This last week was very full for us. Full of family. Full of food. Full of skiing. Full of driving. Full of good times and full of memories made. Just...full. It's been good.

Before we get into all the activity of Thanksgiving though, there are a few things to catch up with.

This picture represents SO. MUCH. WORK. This is at our celebration dinner after Rachel interpreted for the play "The Little Mermaid." By all accounts she did a phenomenal job. There isn't a whole lot more to say about that. Just- she is pretty cool.

This is from the play "The Lightening Thief," which most of the family went to see. All the kids said it was soooooo gooood. Meanwhile, Rachel was just rolling her eyes. Different audiences. 

Alright, now we can move on to talking about Thanksgiving. We left our home last Tuesday night and drove as far as Idaho Falls. The next morning we finished the drive to Shannon's house where she hosted us as well as her brother's family and her mom. We did the traditional dinner thing, and there was a lot of talking and hanging out. Good times.

Besides Rachel's family, we also got a chance to see a bunch of my family who happened to be in the area for the holiday. It's good to reconnect.

This is us with Rachel's mom. She made a painting on slate for us to hang in the Wallace house, which I will feature a little more below this set of photos.

Here we are with my Grandma and Grandpa

Shannon's ferrets were a big hit!

Thanksgiving dinner

Of course with our family it is never just food and conversation, though those things were highlights for sure. Another highlight though, was the skiing we got to do. It's not even December yet and we are going on day seven already of the season!

Addy and I went to Woodward Park City one evening. It's a huge playground for skiiers, and I don't know that I will ever go to the SLC area in winter again without trying to visit this wonderful park.

We all had a great time at Snowbasin and Alta (on separate days).

I got to ski with each individual person on this trip: Jack and I scared ourselves with the steep runs off the High Traverse. I raced down the groomed runs with Evelyn, Maren, and Lindsey. And Addy and I found the coolest ravine to ski together, laughing as we jumped from side to side. It's going to be a good year.

On the last day of the trip, Wendy surprised our family with this slate painting. Apparently she had been working on it the whole time we were skiing, and I think the small details she included capture perfectly each personality in our family. 

Thank you again, Wendy. This weekend we'll put it up in a prominent location to display proudly in our Wallace house. It fits perfectly with the mood we are creating there. 

Well, that's about it.

Have a good week!

I can't explain to myself the degree of excitement that was going through me on Friday night. We had driven up to the Wallace house and had a good evening with the kids before putting them to bed and going out on a little date. Later that night, laying in bed, I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. It was ridiculous, and though I was fully aware of this fact, I couldn't help it. In a few short hours I would be in line for first chair on the first day of ski season.

Advertised conditions were as follows: "Potential obstacles and thin areas may be encountered. You may want to wait for more snow if all you have is new gear." No worries. It didn't matter. The entire family was stoked to be on snow again, the sun was shining, and the atmosphere was festive. From now until sometime in the spring, we'll probably ski at least once a week. Sometimes this will mean big trips to big resorts, and others will be short half-days closer to home. We'll spend long hours in cars and hotel rooms. We'll laugh, and cry and have our individual victories. There will be some injuries, hopefully minor, and there will definitely be a lot of stories. And it all started on Saturday morning. Let the season begin!

We timed it: Just about 15 minutes from our house to the lift line. It's nice to be able to take it easy in the morning and still get first chair :)  

The first of many good trips. 

Not sure they were supposed to be up there, but at least we got a photo before telling them to come down.

Scenic lunch break

Besides skiing, we did a few other things as well.

This dynamic trio partied like it was the 90s at the Smashing Pumpkins concert in Spokane! Oh, the memories I have of that band. I swear that when I hear the song "1979" I can catch the faint smell of worn vinyl seating, burning oil in an old pickup truck, and the sweet feeling of teenage independence. 

As a family we went and saw the play "Guys on Ice." It was a fun musical that had us laughing out loud at this small-town theater.

Speaking of ice- we went skating at the outdoor rink they set up at the park. 

Winter is here and I love it. 

Have a good week!

Last week we were able to have Shannon and Nathan (Rachel's sister/nephew) come up and stay with us for a few days. It has been a while since they were up here, and it was so good doing things with them. I make no secret about the fact that I love our lifestyle and where we live, and it is fun to show that off a little bit. In a few short weeks we'll head down to their house for Thanksgiving and they can do the same for us. 

Good times :)

Since it was so close to Halloween, Nathan got to be part of  The Great Candy Trade this year.

Rachel and Shannon got out for a nice lunch up at Arbor Crest. We really like it up there.

Walking around the gardens after lunch was beautiful, as always. A bit nippy though. Winter isn't that far away.

First snow of the year!

Rachel, Shannon, and I went to the theatrical production of Rocky Horror. And yes, this is us with the cast, not the audience. Sometimes it can be hard to tell with this one. They actually made the show tons of fun and I personally enjoyed myself more since maybe the first time I saw it many years ago. I'll also give a shout-out here to Stage Left- a small Spokane theater that deserves more recognition than they get. Their past several shows, actually, have just knocked it out of the park. Bravo.

I guess it's that time of year that people start putting up Christmas Decorations. I am definitely one of those who say we should wait until December for this. I just have a hard time handling that much cheer for that long. It's like drinking a large Slurpee- pretty good at first, but hard to finish because it's soooo sweet that it just makes you want to throw up at the end.

On Sunday we went up to the Wallace house. This is a photo that Evelyn took while she was out on a walk with the other girls.

And here is one that we took on our walk. What a beautiful changing of the seasons.

Evelyn and her leaf. She is actually smiling really big in this photo, but to show that would ruin the gritty image that she has spent so much time cultivating. Hence, the leaf. 

Of course we had to stop for Gooeys before driving Shannon back to the airport. 

Have a good week!

This was a week of shows for us. On Thursday, Rach and I saw "The 39 Steps" put on by the theater department at the local community college. On Friday, we brought the whole family to see "Arsenic and Old Lace" at the high school. Evelyn had helped with the set, and several of her friends were in the show. I think they did a better job than the college kids. And then on Saturday, Rach and I went down to Spokane for a night of stoke and entertainment with the release of the latest Warren Miller ski film. It's been fun. 

"Jerry the snail hopes you had a good night!" That was written on the blue paper. Our kids are great. We came home from the ski film to a perfectly clean house, the kids all asleep, and this little guy waiting for us on the counter. How sweet.

We'll finish off our run of paid entertainment tomorrow evening when we go see the live production of Rocky Horror at a Spokane theater. We've seen the movie several times, participated in all the callouts, and watched the shadow cast, but we've never actually seen it performed live without the film as a backdrop. It has received good reviews in local press, and the show sold out almost as soon as tickets went up, which is a huge milestone for this particular theater. It should be good. Also, Rachel's sister is coming up for the weekend so it will be fun to have her there as well.

Besides the shows, we did all the regular Halloween festivities on Monday night. But it was different this year. For the first time in 12 years, Rachel and I did not go trick-or-treating to a single house. I think those days are behind us. Woo-Hoo!

Jack (Ninja) went out with his friend John (Mr. Monopoly). They brought in the greatest haul of candy out of anyone by a factor of about 3. Their secret? Negotiation at the doorstep. I'll put this in quotes- "Look, I'm not going to say trick or treat. The fact is that it is raining and we want to go home. It's also likely that you are wanting to turn off your light and go to bed. Let's help each other out a little bit."

Yes, I think they actually said that to people. And apparently it worked. I don't know if, as a parent, I should be proud or embarrassed.

These three stayed together most of the night

Ev got together with a group of friends as well. They hooked up with some others and were out pretty late. I don't think they really did any trick-or-treating. They were mostly just jumping around to different friends houses to hang out.

It was a good night for everyone

Well, that's about it for us. We're looking forward to spending time with Shannon for a few days.

Have a good week!