New Beginnings

It's the end of the holidays. I may cry the day that I take the tree down, but Jason misses the Christmas cards most.

With quarantine behind us, we were excited to hang up our masks and move on with life.  It's funny how much you grow accustomed to them.  After ten days of full-time mask-wearing, it felt strange to take them off.  Eli kept putting his back on because he felt more secure that way.

Nothing signifies a fresh start better than a bath for your bike.  I personally think the term "car wash" is unfair to cyclists, don't you?

In truth, we didn't actually retire our masks--we just took them up the ski slope.  Talk about being bundled head to toe!

Brighton, we've missed you!

Here we are skiing on a different Saturday at Deer Valley.

This season, Annika has decided that skiing is  her gig.  She loves the speed.  No matter how steep or icy the slope, she just points her skis down the hill, settles into her snowplow, and goes!  Even Talia has a hard time keeping up with her.  We're working with her on basic ski safety: turning more often, obeying the slow signs, and giving other skiers more space.

Of course, you may need to watch out for Talia too.  Here she is showering her mother in a cloud of powder.

Our ski day at Deer Valley was super fun--there are so many lifts that it kept the lines short, even on a Saturday.  There's also a good variety of terrain for multiple levels.  You just might have to mortgage your first-born child to ski there.  We figured out that it would have cost our family $1200 for day passes!  Thankfully, we get a free day included with our Wasatch Collective benefit.

As a penny pinching ski family, we bring our own lunch.

A couple more pretty pictures, taken at the resort and on the drive home.

When it comes to night skiing, Brighton is certainly the place to be. Jason and Justin took Annika and Ruby up last Wednesday. You'll never guess what they found.

A porcupine!  When Annika came home and talked about how a porcupine came up and touched Ruby, I figured she was immersed in her imaginary world.  Looks like that story was based in reality after all!

Cute little critter, begging for food.  I worry about it wandering around the parking lot though.  I'd really hate for it to end up as roadkill.

Okay, sorry.  That was totally gross and arguably inappropriate.  What you are really looking at is freshly ground pork shoulder butt, awaiting its glorious revival in the form of meat pie.  What has married life done to me?

You'll be glad to know that the freezer is now well-stocked with both pies and cranberries, so we should be good to go until next year.

Speaking of pies, Grandma Susie brought down a couple of delicious desserts: apple and lemon.

The special occasion?  Eli's ordination as a deacon in the Aaronic priesthood.  Among other duties, he now helps pass the sacrament at church.  In our small and aging ward, Eli is not only the only deacon, he is the only young man (ages 11-17.)  The Elders Quorum is so excited to have some more youthful energy.

I snapped this sweet photo of Eli's interview with the bishop prior to his ordination.  We're so proud of you and your good choices, Eli!

Speaking of good choices, Talia made this awesome chart displaying her new goals for 2021.

The church's program for Children and Youth encourages them to set goals in four areas: Physical, Intellectual, Spiritual, and Social.  As an adult, I'd like to do the same.  Our creative Talia decided that she could incentivize her goals by sticking a treat in each of the pockets to reward herself upon completion.  Then she decided she ought to skip that for her goal: don't snack on junk food. 

Between political unrest, the pandemic and so many other major problems, it's really easy to feel anxious about our world.  I snapped this picture while driving to pick the kids up from school on the day of the riots at the Capitol in DC.  While there weren't riots at Utah's Capitol, there were still hundreds protesting.  Looking at my kids, though, I feel calmer.  They are bright, resourceful, compassionate, and resilient.  We're going to make it through.

Speaking of good things, Talia finished crocheting another sleeping mat for the homeless by reusing plastic grocery bags.

And Annika, she's well on her way to the roller derby, thanks to her Christmas present from NomiAnn and Papa Kay.

She's also picked up a side-business of catering for her siblings.

Last update to the Wheeler family: teeth!  (President Pickett would be amused...)  Since the New Year Brooklyn has started Invisalign...

...and Eli has added brackets to his expander.  These braces were a very unexpected addition.  We rushed to the orthodontist at 4:00 on a Thursday before they closed for the weekend because Eli's expander had popped off one of his teeth.  Once we arrived, Dr. Goldsberry decided we ought to add the braces then and there.

Ironically enough, Annika lost another tooth while Eli was getting his braces!  I have no idea how the girl's gonna chew.

Given her love of money, she's definitely not complaining.