Utah Ski Vacation

          We just got back from a week long ski vacation in the "Utah Mountains," as Audrey called it!  Some great friends (and our neighbors) invited us to join them, along with one other family, for a week in Utah.  We all stayed in a beautiful lodge in Eden, Utah, and we spent most of our time skiing (or boarding) at Snowbasin.  With six adults  and seven kids, ages five and younger, we had a great system for getting every one out to the slopes.  The three older kiddos (five year olds) went skiing almost every day, and two adults would stay back at the lodge to watch the little ones.  At lunch, we would rotate (two adults would return and swap with those watching kids).  We took turns cooking dinner at night, and we all took a couple of days to explore the surrounding area.

          The week was so much fun.  Our three families got along great, and we truly enjoyed spending time in the mountains.  Audrey got to go to ski school the first day, then Matt taught her to ski during the rest of the week.  (For those of you who didn't know, Matt is an excellent skier, although he'll deny that fact).  By the end of the week, Audrey had graduated from the bunny slope and was easily navigating the greens from higher up the mountain.

          I hadn't been skiing since college, so I decided to switch it up and learn to snowboard.  I took a half day lesson our first day on the slopes, and I enjoyed the challenge (even though I was bruising my backside and knees pretty good).  On the last run of my lesson, my instructor decided to teach me how to do 180's and 360's.  While I didn't necessarily feel confident in my ability to even attempt this, I tried it any way...and fell the entire way down the mountain.  Just before we reached the bottom, I fell awkwardly and somehow caught myself on my right hand and wrist.  I knew right away I had tweaked it.  Ouch.  Sure  enough, by the next morning, it was swollen, tender, and bruised.  I took 48 hours off and tried snowboarding again.  The second day, I went out wearing knee pads and wrist guards under my gear.  I got a lot better and was really enjoying myself.  Then at the end of the day, I was feeling a bit overconfident, caught an edge, and bit it BIG TIME.  I flew up in the air and landed directly on my tailbone and helmeted head.  Ouch again.  I somehow made it down the hill and decided to call it a day.  I could barely sit the next day!  Oh well.  No pain, no gain?  I was never sure I liked that saying.  It turns out that I actually BROKE my wrist that first day!  Yup.  How's that for my first day snowboarding?  

          Other than the broken wrist that I didn't know was broken, the trip was a huge success.  Audrey and Matt loved skiing together, I had fun attempting to board, and Claire happily played in the snow outside our lodge.  We also loved getting to know our sweet friends better during our time together.  And Utah is beautiful.

These pictures show Audrey and I learning the ropes on the mountain!