Pinetop Here We Come...

For the 3rd year in a row we headed up to Pinetop to enjoy our Christmas break and celebrate the New Year with our friends, the Stevens. There is no better place to completely relax, and as always I planned to enjoy my time off by doing absolutely nothing! I did compromise a little as I left the cabin a couple of times for some great family outings!

On our first day there we met Grandpa Dan in St. John's (he manages the SRP plant located there) and went exploring! Thanks to a friend of his, Carl, who has lived in St. John's for several years, we had a personal tour of the Indian ruins in the area! It was very elite as we went to places that only privileged individuals like Carl have keys too! The first stop was a mini petrified forest! I have never seen petrified wood in nature before, so it was pretty amazing to see a huge fallen tree turned to rock! Grandpa Dan turned the adventure into a competition and sent the kids off to find the most amazing and the largest piece of petrified wood they could carry home! After everyone was satisfied with their selection we were back on the dirt road and off to the next stop which was in an area that was literally covered with ancient Indian pottery. It was a surreal expeirence to find pieces of pottery that were created thousands of years ago. I tried very hard to find an entire pot but no luck! While that didn't happen I did find awesome pieces with great black and white designs. After our hunt for pottery we headed off to view what Carl referred to as moonscape. It was the back side of the Painted Desert and it was truly a stunning sight!  We were in the middle of nowhere and most likely not a place many people get to see which was pretty cool! It was a great day and really made me realize how much of Arizona I still need to see!

 

looks like wood but feels like a rock...very strange

what did you find Brendan...oh your cell phone

Sherry & Jax

hunting for pottery

the closest thing I found to a whole pot...5 pieces

Anna in between two Maddy's!

Our other outing for the week included a trip to Sunrise to take the kids skiing! Since the kids had never been skiing before we decided it would be best to sign them up for ski school. The whole thing was really quite an ordeal and just a heads up for anyone wanting to do the ski school package (especially over a school holiday)...get there early! It is very hectic and you have to go to one building to sign them up for school then another building to fit them for equipment then back to another area to wait for the lessons, which is also a big cluster. Because the ski rental is included in the package with the lesson it really is worth the headache but next time I will be renting somewhere else and taking the equipment with me because the chaos and crowds at Sunrise may have brought out the worst in me. After the nearly 2 hour ordeal of getting the kids situated it was finally time!  I was a little nervous that the kids weren't going to enjoy it or worse that they wouldn't be able to do it, but they did great! They aren't going to be doing competitions anytime soon but they did their best and hey that's all I ever ask for!

After the practice was over we convinced the kids to go back up to the top of the bunny hill and keep trying. I could tell they were exhausted and not yet comfortable with the sport but they went back up several more times anyway! Jaxson was so dedicated that after flying down the mountain and crashing to a stop he popped off his skis and walked back up the mountain since taking the lift took too long! He must have gone up and down 20 times! It was such a fun expeirence and I was so proud of everyone! They worked so hard and by the time we left they were really starting to get the hang of it. They can't wait to do it again and I can't either!

I could have taken pictures of this little ski bunny all day...this is a good look for her!

Trent made it down just in time to catch the first part of the lesson!

Having never skied before I can't judge but that just looks awkward!

Aiden had Santa Claus for a ski instructor!

Sherry catching some sun on a very hot day!

Exhausted but still smiling

Now this is how you get up the mountain...

Aiden's first time on the lift...he was soooo nervous but he ended up loving it!

That's one way to stop Jaxson!

He's Up!!!!!

He's down!!!

Good Maddie...keep those knees together just like they taught you!

Just taking a little break

who needs a ski lift???

You guys are supposed to sit back on the lift not fall onto the lift

still tangled up

now they got it!...so cute

Practice makes perfect....by the end of the day Anna made it down on her feet!