Life elevated...

The slopes were calling so we headed to the Great Salt Lake state.  

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It was James's first time on skis and he Snowplowed like a champ!

We skied several times at Alta.  I haven't spent much time at this resort in the past because snowboarders aren't allowed.  But I can see what all the hype is about!  The views were heavenly!

James's cousins are awesome skiers and great kids!  Eli was so nice to stay behind with James and give him some helpful pointers.  I was having the best time tagging behind watching  Eli give James an afternoon ski lesson.  It was adorable and Eli is an incredible instructor for a six year old.

Soldier Hollow is where the Sullivan's go to Charter school.  We went up there to see them race Saturday morning but we were about an hour late.  It can be hard to get our little crew out the door.  We still put on our snow clothes and spent the afternoon checking out the scenery.  

Rissy was thrilled about the Elsa ice castles.  It must be magic to go to school here.

My little snow baby.

Check out all this bling Isaac has from his cross-country races.  What a little ripper.

John spent a couple days skiing at Solitude and Snowbird with friends.  He hit the hills hard and got the most bang for his buck...Those lift tickets can be expensive!

We came at a great time.  There was plenty of snow, the weather was springlike, and the conditions were sublime.  The tram deck got up to 50 degrees.  That is almost unheard of in January!

One night we went sledding with the Sullivans at Soldier Hollow.  Rissy was a great sport and stayed in her sled the whole time, despite the cold snow spraying in her face as she sped down the hill.  

Left:  James enjoying the view of Heber Valley below  Right:  John races the Sullivan family down the hill.

How I've missed the hum of the hills the last couple years.

Happiness is the view from the ski lift!

Ski bums in the making.

Black diamonds are a girls best friend...along with this little boy!   Thanks mom, for watching the babies so many afternoons so we could ski after three at Alta.  

I just had to go through and edit some of my exclamations out of this post. It proves one of my biggest passions is being in the mountains-skiing in the thin Utah air.