This year we got to spend Thanksgiving in Brian Head, Utah! We love it there. It is a beautiful ski resort in the mountains near our Utah home. We have a condo there and spent the week enjoying lots of outdoor fun.
When we first got there, there was very little snow on the ground, so we occupied ourselves by searching for firewood scraps and ended up building a huge teepee out of logs we found behind the condo. That night there was a huge storm, so we got to enjoy out teepee in the snow. It provided a nice little shelter to sit in outside.
The kids got out their sleds and off they went! We managed to break two sleds the first day, but had some pretty great sled runs.
James is the master of falling off of sleds. He rolls into the snow and just giggles and giggles. Marion went down the sled run one time and then decided she would have the job of holding people’s sleds while they sat down and then pushing people down the hill.
There were lots of snowstorms, snowball fights, winter weather hikes, mini snowmen, and deep, deep snow to hike around in.
I love coming up to the mountains. The kids love to play in the snow and it is so beautiful outside when the snow has just barely fallen. It makes being cold worth it!
We have some Thanksgiving traditions, and one is paintball. Chris’ family comes up to spend Thanksgiving with us, and we have a paintball game after dinner. This year we played in the snow! We have some great pump paintball guns so the little kids can play. The guys built bunkers in the snow, Marion hung out with me for a little while so I could take some pictures, and eventually went back inside while I jumped in the game. We were playing without snow boots and I was in jeans, so we came in sticky with paint, soaking wet, and a bit chilled. It was a really fun time.
The day after Thanksgiving always involves guns, so Chris and his brothers took the kids out shooting. Uncle David helped the kids stay safe while shooting out in the mountains.
Brian Head had canceled opening weekend, but after two storms Thanksgiving week, they opened up in time for us to enjoy skiing with Chris’ brother David. James opted out of skiing, but wore his ski helmet while playing in the condo. It was pretty chilly outside and after a couple hours Marion said she was done! We took the kids to the lodge, had some lunch, warmed up, and then that kid would not stop skiing the rest of the day! We love to ski and had a great time skiing with the kids this year. Elora and Oliver headed back to the condo with Daddy in the mid afternoon, but Marion insisted on staying out with Uncle David until the lifts closed. She is one determined little girl!
There was a lot of great food for Thanksgiving, including yummy Kurtos Kalacs! We had such a great time with Chris’ family. This was the first year that both of his brothers, along with his parents, were able to spend Thanksgiving with us. We are so glad everyone could come and that we could make some amazing mountain memories!
