We're back

Well we had a great time in Utah. The first few days of skiing were great but kind of icy and slushy, then the got a ton on snow on Tuesday night and it snowed all day Wednesday so the skiing was fantastic and exhausting. The girls took ski lessons on Monday and Tuesday and Julianne loved it and she learned a lot and skied very well. She could do regular greens hills, not just the bunny slope, and really had control of her skiing. Mallory liked skiing but was not as strong as Julianne. She liked going up the magic carpet and skiing down that hill. I did not take her on any other hills since she had a hard time really stopping on demand. I think she will be good to go next year and will really enjoy it. We put Nathan in the local day care for a day and he did very well. Dwight and I got to ski in the afternoons together so that was nice to be able to ski together and spend some time doing this physical activity. It was kind of stressful traveling with three kids. They did alright on the plane but Nathan did not sleep very well in the cramped crib in the closet that they provided for him. The time change was hard to adjust to but after a few days the kids were much better. The enjoyed playing with their cousin and we had fun playing Euchre games with my family. We got back on Thursday and have been busy getting back to home life and getting ready for school to begin. Here are some pictures of our trip and the beautiful scenery we saw from our condo and from the slopes.



These two scenes were taken on the first morning from our condo.

The girls getting ready to ski.




My hubby in ski's, doesn't he look cute.



I love these tall skinny tree's.

D waiting patiently for me while I take pictures of these trees.


This is all the snow they received in one day. It still snowed Wednesday night so that was only half of the snow they received.

My sister took pictures of the girls actually skiing so hopefully I will get copies of those and post them later.

My "step" grandmother, aka Gran, passed away last Thursday so I am going to go her funeral on Monday. She was a second mom to me when our step mother was sick with breast cancer and took care of us for several years after my step mother passed away. She was very warm and caring. I loved helping her cook and I would sit on her bed after we ate and talk and watch TV with her. She was there with me when I learned how to drive a car and she would graciously let me take her red Saturn out when I first got my licence. She was there for us when we got home from school, made us meals, and drove us around town when we needed her. It would have been very hard for our family to survive without her help and her giving up of her life for several years to live with us. Even though I have not seen her for a long time and she had Alzheimer's I still remember her sweet face and skin and her loving character. I really did miss her when she left our house and it was hard for me to adjust to everything while she was away. She was a great woman and I will always have her memories in my mind.

Things I am grateful/thankful for:
- Having Gran live in our house for several years and her keeping our family together during such difficult and emotional time.
- Having good travel connections and everything going smoothly during our travel to and from Utah.
- seeing the girls enjoy and like skiing.
- appreciating the mountains, I miss seeing the TN mountains