready to go home! Maybe a little to speedy for him? We took it easy the next couple runs then called it a night.
After our weekend in Salt Lake we headed down to Provo for the rest of our stay. We stayed at the Residence Inn and had great accommodations there! Our first day we stuff our faces with all-you-can-eat pancakes and French toast at Magelby's... a definite must!! After breakfast we took a little drive up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls for a leisure hike with the kids. The day was beautiful and bright, the mountains so pretty and the trail was just perfect along the river and by the falls. The kids really enjoyed it. Benny especially like throwing rocks in the river. Shelly's kiddos joined us.
The cutest little hikers and the prettiest view!
Covid rules at the hotel made us "reserve" our swim time. It worked out perfectly because it only assured us the entire pool to ourselves!! We had a couple cuzzie swim days and it was great!
Tuesday was our big ski day!! Jackson and Ivy had a morning ski school session from 10-12:30 and Benny had a full day ski school session from 10-4. It was perfect. The older kids got the hang of it quickly and then were able to ski with us and their cousins after lunch. Benny had a little girl in his morning session school but she wasn't there in his afternoon session and he said to his instructor, "So we don't have to wait around for Maddie anymore?" Ha!! He loved having his instructor all to himself for the rest of the afternoon. They all had so much fun, it was great!!
I loved watching the kids walk out of the hotel in their ski gear!
Heading out to their class!
With the kids in school we were able to spend some quality time on the slopes together!!
We had quite a few family members join us on the slopes!!
Find Benny.... (Camo pants)
Enjoying lunch at the lodge at our half way point.
After our fun day skiing all the girls headed over to the Quigley's house for Diana's (Henry's fiance) bridal shower! Since we won't be out for the wedding in April it was nice to celebrate her while we were there! After the shower we met up with the Oak Shore Drive gang at Jamison's and Sarah's house. Not quite as big but it felt the same!!
The next day Daniel had a chance to go fly fishing, arranged by Nate and Declan. They caught a lot of fish!!
We were pretty tired and unsure if it was a good idea, but had lift tickets back at Sundance for an evening ski on Wednesday. We geared ourselves back up and headed up the mountain. Ivy was in tears after putting on her ski boot she said it hurt so bad. I thought we had made a bad decision. But once we got everyone on the slopes it was the most wonderful evening. I think at the end of the night we agreed it was even better than the day before!! Jackson and Porter skiied together, we hardly saw them the entire time. Daniel, Benny, Ivy and I had the intentions of skiing together but Benny just took off and Daniel had to quickly follow him!! So we ended up paired up, Ivy and I leisurely going down the mountain and Benny and Daniel racing down! They passed us up at least twice! That kid is fearless!!
We wrapped things up about 8 and decided if we hurried we could hit the Pizza Factory before they closed. It was the best idea of the day. Back to where it all started 18+ years ago! I didn't let anybody order... I ordered everything for the table. My favorite pizza, my favorite pasta, my favorite salad, dipping sauces and breadtwists for all!! It was amazing... just as good as I remembered.
Our last day we spent saying our goodbyes, returning all our borrowed gear, hanging one last time with cousins and grabbing our last favorite snacks and sodas from the local soda shops. It truly was an amazing trip!! Already looking forward to the next one...
Our Floridian crew back on the airport tram in Orlando. Home Sweet (Humid) Home!!
