Sundance and Idaho

 Saturday was the start of General Conference so we snuggled together in the basement and enjoyed watching the morning session all together. Conference was soooo good. We went down the mountain to Cubby’s for lunch and then stopped by Pete and Jen’s to get snow clothes for Ray and Jack and see their new play house! They built a house on the property next door to theirs and rent out one side to a newlywed couple for $1500 a month and the other side is just for playing! They have a rock wall and a ping pong table and a gym. So cool!

We were a little late getting back to the afternoon session of conference and then I took Ray and Jack night skiiing while my mom and dad stayed with Ella to watch the evening session of conference. I made friends with a guy named Ricky who was about 80 years old and wore a cowboy hat. He made sure I got a discount on the kids ski rentals and lift tickets so it ended up only costing $100! (Instead of 2)

Sundance now has a cool little magic carpet for kids but Jack got bored of that pretty quickly and wanted to ride the lift. He did it once and skied down and was stoked. So he rode the lift again only this time he was with a teenager and accidentally rode all the way to the top! He was terrified and the teenager stayed with him the whole time as he slowly made his way down the mountain. When he finally got down he had tears in his eyes and said, “I could have died!!!!”  I hugged him and comforted him and told him I was proud of how brave he was. I asked him if he wanted to take a little break and get a treat from the lodge and between sobs he said, “Umm, *sniff* no. I want to go again!” Ha ha So up the lift he went again only not to the top this time and he did that over and over until the mountain closed. It was freezing after the sun went down so it felt so good sitting next the fire. Rayleigh and I shared a chocolate eclair and took in the Sundance vibes. It was such a magical night and I’m so glad the stars all aligned for the kids to be able to ski one last time before the season ended (the next day).

Sunday, we cuddled up together all day watching conference. Again, conference was soooooo good. One for the books, for sure! I loved president Nelson’s message to be peacemakers, have charity, and let virtue garnish our thoughts and actions. And I LOVED sister Runia’s talk about the worth of souls. Just so good. We ate chicken n rice and enjoyed the cottage and that evening, Stacy and Kristen stopped by for a visit with their husbands. The kids were so good to be seen and not heard which I know the older folks appreciated. But MY generation would be shaking its head knowing that what kept them quiet was uncontrolled screen time. Oh well!

We had a super fun time talking and catching up. Stacy’s son, Jonathon, is having a baby any day now and Justine is thriving in her career as an engineer. Stacy’s daughter, Maddy, is paving the way with research on women’s mental health and Sophie is a physical therapist specializing in pelvic health! So cool!!!!!

It was a wonderful night and I’m so thankful for family.

Monday, we hit the ground running with an action packed day in Utah Valley. Our first stop was to visit Carole in her new memory care facility. It was sooo nice and the vibes were so happy and peaceful. Heck, I wanted to move in! Jack found a piano and played a little bit which brightened everyone’s mood. So sweet. We then headed down to Springville and had lunch at the Sidecar Cafe which is connected to a motorcycle museum! The whole area was made of giant crates and was really cool and unique. We planned to visit the Springville Art Museum but it was closed so we headed up to BYU instead and visited that art museum which was fabulous. I then dropped my parents off in downtown Provo and took the kids to the rec center to swim and burn some energy. They were so happy! We picked up my parents at Los Hermanos after swimming and my mom got me a yummy smoothie and food for everyone.

We headed back down to Springville to check out the art museum and it was so fun! The kids loved all of the hands on art.

Tuesday, we cruised up to Thanksgiving Point and accidentally walked into the Butterfly Biosphere but it was so cool and the kids loved it! We stopped for lunch at Apollo Burger and Liz met us there! Yay! I love my friend! She is looking so beautiful- she’s just radiant. She came with us to the gardens and we strolled around a little bit and she and I had a chance to chat and catch up. She’s in a really good place, starting to date (which is scary and horrible, apparently) and she’s busy making herself the best version of herself. I feel like everyone I know who’s our age is trying to do that- step away from their current roles for a time and dive back into who they really are as a person, a daughter of God, and cultivating their gifts and talents. She was a breath of fresh air, as usual, and I was so happy I got to spend some time with her.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh made her way down to the sculpture gardens which depict scenes from Christ’s life and she was really feeling the spirit. It had a big impact on her and she wanted to spend a lot of time there. It was really neat. Jack was being a little wild and crazy and she wanted to be reverent and stay away from him. I felt badly because we left before she was ready because my parents were getting tired. But it’s ok. She was a good sport.

We got back up to the cottage and the kids played in the snow and Jack, Ella, and I took a little walk. It’s so beautiful up there!

The next day, Wednesday, I took the kids to Saratoga Springs and Skylar’s wife, Alicia cuz mine and Ella’s hair. It was so fun chatting with her. Her 3 girls are homeschooled so they hung out with us, too. Sky mostly stayed holed up in his office which was cool. After haircuts, I looked up Lindsey’s address and she was 2 minutes away! All my ministering campaigns were coming true! I was able to stop by for a quick visit and give her a hug. She is so sweet and it was so good to see her and her husband and her little boy who is almost 2!

We drove on up to Idaho after that and got there right in time for dinner. Nicole made us a yummy meal and we sat around and chatted (mostly about Travis’ running obsession) while the kids played. We slept in the basement and other than the boys waking up my kids at 4:45am to play (I shut that down real quick) we all slept great. We drove up to Rexburg and picked up Parker on Thursday morning and he had us help pack up and clean his apartment. I was a little nervous about bringing Parker home. I’m worried about the change in dynamic and the responsibility I feel to have him finish and submit his mission papers, get a job, and establish healthier habits. Ugh. But he was super cute with his siblings and so far it’s been great!

While we were gone, Duane, Suzanne, and Michael came down to visit my parents at the cottage and they had a really nice time. Michael brought food for everyone and I’m so glad they were able to get together. Duane has Parkinson’s so this visit was extra special.

When we got to the cottage, we brought up some food and Parker was able to regale my parents with stories from college. My mom wasn’t feeling too well and we were all a little nervous about the early morning drive/flight home. But we all slept well and made it out just fine. We were packed to the brim but we made it work and we got home around 5pm.

Sadly for Tanner, I headed straight out for a GNO at Kristina’s house but it was SO fun and I’m so grateful for good friends who include me because they WANT to and they love me! We ate delicious vegetarian food and painted cute butterflies and talked and laughed and it was great. Thankful for my tribe of women.

It was a great but exhausting week and life is slowing down anytime soon on this “break”. Hopefully Parker can land a job ASAP and we can get all the requirements done for his mission papers and we can get those turned in! Let’s goooo!