Winter's Epic Arrival!

January 19th, we finally had the storm system we'd been waiting for.  It started snowing Friday night and stopped mid day through Saturday. Total accumulation at our house was 8 inches. Other parts of the valley had more. The mountains got well over a foot, maybe two? The point is, we got some precipitation on our thirsty landscape! 

This was Jupiter's first experience with snow. She was thrilled. But no one was more excited than Ava of course! She's been dreaming of a white landscape for months haha! One happy girl!

We had to go to Delta on Sunday for a family get-together. Driving through the passes and valleys through the winter wonderland was breathtaking. I enjoyed the views and had to stop and take some pictures.

Blue sky and white ground. Welcome Winter! 

New Pup!

We have a new family member; a Border Collie named Jupiter. She's Ava's pup and her responsibility. She's a really smart and sweet dog. I think she wants to keep us :)
Jupiter and Ava can keep up with each other's energy.

Willow loves anything to do with arts and crafts. Here she is painting life on dusty bones :)

I love how many colors she uses. Matches her colorful, sparkly personality :)

On days that Willow goes to preschool, I've been hiking around the mini-mountains with the dogs. We all get exercise and I get some quiet. I've been trying to go different places each time. I ran the dogs on the large and small salt flats. Mostly we hike up to tall places to see the views. I always enjoy the beauty of our valley.

The dogs on their perches feeling empowered....

As you can see, there's still hardly any snow on the mountain tops and it's mid January! I'll continue these desert wandering trips once a week unless the temps are frigid; snow or none.

Small Salt flat

Just when I think I've completely worn these two crazies out, they look at me like "What's next?"

It's supposed to snow (finally!) in a couple of days. The forecast looks epic ~  calling for 8-12 inches in the valleys and 12-24 inches in the mountains. You never know what materializes weather-wise in the Great Basin. I'm hoping we get a nice dump. I think Old Man Winter is finally going to arrive and give the dry landscape some relief! Bring it on! 

Park City, Utah Ski Trip

Park City here we come! We had an extended weekend and had this trip planned with friends and family for a while. We really had a great time. The first day we were there was "National Kiss a Ginger Day." Didn't know that existed, but I happily participated! Haha

We thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub! Repeatedly.

Charlie and Ava enrolled into snowboard school. They have skied before but this was the first time on the board. They both really enjoyed it. I think they both want to stick to it.

Aunt Cheryl, Nomi, Willow, and myself walked around Park City......

We took Willow to the parking area at the resort and she tried out her cross country skis for the first time. I think she is ready and eager to take a lesson herself :)

Bryan took some photos of Ava and Isaac for me up on the mountain.....

We reunited for lunch, then the crew returned to the lift for some more runs.....

Group shot:

It was nice to meet up with everyone. We all had a great time. Ava really, really wants it to snow in Snake Valley now! Haha