9th Annual Sisters Ski Weekend

Well, we did it again! We had our sisters ski weekend at Snowbird Resort again this year - thanks to Doug and Robyn! Jill drove down from Boise, picked up Teri in Tremonton, and Robyn at the airport, and then I met them at the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City for a little dinner at Blue Lemon, salted caramels from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and we topped the night off with some successful jean shopping for Teri. We also scoped out a super deep and funny couch at Restoration Hardware - hence the funny pic. And of course we stayed up way too late gabbing and catching up.

Then Saturday, that "funny girl" Kelly (as Robyn dubbed him) joined us at the Bird for our skiing! We actually skied a whole day! Robyn, Jill and I finished off the day in quiet fashion with a movie and a crock pot dinner - for which my Mike joined us. :) 

Ouray for President's Day

Mike and I and several of our friends rented a historic manor house, that was built in 1890, in Ouray, Colorado for President's Day weekend. While there, we went snowshoe in, a few of us went skiing at Telluride, we watched skijourning in Silverton, did a little sledding, and even did a little 4X4ing in Silverton where we got pretty well stuck in the snow. We hiked into Box Canyon Falls and then we hiked to a bridge above the falls where boys will still be boys and make snowballs to throw down in the gorge aiming for various objects. I finally also made the famous Deer Valley Chocolate Snowball cake! I thought it was perfect to celebrate our Valentine's Day during our winter weekend getaway. :) My 19-year-old hiking boots also kicked the bucket and so I had to buy a new pair at the REI in Grand Junction, Colorado before we did a little hike there on Monday before driving back to Utah. It was a lovely weekend, and I had a blast.

The Chocolate Snowball cake

Jenn and me at Telluride

The view from my lunch location at Telluride

My lunch location at Telluride

Looking down on Silverton, Colorado

The stuck Jeep - with Mike in black and Curtis in orange

My dead hiking boots - with Curtis, Jenn photobombing me, and Lane

Mike in Box Canyon

Mike and me at the base of the Box Canyon Falls

Lane, Jenn, and Curtis throwing snowballs into Box Canyon below

Mike making snowballs

Boys, and Jenn, will be boys

Ruby Has Her Limits

Parking on campus where I work is terrible. Terrible! The students park in all the employee lots and make finding a parking spot close to my office a nightmare - particularly if I have to leave main campus for a meeting, which I have to do frequently since my three biggest areas that I serve are all off of main campus! Tuesday, I had a meeting with a colleague of mine to which I had to drive therefore I lost my parking spot, and I knew I'd have to look for one when I came back. When I returned to my normal parking lot, I was not in a mood to drive around looking. There was one spot that I've been spying for a while and watching other vehicles - with higher clearance than my Ruby - pack down the snow bank to what I thought was a manageable size for my Ruby. And this day - the day I was not in the mood to look for a parking spot elsewhere - was the day to try it out! So I backed into it. I made it in just fine about half to two-thirds the way in and then for some reason I felt the need to gun it to finish off the job. Well, I finished it off alright - by kind of high-centering my Ruby on that snow bank! My back passenger wheel was off the ground entirely! All I could do was laugh. I wasn't embarrassed at all. I wasn't stressed about it all since there were plenty of people around to help push me out. So after devotional, three of my male coworkers gave me a single push and I was off the snow bank! That easy. It was a grand adventure discovering Ruby's limits.

Winter Fun: January Recap

Playing hooky from work to go cross-country skiing with my quadruple J crew: me, Jen, Jenn, and Janie.

Snowshoeing with Mike and friends up to Stewart's Cascade behind Mount Timpanogos. 

New Year's Eve with Mike - I finally got a New Year's kiss! Complete with sparklers (Mike's burned out just before the pic was taken) and sparkling cider. 

Ice fishing at Deer Creek Reservoir with Mike and his friends. I caught a monster 16-inch Rainbow Trout while drinking my hot cocoa! Mike caught a tiny one - 15.5 inches. Ha ha! 

And then Mike and I visited the ice castle in Midway after fishing all morning. 

And dear Janie's wedding to Ty on January 17 at the Mount Timpanogos Temple.