We have been looking forward to our spring break for a long time! We were originally going to go in March when Austin took a week off work, but heavy snow fall in Utah and Wyoming made us reschedule twice and by then, Austin was no longer able to take time of work and come with us. His dad came with us instead for the long drive across Wyoming, then he headed up to Idaho to visit his mom while we were in Utah, then we joined him for a night to visit Great Grandma Wilkins.
My mom and stepdad took us skiing at Deer Valley for two days. This is the first time the kids have been skiing, but they all picked it up quickly, especially with instruction from my stepdad is who has been a ski instructor for many years. The older four were off the bunny hill after the first couple hours and by the end of the second day, they skied a blue square run. They all really liked it, but Heidi was the most enthusiastic, telling me several times that "Skiing is the best sport ever!!!!"
They all started on the bunny hill which has little conveyor belts you stand on to go up instead of ski lifts. They all thought this was fun, but were eager to get over to the real ski lifts. Natalie was hesitant about the conveyor belt and about going down the hill, but we held hands several times and eventually, she was ready to go down by herself and soon went down without an edgy wedgy holding her ski tips together. We set a goal to be able to go around the colored cones and then around the big flowers they have stuck on the hill, and we worked on it, but never got great at it. She did improve a little each time though.
As you can see from the way the kids are dressed, it was a very warm day. I made the mistake of having the kids put their own sunscreen on while we were still in the car and thinking that I didn't need sunscreen because I had my makeup on. We all got sunburned, but the two younger kids and I got it the worst. Next time we will be much more careful.
I mostly stayed on the bunny hill with Natalie, but I did get to go on one real run with the older kids and we went up three different lifts to get all the way to the top of the
run and the kids had almost as much fun with that part as with the
actual skiing. It was impressive to watch how much they had learned in less than a day. Pretty soon they are all going to be better skiers than I am.
After the hike, we went to visit my grandma and had a really good visit with her, but I forgot to take pictures. We had root beer floats with her (her favorite), looked at pictures, and talked. She was having a great time, but the kids got a little rambunctious after a couple hours and I had to take them back to my dad's house. My sister met us there and we took the kids to the park while my dad made dinner. Abbey watched the kids play while I walked Torben on a nearby trail to get some of his wiggles out. 
The next morning, everyone went on another hike before we headed up to Idaho. As you can see, the weather was very different one day later! This is the same trail we were on the day before. 
The kids had a great time in Idaho. As always, Great Grandma made us a wonderful lunch/dinner and the kids favorite breakfast in the morning. The boys got up early and started with Captain Crunch (a special cereal they don't get any other time), then they had fruit, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, and hash browns. The girls got up a little later, but also enjoyed the meal very much. I was out on a run, which I love to do in Idaho, because its so flat and you can see forever across the fields.
Before we headed back home, the kids explored the farm a bit.
