Love Hate Relationship

Until recently snow and I had a hate-hate relationship. Need I explain this? Snow means cold... and the possibility of falling with no prior warning. Ok, I guess that's ice, but it seems they go hand-in-hand. In spite of this our last trip to Utah with BJ's family added a bit of love in my heart for the stuff. Maybe it was the fact that this time I was in Utah not as a student or working person but really as a visitor and therefore I had time to enjoy some outdoor winter recreation without a test or something looming over my head.

Since we're all native Californians, it took a while to decide what to do in the stuff. So we lounged.

Then we decided to build a snowman.
Cliff jumping into a pile of snow is also fun.
Especially when you do it as a group with your brother and bro-in-law.
And then realize you blew out your knees because your pile was not deep enough.

Here's me. I jumped. I know, so high.
Now snowboarding... I'll be honest, it brings out the worst in me. But a frustrating day on the slopes is always better when you run into an old high school friend. Beej with buddy Dave at Sundance.

One day we decided to go snowshoeing. I have done it a few times before, but I have to say this time was the most fun. I went with my brothers and sisters-in-law and took Ava along too. She slept the entire time. Beej, poor guy, had to stay home and study. We ended up blazing our own trails once we got up on the ridge, but then we got stuck and had to slide down the mountain. Ava the adventurer...and she didn't even know it. Too bad the sliding pictures didn't turn out. You'd be jealous of the good times we had. Nat, Abby, Ava and I took time to admire the incredible view of Midway. So basically it was like snow activity marathon for us for a few days, and now I can say I don't hate the snow. I enjoyed it, but did not cry when I left it behind to return to 65 degree January weather in CA.