Closing day. These posts are always a little bittersweet- especially this year as it seems like things are changing in our family. The end of an era, perhaps? Don't get me wrong-It was a great year. But it felt a little off. Kids are getting older and more involved. We have conflicts in scheduling, we need more space, and travel can get complicated. Next year will be even more so, since teen jobs will almost certainly be in the mix. In the past we have visited, as a family, around fifteen different destinations. This year we hit 12, which is good, but some were smaller and we also missed out on a lot of our favorites. In terms of days skied, I got my normal 50ish, but for some of our kids it was only half of that. Nights spent in a hotel or eating pizza in bed were at an all-time low. I think that skiing will always a be a part of our family- a touchpoint, hopefully, even after kids have left the house. But things change, and this year highlighted this fact.

We closed the year the same as we started it- an overnight stay at our Wallace house (we love that place), an early breakfast the next morning, and a full day at Silver Mountain, our home resort. The day was a little dreary with some rain and it felt more like a funeral than the springtime celebration we had hoped for. It was almost as if we could watch the mountain melt and die in real time. Some runs that were open in the morning were reduced to mere ribbons of white surrounded with brown dirt by mid-afternoon. There weren't many people there, which is understandable given the conditions, and the vibe was one of malaise that questioned whether they should have just closed a week or two ago in order to end on a high note.

Man- what a downer of a beginning for a post. I'm sorry- it wasn't all rainclouds and mud. There were definitely some good moments in there. We kept things festive as best we could. On the evening before, we all went out to eat and then had ice cream at the house while watching a movie. During lunchtime at the resort we relived an impromptu highlight reel of some of the best moments of the year, told in stories between laughs and happysad tears. It is hard to see the season end. I feel like our family is at its best when out on the slopes and it is hard to replace the feeling of togetherness and easy comradery that comes from these trips.

*****

As for the week itself, it was one of theater for us. Rachel did her second week of interpreting for Hamilton, and did great. Earlier in the week, we both went to a show call "Boxes," a slightly over-ambitious (in my opinion) drama that was written by a local playwright and debuted at Stage Left. It was a fun night and gave us a lot of things to think and talk about during the week. Also, a few of our kids went and saw the High School's performance of "Pride and Prejudice," which they described as "long." Teenager reviews can be so delightfully concise. Go figure.

Evelyn and Addy were both away on a band trip to the University of Idaho during part of the week (a jazz festival), and tomorrow morning Ev will get on an early bus bound for Salt Lake City for the same thing. Let's see...Lindsey got a new bicycle, Maren has an upcoming vocal performance, and Jackson is playing Settlers of Catan with anyone he can rope into it. New doors are opening to the upcoming Broadway season for Rachel due to her exceptional work on Hamilton, and as a family we are currently trying to plan for an upcoming 4-day-weekend that sort of fell into our laps. 

And that's us this week. Have a good week!

Josh has come with us on a lot of our trips to Silver and Wallace. It has been fun to have him around.

Everyone switched up boots and skis/snowboards for some silly fun

This one and the next two show the state that Silver Mountain was in on the last day

There was a strange sort of fun in trying to pick our way down little strips of snow while jumping over logs and patches of dirt. We made it further than we expected on this one before the inevitable walk to the groomer beside it.

Biggest news this week: HAMILTON!

In 2020, I (and the rest of the world, apparently) watched this show on Disney. Multiple times. A year later I got to see it performed on a stage. Because of its place in popular culture, it seems to be the musical that will never get old. We'll see. But it is also the play that continually comes up in conversation between Rachel and me about her job and linguistics and art and the philosophical underpinnings of what it even means to "interpret" a thing. Is this play "interpretable?" The continual word play, the rhythm, the themes within themes, the speed, the unspoken emotional content, the cultural, historical and literary allusions...all of it. It's tough. And we've always come away with the answer that no- it would not be possible, in this case, to provide an ASL experience anywhere close to the hearing one. Over the course of years, this play has become THE go-to example in these conversations.

Back up though. Because Rachel has, for the past several years, focused a lot of her career precisely on performance interpreting; on music, comedy, drama, oration, and all the complexities that go with these things. She has flown across the country several times to do workshops specifically focused on this, and has taken part in countless conversations about the nuances of taking audio information- not just the words- but the whole of the information- and making it visual. She has interviewed Deaf performers and Deaf audiences, and she has exchanged feedback with some of the best stage interpreters in the country- those who work regularly in our performance capitols- Nashville and Broadway. 

And then, a couple of months ago, she gets a call. Would she like to interpret the Broadway tour of Hamilton? Um...hadn't we decided that wasn't a thing? Wasn't it impossible? Is it even worth the attempt, or do you just pass and let someone else fail instead of you? These were all the questions, but at the end of the day, it was going to be done, and who better to take the job than Rachel? (We actually have a number of highly qualified interpreters here- but I do think that Rach is good choice.) And so, with a bit of hesitancy, she said yes to what might be the most difficult assignment of her life.

She has worked non-stop on this performance. Interpreting theater is VERY different than simply providing captions to what is happening on the stage. That would be easy. And it would also be wrong. For that, it would be best to just let the audience read the script. Done. (This is actually the solution the theater in Seattle chose when they did Hamilton). But for interpreting, there is way more information that is given than just the words, and it makes for a much better and more accessible experience for the Deaf. Rachel worked with a team on this and each person took about half of the parts. It was quite the effort, but in the end I think it was great. 

The first performance was last Saturday, and the whole family went to see it. Her mom and sisters flew in to watch as well, which made for a fun weekend. According to Rachel- "It went a hundred percent as well as I ever could have hoped." She said that the entire show went by in a blur, and that she felt completely in flow the whole time- something that has never happened to her for that duration before. "It was like magic." Those who were watching her could tell too- she was completely confident and in sync with the actors and it came off great. 

She is doing it again next week, but feels much more relaxed this time around after last week went so well. Actually, she's really excited about it. That's pretty cool.

*****

Besides the play, we had a good time hanging out with Rachel's mom and sisters this weekend. We went on some walks and spent a lot of time just talking and catching up. Her sister, Shannon, stayed a little longer and we had a fun day yesterday in Spokane. 

On Sunday, after church, Addy and I went up to Schweitzer for closing day. It was a big slush party with live music and fun skiing. I got a little sunburned, which is the sign of good spring skiing, and we both cried a little bit when we took off our skis at the end. Next weekend is the closing day at Silver and we'll all go up as a family to celebrate/mourn the end of a good season.

Meanwhile, we're already transitioning to the warmer weather. The little hikes we've been taking have been lovely, and I went out the other day on a skateboard just to get back in the flow. Ev, Addy, and I walked down to one of our favorite swimming hole/cliff jumping spots and, though the river isn't high enough yet, it was easy to imagine ourselves back on the water once the dam closes up. 

Also, Ev got in a car accident the other day. Just a stupid fender bender, but it was her fault and between her and Rachel, our insurance is going to skyrocket. Ugh. Just thinking of adding two more teenagers within the year is a daunting prospect. How about we all ride around on skateboards or something instead, and just call Ubers when needed? Seriously.

Okay- here are some pictures. Have a good week!

She knocked it off about 1/4 of the way up a long lift line. There was plenty of good heckling from above as she made her way back down to it. But heckling is good- it means that she did well enough on one ski that nobody felt sorry for her- it was just funny :)

The Pentagon is always a treat

And so is Arbor Crest- one our our favorite places to visit

I'm still a little unclear where these PJs came from, but they're cute. Especially Jack. Totes adorbs

 I am currently sitting in my office looking out the window. It is a beautiful spring day. Seriously- I can already feel the trails and bike paths beckoning. I am excited for kayaking, and rollerblading, and walking down Sherman on warm summer evenings in search of live music. It all sounds so lovely. Seriously.

But...

...But also, I just now looked at my photo reel for pictures this week, and came across one that I took of me and Maren and Lindsey. We had been skiing together and our faces were a little red from the sting of a cold wind the joy of physical exertion. Those are really good days. 

Spring is a time of newness. But in the everlasting words of the band Semisonic- Every new beginning is some other new beginning's end. And, while I am excited for what is to come, I'm not quite emotionally ready to let go of what has been. It's a bittersweet time.

*****

I'm doing this quick mid-week post because we have some bigger news coming up. Rachel is interpreting Hamilton tomorrow, and she has been working super hard on it, and a bunch of her family flew in to hang out with us and watch her, and it is a good time. That will be next week. For now though, things have been pretty chill. We did ski last weekend, but just a little bit. Rachel and I got the bonus room all cleaned up in Wallace and are ready for carpet. Evelyn seems to be at a different concert every other night. Jackson went to a sweet-sixteen party for a friend. Lindsey had a big night where she presented a project about robot programing. It's been a good one.

Have a good week!

On the way to the party Rachel stopped at a random farm to take photos of this guy. Looking good!

Lindsey at the STEM night. She made an obstacle course for the robot, which was actually really cool. She was a little bit disappointed that only one person successfully completed it (that was me), especially since she gave up the chance to sing the national anthem at a minor league baseball game for this night and she was really excited about it. I'm including that little bit in here realizing that it kind of puts a damper on the night, but also because it highlights this amazing kid and how much she is involved in. She will be singing (solo) in the upcoming school talent show, but she has to give up the next choir performance because she will be dancing instead with a select group from the studio where she does Irish as a sort of opening number for Riverdance in Spokane. This girl is non-stop!

Hi! This is Lindsey. I am writing the blog this week. (This is Logan. I'm going to add a little bit here and there).

On Friday we left. We drove all night until we got to a hotel in Driggs. The hotel was huge and everyone had good thoughts about it. The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. After that we got ready and left the hotel to go skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. 

At Jackson Hole we have a family tradition. We eat waffles at the mountain house at the top of the tram. We rode the tram to the top and we got lucky because when we got to the mountain house there were people leaving a table that actually fit all of us (This really is a rarity- we hardly ever all get seats if we eat at these busy resorts, let alone the small space that is Corbet's Cabin). Mom got all of us our own waffles and they were smiley faces and that was great. After we finished our waffles we left and we tried to get to Corbet's (A noteworthy ski run), but we got lost and didn't make it. For the next run we rode the tram up again and found Corbet's. It was closed so we just looked at it and the main thought going through my head was Oh crap, if I did this I would DIE!  I'm pretty sure that was what every one else thought too. (Well- a couple of us were disappointed because we had our sites set on running it and for the first time ever it actually looked pretty reasonable). 

After looking at Corbet's we went to a run called Alta Chutes. We dropped in and while I was near the top I heard a blood curdling scream coming from my mom. She just kept on screaming. At that instant I thought that my mom had broken something. (This was actually very scary- it was a steep run and during her approx. 500 foot slide she nearly went off the cliffs to skier's left. I don't think I am exaggerating to say it is lucky that nothing was broken during this fall.) Apparently on that run my sister, Evelyn, had also taken a smaller fall into my other sister and tumbled. Luckily no one got hurt and we were all safe. (Another part about Jackson that really stands out to me was the vibe. It was a nice day and there was live music all over the mountain. After the lifts closed, we stayed for almost an hour just for the music and party atmosphere that is so much a part of ski culture. To be honest, it is kind-of a celebration of extreme excess and recklessness- almost like a youthful athletic version of The Wolf of Wallstreet- and while it isn't the healthiest in any sense of the word, it can be a really fun indulgence from time to time.)

After we skied all day we got in the car and drove to a hotel about three hours away from another resort called Snowbasin Mountain Resort. (It was a place on the river in Idaho Falls directly across from the LDS temple, and a favorite part was when the girls climbed out the window in their room to go exploring.) The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, then left. When we got to Snowbasin it was such a nice day and we had a great time. For the majority of the day Mom, Jack and I skied together and Maren, Dad, Adalie, and Evelyn skied together. I think that at one point Maren got separated, or she just wanted to ski alone. (This was during the last run of the day, which was one of the few runs of the entire year that will probably stick with me. Ev, Addy, and I skied a steep bump line directly under the lift, just playing in the soft snow. All of us were literally jumping from feature to feature in close proximity to each other, group flow was dialed to eleven, and it seemed like every person on the lift was cheering us on as the mountain became our playground. We got to the bottom a little out of breath, but with huge smiles as we tried to comprehend what had actually just happened. It was cool.) Nothing very exiting happened today. After skiing we drove to our aunt Shannon's house. At her house we played games, we had a great dinner, and I got to hang out with my cousin, Nathan.    

The next day we all went up to another resort called Snowbird mountain resort. Right when we got to the resort we ate lunch then got ready. It was very windy and while we ate we were so cold. When we finished all of us went into the car except for my dad. He was trying to prove that we were all wimps. (Okay- I wasn't trying to prove anything. Snowbird, as far as I am concerned, is the greatest ski resort in America, and here's my family sitting in the car just looking at it. You better believe I was outside, itching to go!) After that we went to the base of the mountain and Jackson happened to forget his pass at home, so we had to get him a pass and we had to wait. (Getting a day pass for Jack was actually a part of every resort- it seems like you can remind kids about a hundred times to get things, and then they just roll their eyes and ignore you anyway, and then you have to spend all of your time helping them out of their own self-inflicted dilemma. It's stupid.) Then we did a family run called Bassackwards and it was so icy! We thought that it would soften up during the day, but it did not and I fell on the ice. Dad, Maren and I went through the magic portal. (This is a tunnel that goes through the mountain- kind of a neat feature). After we went through the portal the visibility was so low and it was also pretty dang icy too. 

After that we got unready and left the resort and drove to our grandma and grandpa greats` house. We stayed there for about 2 hours until we left and got back to Shannon's house. (It was so good to spend time with my grandparents. They are seriously some of my favorite people in the whole world and I wish we could see them more often.)

The day after that, some people went to Alta, while the others stayed home and went to the planetarium near Shannon's house. I went to the planetarium, so I'll talk about that. We woke up and ate breakfast at Shannon's house then we played some games together. After that we got ready, and went to lunch at a restaurant. After lunch with them we went to a planetarium about thirty minutes away. At the planetarium we watched a show called "The Blue Angels." It was about people who pilot jets and fly together as one. We watched it in 3d and it was really cool. After that we went to a table that was kind of like "make your own solar system." I learned how to make a black hole and I combined it with Jackson's and another guy's. My black hole got so big that it sucked everyone's solar system up! Then we had to restart after messing with that. After playing with that for a while I went into a spinning thing with my cousin, Nathan. I spun so fast that I had a stomachache. Jackson bought us bouncy balls and we had a fun time at the planetarium.

(So, Ev, Addy, and I were the only ones who skied that day. We went to Alta, and I am not joking when I say it was one of the best powder days of the entire season. It's crazy how we can have sunshine and corn, followed by boilerplate ice, followed by fluffy powder, all in just a few days. It's like an entire season condensed into a single week! Anyway- it was difficult to ski these conditions without emitting laughs and woots of joy all the way down the mountain. We did mostly steeps all day and just skied like we were in a video game with the soft snow upping our confidence and giving us endless lives. We stayed until the lifts stopped turning, and could have skied more had they allowed us to. Wow. I'm sure the planetarium was great and all- but those people missed out on one of the best days of the year!)

Today is another ski day at snowbird, and we have a good blog post. I skied with Jackson, Maren skied with dad, and I think that Adalie and Evelyn skied together. I don't really know what everyone else did, so I will tell you what I did. I started out with eating and getting ready, then I went with Jack to grab a pass for him. After getting his pass we went to do a run and I thought that it was going to be icy, so I told Jack that I didn't want to do any doubles. At the start of the day we did mostly groomers then we went up the lift and tried to get to the magic portal, but I didn't really know how to find it. After getting back to the lift we went to a double and I backed out. Keep in mind that my brother was on a snowboard. He did the run and I was scared for him the whole way down. When I got down I saw him and he told me that I could do it. I joined him and it was so fun! It started as a gully then opened up into a field of moguls. We did this run 4 times and for the last run we took dad on it and it was so fun. (That was a really fun run, and added to a fun day. I actually skied with Rach all day, and Maren hung out with E and A. I think everyone had a good time- not really pushing too hard and just enjoying the movement. We have precious few of these days left, and this whole week was a blast!)

After we skied we left the resort and drove to the airport to drop my dad off. (I had a super delayed flight and got home ten hours later. Ugh. To say I was dragging a little at work the next day would be an understatement. Hooray for coffee, and an early bed time the next night.) After dropping him off we drove about half an hour to my grandma and grandpas' house. When we got there we ate and played some games. Then we went to bed. The next day we woke up and we ate breakfast. After breakfast we took a little time to get ready then we went on a hike. After the hike we went to an open house and looked around. The house was very cool and we had a good time. After the house we walked back home and got into the car to drive to Costco and have lunch. After lunch grandpa started a game of hide and seek. I found a great spot and got found at the last second. 

After Costco we went to a trampoline park called Jump Zone and it was very crowded so we decided to go to Deseret Industries instead (a thrift store). I played hide and seek there to until my mom found me and told me that I could find shoes and that she would buy them. I got 2 pairs and then we left. On the way home we stopped by a place called Whips and got pretzel bites to enjoy at home along with a game of Skyjo. That night we had a dinner of cheeseburgers and chips. Then we left and drove to Idaho Falls where we stayed at the same hotel by the river. We woke up the next day and ate at the hotel. After eating we got packed up to go and left to drive the rest of the way home. We got home at around 3:00 pm and we had some time to chill.

Have a good week!

Corbet's Cabin on top of Jackson Hole

Watching music after the lifts closed

The four of us skied a lot together.

The "Magic Portal" at Snowbird

This is also at Snowbird. See that binder in front of Rachel? It has become her constant companion. It is the script for the play she is working on, and she's been sneaking practice time in whenever she can. She's up on stage for the next two weekends and she's going to do great! 

Playing in powder at Alta

Planetarium people