January Play Day

It's Saturday. The sun is bright and the sky is blue. The canyons have deep beautiful snow.
We went out to play and we weren't alone. We saw people with sleds, snow boards, cross country skis and lots of fellow snowshoe fans.

Once we had to  climb a steep hill:

The sun shone the whole time and kept us very comfortable:

Under a big pine tree:

I wore some brand new hiking boots that weren't broken in yet. I was so glad to pull them off when I got back to the car. I'll have to wear them a little each day until they soften up!

Winter Walk

The snowstorm has passed and the sun is out again. I put on my coat, walked out the front door and headed up the road to our local park and horse trails. These are some of the sights along the way:

Above our crowded little suburb is a neighborhood that has horses and large properties:

This is a nice touch:

This is about where the regular park connects to the horse trails:

The sky was almost clear:

This is a very pleasant place to walk:

On the way home, my sense of privacy ended as I passed the Elementary school which was letting out. I walked home with a  crowd of little kids. They were cute and very short.

Coyotes In The Park

While on a walk this afternoon, I spotted two Coyotes trotting through the park. To see them better, click on the picture to enlarge it.  Look close. They are definitely Coyotes and not dogs.

Snowshoeing With Aaron

This afternoon our son, Aaron, went snowshoeing with us while his sister was at work. We walked above the ski resort in Albion basin. There's a long road that is covered with snow and it's closed to traffic.

The road:

Aaron:

We walked up the road. The road went up the mountain by making switchbacks. We walked a long distance and then we got off the road and came down the mountain the hard (fun) way. Aaron did the tough work of breaking trail. Joe was next in line and broke the trail even more for me. The snow was pretty deep.
In this snow field I fell down  and thought I'd never get up again. Getting your feet back under you in these conditions is easier said than done. It was good practice, because later I fell in the snow again. I was starting to feel like a klutz. Aaron and Joe never fell at all (show offs! Just kidding).

These pine trees were so pretty. Aaron looks great too:

Just before getting back to the parking lot we passed by a long row of snow mobiles and snow tractors. I like the red ones:

The ski resort was very crowded. We could see long lines of skiers waiting for the lifts and dozens of people coming down the slopes. It looked like fun, but we have our way of having a good time too.

The Day After Christmas (2011)

It's the day after Christmas and we broke in our new toys. While Sarah and Aaron chose to stay home  and do other things Joe and I went up the hill to use our snowshoes. I have a new smaller pair that are easier to put on and they are quick on the trail. So now I have two pair; one pair for deep snow fields and one pair for speed.

Sometime this week we will probably go out again. Watch for pictures.

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas.
This morning we attended a one hour Christmas program at the church. It was from 9:00 to 10:00. It was mostly music. It was a nice way to start the day.
It also gave us a chance to take some good pictures as soon as we got back home.
After we took these pictures it was time to make brunch. Thanks to Aaron and Sarah we had pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage.
After a very fast kitchen clean up we opened presents. It was all very wonderful and generous.

I will mention a few of my own personal favorites.
#1. My new binoculars from mom and dad. I LOVE them!
#2. An AA Callister gift card from Aaron
#3. A wonderful book from Sarah
#4. Two fun games sent from Susan and Ben (for all of us).
#4. A new set of snowshoes and poles. These are smaller than my others and will go faster on the trails. I'll use my big ones for deep snow. I got lots more cool stuff from my hubby too.

We now have several fun games to  play with together. We can do that just as soon as the gang finishes the 1000 piece puzzle which is currently being assembled on my dining room table.
I think everyone got most of what they needed and wanted.

We do know the reason for the season, but it's nice to give to each other. The rest of the year we are very frugal.

My handsome 26 year old son (Aaron):

Say Cheese:

Me and the man:

Aaron is good with the camera:

Smile:

My darling 22 year old, Sarah:

Striking a silly pose:

Aaron and Sarah:

We look forward to our married daughters blog (Susan).
Merry Christmas again. I hope all of you had a great day.

Family Christmas Party 2011

This evening we went to our family Christmas party. My folks hosted it in their Salt Lake City home.
They provided large quantities of Chinese food. There was also lots of soda and a big chocolate sheet cake.


My dads cousin, Jackie, took this picture for us:




My sister Debera took this one:





Between bad lighting and busy, wiggly kids this photo didn't come out to well.
 Oh well, sometimes we just take what we can get:





Mom (black top) and Jackie Davis (Dads cousin):





This is my brother, Bradly, and his family. His older boy, Tyler, wasn't there tonight:




After dinner we all went into the living room where dad shared with us some stories about a few of our ancestors. Hearing about those people is always interesting to me.
We had a fun visit with everyone and had a small gift exchange. We were all sent home with generous amounts of leftovers too. I won't be cooking tomorrow.
Many of our family members live out of state, so as usual we never have everyone at these gatherings. Even so, the house was very full, busy and loud.
Thanks mom and dad for the party and for everything else you do.