Deer Valley, Day Two...

We skied in big fluffy flakes, fresh powder, below freezing temps, beautiful sunshine... we got it all in our quick two days! And we of course, hit up our favorite runs, over and over again!! The boys are fantastic little skiers and I just love that we can all go as fast as we can, rarely having to wait on anyone.

This was the first year that we let the boys go solo. Most of the time we stayed together as a family, but after lunch, they would scarf down their food and get in a few runs while Micah and I took our time enjoying the views over a drink and conversation! It was nice seeing them go off, enjoying something they love so much as brothers! If I can sneak in boding time, you know this mama is gonna do it!

These ski trips over Christmas Break are always a very quick, two days of skiing, and honestly, in the past, it has always been enough to get us all our little mountain fix. However, this year, we were all so sad that we didn't have at least one more day on the slopes.  It is our plan to squeeze in one more day next year, if at all possible! Roen has mentioned that me may want to try boarding next year, which means we would have to change resorts, as Deer Valley only allows skiers. As much as I want the boys to try ALL the things, I am not real sure how I feel about leaving our beloved resort. I will definitely have to put some thought into it!

All of this being said, this ski trip was my favorite to date. I can't exactly pinpoint what made it stand out above the rest, but I do know we needed it. As we ended what proved to a very hard year in a lot of ways, I feel like being in a place we love as a family so very much, helped us start 2025 focusing of what truly matters. 

I love snow, I love the mountains, and I LOVE our family ski trips!

Deer Valley, Day One...

 
We woke up as early as we could- two teenage boys and a time difference.... well, it wasn't as easy as it sounds! 

We had a quick breakfast and were on the slopes just as fast as we could get there! We know this mountain well by now, so we were all hollering out what slopes we wanted to do first, making mental maps. We visited Quincy's Cabin, took every tree trail we could find, hit up all the jumps and even figured out a little secret to maneuvering the long lines (thanks to the Park City mountain strike, which led skiers over to Deer Valley). 

We went fast, we laughed, we got hot and we never slowed down until lunch! The Stein was so crowded at lunch (again, with the strike crowd), that when they gave us an 1.5 hour wait, well, we went back and skied while we waited! It was such a fun day out on the slopes!

After the slopes closed, we took a dip in the hot tub while we sipped hot tea and hot cocoa before taking another little trip back to Main Street. With most everything closing early the day before for the New Year, we wanted to get in a little more souvenir shopping. For dinner, we went back to the room, had  chocolate cake, ice cream, hot cocoa and watched a total of three movies with the boys! 

We literally laughed hysterically the entire viewing of Daddy's Home and made both boys huge Will Ferrell fans ! We, of course, had to follow that movie with Daddy's Home 2, which had us laughing all over again. It was one of those days that was perfection!

Deer Valley '24...

We decided that this year, we wanted to be with the kids and in the mountains on NYE, so we loaded up and headed to Deer Valley on December 31st! This is a trip we typically do right before or right after Christmas, so we just pushed it back a week or so. 

First things first, I made the boys take their annual picture outside the entrance, then a few more on our way to the lodge restaurant before we sat down for hot cocoa, crab legs, and a bite to eat. Once our room was ready, we headed up to take a tiny little nap before heading over to Main Street to pop into the few shops on our way to dinner. We made reservations at Fuegos, and we of course, got the crab bake, pizza and pasta! If you ever find yourself in Park City, you HAVE to visit this restaurant, it is our all-time favorite!

After dinner, Remi got us a fire going, we all got into our cozies and watched a movie until midnight! It really was the most perfect little evening, getting to be with the boys as we said good-bye to '24 and welcomed '25!

And, as always, I included a little 'looking back' collage at the bottom! To see that their little heads didn't even reach the bottom of the SEL sign when we started this trip! Goodness, how time flies!

Good-Bye, Utah...

I think we all wished we had just one more day, one more run, one more chance to race down the mountain, but we settled for one last breakfast with hot cocoa and views of the snowy mountains...

Boys, I thank you for your adventurous spirits that match mine. I thank you for making life one big journey, where I get to discover and explore with my three favorite people. When God gave me each of you, he blessed me with memory makers full of life and wonder, ready to go in a moment's notice. It is in our traveling and discovering that our togetherness shines the brightest!

Notes for future trips

Favorite Slopes: Last Chance to Success, Last Chance to Dewdrop, Bandana

Favorite Restaurant: Fuego's- get the Shrimp Bake

*Get the London Fog at Atticus

Deer Valley Skiing, Day Two...

We always plan for just two full days of skiing. There really isn't time for more if we want to keep our sanity when we get back home. With us going before Christmas, there are always things to put together and last minute wrapping to do when we get home, before festivities go into full swing. Because of this, we always hit the slopes extra hard on day two!

Day two, we had breakfast a bit earlier, then it was straight to the lifts. The boys ordered hot cocoa first thing, right along with their bacon, toast and orange juice. 

We all had our ski feet back and were ready for a full day of as-fast-as-you-can skiing. We went all over the mountain in search of a certain run we remembered loving, but not remembering the name on our last trip. It took us all morning, but we finally found it! We had so much fun run hunting, going way up to the tip top lifts, skiing way over the furthest sides of the mountain and then back down, just to go up again. When we found a run we loved, we 'd go up and do it multiple times! 

Each of us has our favorite things about skiing, so we try to make sure we all get our turn to choose. Remi LOVES going in the trees and the harder, mogul runs. I love big open runs, with lots of steep hills, where I can go fast, parallel turning like a little snow bunny- anything from greens to a challenging black. Micah and Roen prefer a good solid blue- Roen so that he can go full throttle and Micah so that he doesn't kill his knees. In the end, it doesn't really matter what we ski, we all love it so much and truly have the best time doing it together.

On this trip we discovered the fun little snowflake runs. As we went down different runs, we would notice signs that weren't a color but had a snowflake by the name. Upon further investigation, we found they indicated secret little runs for kids, all through the trees. At the top of the mountain, we talked to one of the guides and he told us where they all were and so, that became our goal for the day- to find and ski them all! Quincy's Cabin was one of the snowflake runs, and had a little hidden cabin in the woods where you could stop, peek in the window and sign a little book. My momma heart had to giggle when I looked at how the boys signed. It went from 'Remi was hear 2022' to 'Roen was bear 2022'- dyslexia at it's finest! 

We stopped for lunch at the Stein Erikson Lodge again, where Remi hit up the dessert bar and Micah mapped out how we were going to conquer Deer Valley before lifts started closing. I really leave it up to Micah and the boys, because as long as my skis are on snow, I'll be having the time of my life! We skied so so hard and truly went as fast as we could! I'm convinced I haven't skied like this since high school! I'm also convinced it was our second day that made our trip the very best one to date. 

By the time we headed to Main Street, both boys were tuckered out and Roen even took a little cat nap on the drive there. On this evening, we got to visit my two favorite shops! There is a quaint, cozy bookshop that I discovered last visit, called Dolly's Bookshop. Dolly is the little, black shop cat and after lots of book browsing, I found her curled up with Remi on the couch. Dolly's turned 50 years old this year, and is one of the two original stores on Main Street- the historical aspect makes me love it even more! From there, we went over to Atticus where I ordered up the yummiest London Fog I've ever had and snagged a cute little ornament to hang on my library tree back home. Because Fuego was seriously so good, we went back and had dinner there again. 

This last day in Park City was perfectly magical in that mountain air on your face, laughing til your tummy hurts (when mom fell into the splits, doing a tree trail), smiling your lips chapped, kind of way. Making memories as we weaved all over the mountains, racing each other down, laughing, singing, soaking up the scent of evergreen, and knowing there was not a single place in the world we would rather be.... nor, anyone else we would rather be with. This trip put some notches on our memory belt that cannot be topped!