Whitney and Daniel are Married!

What a unique, fun, memorable, authentic and lovely Steampunk wedding in Austin, Texas! Grant, Cadie and I helped setup on Saturday, had a wonderful time at the wedding, and helped clean up until about 2am. Grant and I went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening while Cadie attended her school dance and then Cadie came down with Nina and Papa. Sunday morning was a taco brunch and then back to Dallas to get the boys from Peyton. The venue was special, Whitney was beautiful, and I was impressed by the elaborate costumes! Whitney (and Brianna) outdid themselves and it was truly and evening to remember! The cake was steaming, Whitney and Daniel had 3 costume changes, there were activities through the evening like caricature drawings and photo booths, the décor was detailed, and everyone had an amazing time.

Beautiful rehearsal dinner.

Sunday brunch! The missing bouquet was finally found!

Happy Valentines Day!

Hamilton Day Trip

Grant's love language is travel and adventure and he planned the perfect day of fun on Sat., Feb. 3! We left on a 6:30am flight, arrived in Chicago around 8:30am, had a lovely brunch at the Palmer House, walked through Millennium Park, grabbed desserts at Little Italy, saw the 2pm matinee of Hamilton, and headed to the airport and caught the 6pm flight home. We were back at the house by 8:30pm! It was an amazingly orchestrated day! Hamilton was every better than I expected, and I had high expectations. It was also a special to get to know Ted and Joanna better and we were able to have meaningful time to connect over brunch and as we walked around the city. They are lovely and kind and I am thankful they are in our lives.

We had targeted that weekend for a little getaway, but things have been busy and we decided it would be complicated to be away for the whole weekend. Grant flexed and devised the new plan so we could be with the kids on Friday evening and Sunday but still see Hamilton. On the Thursday before we left, I texted Ted and Joanna Price and asked if they would like to go with us. They said YES! We were so impressed with their spontaneity and Ted found us awesome tickets on row R in the orchestra. We could see perfectly and they were just on the outside of the most expensive ticket so they were a great price and still great views.

Thank you to Grant, the Prices' and non-rev travel benefits for an amazing day!

Ski Trip at Deer Valley, UT

We figured it was time to get the kiddos introduced to the slopes! Vuong and Lori Dao love Deer Valley and said it was really convenient with great ski school instructors. We decided to give it a try and we had a wonderful trip! We arrived on Sat., Jan. 13 and departed on Wed., Jan. 17. We got in three full days of skiing and my legs felt like jelly.

DD, Big John, and Peyton joined us for the fun! DD didn't ski, but she ran an awesome shuttle service to and from the slopes. Big John skied for two days, and even had an adventure skiing right off a cliff that he mercifully survived. Peyton went into Park Cities because Deer Valley doesn't allow snowboarding, but we loved getting to see her in the evenings. We rented a townhouse that was super close to the base of the mountain and we all felt comfortable. Cadie and Colton slept in closets, but they were roomy closets so it all worked out fine.

Jack Ranger was a mad skier! We didn't sign the kids up for ski school on the third day because we thought they might be tired, but he begged to go back. Cadie did ski on the third day, but she stuck with Grant and I because she didn't want to go back to ski school. Colton tried ski school for two days and he wasn't really having any of it. He told us he was frustrated because they kept trying to teach him to stop but he just wanted to learn to ski fast. DD and Big John took him on the third day to explore a children's museum and visit the Mormon tabernacle. Sounds like they had a really nice day. Honestly, I didn't enjoy skiing as much as I thought I would. My feet and legs were killing me. I was proud of myself because I did a 1/2 day lesson on Day 3 and I gave it my all and it did help. Cadie came with me for the lesson and I had a good time being with her. Our instructor said Cadie was a "graceful" skier. I agree.

My favorite trip memories:
- Seeing Jack Ranger love skiing so much! He and Grant would time it so they could take the last lift of the day to make sure they could ski up until the minute the slopes closed.
- Enjoying the hot tub at the end of the day.
- Skiing with Grant who became a bit of a celebrity because he skied in shorts.
- Michelle Williams celebrity sighting at the lodge over lunch. It was the weekend before the sundance film festival and I was hoping for a celebrity encounter.
- So grateful that Big John didn't get hurt during his venture into the "closed" area.
- Dragging everyone out for tubing on Sunday evening. I love tubing! We laughed so hard and we stayed until they kicked us out. We were the last ones down the run.
- Getting to be together with DD, Big John and Peyton. We had one fun family dinner at a steak house, but mostly we hung out at the townhouse just relaxing and chatting.
- Exploring Deer Valley - I would definitely go back. Easy to fly in and out of, about 45 mins from airport, great lodging and food options.
- Seeing my sweet little people in their ski gear. They are just so cute!

It was a stuffed mountain lion! Apparently Mitt Romney's kids think it is fun to put it out on the slopes.