Two days after Christmas, we packed our bags and headed to Utah to enjoy ringing in the New Year with family!
We flew out of John Wayne airport and we couldn’t believe how empty it was, it was a welcome sight compared to how LAX is at this time of year. We were so thankful our travels went smoothly all things considered.
We decided to rent a car through ‘Turo’. Have you heard of it? It’s like renting an airbnb but for cars. It was cheaper than through a car service and we could guarantee AWD, which the car companies couldn’t. You do need to reserve way in advance but I highly recommend Turo especially when you need the car to have certain features.
Jason’s Aunt Amy and Uncle Pete have a time share and they are so kind to share it with our big loud group. We stayed in Eden, Utah at Wolfcreek Worldmark. We had two condos right next to each other. We shared one with Jason’s brother Christian and his family and we had a BLAST!
Our beautiful view for the week!
Grandma and Papi had these plastic discs waiting for the kids when we arrived. Whenever we were at our condo the kids would head outside for hours of snow fun! I mean, it was really cold some days and snowing a lot and nothing could stop them particularly Luke and Sofia!
Tyler with his oldest cousin, Katie!
Sof the wild women, kept up with Luke!
We had this big long hill right in the condo’s backyard and it was perfect for sliding down.
My Snow Angel!
Tyler’s first time being in the snow where he could really enjoy it. It has been 3 years since we were here last and he was a little toddler at that point.
Skiing and Ski School at Powder Mountain
Okay, I’m thinking about all the mama’s out there that have to get their kids snow ready on a daily basis, bless your hearts. I thought it’s hard enough to get the family out of the house in the morning, but nope its nothing compared to making sure everyone has, long underwear on, warm clothes, ski socks, gloves, hat, sunblock on their face ready.
On the morning when they had ski school class, it was stressful and hectic to say the least.
It was snowing all day long. Due to Tyler’s age, kids 5 years and younger had to have a private lesson. Tyler with his instructor “Candy” did awesome, considering it was snowing the entire time!
We were so proud of Tyler for doing hard things, he had minimal complaining, tried his best and he got it down all things considered. They had this strap thing connected to his ski’s that helped keep them together. I’m thinking our next ski trip, he will be ready to head down the mountain with Mom and Dad.
Luke, Sofia, and Lily had a good ski lesson. But we weren’t sure who or if all of the kids were going to take to skiing.
The oldest cousin, Katie had a very hard time with her instructor. Due to her age, she was in an adult class and she needed someone with more compassion, patience, and kindness and unfortunately, this instructor deterred her from wanting to ski the rest of the trip. It’s upsetting when a teacher can strip a kid of their confidence. Lily ended up taking a no ski stance with her sister.
The two that took to skiing, never gave up and ended up skiing the mountain with us was Luke and Sofia!
Okay, funny story…their usually is always a funny story from a trip that involves my sister-in-law Dana. Dana, bless her heart always attempts to ski when we go but doesn’t end up enjoying it much. This trip the instructor that had Lily, Luke, and Sofia in the class was struggling a little with helping everyone. Dana saw an opportunity and offered her assistance in helping with the class because after all she is an amazing fourth grade teacher. She ended up basically taking the ski class for FREE and she finally learned the proper basics of skiing and this trip she GOT IT! Dana finally experienced the feeling of enjoying skiing! So proud of my SIL, she did great!
Watching everyone ski from up above.
After the kids had ski school, the rest of us got in some good skiing! Was it cold??? You betcha! But did I enjoy myself, yep 100%!
My view from skiing. I was a little nervous on my first run because it had been 3 years since i’ve skied, but nope it was like riding a bike and it was just as glorious as I remembered.
Back at the condo
These two spent a few more hours outside enjoying the snow. Now they added this sleigh to their runs down the mountain and the smiles on their faces and the pure joy and giggles coming from them, made this trip SO worth it!
Dinner
Our condos had full functioning kitchens. Each evening we would go over to the ‘adult condo’ and enjoy apps, cocktails, and dinner. They were so kind and would cook for all of us each night. Here the kids were enjoying Grandma’s delicious homemade spaghetti and meatballs. A huge thanks to my in-laws for all of their cooking while we were there!
The next morning…
The snow kept dumping on us and we weren’t upset about it at all. You see the week before they had barely gotten any snow this season. Then the week after we were there, it was set to rain a bunch so we totally lucked out with having all the snow and great ski days.
Luke is not afraid of a little cold and lots of snow!
The day after Tyler’s ski lesson, his body had a reaction to the cold and high elevation. He woke up feeling sick to his stomach and threw up a few times. We had already paid for and were scheduled to go snowmobiling. So, Tyler stayed back with Aunt Dana and Sofia came in his place. Aunt Dana got Tyler his favorite treat, a donut and he perked right up!
Snowmobiling!
Snowmobiling has been on my bucket list of activities I want to do! It was a dream come true for me and I had the best time! We had 2 instructors and were in a small group. The experience was a 2 hour tour of driving the snowmobile around the mountain.
It was a blessing that Tyler ended up not being able to go because he wouldn’t have been able to handle this adventure. We didn’t know what to expect and well it was snowing the entire time and freezing cold and he wouldn’t have lasted. I had Sofia with me and she did a great job considering she was terrified and cold. In hindsight, Jason and I should have done this on our own without kids.
It was exhilarating and so much fun! Luke went with Jason and felt the same as Sofia, lol. Mom of the year, having kids tag along with blizzard type conditions.
Half way through our tour, we went to this wide open space where everyone could go faster and take sharp turns and have fun with it. We kept it calm for our little passengers but it was fun watching people take it up a notch.
Just a little bit cold!! The handle bars on the snowmobile heated up to help you stay warm. But their is no extra heat for the second person, so I was letting Sof sit in front of me and hold the handle bars to warm her sweet hands up.
Did Sof and I fall over once, yes we sure did! I couldn’t help it, we hit a huge pile of snow and I couldn’t get through it. Sof did amazing and rolled with it and we laughed. It was a a fun adventure and one that we’ll all never forget!
Ski Day!
On New Years Eve, we went skiing and yup it was snowing the entire time!
This was the day that Luke fell in love with skiing! He was very nervous to go on the ski lift but Jason and I reassured him, we are there to help him every step of the way. Luke conquered his fears and came out on the other side loving something new.
Jason would ski behind him and I would ski in front of him showing him the path to take. Jason would instruct him on where to put his weight and helped him get turning down. After a couple of runs, he and Sofia got it!
Father and son!
Sofia with her parents, Christian and Dana!
The drive back down the mountain….it was nerve wracking with all the snow and the sleek road. Us Californians and Floridians are not use to this cold snowy weather. But Jason and Papi got us safely down the mountain each day.
On New Years Day, Jason and Christian took just Luke and Sofia skiing. This was the coldest day that we were in Utah. The temps went down to 5 degrees. But look at this view, clear skies and it was a perfect day to go skiing. It was the only time it didn’t snow when someone in our group went skiing. This was a memorable day for both Dads and I know this memory made the trip worth it!
Thanks for hanging out….stay tuned for part 2 of our family trip in Utah!