Another dedicated post to skiing.

"Skiing: the art of catching cold and going broke while rapidly heading nowhere at great personal risk." -Unknown


That about sums it up. I think the only moments that make me tear up in the early morning is looking outside the window with inches snow on the ground. (That's not a joke, either. I know I'm weird.) Especially after this drought we've had! Anyway, yesterday was phenomenal. I got to spend the day with Jake and my dad up at Deer Valley. Since there has been no snowfall for 100+ days, (exaggeration) all the out-of-staters cancelled their trips to Utah. Needless to say, we had the mountain to ourselves.


Why do I love it? It's because I can go as fast as I want--and not get a speeding ticket. It's because I love the thrill of carving in control while focusing on technique. And, it's because I get to set aside a whole day to go enjoy the beautiful Utah mountains. The greatest thing about yesterday though, was I got to shred on these little beauties:

via: http://www.evo.com/skis/rossignol-avenger-82-ti-axial-120-bindings.aspx

Rossignol Avenger 82 Ti's. I got to demo them last year, and fell in love. They are thick enough to cruise through crud, but versatile enough to basically turn by themselves. So of course my dad got a pair this year, but chose to telemark this time, so I got to use them! I almost kept them for myself. Hehe. But, he also told me I may be getting a new pair of Rossignol's next year...hopefully I can hold out until then! 

So this was the picture of the day yesterday. I don't look as cool as Jake because I'm in the process of getting a new helmet and goggles. But he's got it covered with this new pair he got for Christmas. Man, this kid is a good skier! It was especially cool when he admitted to me on the lift that I was the only girl he'd consider going with because I'm the only one that was "good enough," and the only one that would race him. We actually had a record in our history yesterday: 45 second run. Yes, 45 seconds. He won though, sadly...only because I came upon some unexpected moguls. I may or may not have seen my life flash before my eyes. Of course this is after Dad told us to not get caught by ski patrol this time. Psh.

We were trying to get him to smile...what braces do to 14-year-old boys.

I think the reason I love skiing so much is because I grew up going with my family. It's been our favorite family activity ever since I can remember. I think it's safe to say that anyone that marries into the Hawkes family must enjoy skiing...or at least snowboarding. But then we'll just convert them.

Finally.

I'm back on the mountain. Basically back in Heaven. Jake and I went to Alta, and we were two of very few people at the resort. We hadn't been there forever so we decided to try it...and because it was the only good one that's open. I'm glad we did because there was SO much powder from the wonderful snowfall last night! (Thank you.) Of course it was cold...but we were prepared for much worse thanks to weather.com.

I think Jake's going to pass me up soon; he's becoming a really good skiier. I try to go for technique, but he's all about the speed. (Thus the helmet...I should probably get one.) He was looking like a pro today, however. I was proud. He even ditched his friends to go skiing with his old sister. I think the best part though was getting to talk to him in the truck, and let me tell you, this kid knows what he wants in a wife! Yes, I did make him talk about girls. There's always ups and downs of being the oldest child, but today proved to me that there's definitely more pros than cons.

Today's goal was giving a huge warm welcome to ski season 2012. It was most definitely accomplished.

Hometown glory.

Well that completes another great weekend. My sister Nicole came home from BYU-I-do to party with us...a.k.a. hang out with her high school friends...but it was really good to have another weekend in the house we grew up, as the Bob and Sharlene Hawkes family. It always hurts a little to drive out of the driveway to go back to Provo, but the thing that keeps me going is knowing that I have a fantastic family to come back to whenever I want, and they're only an hour away. Anyway, this weekend Sarah reminded us that she was growing up too fast by going out with another guy this weekend, and Jake (the quarterback) rocked his football game. I guess "rocked" isn't the best verb I could use because his team lost, but he played really well considering the fact that he had nails put in his wrist at the beginning of the season. It was cold. Go Vikings!

Isn't he handsome?

Shall I have another countdown to Christmas break? Two more full weeks of school. TWO. Then off to Thanksgiving break, then off to Virginia to shoot/produce a project with Rebecca, my mom and aunt for the Navy, then best friend gets home (!), then finals...and then...dun dun dun...christmas break. The official week count: 5 weeks. Then I can go skiing everyday if I want to. And speaking of friends getting home--it's been long enough I say! I'm proud of them, but I'm ready for them to be back in good 'ole Davis County. 

Aren't they handsome, too?

I better start pullin' out the ugly sweaters for the Christmas parties coming up. Any good white elephant ideas?