February is for skiing!

Oh, why is the cross-country skiing season so short?!  It seems like as soon as I hit my stride, the snow melts!  I did get to attend a clinic at Soldier Hollow last week, which was taught by a formal gold medalist!  Luckily, I had some friends there, and we got to make some new friends!  I was also able to get some private critique at the end.  I've always thought I've been skating wrong because it's so hard.  It turns out that I've actually been doing it correctly, but that I'm just weak, and that's why it's so hard.  Great!

My favorite trails have been Round Valley and Pine Canyon Road.  Pine Canyon gets groomed daily for the snowmobilers and fat-bikers and the random lone nordic skier.  I love having a gradual climb up and then a quick descent!  Someday I'll get WAY out there and explore more, but it seems the time to turn around to pick up kids comes way too soon.  THIS is the best way to do winter!

President's Day at the Cabin

Our original plan was to actually go ski in Pocatello this weekend, but Bevan tweaked his back and had a hard time moving.  We'll ski Pebble Creek someday!  Nora planned a cabin party for Monday and I came up with the idea of going Sunday night and sleeping over.  That way, Bevan could rest and heal, and the kids could still have fun.  Over night at the cabin went really well!  It wasn't that cold and the kids thought it was so exciting to be somewhere different.  It also snowed overnight and left a fresh blanket of snow.  I tried to make it easy on Bevan and went out to move some snow.  I forget how hard that is!  There's just so much more square footage!  I also tried to pack down the sledding hill and get it smoothed out before the cousins came.  By 10am, I was exhausted!  But once the cousins all showed up, it was a non-stop party of food, games, and a green house full of soggy snow gear!  I snuck away during nap time for a xc ski up the canyon, but was breaking trail the whole way up!  Oh, it made me miss my groomed trails in Midway.  I've gotten soft.

When it was time to pack up and clean up, I was amazed how fast it went.  Those teenagers can move!  Everybody pitched in and we had that cabin clean in no time.  It was amazing!  I hope we do this again soon!

Valentine's Day

I've never made a huge deal over Valentine's Day.  I try to keep it simple because the kids get bombarded at school with junk and parties.  This year I got to help with Dallin's party.  I brought sugar cookies and the kids decorated them.  It was fun to see their personalities reflected in their finished cookies.  After school, the kids pigged out with the rest of their candy.  I made pizza for dinner and melted some chocolate for dipping strawberries and marshmallows.  Total junk food overload!  Then Bevan showed up with flowers and Peanut Butter M&M's, my favorite!  It was a great Valentine's!

Cousin Ski Day

I love this winter tradition of ours!  It stinks that DV requires more of a "surcharge" these days, but it's still cheaper than a day pass.  We had all of Vanessa's kids and most of Nora's.  I decided to bring Dallin and Anna.  Dallin wanted to ski with the older kids and has now perfected the "bombing snowplow" or (as Nora calls it) the "flying pizza"!  He also won't wait for you at the bottom.  He'll catch sight of you and then quickly load the lift with a stranger.  Who is this kid?!  Anna is more cautious, taking it slow, making wide, beautiful turns.  It's hard trying to ski with both of them now!  The cousins were so nice to wait for us.  It made me realize that Anna needs more mileage.  I think I'll start pulling her out of school early on Mondays for lessons.  The season is so short!

Pocatello 2020

How many years have we been doing this?  Who knows!  Bevan and I first visited Idaho in 2008 for Macie's baby blessing and "talked" about coming back for the superbowl or something like that.  But I don't think we actually went back until 2013.  I could be wrong!  Anyway, we still love it!  And Vanessa is still the most wonderful host.  We had the best food, including crepes and "fried" french toast for breakfast, home-made pizza and 7-layer dip.  My kids loved all her toys and trashed the play room multiple times.  The Kansas City Chiefs won the game, but it was close!

On Monday morning, Vanessa and I went on a xc ski adventure up City Creek Canyon, on the west side of Pocatello.  It stormed the night before so everything was blanketed in fresh, white snow!  The snow was a little thin at first, but soon got deeper and deeper!  By the time we had to turn around, we were pushing snow up to our knees!  It was exhausting.  The way back down was slightly faster and we passed several other skiers following our tracks.  Your welcome.

No trip to Pocatello is complete without a stop at Lava Hot Springs, or as the kids keep calling it, Hot Lava!  We had so much fun sitting and soaking.  I'm sure Dallin and Drew annoyed the other soakers with their splashing and playing, but it was fun.  Anna and Luke kept jumping into the snow, then back into the hot water, over and over again!

We stopped for nuggets and fries at a Malad gas station on our way out.  The kids were exploring the store and brought me pieces of paper covered with tiny boxes.  Could they have some to color and draw on the way home?  Sure!  When in Idaho, you gotta play the lotto!