Julie and Doug Visit SLC

Last year, Julie and Doug made a trip out here to ski the Utah Mountains. My parents were also in town that weekend and we had such a good time, that they wanted to make another trip out this year!! Lucky for us! So, we did two days of skiing (unheard of now that Gregg and I are getting past our prime!) and had a ball!

Day 1- Snowbird, Little Cottonwood Canyon- 3/15/2011

There is this great tunnel that leads to the back side of the mountain! Spectacular views and some great terrain!
The Tunnel

Great views and two of my favorite people

Kaylen had a BLAST with Aunt Julie and Dougie. It was quite adorable. She didn't take any time to warm up to them, they just jumped right in. It was so fun to watch!

Our friend, Anthony... always coming through for us, came to study in our apartment after Kaylen went to bed so we could go downtown for just a bit, grab a drink and play some pool! I traveled from team to team as anyone that was unlucky enough to have me on their team lost.... coincidence? I think not.

Our stud muffins

Day 2- The Canyons, Park City- 3/16/2011

They had this super cool "Bubble Lift" with these orange bubble chair covers!

Love these girls

On the last night, we stayed up till midnight having a GREAT time playing Cranium. We had an absolute ball and we were sad to see them go. Kaylen was asking for Julie and Dougie for days to follow. We are so glad they took the time to make it out here. We were sad to see them go!

St. Patty's Day Parade

Because the time remaining in Salt Lake is uncertain, we're trying to take advantage of our surroundings. Our friend told us about the St. Patrick's Day Parade that goes right down the main street of the downtown outdoor mall. We managed to find a decent parking space and although it wasn't the most beautiful days, it was a great time and not too cold!

What is a St. Patty's Day Parade without the bagpipers!

Kaylen and Daddy

Can't give this amazing girl enough kisses and in honor of St. Patty's Day... good reason to get many more!

It was a great day to get out and enjoy the day. We wanted to stay for the whole thing in anticipation of the green beer at the end, but a 2 hour parade is a little much! So, we left a little early and got some yummy ice cream on the way home!

Mima Ruby's Birthday Weekend

Next came Mima Ruby's Birthday!!! And we were lucky enough for Grandma Ruby and Grandpa Marv to make it to Salt Lake City to celebrate her birthday here with us!! And celebrate we did!We had a very fun day planned. First, Kaylen had all the playmates she could ask for first thing waking up. Little did she know this was actually Mima's day, but Mima had no problem sharing her day with her sweet girl.

Mima and Kaylen getting their dance on

Kaylen is just like her Mommy and won't miss an opportunity to dance with Grandpa Marv

My Mom and I headed to my favorite nail salon and I sprung for pedicures. It is something my Mom and I both have grown to appreciate... a little TLC on our feet! And it was such a great gift not only for her, but for me, was some nice time together!

We may have done a little over-buying in the cupcake department, but after Gregg bought some great cupcakes, my Mom and I checked out a gourmet mini cupcake bakery on our way home. We bought specialty cupcakes with each of us in mind. Kaylen's was "The Diva"... fitting!

Kaylen ready for her cupcake as we sang Happy Birthday

Apparently, this was Kaylen's new way of eating cupcakes

She finally picked it up and made a lot more progress

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa is never complete without some nice outdoor playtime!

Drawing on the sidewalks with the chalk Mima brought her

Mima's Birthday was by no means coming to an end. We had a great Birthday Dinner provided by Grandpa at Desert Edge Brewery.

To top off Mima's Birthday Event, our friend Anthony happened to be house sitting for a Dr. who lives up the canyon right up the road from us... who just happened to have a hot tub outside!! We got to complete our great day with a soak in the hot tub in gorgeous crisp air in the middle of the mountains. It was fantastic.

Mima is always so creative and full of ideas, so of course the Play Doh had to come out. Kaylen loved it.

We were very lucky that my parents made it to SLC once again flying standby and being so close to Spring Break. And also lucky for us, we got to celebrate Mima's Birthday WITH her for a change!! It was an absolutely wonderful trip full of birthday celebration, yummy food both out and when my Mom cooked. We were all very lucky for such a great visit. Thanks Mom for spending your birthday this year with us. We love you very much and appreciate all the special time we get with you both!

Annual President's Day Ski/ Warren's Birthday Weekend!

This year, we made our Annual Trip to Star Valley for President's Day Weekend to celebrate Grandpa Waz's Birthday and to ski at Jackson Hole (thanks to Lower Valley Energy and Waz for always having had the free passes!)!! Kaylen sure loves her Grandpa Warren, so she was excited to go celebrate. Cherie, Leslie and Katie don't ski/board, so they got to spend the day entertaining and playing with Kaylen while Gregg, myself, Warren and Ian all got to go ski.

Nobody can rock a snowboard like my guy!

Little bit of a rough start to the day when I realized I had not brought my ski jacket up to the mountain!!! But of course, Gregg, always prepared had lots of extra layers for me to wear and I never actually got cold!
Just doing a little dancing with the Birthday Boy!

Yep... definitely taking her every opportunity to dance!

Waz and Ian and the delicious birthday cake!

Kaylen definitely enjoyed her piece of cake!

Kaylen got her dance on even at church on Sunday

Well, knowing all that we do now... which I will leave to a later post. We are definitely going to miss the proximity to living so close to the Jones Family and having had these Annual Trip to Wyoming. It has always been something we've really looked forward to and some great family time together. We had a great time celebrating with Waz again this year. He is a very loved and appreciated man.

Grandma and Grandpa Koski in Utah!

My Dad had been able to make it out a few weeks ago, but my Mom hadn't seen Kaylen and I since Thanksgiving, so they were itching for a visit. And after a week of trying, they finally made it out here... for 36 hours! Unfortunately, the luck of flying standby recently has been tough, but we are happy to have them any chance we can! And we made the most of it!

My parents happened to be in town the day Gregg found out he had been accepted to medical school, so my parents took us out to dinner to celebrate!

Kaylen giving me a kiss

A visit is not complete without a game of pish-posh with my Mom. Kaylen looks ready to learn! My Mom better be prepared for some fierce competition when Kaylen starts playing!

It was great to have some time with my parents. I took a half day off that Friday just to get some extra time with them since it was such a short visit. The weather was great, so we had fun outside on the playground, had dinner together, got to celebrate wonderful news, and we left with some yummy treats thanks to my Mom's baking skills! My parents are off to Mexico for a week of sun and relaxation in February, but hopefully, soon enough, they'll be back out for another visit! Thanks so much for all the effort, the night you had to stay in Phoenix just to get here and the many trips to the airport you go through just to spend time with us! We appreciate ALL of it!