Valentine's Day Plus

I'm nearly caught up on this blog--yippee! I know the only one who really cares, but it's gonna feel great to have Valentine's Day blogged before St. Patty's Day arrived. Heck, I might even make it before Pi day!

For our family, Valentine's Day is pretty synonymous with Cupid's Crazy Cafe. This year was extra fun because we were able to celebrate with Ben, Christy, our friend Melanie, and the Wilhoits at my parents' house. The more the merrier!

Can't you feel the love? By the way, this is the lips tie that my Dad wore the first time he met Jason and family.

Filling out our special menus. Would you like to order snugglin, huggin' or smoochin?

This year we went for a classic Italian theme.  Tortellini soup, lasagna, Italian cookies, garlic bread, kale salad, Italian sodas, roasted veggies, etc. So tasty!

Plus, we had the BEST servers. Eli, Anders and Eila did a stellar job filling all the orders.

Love you all so much! Thanks to everyone for keeping this Valentine tradition alive.

And since I love being caught up on the blog almost as much as I love Valentine's, here are the rest of our photos.

More skiing! Because let's face it--next to God and his family, skiing is Jason's greatest love.

Of course, Eli adores skiing nearly as much. This day was extra fun because Brooklyn and Talia joined us!

Four friendly Wilhoits flying on a lift.

From left to right: Jason, Brooklyn, Kara, Eli, and Ben. I love how Jason's hunched over to better fit in the line-up!

Eli, Jason and Ben braved the crowds to make it up to Brighton on the best powder day of the season. They ended up having to hike more than a mile to get parking, but they assured me it was well-worth it!

As for me, this was my golden ski day. Joy!

Of course, the blue bird day I spent skiing Snowbird by myself was pretty epic as well. Great snow and no crowds. Only thing that would have made it better would be family or a friend!

But hey, plenty of family here! Thanks for skiing with us, Wilhoits. Hanging with you is so much fun!

Of course, the only way to get great skiing is to get great snow.  We had an epic mini-blizzard where the snow fell SO hard and fast but only for a couple hours. Per Murphy's law, Annika felt sick and called for a ride home right during this interval. It took me more than an hour to make the 12 minute drive to her school. Cars were sliding off the road everywhere. I passed a couple dozen fender benders and watched three or four happen in real time. Gotta say--I've never felt so grateful for our snow tires!

Safe at home, here's Annika trudging in the door.

Gotta admit, snow looks pretty good on our home.  Too bad today was a high of 66 with even warmer weather predicted next week.

 

As sad as I am to see ski season end too soon, I can't complain too much. After all, my heart's love is hiking. Here are some favorite pictures from some of our recent adventures. Most of these were taken in the Foothills near our home.

These photos come from the Living Room hike up near the Natural History Museum. This steep jaunt is perfectly situated for a quick hike on the way home from school drop off.

Just a girl and her dog.

Except for when it's bathtime--then Zion is all Eli's. Muchisimas gracias, mi hijo! You are a gem. We love you!