Bobsledding in Park City

Once upon a time, many years ago, I took Tyson to Park City for his birthday with the intent of sending him down the bobsled at the Olympic Park. We arrived just minutes after the cutoff time, thus foiling my plan. I always wanted to take him back, but it never worked out.

7 1/2 years later Tyson mentioned the story to the Utah Olympic Park bobsled lady who came in to be on his news show and she said, "Well, come on back and bring your wife!" As luck would have it, she was able to get a spot for my Dad to ride as well. Awesome, since it was on his bucket list. So, Tuesday afternoon, March 6th, we headed up to Park City.

Now this was not on my bucket list because of the stories I'd heard of painful bobsled rides, but at $200 a person if we were paying, I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Nevertheless I was pretty nervous. Tyson was ecstatic. When he got the phone call that morning that we could go, he whooped and jumped in the air.

The kids had so much fun up on the mountain and chattering with the bobsled personnel. We are thankful to their Grandma who watched them while we signed consent forms and took our actual ride.

We were the last group of 12 runs down the mountain so we had plenty of time to wait and watch.

We zoomed down the (almost) mile long track in 54.23 seconds at 85 mph with 4-5 g-forces. Now that I know what to expect, I need to do it again so I can enjoy it more! (Driving home from Park City in a snowstorm is way scarier than bobsledding.) It was more fun than I expected, though if I ever get to go again, I will definitely have a massage lined up for the next day. My neck and shoulders are so sore from the g-forces pushing them down and me pushing my head back up again. Fun experience!

The Train Show

On March 3rd, Ogden's Union Station hosted a model train show. Along with Grandpa Jim, we decided the appropriate mode of transportation to get us there would be Frontrunner. You should have seen Lydia. She would gaze out the window in fascination, then smile to herself slowly, then turn to us and burst out in joyful laughter. She was so excited to be on a "Choo-Choo!"

Tyler and Grandpa Jim on Frontrunner.

Having a good time at the train show.

Sometimes even Superman takes a train ride.

Winter Wednesday Zoo Trip

Every so often in the winter there is a free zoo day in Salt Lake City. Today was such a day, so as soon as Tyson got home from work, we bundled up the kids and away we went!

And I mean, really bundled. :-)

Look how close!

I was SO excited to see the baby elephant. Even at 2 1/2 , she's still just little and cute!

Even something as simple as a rooster can be so beautiful. Look at those colors. Nice job, Heavenly Father.

Am I inside the cage with the gorilla or have my camera skills gotten better to where you can't see the glass?

Majestic

Still my favorite. Lydia's too. "Bumbo! Bumbo!"

What Lydia does when Tyler's at preschool

As much as Lydia misses Tyler when I drop him off at preschool, the minute we get home she makes a beeline for his room. This is her latest favorite thing to do in there. Love it.

Snow Days

Playing in the snow makes Tyler so happy.

Seeing Lydia all bundled up in snow pants makes me happy. :-)

Taking his kids sledding is what Tyson looked forward to the most when we had our first big snowstorm.

And they loved it! Now whenever Lydia sees the sled in the garage, she points to it and says, "Whee!"

Tyler has been so anxious to build a snowman, so when we finally had another big snowstorm, the boys set to work (with Lydia right behind) even though the sun was going down. The other thing down was our snowman. The boys got so excited, they rolled the middle ball too heavy to lift onto the base. So he is sleeping.

Hillier Family Photos

As a Christmas present for my parents, Justin and Michelle arranged for family pictures taken by Lisa's boyfriend, Branden. So on a bright, cold December day we had a Hillier Family photo shoot.

This is my absolute favorite.

Joy - Christmas 2011

Christmastime truly is magical. Tyson and I were so blessed to have so many of our family members be in our same town this Christmas. We spent a wonderful, fun Christmas Eve full of parties, food, and smiles with brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, and nephews that we don't get to see too often because they live out of state.

I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday. It was extra special this year because Tyson was asked to narrate the Ward Christmas program at Church. Then we were able to spend the whole rest of the day with family.

I entitled this post Joy because of the collection of photos I was able to capture this year. The look on their faces says it all.

What Tyler wanted the most for Christmas this year was a toy moving truck. After much searching I told him they are hard to find in stores and online. He was 100% certain that Santa's elves could make him one. It was a small miracle that Grandma Joyce ran into a wood working elf in mid-December and she was able to pass along Tyler's Christmas wish (though he'd already told Santa himself). Tyler was right! Look at the beautiful result of that elf's hard work.

This is my Christmas joy.

The kids both received so many presents they loved, but the funny thing is, at the end of the day, Tyler's favorite was a bag of cotton balls and Lydia's was a box of fishy cracker whales. So simple.

This pretty much sums it up. Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!

Lydia's 18 Month Pictures

Look at these adorable pictures! We took Lydia to my friend's in-home studio (AHM Photography) which is one of the most fun inside studios I've ever been to. But Lydia wanted nothing to do with it. Poor little girl was up on the stage signing, "All done? All done?" While the rest of us were running around all silly and trying to make her laugh. It must have worked enough to get these shots. She's so cute!

She was actually the most excited to wear this, her "Bumbo!" outfit.