Skiing with the Kurckinkas and Mark

Sunny and chilly ski day at Stevens Pass. The groomers were fast and we got to ski with friends on this MLK day! Edison brought Mark and we met up with the Kurcinkas! Stevens even groomed Pegasus on the backside. I think we were one of the first people to go down it and that was a blast! 49.9 mph today… so close to 50! Always fun to have goals!

 

Swimming, Friends, and a Prom Date Mixtape Show

 Edison's sophomore year swim season is going well and he has lots of friends on the team. It is fun to watch them push each other and grow as swimmers. Sadie has been able to come to many of the meets and that is fun, too! Bryn and Charlotte times at the Lakeside meet and I served as an official. We have been able to spend good time with friends on these weekends when we are home for swim meets, like the Washington Open. I even went out with Karen to see Prom Date Mixtape and their amazing 80s show at the Tractor Tavern. I also made my first visit ever to Seattle Children's Hospital with Reed - his swollen eye (peri orbital cellulitis) came back and we needed a second round of antibiotics. He has been a trooper about the whole thing and I think he finally kicked it.

Family Christmas!

On our last day of break we hosted our extended family for our Christmas Party. It was a ton of fun with 10 cousins in the younger generation and 10 of us old folks. We changed the format to appetizers and dessert, had games and a simple gift exchange, and lots of time for playing and conversations, and we all agreed it worked really well! I love my family and the icing on the cake is seeing the cousins match up and connect together. Bonus - getting to see James again after a long time apart. We are so excited for an incredible 2025 together!

JANUARY: Winter Break Ski Week at the Cabin Continues

Our Ski Vacation… I’ve lost count of what day it is. Ski. Snowshoe. Bridge. Hot Tub. Sledding. Movie. Good Sleep. Repeat…

New Year's Day: Edison and Sadie skied together and Charlotte and I skied with the Birgfelds! So fun! The girls broke off and did some big runs while I skied with Cade, Cally and Craig. It was a bluebird day and it was so great to be with friends!

January 2: Edison and Sadie headed home so he could do a couple swim team practices. Amazing snow up at Stevens today. Charlotte and I were ski buddies and went all over finding great stashes of powder and getting into the steeps and finding solitude: Corona Bowl, Tye Bowl, Big Chief Bowl, hiked up off Seventh Heaven to do the chutes. Being able to go into these immense spaces and feel like you are all alone is one of the features that makes Stevens Pass so incredible. Our most epic run was getting the fresh tracks, first run off Aquarius Face that was groomed and had about 3-4” of powder on top. Felt like skimming the top of a flat pond and just floating along, enjoying the bliss.

This afternoon Charlotte and I went on a snowshoe hike up to the lookout point over our little town of Plain and Beaver Valley. The steep trail was a challenge with the snowshoes, but the views were worth it. We rewarded ourselves with a hot tub. Charlotte had the great idea of sledding out of the hot tub… She is bravery than I am!

January 3: Day 12 of Skiing this Season… Charlotte and I ventured into some deep woods runs on this powder day at Stevens. It is official - we have burned out our quads after skiing five days in a row. Bonus - running into Robert Mann and doing some awesome runs with him. That’s another thing I love about Stevens Pass - we always run into friends! Plus, my new ski shell jacket works great. Yay! 

That night, Edison arrived with Drew and David. The teenage boy energy is intense, but I enjoy it. The stayed up until 1:30 AM sledding and being rowdy. It was wonderful to see them having a blast and enjoying the snow.

January 4: Skied with the Kurcinkas. Lots of powder! It was a bummer that Reed still isn't well enough to ski and go with Owen. I ended up being able to be the third wheel with Grace and Charlotte and we had a bunch of fun skiing fresh runs on the backside and off of the Double Diamond lift into Big Chief Bowl and the woods. Edison and his buddies went into Leavenworth.