Day 193-218: What have we been doing? Where did a month go?

 For the most part, it has been pretty boring around here. There has been snow, we have skied, and life has been good. Nothing very exciting, but sometimes no excitement is a good thing. BUT THEN... We were gearing up for Dad and Dana's visit. The third annual Golebiewski/Blackshire ski trip. We had a mini one in Colorado when Dad came to visit in December, so now it was time for our Utah one. A full week of hitting the slopes hard, shredding the gnar, going big or going home. Or so we thought. Utah was expecting a big storm exactly at the moment Dad and Dana were supposed to land at Salt Lake City Airport. Ultimately their flights were cancelled. That was on Tuesday, and the earliest they could get rescheduled was for Thursday. Dana would arrive at 9am, and dad would arrive at midnight. This meant hard core skiing Friday, Saturday, and Monday. Sunday was reserved for Alanna's derby practice and the planetarium. I'll circle back to Sunday.

Friday we skied at Park City and Dad demoed skis, ultimately purchasing some new skis and bindings. Saturday we picked up Dads fresh skies and headed to Solitude.

The drive was great, we managed to snag awesome parking, and we were off to shred! We shredded the first run feeling the wrath of the day before on our legs. Alanna wasn't "feeling it", so she headed in to hang out with Titi Dana. Dad and I took a few more runs, as in one or two, and then headed in for lunch crashing Titi Dana and Alanna time. There is difference between Colorado skiing and Utah skiing. The mountains in Utah seem to be steeper, which will take a toll on your legs if you aren't conditioned to it. Some of us may not have been really conditioned to ski hard and shred that much gnar. It didn't help that I went pretty hard at the gym earlier that week, so my legs were feeling it before we even got out there. After lunch we took a few more runs and then headed out.  

Sunday is Derby Day! Alanna was very excited to have her Titi Dana there to see her, and I think Dana was equally as excited. The Wasatch Jr Rollers have a bout coming up, so they were having a scrimmage to prepare. The coach asked for volunteers to help with the scrimmage, and I know very little about the rules of roller derby, so it was Titi Dana to the rescue! Alanna was thrilled to show off her cool aunt who also plays derby. After practice we went to the planetarium where we played like kids and had fun. Dana and Alanna excelled at playing with robots to move balls around, and we learned some fun facts about space and planets (I don't currently remember, but I know there was learnings). We took a stroll to a thrift shop and on the way back we stumbled upon some seesaws. When was the last time you were on a seesaw? It was so much fun, giggles all around.

We headed back from Salt Lake City and headed to dinner later that night. We went to a great restaurant, ate amazing food, and then in the middle of the night Dad and Dana both fell ill. We didn't pinpoint exactly what it was, or where it came from, but it could have been food bourn illness. Whatever it was, they were down for the count, and Dana had an early flight to catch. The original plan was to bring Dana to the airport and then head out to Alta for a day of skiing. Between the winter storm we were still experiencing, and the stomach rumbles, skiing was out of the question. Monday became a day of afternoon relaxing and recuperating.  

Dad and Alanna had an early flight Tuesday morning and there was still a winter storm happening. We decided it would be best to have them stay in a hotel in Salt Lake City instead of starting the drive at 3am to make sure they got there in time. They checked into the hotel, we went and got them Chic-Fil-A for dinner (dad was feeling better by this point), and then dad mentioned a TV show that took place in Utah and we realized it was about 15 minutes away. We headed there to check out the shop and got there about 10 minutes after they closed. The trucks outside were pretty cool, but it would have been even cooler if we could have gone in the store. It was a bit of a bummer, but it is what it is. We took dad and Alanna back to the hotel and headed back to Heber. 

A winter storm was still around, but Salt Lake was clear, Park City was clear, and then right after Park City... storm! This was the first time I have driven in a storm in forever. I've been on edge about even being in a vehicle in a snowstorm since our move to Utah. It was basically a white out, and bumper to bumper traffic moving around 5 miles per hour. I did it! I got us home. Of course, we were about 10 miles from home, and our one-hour drive turned into two, but we got home, and confidence was built.  We got home safe, and Dad and Alanna got to Buffalo safe. 

Brandon had a Rookie Party for work, the theme was Euro Rave. I've never been to a rave, or Europe, and I didn't know how into the theme everyone would be. We put minimal effort into our attire, and overall didn't know what to expect. People were super into this theme party. There were music festival outfits that I've only seen in movies. It was quite the experience. There was a live band, and then a DJ. The food consisted of bags of chips, a table of pizzas, and random cookies. The drinks were random bottles of liquor and mixers, shot-skis, and a bunch of cans of beer. It was like a college party, or what I picture college frat parties are like. Brandon and I had fun, just not as much as everyone else. 

Our sweet Brooklyn had her check engine light come on. She started idling rough, and overall, not running too great. The closest Toyota to get it fixed is over 20 miles away, and through the mountains. We didn't think she would make it all the way there safely, so we had her towed. We are hoping for a speedy repair that doesn't break the bank. Send good vibes!

Our poor Bruce has an eye infection. Can't this dog get a break? One eye left, and it has an infection. He is on antibiotics for three weeks. We are hoping the goopy eye will go away soon. He is also missing Alanna like crazy. He has been extra lovable and needy. We all can't wait for her to come home. Here are some adorable pictures of Bruce sleeping.

What we learned:

• The Utah mountains are different, but fun!
• Acting like a child is necessary - go out and find a see saw or playground!
• Brandon and I are NOT in our early 20s.
• Euro Rave is a fun theme, and I think someday I want to go all out at a music festival!
• Brooklyn needs some work done.

Much Love and Happy Times,

The Blackshires

Day 182 - 192: Skijoring & Olympic Skiers

 Skijoring has been becoming more popular in the West. What is skijoring? Glad you asked. In a nutshell it is where a horse pulls a skier/snowboarder around a course, and you get timed. The very basic rule is that the skier/snowboarder must hold onto the rope the entire course. If they let go, they do not get a time. If they miss a jump, ring, or any part of the course they lose points for everyone missed, and those points are added to their time. So, if they ran the course in 45 seconds and missed 5 obstacles, they get a 55. It was so fun to watch! There were several different heats. The day started with the newbies, the people that were doing this for the first time. Another favorite of the categories was the kids. The skiers had to be under 10, and some of the riders were under 10 as well. There was even a mini horse that was ridden by a brother pulling his sister. It was adorable, then the mini horse tripped a bit and did a somersault. Everyone was ok, the kid got literally back on the horse, and they finished their round. The teams had very entertaining names that I wish I could remember. A couple names I remember were "Shake and Bake" and "Hung like a Horse". There was also redneck curling which is where they take audience members, put them on a tube, and pull them behind horses. Then they slingshot the person on the tube into large plastic coke bottles. The more you knock down, the bigger the prize. It was a riot! Besides the entertainment there were food trucks and other venders. All-in-all, I give skijoring events a 10-out-of-ten! It also sparked some curiosity to run the course next year... TBD.

This past weekend was the Freestyle International Ski World Cup at Deer Valley Ski Resort. We didn't make it to all three days of events, but we did make it for part of the Freestyle jump competition. I didn't quite understand the level of event we were going to. I had not grasped that we would be seeing actual Olympic athletes competing. It was truly amazing to see what these athletes can do, and very confusing as to why they do it. They were jumping 50+ feet in the air, twisting and turning, and landing. I've watched it on TV before, but in person is a whole other experience. Part of the fun of watching this was also getting up the hill to watch the event, and getting back down was even better. There are tiktoks about people falling down the hill, purposely sliding down the hill, and just how funny it was. If I had on my snow pants, I would have also opted to body surf down opposed to doing the side shuffle.

I know this is a shocker, but we went skiing. We ventured out to Solitude located in Brighton, which is basically the other side of the mountains behind us. When initially looking up how far it is from where we are it said 17 miles. Then once we used Google Maps it was about an hour drive because we can't obviously go directly across the top of the mountains. The drive was great, the scenery was beautiful (odd for Utah, right?), and the skiing was great. This resort is a bit smaller, and the crowd was also smaller. There were zero lines to the ski lift, which is always a nice bonus. One of the lifts was only for two people, so Alanna was thrilled to take the lift by herself. I don't think she ever has taken a lift by herself in the six years she has been skiing/boarding. 

Brandon and I have been utilizing the hot tubs at the resort. There are three in total, one is located in the 21 and over side, and that's the one we like! It is a massive hot tub that can fit you and 20 of your closest friends; that is if you wanted to make people soup. For the most part, we are the only two in there when we go. The views the last time we were tubbing were great. We had a nice four days of sunshine, and then this morning we woke up to about six inches of snow and clouds! 

Alanna is continuing to grow at derby. She is loving the team and learning a lot. It is going to be difficult when we have to leave, but we will keep finding other teams to train and grow with. This past weekend she didn't have practice because it was a tournament, so we went to the tournament and watched one bout. The juniors crushed their opponent with over a 100-point lead. 

Alanna wanted to try to do my nails, so I let her. Do I like fake nails? No. Do I love my kid? Yes. She did a great job, too! She was patient, and professional. We had fun watching Gilmore Girls and having Mother-Daughter time.

Things we learned:

• Brooklyn (Van) has a weird squeak on the passenger front side - we are taking her in tomorrow to see what is going on. Used cars... Am I right?
• Alanna does a nice job doing nails. She can only get better with more practice!
• The Deer Valley ski competition was a big deal, and we were there!
• Skiing is good for the soul (knew that)
• The hot tub is great!
• Skijoring is super fun to watch - and maybe we will participate at some point!?

Much Love & Happy Times,

The Blackshire's