The Keene Family

Last year, we spent one weekend a month camping at Crystal Mountain, which we love to do. This year, we've been a little busy (ha) and haven't made it up there until this weekend. The kids love playing in the snow after the ski day is done. We also went on a "snow walk" to the lodge and back, most of which the kids spent trying to find the largest snowballs possible to throw at their parents.   Haley and I wore our new "ski like a girl" sweatshirts together too. 💕 I am so proud of Haley. She doesn't love love skiing like the rest of us, but she has a great attitude about it anyway. She challenges herself frequently, and puts forth huge effort to improve. (She is already a great skiier!) This trip was no exception. She had trouble coming down a black diamond mogul field thick with snow, and lost her ski twice. The next run, I suggested we try a different way, and she responded, "Or we could do that again and I can do better....

Jim and I had already planned our annual ski weekend in Utah months before we knew about the Belgium trip, so two and a half days after we got home... we left again. We flew to Salt Lake City Thursday night. On Valentine's Day, we woke up and drove to Deer Valley. And got this picture taken by a fellow skier. Framer!  We stopped for lunch at one of the many lodges and enjoyed the famous turkey chili. And dessert. And beer and frites, because Belgium kept creeping back up on us, and we were sitting in the sunshine in Utah.    We did this fun thing for the first time: ran a slalom course! You could pay $3 a turn and try it out, and they timed you and made an announcement and everything. We did it twice each and it was super fun! The view from the gondola isn't too shabby. We had an amazing day of skiing - we set a goal to ski every lift above beginner and we did! On Saturday, my work colleague Jenn (who we stay with) took us cross c...

I told someone the other day that this was likely the best winter break I've had in a long time. I felt like it had a nice balance of time at home with nothing scheduled, outings and fun activities, family events, and friends. Sometimes we get to the end of break and wonder what just happened! This year it felt like we did a lot and yet were rested and ready to start the new decade. It started with the NASA Gymnastics team holiday party and gift exchange. Then we had a two-day tournament for basketball. Surprise! Cousins who flew in for Christmas showed up at JT's game - so fun! Day two, JT and his friends ended up getting matching hats at the local outlet shopping center. Monday we went skiing and brought Preston along. Tuesday was Christmas Eve, and I served flank steak, steamed baby red potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. Then we went to candlelight service at our church, a highlight of the year for me! For dessert I made my annual crumb-t...