Happy golden days.

Only three more weeks left. Then I get on a plane back to the East Coast! Meanwhile, I haven't really had any fun at all...

Once I got on the ski lift, that's when I felt REALLY home. The resort was practically empty...and I'm not lying when I say the round trip of each run wasn't even ten minutes long. Which then, of course, I had President Christianson's voice running through my head, "A ski lift is an incredible missionary tool. You have them trapped for eight minutes." 

I tried my best to talk to the one man sitting next to us that one time, but the other fourteen times it was just me and Dad. Don't worry, we still were each other's missionaries as we discussed his lesson on Joseph Smith in High Priests for today. (Yes, I got to come in to the class and add my five cents as Joseph's personal testimony-guard.) So, it was a great doctrine-filled day, along with filling my need for speed that I haven't been able to suppress for the past two years.  

Then the day finished off at the perfect place with some of my favorite people.

"Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more."

-Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Beating Barack & Black Diamonds

Well that was a wonderful weekend. It always surprises me how rejuvenating weekends can be. I take a break from school and (sometimes) work and I get to fill it with whatever I want. On Friday night, Spence and I went to the Mitt Romney fundraiser in Salt Lake City! It was super cool to network with the rich guys of Utah...except when a plastic surgeon gives you his card...that was awkward. It was awesome to see everyone coming together for one cause, and feeling like I was a part of something big...like a Presidential campaign...makes me feel like I'm doing something for our country. Here's the man himself:

Horrible "paparazzi-type photo, but it was the
only one we could get. 

Then onto Saturday...it was skiing day with Jake and Mom! It was a gorgeous day, but there were a million people there. After trying to dodge all the little kids, we finally vetoed every run that any child would go down and found wide open diamonds. Then it got fun.

So, it was a pretty great weekend. I didn't start any of my homework, and we've got a show to produce tomorrow, but it was so worth it to take a break and be with my family. I also love living in Utah. I could have gone down to Moab to hike, seen the historic sights in Salt Lake, or do the best thing we could have done: skiing! I told Jake yesterday that I better marry a snowboarder, because I couldn't handle having a guy who was better than me at skiing. It is very possible, and it would take too much of my ski pride away. I obviously won't take a guy that doesn't even ski OR snowboard. Okay... I'll consider anyone who is willing to at least make an honest effort. And I post way too much about skiing. Oh well.

And now...for the new addition to my blog. My favorite song of the week: Bittersweet--Sara Bareilles

"I call you misplaced, but never a waste of my time. Everybody's gonna make mistakes, but you'll never be one of mine...You loved me fearless, when you needed to. You would not rest until you came through. So God bless, and thank you." 

Bring on True Blue Monday!

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.