Spring Break 2013

Spring Break is always a favorite time to vacation with the kids.  

And since these two are the only ones that still get a Spring Break, 

we were really looking forward to skiing (yes! skiing... again!) 

and spending some time with these Oklahomans!

After volunteering to get bumped on Friday night and making $1400,

Tyler and Sonya made it into town on Saturday and couldn't wait to hit the slopes!

Here they are pointing to the Thunder Rd. ski run sign,

showing some Oklahoma Thunder pride:)!

All the kids came up for Sunday dinner on St. Patrick's Day, along with some of their friends.

The menu included everything that we could think of that was green.

We even put green food coloring in the mash potatoes.  It was festive and fun!

 There is nothing like celebrating St. Patrick's day or any holiday with the kids!

Thank you Pinterest for the cute party favor idea!

We were so glad that Davis and Syd could join us for our St. Patty's day dinner.

Not only because they are some of our favorite friends, but because Syd is such an incredible cook

and always offers to make something incredibly delicious to eat.

Keeping in the theme, she made this yummy Irish soda bread and it was so good!

Here are the cute BYU kids in all their green!

Our good friends, Brad and Karen Wilkes came into town on Monday night.

Early Tuesday morning, we caught Brad eating a hearty breakfast... a sugar cookie and a diet pepsi.

That's what I call a yummy breakfast:)!!  Perfect way to start the ski day!

The Wilkes/Williams/Holt SkiFest was scheduled for Tuesday and 

first on the agenda was celebrating with Doug and Rhonda, who will becoming grandparents in August!

Congratulations, Scotty and Cassie!  We are so excited for the Williams family!

Heading up the hill with this fun group, Lauren and JJ, Doug and Elle!

I knew we were going to have a fun day after I snapped this photo!

Beautiful weather and great friends, together again, skiing with our cute kids!

The three couples, Brad and Karen, Doug and Rhonda and Mark and me,

so happy to be skiing together!  It's been way too long!

Isn't this a handsome group!?

The girls together again!  We've come a long way since our Women's Clinic days at NorthStar!

Allie and Sonya, the cutest little nurses on the hill that day!

Enjoying the sunshine at lunchtime at the base of Tombstone.

Time to put on more sunscreen!

Dad is happy about the BBQ brisket!

And so are Tyler and Sonya!

Mmmmmmm!  The smoked sausage sandwich looks amazing!

This crowd is ready to sit down enjoy some lunch at the outside BBQ dining at Tombstone.

Lots of sun and always lots of fun with this guy!

So great to meet JJ's new wife, Lauren.  They are such a cute couple!

Doug and Rhonda.  So many great memories with these two.

Allie and Elle.  Good friends going back to their Jr. Grizzly cheerleading days.

A group shot at lunchtime.  Here we are (left to right) me, Mark, Brad, Karen,

 JJ, his darling new wife, Lauren, Elle, Rhonda, Doug, Sonya, Tyler and Allie!

We missed all the other Wilkes, Williams and Holt kids 

and promise that we will try to schedule next year's SkiFest when they can come!

What a difference a day can make!  It was gorgeous and sunny on Tuesday and the next day was a blustery day.

We bundled up and headed out the door to enjoy the fresh powder!  Brrrrrr!

On Thursday, I spent the day with my dear friend, Susan Duke, 

learning how to quilt and celebrating her 50th birthday!

Look at this gorgeous quilt that Susan was teaching the group how to make!

And this is the beautiful daisy quilt that she made for her sister's birthday!

Susan is something else!  She is so talented!

Just hanging out with her make me feel more crafty and clever!

Or at least, makes me want to try to be more crafty and clever!

Happy Birthday, Susan!

So here is Dad, heading out to ski on Friday morning,

 the last ski day of the 2013 ski season for us!

What a great way to end the season with all the new snow!

Dad loves the powder!

It was the perfect way to end a pretty perfect ski season!

After a great run down Magic Lines on 9990, we came into the lodge to warm up

and who did we run into but none other than, Clay Wilkes!

We were so happy to see him!  And I sent Mark back out to take him up to 9990 for a couple of runs!

I used my Iphone to catch this panoramic view of the resort from the top of Doc's Run!

The view of Doc's Run, skiing home for the last time!

Coming home at the end of a snowy day!

Time to put Mr. Snowman away!

Signs of spring... the bulbs that Mark and I planted last spring are beginning to come up!

What a great season!  Lots of skiing with all of the kids! 

 (I'm embarrassed to say, but I think I skied about 35 days!)  Yikes!

Lots of fun holding, cuddling and playing with baby Cheri!

Lots of great friends to enjoy the slopes with!

Yes, lots of great memories this 2013 ski season!

Time to go home and get back to reality!

Celebrating Justin's acceptance to medical school

There is not a more hardworking and humble person than Justin. Seriously!

As long as I can remember, he has talked about going to medical school.

He has planned and prepared, studied and studied, spent hours and hours conducting research,

 and he and Allie have spent every Thursday night for the last 2 years volunteering at the local free medical clinic.

This fall he began the process by filling out applications, writing secondaries and interviewing at about a dozen schools.

And then the waiting begun.  Fortunately for him, he didn't have to wait too long.

In December, he got accepted to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, one of his top choices.

He was thrilled and we were so proud of him!

There are many people that have helped him along the way.

And it only seemed right to celebrate Justin's acceptance to medical school

with Kevin and Julie Hansen, who have encouraged and supported him.

So last December, when Allie and Justin were in Granite Bay, we all went to Yard House for a night to celebrate!

Then it was another couple of months of waiting to hear from the next group of medical schools.

More acceptances came his way, which meant that we had to celebrate once again!

So last week, when Tyler and Sonya came out to Park City, we used a gift certificate that someone gave us to Ruth's Chris

and took those two cute couples out to dinner to celebrate again!

Below are the photos from both dinners, dinner at the Yard House in December and dinner last week at Ruth's Chris.

Both were fun nights celebrating!  Now we anxiously waiting to find out which school he will choose!

Which will it be... Cornell, Mayo or NYU?  Stay tuned to find out:)!

Celebrating with Justin at Yard House.

 Me and my girls love Julie and we are so glad to spend the night catching up with her.

 And while us girls were chatting away, these boys look like they were having a great time!  Ha! Ha!

 And little miss Emily slept the entire time!  What a doll!

So grateful for these two and their friendship that have shared with Allie and Justin over the years!

They have not only been there to guide them as they were dating but

also helping, mentoring and encouraging them in this process of applying to medical school.

It's good to have great friends that help us "raise" our kids!

We really couldn't do it without all of their other GB moms and dads!

Celebrating at Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Park City.

It was a fun night with these two cute couples!!  

These girls were good sports, posing in front of the wildlife statue located in front of the restaurant!

Such a fun night with these two cute couples!  Love them all so much!

Back to Utah... again!

 It seems like every one of my blogposts lately have revolved around skiing.

We actually do other things besides skiing but with our usual planned trips,

and then Kimber and Brett coming out this winter for several weeks,

 we have ended up spending a fair bit of time skiing in Park City.

We had only been back home in Granite Bay a few days 

when Mark was asked to lecture for Invisalign in Park City.

Of course, Mark couldn't say "No!" so we turned around and headed back for the weekend.

 Mark lectured Friday at the Invisalign conference.  That night, we celebrated Valentine's day... 

finally, by going to J&G Grill for dinner at the St. Regis hotel in Deer Valley.

It snowed all Friday night... so much to Mark's delight, it was a powder day on Saturday.

The kids at BYU came up to ski with us and make some "first tracks"

 and then we headed to the airport that night to fly home so we could speak at church on Sunday.

  It was a perfect weekend for Mark, teaching other orthodontists how to use Invisalign, 

skiing powder and spending time with his kids!  Three things that he loves to do!

It's kind of getting a little embarrassing but we have been flying back and forth

 so much this winter that the lady behind the Delta counter recognizes us now

 and when I went to get out my ID, she said, "Oh don't bother... I know who you are!"

Here's Dad lecturing for Invisalign on Friday morning at the Marriott.

Dinner at J&G grill was yummy and it was fun to roam around the St. Regis hotel. 

The gorgeous fireplace in the main lobby is spectacular!

 Anyone want to do S'mores?

Everything you need to make a yummy treat!

If I hadn't already eaten so much at dinner, I would have joined these kids!

Loved the painted dog that was located in one of the main halls at the hotel. 

Saturday was a powder day so we got out there bright and early to make some "first tracks." 

It was was the longest line that I've ever seen for the orange bubble chair.

Thanks goodness for the owner's line, so we got right up to the top within minutes...

 and skied my favorite run, The Pines with these cute kids!

 These girls are loving the fresh snow on The Pines and loving that Justin!

 Allie took a little spin, then tumbled and landed in an awkward spot so I had to take a photo:)!

 I accidentally skied right over a little pine tree and took the whole thing down.

Oops! 

We skied out The Pines, but 9990 still wasn't opened yet,

so we stopped at Bruges Waffles at the base of Saddleback 

and enjoyed the caramelized waffles!  Yum!

You can get it with strawberries...

 or my personal favorite, Crunchy speculoos spread!

I'm told that it tastes like Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter.

Pretty sure I'm heading over to Trader Joe's asap!

This stuff is SO good that it could be dangerous... for my figure, that is:)!

It might just have to replace my Goldfish addiction!

Dad thinks these waffles are the next best thing to skiing 9990 on a powder day!

I never get tired of this view!

Another great weekend at Canyons!

Goodbye Park City!  Be back soon... like next weekend... seriously!