We were tagged!

This is no facebook photo.....some bored little bastard decided to leave his mark on our fence last week.  At first I thought we had been hit by the gangs, but the police believe it is some bored child, with no supervision, just out ruining people's stuff!  Uugh!  As if we don't have anything else to do, now Derek will be spending a day cleaning it off...if it will come off!  Yeah, I am a little angry.

Grace's glasses

Our little smarty pants!  Grace had to get glasses.  I would have never guessed!  They did some testing at school and she doesn't see as well out of her left eye.  The glasses should correct the problem and she may not have to wear them forever.  For now she loves to wear them and she looks so cool in her new spectacles.

Friends, Fun and Skiing...

So,  as usual we have been busy around here.  Derek has been busy traveling and in between we have enjoyed hosting out of town guest at home and on the slopes.

Last Wednesday my friend Kelly and her husband Ryan flew in from Atlanta for some skiing.
Yes, that would be Kelly on the right (in the pic above)!  They got lucky and choose to visit the snowiest week of our winter so far.  The skiing is awesome!!!!!

We had a fabulous visit while they were here.  I took Kelly out for a little girls night to see Howie Day (above) in concert.  It was a great show.  We left Derek and Ryan home with the kids.  They all survived!

We wanted Ryan to know there is life outside the walls of the Sim's house, so we decided to take a trip to Park City and take in a little Sundance.  Well...BIG SNOW STORM!  We didn't make it, so we went downtown to the Red Door for some drinks.  Derek and Ryan were true gentleman.  They made good use of the pedestrian crossing flags to be sure were made it safely across the street.

No pics from our Saturday night festivities, but Kelly wanted to meet up with a few other folks she knew and used to work with.  I invited a few of my other friends and some other out of town ski visitors arrived.  We all gathered for dinner at Settebello Pizzeria and headed to the Bayou after for beer.  Fun night of catching up and making new friends!

Derek had to leave again:(  but, I finally got to join Kelly and Ryan on the slopes at Solitude.  Mark and Ethan came from New York City for a week of skiing.  They decided Solitude would be a good place to start their Utah ski adventure and get their ski legs back, so we met up there Sunday.  I think we all agreed it was a fantastic day...except for the incident....Ryan's poor nose!

Kelly, Mark and I were hungry, so while we ate Ethan and Ryan did a little skiing.  Ethan challenged Ryan to some tougher runs.  I think Ryan got a little braver as the day went on...so last run of the day Ryan decided to take a hard blue.  Kelly was tired and decided to wait in the lodge. Ryan was off on his own and we saw him from the lift.  When we tried to catch up to him....no Ryan.  So, Mark, Ethan and I met Kelly back at the lodge.  After a while we started to wonder if we should go search for our friend.  Then we got the call he was safely in the bar....phewwww.....but, injured from the infamous face plant we have all made when crossing the tips of our skies by accident!  Luckily this was the worst of it.  He is going to be ok.

We finished up our day with nachos, beer, and football at the Porcupine Grill!

Mark and Ethan are still here, but Ryan and Kelly had to go.  Thanks again for making the trip.  Can't wait until next year!

The Funicular

Today Grace and I skied again.  I know....whaa whaa.  This time we met up with Uncle Keith at Deer Valley, where they are hosting the World Cup Ariel and Mogul events.  Uncle Keith Volunteers every year, and it was a good excuse to ski in my home town and one of my favorite places!

Uncle Keith had to go to work so Grace and I decided to try a little Apre Ski at the new St. Regis Deer Crest Resort.  FABULOUS!

The main attraction...a FUNICULAR.  This is similar to a tram, that takes you from the lobby to the main hotel.  Not scary, for those of you who might be afraid of heights, but very exciting!

Once you get to the top... well... luxury!  Ski in, ski out access, a private ski beach, split level swimming pools, hot tubs and spectacular views!  

I had a glass of wine and Grace had a hot chocolate.

She has no idea how spoiled she was....we were both ready to check in for night!  I had to explain to Grace we would have to wait for a special occasion.  She agreed,  "Mommy I know this is a really expensive hotel.  But, I really want to stay here some time!"

Anyone interested in putting our pennies together and getting a room?  If you don't ski that is ok.  I will drop you off at the spa and pick you up later!

Excersice test

Holly works in a heart clinic and challenged me to come in and test my exercise capacity.  Don't judge us by these blurry pictures.

Anyone who has had a heart study knows this is a tough test!  You go through a series of speeds and inclines.  By the end you are running up a very steep hill.

  How did we do?  Well,  Holly (the professional) says we did well.

Yes...I beat her by 50 seconds.  She went for 15:10 and I went for 16 minutes.  She says on a scale of 1-10 that is about a 15 for our age group.

We decided to measure ourselves now and then again in April to see how well conditioned we are for our half and full marathons coming up.  I wanted to post this so we have a record.  Can't wait to see what happens.  Off to run... (this is what we really look like!)

Hot yoga!

So, last night I decided to do something a little different.  I am officially training now for a half marathon in April and a full marathon in May...(yes, I am crazy).  To add to my running regime I decided to try the Bikram yoga.  For those of you not familiar...it is just like yoga, but the room is about 110 degrees.  It is amazing!  I was sweating my ass off in the first 5 minutes.  

I was really worried I wouldn't be able to do all the poses.  Don't consider myself to be a very flexible person.  But that wasn't a problem.  I surprised myself and did very well.  My sore muscles are telling me all about it today!

As amazing as I found my new workout...no one warned me about the amount of sweat involved...no one warned me not to wear a white sports bra!  By the time I was finished I looked like I had been in a wet T-shirt contest...yep!  Front and center... in front of the mirror for all to see!

I highly recommend Bikram yoga, but just know that you sweat your guts out.  BUCKETS AND BUCKETS!  Bring a change of clothes, and if you're modest...don't wear a white top.


Now that I have learned that lesson I am looking forward to the benefits of my new workout!

New ski partner.

I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon skiing with Grace on Saturday up at Brighton.  She is awesome!  I wanted to share some video with you from our last run of the day.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05JpYkU1aes.  This is her 3rd year on skies and I think she really has it done.  She had no trouble keeping up with her old mom. Grace could be in the olympics someday...you never know!  I am so proud.

Getting organized....

I always feel the need to regroup after christmas.  This is usually when I do my best spring cleaning.  I love to strip down all the decorations and clean those places that get ignored the rest of the year....and, organize!!!!!

Just a few days ago we had new shelves built in the storage room.  Truely life changing for a little housewife like myself.  I have empty space in all my closets now and I got to throw away a bunch of stuff we weren't using.  

Out with the old....in with the new!  Sure makes a girl feel better!

Cancer free!

Derek's dad Harv was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in September.  He had surgery to remove the tumor and underwent treatment for a couple of months.  They went back in early this week to see the treatment was successful and his cancer is gone.  Our prayers have been answered!

The "Inn" is closed for now...

Ok, so I haven't had time to blog.  I have been running a holiday bed and breakfast for the last few weeks.  But, all the company is gone, for now...and I am finally getting things back to normal around here.  I finally have a minute to fill you in...

We had a fabulous holiday season!  SO much fun to have all of our family and friends around.

The day after christmas we have a tradition of tubing at Gorgoza in Park City.  This year was very cold!..but the runs were super fast!  Our friends Rich and the Soster family joined us and then we headed over to Red Rock for another holiday tradtion...christmas beer!

The Monday after christmas we celebrated Ella's baptism.  What a special day for her.  She is a sweet, sweet baby and we are so lucky to have her in our family.

Steve had to leave and get back to work!  But, Karen and the kids decided to extend their visit...so, they packed up and moved over to my mom and dad's.

One of Derek's college buddies was coming through town for New Years and a little snowboarding.  Rich celebrated the new year with us at our friend's Shawn and Candice's house.  We have a fondue tradtion!  Cheese and chocolate....fabulous!

Candice and Shawn out did themselves in the kitchen!  It was wonderful.

The guys had a ping pong contest.  I think Derek was the champ!  The girls had a great time learning how to play.  Rich was kind enough to show them the ropes.

What a great night of food and friends.  Thanks again for hosting us this year!























Derek's parents arrived new years day from Colorado, bearing more gifts...

They stayed with us for the weekend and we had a very nice visit.

Thanks again for making the trip!

I have a few friends coming to ski at the end of the month, so now the race is on to get the house in order and get in shape to ski!  Happy New Year!