the Graham Cracker House

This may be a bit belated... but I don't know if I can adequately describe how amazingly perfect our  week-after- Christmas was!  My parents Christmas gift to us kids was for everyone to spend a week staying at a condo near Snow Basin, UT and skiing at the resort.

this is how we spent our lunch breaks- exausted!

 The Condo itself was a treasure!  It had enough room (comfortably) for ALL 11 of us.  (don't ask to hear KC's side of the story, she might tell you differently).  There was beautiful rustic wood furniture, and yummy smelling fancy soaps, not to mention, everything we needed in the kitchen!  It was a great place to relax, play games (the ipads were in constant use), we got wi-fi, and of course the HOT TUB.

Erin and Madeline

Snow Basin itself really is the hidden gem of utah.  With three gondolas, and a high speed quad, the lifts were pretty great (expect for the super slow Porcupine lift that froze my bum off and ripped the backpack... but we won't talk about that).  The lodges were exceptional.  Elegant carpet, fluffy dinning chairs, huge wood tables, and a large fireplace in the center of every lodge.  Most ski resorts have a nice main lodge, and tiny second-rate lodges for the others.  Snow basin had three incredibly perfect lodges.  Only one was a wee bit crowded, so we just shied away from that.  Since we didn't even know how great they were- we ate our lunch in the car the first day. Sad.  But after that we packed the food in backpacks and met up for lunch at the one of the upper lodges.

One reason this resort has been updated more than other resorts we've been to lately was because of the Olympics in 2002. This spot was chosen for the Men's and Women's downhill ski event, so they were given a ton of money to make it nice. Which they did.  Being the brave souls we are, we SKIED the downhill track. It is extremely steep to begin with, but a whole lot of fun to speed down after that.

Spending time with the FAM was delightful. Bjorn (and the other in-laws) faired fairly well.  We had classics like a charades night, semi-old traditions of monopoly on New Years Eve, and a new traditions of "share what you've learned". I love our family!

Twas Fantastic.  We're hoping to do it again someday.

As the year has ended, we'd like to send our sentiments with a small tribute to 2010:


Best Movie: The Importance of Being Earnest is the funniest movie we've seen all year.  Nothing else has made us laugh that hard (Tangled is a close second).  


Worst road in the wintertime:  Baird Avenue.  Our car likes to DANCE on it.

Worst place to visit in July:   Arizona  "because it was hot as Hades and then some"-B


Best vacation:  Snow basin for a WEEK ! (more on this to come)


Worst Recipe tried this year: Simple Paella- in a crockpot.  "a waste of perfectly good shrimp" -B


Best haircut:  when Coleen got bangs


Best game:  we've probably had the most fun with Ticket to Ride.


Worst game:  "Whenever Bjorn beats me too many times in a row" -C


Best Book (read this year): Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 


Worst movie: Harry Potter and the Triwizard tournament. "Because it was nothing like the book"-C 


Worst feeling in the world:  not remembering who is teaching your Elders Quorum lesson- during Sunday School


Best ski resort:  Snowbird (for the time being) 


Worst snow storm:  "they've all been good, I like snowstorms" -B


Best shooting range:  the one up Parley's canyon run by cops.  


Worst car crash:  none.  we fooled you :)


Best Bike trail: Pipeline/Copperhead in Millcreek canyon



 Worst Medical experience:  The Dentist.  Tied with.... deciding on new health insurance


Best run in with the law:  When Coleen got pulled over by a policeman on Christmas Day


Best Ski wipe-out:  Tie between the time Bjorn crashed into a bank "skiing backwards with a camera while trying to videotape my wife" and the time he "crashed into powder at full speed and landed on my pole which bent around my rib cage".  


Worst place to get a zit:  armpit


Best method for navigating a corn maze:  kiss at every dead end, back track a lot, laugh a ton, and have no idea where you are headed 61% of the time.


Worst nursing care moment:  "my patient's ostomy leaked all over me while I was holding him" -C


Best concert:  Salute to Youth in Abravenal Hall (8 year olds performing concerto's!)


Worst cooking disaster:  "I was adding flour to the kitchen aid and the attachment wacked the cup out of my hand, it hit the carpeted floor and exploded like a pipe bomb, sending flour EVERYWHERE" -B


Best home decoration purchased:  "the brown basket that took me 1.5 hours wandering up and down the aisles at Michael's to decided upon" -C


Worst way to lose sunglasses:  "I turned around on the sailboat and the lifeline knocked my glasses into the ocean"- B


Best foreign country excursion:  Vancouver to Seattle cruise


Best dessert:  Raspberry cheesecake bars


Best Museum:  the Railroad museum at the Union Station in Ogden


Worst Christmas song (the ones that got on our nerves):  I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, and Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.   


Best ski lodge:  Needles or John Paul (at Snowbasin)








Best 4X4 trail:  Arches National park off road trail  "we went OVER a boulder... I didn't know our car could do that"- C 






Worst yoga pose:  "anything that puts all my weight on my knees.... I'm getting old!" -C


Best pool toy:  inflatable blue crayon from Wendy's kids meal (thanks Ma)