Sammamish Christmas, Part 5 (Final Fun and Heading Home)

Our trip this Christmas was all about family. Normally there are so many activities that we try to squeeze in (the gingerbread house display, garden of lights, tickets to the theater, holiday carousel, ward party, etc...), but thanks to covid, none of those were happening this year. Sometimes the togetherness was a bit loud and messy, but most of the time it was wonderful. So many great memories with family were made and we enjoyed it to the fullest!!

Reading books, and more books, and more books with GG Grandma

Charlie and Grandmari ready to cheer on the Seahawks

We did at least six puzzles over the break

One more trip up to the cabin for some skiing, snow cones, and fun

Griffin was in a bad habit of going to bed for just an hour or so, and then waking up once the games started. He thought it was so fun to party with the grown ups after all the other kids were in bed.

We had just one ski day on our trip. The snow was very heavy and I felt like I could barely power through it all, but was still so happy to be back on the slopes. Now that we are exiting the baby years, this will hopefully happen more often!

Building a lincoln log village while mom and dad ski

One more round of snow play before packing up to return to Texas

Dave helped the kids build a tunnel slide in the snow bank

We made a lineup of snowmen in the road for the plow to destroy when it came back down the street

Griffin loved all the extra attention he got during our stay

Goodbye snuggles with GG. She was an unexpected guest for our trip, but we were so, so glad to see her.

Video Clips from our Christmas Trip

A Trip to Utah for Mimi's 90th Birthday Party

My grandma turned 90 in February! The family had a big birthday celebration planned for her the first week of March, and I was so glad I could attend. My mom and sister were also there, so it was a bit of a girl's trip too! Charlie and I flew out on a Friday afternoon, her party was on Saturday, and then we spent a couple more days in Utah before returning home. 

Trying to keep this guy entertained on the plane. We had a 5 hour travel day and he didn't sleep for any of it. Our first leg had open seats, but the second flight was completely full and so I had to hold him on my lap the whole time. which made him very angry. There was lots of screaming between Las Vegas and Salt Lake, but we survived.

It was so good to see my grandma again! Charlie just loves her. He loves to hold her hands and always gives her the sweetest smiles. I'm hoping that next time I can bring the whole family out to Utah so they can all see her again. We have missed Grandma Mimi so much since moving to Texas. 

The party was held at my Aunt Susan's house in Provo. I was able to see several cousins that I have not seen for years! We had a yummy meal catered by Cafe Rio, followed by cake, and then a presentation about grandma's life. 

Charlie was the youngest one in attendance (great-grand kids weren't invited, but he was an exception) . He was really good the whole night and just bounced from relative to relative without complaint. 

Happy Birthday Grandma!

It was so fun to hear stories and see photos from her life. She is truly one of the most beautiful people I know. This is her with my Grandpa Roger. 

Beautiful Grandma

Group photo - it's hard to believe this is only about 25% of the family. She has an amazing legacy!

On Sunday we were able to spend more time with my grandma at the house and then we went to lunch at Little America with her, my parents and my sister. After lunch we had to say our "see you soons!" which is always hard :( I really hope I can make another trip that way sometime in the next year. 

We then drove up to Park City to see my Uncle Brent and stay with him for a couple nights at his condo for some skiing! I was so glad I could extend my trip by a day so I could have a day on the mountain with my sister, dad, and Brent. It's been a long time since we all skied together! It was a beautiful day with blue skies and a couple inches of new snow. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to keep up since I've only skied a couple times over the last several years, but my legs held up well and I had a great day!

At the top of Jupiter Bowl (I think)

My dad said this one was frame worthy

Riding the one of the chairlifts. Park City resort is HUGE! We rode about 12 different lifts that day and I never had any clue where we were. 

My sister and I at the top of the Thaynes, where my mom spent a lot of time on during her youth

The ski day was made possible by Grandmari who loaned me all her ski gear and stayed back to watch Charlie. They had a good day together (except for getting locked out of the condo once) and she even got this picky eater to have some soup for lunch. 

A soak in the hot tub after a ski day is always the best

Headed home on Charlie's birthday! Luckily our trip back was much smoother than the trip out. We had an entire row to ourselves for both legs and after some exploring, Charlie took a nice, long nap. 

Christmas in Seattle - Sophie's Ski Day

On New Years Day my dad and I took Sophie to try the magic carpet at Summit West. She had been looking forward to this moment and was eager to start practicing. She had been on skis before just to slide around, but this was her first experience on a real slope and she did great!!

We borrowed a training leash from my sister that my dad used to hold her back until she learned to control her speed, and after a few runs on the magic carpet she was ready to tackle the chairlift. She actually wanted to ride it all by herself and it took some convincing to let Paco go with her. She is so brave!

On her very last run she also decided she was ready to ditch the training leash and bombed it to the bottom, stopping on her own before my dad or I could catch up. Living in Texas will make learning more challenging, but she's off to a great start. Hopefully we'll be able to get her to snow every couple years so she can keep advancing. I'm looking forward to the day when she can be my ski buddy!

Video clips from Sophie's Ski Day

Christmas in Seattle - Cabin Fun

During our Christmas trip we were able to spend a few nights up at the cabin in Snoqualmie pass. Dave and I used to spend a lot of time up at the cabin while we were living in Seattle, before we had kids. I have great memories of weekends up there doing puzzles, reading books, playing games, taking hikes in the summer and skiing in the winter. Being there with kids is a totally different experience, one that is quite the opposite of peaceful and quiet. I will admit there were a few moments I wish I could have made them vanish for a short time, but this season of toddlers, yelling, and mess will pass.

The kids did have a blast. We drove up in the dark the first time and put the kids right to bed, and when Davey woke up in the morning he was so surprised by the snow and kept calling everyone over to go look out the window. We took them sledding in the driveway and ate lots of fresh snow cones while we were up there. Living in Texas they will probably not see tons of snow, so I'm sure our Christmas trips to the cabin will be something they look forward to in the future!

Enjoying the beautiful scenery as we drove up the pass

Arriving at the cabin

Playing cowboys in the loft

Adventuring out into the snow

Sledding in the driveway

Two happy kids, and one kid who did not want to take a photo

On our second trip Sophie went up a day before us so she could spend one last night with Anne, who was leaving in the morning. They played games, ate snow cones, and then had a sleepover in the queen bed. 

My mom watched the kids while Dave and I went snowshoeing in the woods behind the neighborhood. I had forgotten how fun it was and had a great time!! We also went with Brodie and his two dogs and it was fun to watch them bound through the deep powder. 

With my Charlie

We did a little photoshoot with Charlie and Briggen. They were so confused about what was going on, but sat through it very patiently :)

Snow cones!! One of my favorite treats that I look forward to every time we visit. My personal favorite is a blackberry/peach combo.

With my mom and sister in our matching flannels. We look tired because it's New Year's and we are too old to stay up until midnight :)

On New Year's day we went skiing in the morning. There wasn't any new snow, but the conditions were still good and after not skiing for a couple years due to babies, I was just fine it wasn't a big powder day. 

I also got a puzzle done while we were up there

We let these munchkins take a bath together. Even though Charlie has slimmed down a lot, he's still got some chunk in his thighs. 

Farewell cabin - we wish we could have stayed longer!