Snowbird

The majority of our time in Utah was spent up at Snowbird. Nate's parents have a week up there every summer. We timed our trip just right, so we could enjoy vacationing there together.

On the way up. Isn't it beautiful?

Once we got there, we checked out our rooms, and the spectacular view on the 9th floor balcony.

Nate's Uncle Dave, Aunt Stephanie and their kids joined us for that first day. We enjoyed a yummy dinner of brisket that Nate had prepared (the whole previous night & that morning) on his dad's BGE.

The next day, we went to church (a one-hour meeting at the lodge, with casual dress). That was nice! Nate's grandparents came up soon after. They got to stay with us for two nights! Julia was so excited to show Grandpa the view from the balcony. It was so delightful to get to be together as a family. We enjoyed swimming, little hikes to the "look-out," and just visiting together. Grandpa found/made hiking sticks for the kids. They loved that!

It was so beautiful! The weather was absolutely perfect! Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s. What made that even sweeter, was the fact that it was 105+ in Texas that whole week!

For Family Home Evening, we had a lesson on prophets. We got to play a fun game (which also happened to include treats) called, "Don't eat the prophet!" We had learned/talked about President Monson (the current prophet of our church). The object of the game was to put several pieces of candy on a plate, send one of the kids out and then pick which piece of candy would represent President Monson. Then, we'd call the child back in and he/she would proceed to pick candy from the plate and put it in his/her bowl. But, once he/she touched the one we'd crowned "President Monson," we'd yell, "DON'T EAT PRESIDENT MONSON!" and their turn would be up. They had such a great time!
The M&Ms & Skittles were a hit, of course!

The kids participated in a t-shirt coloring craft one of the days we were there. They had such a fun time decorating their very own Snowbird shirts. The lady leading the craft said kids liked to decorate the Snowbird symbol on the back in many different ways. Julia made hers into a flower. The craft lady said she'd never seen that done before and thought it was quite creative! Of course, Liliana wanted to do the same with her shirt!

It was sad to say goodbye when Nate's grandparents had to leave, but I'm glad we got to spend such quality time with them, especially in such a beautiful place!

The kids thoroughly enjoyed every minute they spent with their cousins, and Uncle Thabo. What a blast! We're so glad Britt & her fam could be there too! Maybe one of these years, we'll all get to be there together...Andrea & her family, Morgan & her family, along with Britt & her family too!

Swimming is fun, wherever you are! The little ground squirrels (a.k.a. "pot guts," or "pop guts" as Julia would say) liked visiting the pool to see if they could find anything yummy to eat. They found a bag with a bit of sandwich left in it, right behind a chair I was sitting in. They got so close I could pet them!

Riding the Peruvian lift.
Nate's Mom watched the kids (THANK YOU!) while Nate, Britt and I rode up the lift.
The views were breath-taking!
A couple of years ago, they made a tunnel through the mountain so skiers could access the other side. It was so cool (literally, the temperature plummeted in there) to go through it!

{Yep, Nate did have a snow ball in his hand...in July. And yes, he did throw it at me.}


Once we returned from the ride, Nate went with his parents, and the three oldest kids and they all took a ride too. The girls loved it! It was probably good I wasn't there...I would have been freaking out a little bit I think. (It was so high! And our kids are so little! Yikes!)

They had a great fishing pond right by the lodge. The kids loved taking turns fishing. Blowing bubbles while they waited, sure made it easier! That Grandma of theirs sure is smart!
Thank you Grandma!

Snowbird has lots of fun activities to try up at the main plaza. The kids tried quite a few of them and did great! Lili and Emery jumped on the trampoline! It was so cute! Julia and Emery both climbed the rock wall! Julia went all the way to the top! All the kids had fun in the jump house and giant slide. Julia picked her souvenir (chocolate "river rocks") and then shared it with her siblings and cousins (oh, and, uh, Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, & Aunt Brittany too). Way to go Julia!

There was a fantastic playground for the kids to play on and the woods had several "forts" to explore too! We had lunch in one of them one day. The kids sure loved that!

Our last night there, Snowbird was hosting the "Rock & Blues Fest." It was fun looking at all the stands selling jewelry, clothing, purses and the like. Grandma and Grandpa even bought the girls necklaces. They loved that!
Our friend James, who recently moved to Utah with his job, came up to see us that night. It was so great to see him! Thanks for coming up James!
We listened to music, had ice cream, and danced (a little). It was fun to watch the kids "put on a show" on the mini stage!

{Just a few random shots I took while we were there.
I just liked them and felt the need to post them.}

As you can see by all the pictures, we had the BEST time up at Snowbird. It was beautiful!

One of my favorite stories (that doesn't have pictures to go along with it):
Nate and I enjoyed our runs a lot while we were there (they were COOL)! One morning, while Nate was out on the trail, he ran into a moose! Well, not literally, but almost. He doesn't wear his glasses while he runs and got quite close before he realized what he was running toward. He had to stop and wait for the moose to move off the trail so he could continue!

Thank you, Mom & Dad, for a truly memorable and relaxing vacation. We love you and appreciate all your generosity and love!