Where to begin?

It's a new year, even a new decade, and a good time for a fresh start - including for our little family blog.  Since it's been over a year since I actually wrote anything in real time...well, where to begin?

I guess I'll just begin with this past weekend - it was free ski day for locals at Snow King Mountain in Jackson.  Kip was super exited because skiing is expensive, right?  I thought that meant he was going to take a day off to get the kids on the mountain, but that didn't exactly work out...so Thursday night I was sort of panicking about taking the girls skiing because (1) we'd never been to this particular resort/mountain and (2) I am just about the world's worst downhill skier.  Imagine the *OPPOSITE* of "like a duck to water..." and that's me on skis going down a mountain.  Just, a mess.  Luckily when Kip saw me falling apart he was able to work it out to get us going in the morning and situated in the right place with the free lift passes before he had to step away for meetings.   At first the girls were trying to go down with me, but I'm SO BAD they were getting nervous and falling and getting upset just feeding off my negative energy.  Once I planted my booty at the bottom of the mountain and just watched and cheered, they got their proverbial feet back under them and had a great time!

It looks like we're there right at the crack of dawn, but it was like 11 am.  Just mid-winter late sunrises and being right next to the mountain is all.  Rachel at left, Ella in the middle, and McKinley on the right.

Caleb didn't get to come along this time, he had his first official (non-novice) speech and debate tournament of the year, so he was in Pocatello trying out his new piece about Pinocchio.  It went...not as well as he would have liked.  But I think he learned a few things that he can work on and tweak before heading to the next tournament, which isn't for 2 weeks, since the next one is the home tournament that Star Valley is hosting.

The house is coming along one slow step at a time.  We bought more tile and a mirror for the main floor bathroom, that is our next project to complete.  Maybe soon we can invite some friends over and this place will really start to feel like home!