There wasn't a dry eye among us as we looked around at each other. 

It had been a good day- sunny weather, playful snow. We were dressed in 80s gear, and had danced, more than skied the mountain that day. Lots of encouragement from the lift line and the deck. Good fun. And now the day was over. We sat on the patio with our food and drinks, initially laughing at the antics of the day, but eventually coming to the realization that this day marks an important milestone in our family.  

Because the end of a ski season is always a little bit hard, but this particular season was particularly painful. The end of an era, really. Next winter, Evelyn won't be here. Our ski family is growing up, and the stationary, empty chairlifts were a stark physical reminder of this reality. The road trips. The fighting over who gets the best seats in the car, or who shares beds in the hotel. The seats around the table at the end of the day, eating pizza or Mexican food. The fast runs through the trees, or staring down at something scary, and the looks that say "we've got this." I mean, we'll still do all these things- but it won't be the same.

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from over the years.

These two have been partners forever.

Ev will still go on many ski trips with us. But it will be as a visitor. We're gonna miss her.

*****

Also, I need to post this photo. We went to see the tour of the Tina Turner musical. It was gritty and more intense than I expected. It also had some great music. As an added benefit, we went at a time where we could watch the ASL interpreters at work! Doing shows like this takes a lot of time and creativity, and everyone did a fabulous job.   ;)

I just sat down and realized that we have some things to catch up on. It's been a busy couple of weeks for us. Spring is definitely here, and we have started to shift attention to yard plans (nothing big), BBQs, and warmer weather. I have been back out on the trail a little bit, and still feel grateful every time for where we live. Ski season is wrapping up, but isn't quite over yet, and I am reminded of the special joy of skiing the playful spring slush with light layers and good music. It feels like a party every time. 

For spring break we spent a couple of days at Grand Targhee, followed by several days in Utah to hang out with family and ski what little snow they had left there. 

Grand Targhee has some of the best views! We were planning to go to Jackson Hole as well, but Targhee was so good that we opted to stay there a second day instead

Lunch party!

It was great weather. Super fast in the morning, and super soft in the afternoon. Best of both worlds!

The owner of the thumbs

After the resort closed, there was enough daylight for Ev, Addy, and Maren to take the car and find a hiking spot. You can tell by the sort sleeve shirts that it was pretty warm- especially considering that this was in the evening

They were gone for a few hours and ended up on top of a mountain!

In Utah they went to a dance show. This is the BYU folk dance team that holds a special place in Wendy's heart since she was a part of it in college.

Working in Marissa and Wesley's yard. Jack got to drive the backhoe, and we moved a lot of dirt and planted a lot of trees.

Have a good week!

As I post this, we are getting ready to head down to the Tetons for our spring break- and from there, to Utah. Our new car was delivered (Kia Sedona) and it should do well for us- hopefully. I am ready to be done with car things.

In the meantime, we have had a fairly relaxing week. We stayed up at Wallace for a couple of days over the weekend and skied at Silver Mountain. Some of the kids brought their friends, the weather was super nice, and vibes were joyful. Addy and I stayed together all day and it was seriously one of the most fun days of the year for me. We did every run at the resort, and then some- skiing fast most of the time, and kind of keeping up a good banter on the lift. It was good.

Besides the ski days (which are probably not going to last much longer into this weird winter-that-never-was), we had a few other events. Ev and Addy had an all-day band thing on Tuesday where the school won first place in...something. On Wednesday there was also a public band concert where Ev's percussion group got to showcase their winning ensemble. On Monday, Rach and I had a lovely lunch together, and on Thursday we went to see "The Glass Menagerie" at the Civic Theater which was a good night out. Maren got a big trophy from her voice lesson. Lindsey has started running on the track team, and she is also busy preparing for an Irish dance competition that will be in Missoula next month. Rachel went to a class about planting grass, which sounds slow and boring, but she is also about to be prepping for three plays at once, so maybe boring is nice right now?

Alright...have a good week!

At the end of our day. We both got a little goggle tan after this

Lunchtime is often one of the highlights- just being together and kind of letting the goofy playfulness of skiing into the the room leads to some good times.

Looking down off the lift. Compare this with the next picture, which was exactly one week ago. Hard to believe.

All of this snow (and then some) melted in one week.

Addy (right) and some friends after the concert

The Glass Menagerie. Theater nights are always good.

This winter is teasing us. We got a big snow-storm. We went up to ski. The storm was too big, and the power was down at the lift. Bummer. Then we tried again the next day. There was too much snow, and it was causing avalanches, so they only opened the bunny hill (probably no avy risk there). Then it rained and got real warm and all the snow melted. The end.

Rachel was able to get out to a different resort with some friends and had a good time. Kids spent an afternoon exploring the mountains on foot, and had a good time too. So I guess it was okay. Just not so good when it comes to skiing. And as I write this, several resorts are announcing their close dates as soon as this weekend. Bleh.

With the downtime, Rachel and I have had a lot of time to spend together. We've been enjoying walks by the water, quick little lunch dates, and a couple of movie nights. It's nice. We kind of like each other.

We did have a very social week: game groups, church groups, family groups, book club groups, professional groups, friend groups. Lots of group activities this week. Highlights for me were study club and sushi night with friends- both on Saturday. We like having people in our life.

We also bought a new car (again) this week. Kind of. It is being shipped to us from Colorado, so we bought it, but we haven't actually seen it yet. This is a process that I do not think I will do again, nor would I recommend it. All's well that ends well, I guess, but it's been kind of a hassle.

Alright, that is what we've been up to. Have a good week!

It's a good thing that kids take photos, because I sure didn't. This is during their exploration of the woods around Wallace

This would have been such good skiing! Maybe a little heavy? But this was down low. There was even more up at the resort and it was colder, so I'm sure it could have been some of the best days of the year.

Evelyn's friends all went shopping for food to make meal packets and then drove to Spokane to deliver them to people on the streets. This is the second time they've done this, and they always have a good time hanging out. Cool group of kids.

Compared with last week, this one was downright boring. We'll take it.

Just to follow-up with the car accident (see the last post, if you haven't already), we are still all doing well. It was kind of wild going to the tow lot to get our stuff. The car was even more mangled than I had originally thought, and it's crazy that we all came out of things in one piece. The topper is broken beyond repair, and it was kind of sad driving away from it with all the stickers from our adventures and everything.

We are now in the annoying process of dealing with insurances and looking for yet another new vehicle. I think it'll be months before we finally put this behind us once and for all. It's been super nice of Marissa and Wesley to lend us a car for me to get to work each day, which has made all of this so much more manageable. Because of that, this last week feels almost like life as usual. Also, I have to thank the many, many people from all circles of our lives who have reached out to us in this last week. It's good to know we have friends, and we are very grateful for the support that's around us.

Little sum-up: I had a dental conference I went to on Friday. Evelyn and Adalie had a band thing on Saturday. Jack and Lindsey and their friends have been really into Nerf lately. Maren officially paid off her DC/NYC trip that she'll be going in in June. Rachel is back at work, and has also gotten really into hydroponic strawberries, which is random. The three oldest kids had their last ski-club day at Schweitzer and brought stuff to do s'mores with their friends and overall had a good time there. The weather lately has allowed Rach and me to go on some nice walks by the river and I was able to get out on my skateboard a few times.

Here are some photos. Have a good week!

Solo and Ensemble weekend. This is a regional thing, with several schools coming together. The pieces are judged and it has an element of competition to it, which makes it sort of fun. Addy (2nd one in) was part of a quartet.

Here's Evelyn's group. They actually won first place in percussion and are headed to state-level competition this spring!

We have this constant eerie pinkish glow coming from the office windows in the backyard. This thing looks like is belongs in a space ship. These are Rachel's strawberries.

Just another photo of the car. This was at the tow lot where we gathered out belongings. Modern technology is pretty neat.

Saying goodbye. These cars- and that topper- see our family through a lot of good times and almost becomes parts of the family themselves.

Here's a few photos that Ev took:

Schweitzer has these firepits available. Ev and Addy brought s'more stuff to have while on the mountain with friends.

Ev's ski group. Addy has a separate group she hangs out with, and Jack had a different one altogether. Ev is the best at taking photos though, so she gets featured more.

This is kind of a sad picture. Ev is on the end there, with her boyfriend, Josh and a bunch of other friends. This is a band called Solace that started around 3 years ago and had a little bit of regional success. It's been a biggish part of Evelyn's life. Last weekend was their last show together. Kids grow up. Life changes. Ev says it was a fun night, but that it was also bittersweet.

The gang. We love these kids like they are our own. Ev is in the front middle.

Another friend group photo. I like that the Durango is in there. It's been a reliable car for us.

Here's an Addy picture. She has been really into embroidery lately, and is putting cool little designs all over her clothes. It's kind of cool.

 This week did NOT go according to plan.

This is all of us at a Mexican restaurant on Saturday afternoon. This was likely the most poignant meal we have ever eaten together.

*****

Big Sky is one of our favorites. It seems like we haven't done as many travel ski trips this year, and we were all excited to get out of town for a change in scenery. The drive out of town was pleasant in our new car. It's funny how you just get used to all the little quirks and imperfections of the old one, and how it takes something new to really appreciate what a good car can feel like.

We woke up in Bozeman to a bluebird day, ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, and loaded the car for what had every indication of being a joyful day. Jackson, with his recently acquired driver's permit, took the wheel, and I took the seat next to him to offer directions. We were off!

A few minutes later...

The details are that we had a near head-on collision at 45mph with a big truck. It was a Ram 3500, carrying two large snowmobiles. Even with our forward momentum, the weight difference between the two vehicles pushed our car backwards about 60 feet. After several seconds of chaos and a van filled with screams I looked over at Jack. His face was bloody, but he was there, looking back at me, seeming to be all in one piece. And then, one of the scariest moments...maybe THE scariest moment...of my entire life. I looked behind me, not knowing what I would see.

Side Note: Lindsey took the picture of Jackson in the driver's seat. This was literally seconds after the car stopped moving. Apparently, we have a young photojournalist in the making.

"Everyone check yourselves and say your name if you think you're okay."

"I think I'm good. Um...Addy"..."Lindsey"...Evelyn"....."Rachel"..."Maren"..."Jack"..."Logan"

*****

I got out of the car. And it's strange even to me, but I just took for granted that I was okay. Of course I was okay. That was never even a question. Even though the main area of impact was right in front of me. Even though I had a dashboard sitting in my lap and a truck had literally gone through our windshield- but yeah- no worries. I never even considered...and still find it hard to consider...that maybe something could have happened to me. Out of everything, this is the emotional component that I struggle the most to understand as I write this. It makes me want to look at my own brain.

What I saw when I got out was like a war scene. Debris was everywhere. From the outside, our van was so crunched up that it seemed improbable that there could be seven people inside. Every window was gone. Maren's headphones that she had been wearing seconds before were laying on the road in a mangled heap, several yards away. Our topper had torn the rack off of our car, and ski gear was everywhere; the yard-sale to beat all yard-sales. It was clear that the damage was massive. 

And then I saw the truck. Part of it was to my left, with a man lying on the road next to it. The entire front end of the truck was on the other side of the road. I ran to the man on the road and thankfully (THANKFULLY!!!!) he was lucid and, all things considered, in a pretty chill mood. His shoulder was hurting, but nothing else.

And then...mass chaos of people. Fire trucks. Ambulances. Police cars. Onlookers. They had to cut our car into pieces to get everyone out. They took us to the hospital. I was the only one involved who was not admitted as a patient.

Because I am a nerd, and because I had a lot of time to kill at the hospital, I looked up some crash report statistics. It turns out that there is quite a bit of peer-reviewed crash data that is available (NHTSA, IIHS, and the Abbreviated Injury Scale). With the vehicles involved, trajectories, speed, etc...it turns out that a crash like ours has roughly a 35% chance of ending in fatality. Furthermore, there is a 90% chance that there would be a debilitating/life changing injury.

Four hours later, we were all discharged, with instructions to "take it easy for a few days." We basically walked away from it. The driver of the truck will be in a sling for 6 weeks, but otherwise, he's going to be okay.

Both cars, needless to say, are completely totaled. Like, we can't even find all the parts. It took four hours for them to re-open the intersection. We have some logistics to figure out. It's inconvenient. But right now, "inconvenient" seems like a really good place to be.

*****

In other news, we went and saw the play "Be More Chill." This is one that I'm going to think about for a while, and Stage Left always does such a good job. Bravo.

Have a good week!