ski between the lines

All the late storms this last week have dumped loads of snow in the Wasatch mountains. Here's what Bishop's Bowl at Sundance looked like when the storm cleared for a minute and the sun came out.
See all the squiggly lines? A lot of those tracks are mine- and my gal Q- who had the day off of school- we were doing our best to fill in the gaps, until our legs could no longer hold us up. It's about time I got a powder day in, or, I should say... it's about time I got myself out onto the ski hill to enjoy a powder day.

PS- This is Sundance's last week of skiing, and there is a super deal going on... check it out on Facebook- day skiing is only $20, night skiing is $15 through April 3rd.

sportswoman

The other Ann Taylor... ski racer (invited to ski in 1940 Olympics), pilot, horsewoman, designer of ski clothing, wife, mother, socialite- girl, you got it going on.

Hey, get off the shed!

This shed, inelegantly deposited in the sideyard of our house, (our petite substitute for a third garage bay)- lovingly nicknamed the "Outhouse" or "Sport Shack" has been calling F's name since he first set eyes on it. I missed the vision of what exactly he was planning until I went outside yesterday and found this scene unfolding. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em join 'em- Steve O climbed up too and helped plan the big jump. 

A small crowd gathered- our whole family and the young, impressionable Calderwoods' risking the cold to watch the scene unfold and embed some fresh ideas of how to behave when they turn 13 or so. 

Thank goodness he had his helmet on... what a good example.

Special thanks to the Calderwoods' for reminding us of this Saturday Night Live skit, we are so glad you are big SNL fans too and that you're the kind of neighbors to applaud this type of behavior, or at least turn the other cheek and not call DCFS. 

olympic day

Today---> the 2011 Soldier Hollow Charter School Olympics. The school is located on the site of the 2002 Olympic Nordic ski events at Soldier Hollow Resort in Midway UT. Leaving behind a venue just itching for another Olympic event. Here are the teams getting ready to ski into the stadium for the opening ceremonies. 

During the winter months the students of Soldier Hollow get to ski twice a week during school- a program I'm a huge fan of- equipment from the rental shop, instructors and use of the world class facility- it doesn't get better than that for winter physical education. So, come February, you've got a whole school of skiers who can manage great on a pair of cross-country skis.

I stopped taking pictures when Steve O showed up with his camera, thinking he was snapping stills. I didn't find out until later that he was only shooting video. Now, I don't have a single pictures of the teams making their big opening ceremony debut in the stadium, a slight that left every parent verklempt. Shucks.

Here is C's 1st grade class, team Mexico-- looking so stinkin' cute with the boys in their sombreros and girls in their flower hats. This is the first year my kids have been at Soldier Hollow so I didn't really know what to expect- but I soon heard each team would need some sort of getup... right up my alley- I volunteered to costume-up team Mexico.

I made up these fleece hats for the girls, super fast and easy, (stay tuned for a how-to on these hats later this week) and made with fleece I've had in my sewing room for years. I sewed 12x18" fabric flags to the front of each team member's bib, and a sharpie drawn and colored strip of fabric with the word "Mexico" sewn to the back.

It was great to see all of the kids and their teams outfitted so cleverly- a few favorites ---> a member of the Scottish team, I hadn't even thought of face painting, gotta love the kilt.

Team Germany rocking the paper bag lederhosen.

Here's our M of team Norway, finishing up the obstacle course. This might not look so hard, but remember, she's got skis on. The older kids (2nd through 8th grade) competed in the biathlon, obstacle course and relay. The kindergartners and 1st graders events were a slalom course, beanbag toss, obstacle course and relay.  Once again, bummed I don't have a single shot of kids shooting guns in the biathlon. But we do have some video...

half puffy

I know it's a little bold, but I fell in love with this half puffy, and made a birthday purchase. Rated at 750 fill, I guess it could be considered a full puffy, but it's super lightweight feeling and looks about half the puffiness of all the coats on the down circuit.
Steve O was shocked and has been calling me 'sugar plum fairy', 'peppermint princess', 'candy cane' ever since, the kids think it's cool and yesterday someone asked me if they could touch it.  It's called "timeless down hoody" by Spyder so hopefully that means I'll love it and want to wear it for the rest of my life. 

the great outdoors

Today, I ran away from the the dishes, laundry, accounting and all the other duties I need to attend to and went cross country skiing, with a ladies clinic at Soldier Hollow. With about 5 inches of new snow, blue sunny skies, I completely forgot what I could have/should have been doing and got a big hearty helping of winter fun + workout.

It made up for the boringly busy birthday I celebrated yesterday- a day without any fun built in, I admit it- yes- my own fault.  Today, I'm glad I stopped to smell the roses glance at wildlife, watch for woodpeckers and pick up a few ski pointers I'm desperately in need of... and almost right in my backyard.
Incidentally, my 5th grader M, will practice shooting with her classmates at the shooting range this week, in preparation for the upcoming biathlon, how about that?! Perhaps I need to be a parent volunteer for that one...

Christmas week

Sure hope everyone has has a fabulous Christmas- we've had a great time of it so far. Here's what all that snow looks like at about 9000 ft., at the top of Deer Valley on Christmas Day. We've had a Christmas of ski, ski and more skiing and it's been a blast, we are blessed to live in such a beautiful place.
Now, I'm happily enjoying a quiet house, while the kids ski (some more)- getting organized and putting finishing touches on the basement (a bit more caulking, hanging curtains, putting in door stoppers) and it feels good...

not to dwell in the past...

It seems like every time I'm at Grand Targhee, (which I admit isn't very often) but through the years... there seems to always be a fresh coat of powder, a gift really. I love the sugar coated trees, they reminded me of frosted mini wheats. I just couldn't get enough. All day long I waited patiently for some blue sky to sneak through the clouds so I could get a really stunning picture. Never really happened... but the snow stayed soft all day making for exceptional spring skiing. Ahh... good memories and very sore legs.


This is the best look at the Grand Tetons we got all day, hiding behind a blanket of clouds. Use your imagination here.

whatever you do, keep 'em laughing

The Big Picture- amazing, inspiring, huge photos from the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Steve O had the kids rolling on the floor laughing with his instantaneous, ad-libbed commentary as they scrolled through the pictures. Here is my favorite section of his discourse...

"Oh no, I have my cell phone in my left pocket!"

in a weepy voice..."My cell phone is ruined..."

"No- wait, it's in my other pocket!"
To view all the photos personally, and I highly recommend you do, check out The Big Picture.




I was only disappointed that there weren't any Johnny Weir pictures (at least as far as I viewed), but don't despair there is a Johnny Weir reality show on the Sundance Channel, (of course there is...), called "Be Good Johnny Weir" it's a 8 part series, first one aired in mid-January...
Excuse me, I've got a TiVo errand to run... maybe Netflix, I'm a little late in the game!

break time

I took a much needed break to ski a few runs this weekend. Everyone opted out but F and myself, this worked out well for us- we headed straight to the top of the mountain (Sundance) and didn't come down until the day was through. I skied with my ski school peeps I'm missing working with this year, it felt like a family reunion-(in a good way). It was glorious to go real fast, feel the legs burn and enjoy some sunshine.

the return of winter

Last night about 10 inches of new snow fell in about 3 hours- and that's just at my house. I'm not quite sure why I'm not skiing right now. Old age and responsibility has turned me into a boring loser.

the view on Saturday

Saturday was a gorgeous day, actually the whole weekend was lovely. Today's weather is much the same, but the smog is starting to creep back into the valleys. Here is a view of the Sundance cirque.

I finally got back on my snowboard, the first time this season- went and rode with my good friend Wendy for a bit. Here is how the soft shell jacket turned out, in a pose I just learned from a rerun of Will & Grace.
I got lots of compliments all day, including, "that's a nice looking jacket...", from the sewing machine repair shop man when I stopped on my way home from snowboarding to get a stack of scissors sharpened. Well, I'll be- how do you like that?

fixing my soft shell

I got this super cute soft shell jacket for Christmas- it's a medium, which is just fine in every way but the sleeve length. For a month now, I've been stewing over what I should do to remedy the situation. It's from a closeout/discount place - so returning for another size isn't an option.

This little sleeve length problem might be overlooked in a shirt or even a sweater but it won't do for a coat.

Luckily, I took the jacket with me to the fabric store to brainstorm up some ideas and found the perfect fabric for lengthening the sleeves. I was initially thinking about just adding a piece of fleece that just looked like a long cuff- but this quilted, sparkly fabric jumped out at me- it's even the exact same color of white, and the available fleece colors were either too white or too off-white.
I cut out the cuffs to be sewn, right-sides together (on the angle cut sides), then turned right side out and folded over for a double-sided cuff that tapers down to the wrist.

I hand-stitched the new cuff into the wrong side of the existing cuff so there would be no extra evidence of the new cuff not belonging there in the first place. You can kind of see the sparkle in this picture- if you look close.

The quilted fabric isn't stretchy at all, I was a little worried I might have to get fancy with the velcro and make a proper cuff that would be tight enough to keep out the cold, but that my hand would still fit through. As it turned out- I think it's plenty tight without any extra cinching with velcro or elastic.
So, what do you think, did I pull it off?
Perhaps a close inspection might leave one scratching their head, but the fact that the cuff fabric matches perfectly, and has cute flowery sparkle that fits with the overall darlin' design is good enough for me. I can't wait to wear it skiing.

post- Christmas, holiday fun

Getting organized and ready to ski takes some serious organization and skill- it's kind of like herding cats.
Observations on a super duper fun ski day.
My kids are:
1. Getting big and growing up faster than I ever could imagine.
2. S'dang cute.
3. Rockin' little skiers and boarders, little C (4 years old) has been wearing his skis around the backyard since it started seriously snowing a week or so ago, begging to go skiing and ride the chairlift so he can jump and do tricks.
4. So cute together. We were all cracking up when F, who usually boards- gave skis a go again today. He used a pair of his sisters skis and poles. He grudgingly brought it to our attention that the pink and silver ski poles he was using had 'fun girl' printed on them. That was his nickname for the rest of the day.

Relaxing in the lift line. It was freezing cold today, but we all bundled up and skied it up anyway. I was wishing I had a puffy coat like M's pictured here. I think I need to do a little post- Christmas shopping for something really puffy.

Sundance- looking so beautiful all buried in piles of snow.

Saturday

Saturday was a super-fun party day. First we went skiing...

This was the view from the chairlift, beautiful. It was cold/hot/cold/hot all day. Because of sun/clouds/sun/clouds.


Sundance just put in a little terrain park. Here is M giving it a try.


Steve O rode his schnowlerblades all day (what is this 1999?, oh they were a gift, well then I guess it's OK then)... and practiced some snow dancing.


Self portrait on the chairlift.

THEN... F had a indoor soccer game, scored three goals, won the game (7-3) (sorry no pictures)

THEN...Later in the evening...

we got cleaned up and took the whole family to see the 5 Browns at Kingsbury Hall. I had heard them interviewed on Friday on Radio West, and was totally moved. They are are a group of 5 brothers and sisters in their twenties who play classical piano all together, and have since they were little.
We got last minute tickets- kind of nose bleed, but... so glad we went. They were so amazing live. I was very happy to see lots of other kids and families there. Everything about the show was fabulous, motivating, and left you with a wonderful message of succeeding in anything you put your mind too, and treat your sibling lovingly along the way. I think the kids had a good time, then again how can you not enjoy any bit of live entertainment?
Check out the 5 Browns performing here.

ski day

Skied today with my ladies, Becky and Jo. It was crystal clear blue skies, sparkles in the air, tons of snow, smiles all around. The tree branches were all coated with these giant fluffy snow crystals.
I haven't skied fast and furious -without kids- all year and it's just what this lady needed. Fabulous, beautiful day- I think I need to do that more often.

ski day

Saturday was one of those beautiful winter days that don't come along very often. It was sunny and just the right temperature for a picnic on the top of the mountain for the whole family.
I look at this picture and think- when did my kids get so big? It makes me feel a little panicky. I need to remember to soak up every single moment with my little shavers, because the next time I turn around they could be graduating from high school! Skiing on Saturday was the kind of day memories are made of, lots of laughs, looking for jumps and skiing tree trails.

Speaking of growing up too fast... just the other day C (3 years old) said as we were pulling into the driveway, "Mom, I need to check my email on your computer." That sent a wave of giggle through the car. What kind of crazy world are we living in?

new snow

Today it snowed most of the day, and I couldn't have been happier about it. There is about 12 inches blanketing everything, and I think more expected tomorrow. I should be skiing it all, but I'm busy being a mommy/accountant. On the weekend when I head up to Sundance again perhaps there will be some powder left for me.

ski day

from r to l: kipper, me, corby, ken, wendy




yesterday was wonderful. it took me back to college days when i would have so much studying to do or a project to finish, but the powder was piling up, your ski dudes call... and you just blow off everything and ski. (pulling an all-nighter to catch up) sometimes no matter how much you have to do, you have to just drop everything and ski some powder with some good friends. i would recommend a day like this for everyone, it cleared my head and gave me a new outlook on life. thanks to everyone who made this day possible, especially steve o who took over the after-school chaos, had the kids fed and p.j.ed, kitchen and house cleaned up, when i got home. you're the best.

late snow

it happens every year, whether you are expecting it or not. there is probably 4 inches on my lawn, and it has been snowing all morning. this late storm doesn't bother me like it might some people. here are some reasons:
-the trees in my yard don't have enough new leaves or buds on them to put them in jeopardy of breaking, this means less time with the broom.
-all the snow in the valley will most likely be melted by tomorrow and we can all go back to our springtime adventures.
-it really beautiful to look out the window and see the snow falling (we didn't really get enough this last winter) and have new snow covering everything, even the daffodils.
-i'm going skiing today at snowbird with my ladies. (and a few fellas) an opportunity like this doesn't come around very often for a busy lady like myself.
......getting together with my ladies for a day of speeding down the hill, not in uniform, in some new spring snow...priceless