Isaac's Campaign Poster

Isaac has been working hard on his campaign
and coming up with creative ideas. He gives
his speech today.

All 7 of Us

I made a quick trip to Utah for EVO conference. At the end of the trip me & my siblings met up for photo shoot for my mom. It was actually fun. We were laughing so hard from all the jabs and one-liners that it made it hard to smile and hold still for the camera. Here are a few photos I grabbed off my mom's blog.

Ariel and the prayer

Ariel has been reciting the same prayer for close to a year now. She says that prayer at breakfast, dinner, and before bed. We are trying to teach her to pray from her heart and that it does not to be memorized. Last night before she started her prayer, Mike reminded her to change it up. Her changes are in italics.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this day. Please bless that Dad can go to work and see his best friends. Please bless Mom that she will exercise and brush her teeth better. Please bless that Elsie will take a nap everyday. Please bless that Isaac and Lucas can go to school. Please bless Lucas to be nice to me.

Elsie 1 1/2

It seems like everything electronic we own is in dire need of repair, including Mike's car. Having a faulty camera and computer takes the fun out of blogging. We are alive and well and having a great time but not doing a good job of documenting it. Elsie has done a lot of growing lately. She loves to communicate in full sentences with plenty of hand gestures.

Lucas loves to dote on Elsie. Last week he wanted to paint her toe nails. He did a real professional job including base coat, polish, top coat and little flower embellishments. Elsie loved it!

Ariel and Elsie both like dogs. Luckily for us, almost every neighbor has a dog so we don't feel like we need to get one. The girls love snuggling, walking, playing and giving treats to our neighbors' dogs.

p.s.

Annee, I felt your pain. They were in the bath a long time!

Bathtub girls

by Haley

13 Years

Trip Diary, Day 5

Why I Love Park City Mountain Resort as a Family Vacation Our family enjoying the greatest snow on earth!

1. Utah really does have the Greatest Snow on Earth! The snow that falls from the Utah sky is dry and light, or in other words POWDER. The water content drops as it crosses the Sierra Madre Mountains and makes it perfect for skiing when it arrives in Utah. 2. Park City Mountain Resort Rentals is a great rental shop on the mountain. The staff is friendly, efficient and informative. If some of your gear needs a little tweaking, they gladly tweak. My son's boots did not dry out overnight so they swapped them for a dry pair the next morning. They provide complimentary overnight storage a few feet away from PayDay lift. This is a huge bonus when you are a mother of 4 young kids. It makes coming and going to the slopes EASY.

3. PCMR has Mountain Hosts everywhere. These hosts were lifesavers to me. I needed to be at ski school at the base of the mountain in 10 minutes to pick up my kids but I was too far up the mountain, so a host took my map and, turn-by-turn, showed me every shortcut to make it there in time. You can tell a mounatin host what type of terrain you are looking for and they will knowledgeably show you where to go. 4. Park City Mountain Resort has a Town Lift. How sweet it is to have a lift which takes you right into downtown Park City. Every Christmas Santa makes his grand entrance on this lift to a lively party on Main Street. 5. It is undisputed that PCMR has the BEST ski/snowboard school. Park City Mountain Resort offers a Signature 3 ski program for kids 3 1/2 to 5 years old, with a ratio of 3 kids to one instructor. Their Signature 5 program is for children ages 6-14. These lessons are with 5 or fewer students per instructor. My kids have enjoyed all their instructors, the lunches provided, and the treats and hot chocolate breaks throughout a cold day. Other resorts charge extra for small classes.

6. Park City is a fun place to be all year round. Park City Mountain Resort has fantastic night skiing with newly updated eco-friendly lights, the best terrain parks and superpipe in the country, Gorgoza tubing park with mini snowmobiles for the kids, the Alpine coaster in the winter and the Alpine slide in the summer. Ariel modeling her "must have" favorites at the outlet

In the winter there is snowmobiling, sleigh rides, ice skating, shopping, great eating, Nordic skiing and snow shoeing. At the Utah Olympic Park you can take a bobsled ride or experience a ski jump, with a zip-line, at the 2002 Olympic bobsled, luge and ski jump site. Park City is also home to the annual Sundance Film Festival and a playground to celebrities. 7. Park City is VERY accessible. I can catch a morning flight out of Indianapolis...bench made of luggage at the Indy airport

...and be in Park City in time to pick up passes, rentals and an afternoon lesson. Park City Mountain Resort is an easy and safe 30 minute ride from Salt Lake City airport. Most resorts require a treacherous ride on windy, steep roads which makes your heart race and palms sweat. A multi-lane freeway connects Salt Lake City to Park City through Parley's Canyon which even big city buses can navigate with ease. I have loved my experience as a Snowmama.

Trip Diary, Day 4

We all agree it is sad to see our week in Park City come to an end. We all disagree on what was the highlight of our adventure.

Mike felt where we stayed, the Silver Star condo, was luxurious and relaxing. It was a great place to gather with friends and family after a day in the snow. Silver Star in Park City, Utah

Snowmama Lisa in the terrain park.

Lisa loved the great snow conditions, getting more comfortable in the terrain parks and boarding with instructor, Jared Tron, in the superpipe.

Isaac loved the Adventure Alleys. He made sure he boarded down all five. Although he enjoyed them all, TNT and Detonator were his top two favorites.Isaac cruising through Detonator, one of the Adventure Alleys.

Lucas was happy and proud that he was able to ride on so many lifts and successfully get off of Crescent, Silverlode, King Con and PayDay. Lucas loving the lift rides with his family.

Ariel tried as often as she could to get into the hot tub or swimming pool. She was probably in her swimming suit more than her snow clothes. Elsie & Ariel in pool.

Elsie was happily obliged to spend her days snuggling and hanging out with either set of her grandparents while the rest of us hit the slopes.

What a fantastic family ski vacation. Thanks Park City Mountain Resort for the great facilities and snow!

Trip Diary, Day 3

Lisa and Haley taking a break at Silver Star lift, Park City Mountain Resort. We are staying at a fabulous ski in/ski out condo called Silver Star with many great amenities which we are taking full advantage of. It has a full size gourmet kitchen, washer and dryer, fireplace, grill, hot tub on our balcony, and another one next to a delightfully warm swimming pool. Silver Star offers complimentary shuttle service for jaunts around Park City. This makes it easy to visit Main street and not have to worry about finding parking. My favorite feature is its proximity to the Silver Star ski lift at Park City Mountain Resort. The lift is literally just steps away from the door of our condo. This is beyond convenient. The general manager, Steve Perkins, has bent over backwards to make sure our needs are met. Mike cooking up some burgers and hot dogs on our deck at the Silver Star condo. The weather is also totally on board for making this vacation perfect by snowing at night and letting the sun shine during the day. Park City Mountain Resort recorded 5 inches of new snow last night. Isaac and I made first tracks this morning. Spring skiing means the slopes are much less crowded so it is easier to find untouched powder throughout the day. The conditions are so excellent today that we boarded longer than we originally planned. The snow was SO good in fact that Mike said today was the best boarding day in his memory. Another major draw to spring skiing is the balmy weather and a plethora of sunshine. Late this afternoon, the kids and I spent several hours relaxing at the heated pool. Seriously, there is nothing more ideal than spending the morning and early afternoon carving in fresh powder snow and finishing the day off sunning out by the pool. We have already accomplished several things on our vacation to do list: freestyle snowboard lessons, snowboarding in the terrain park, swimming/hot tubbing, shopping at the outlets, eating great food, ski with Mary. Things on our list that we still want to do: alpine coaster, historic mountain tour, walk down Main Street, Snowmama meet up on Friday, ride the Town lift to downtown historic Park City. We are here for two more days and the forecast calls for at least another foot of snow! Life is good.

Trip Diary, Day 2

The Snowmama blogger "Mondays with Mary" says it is the altitude that is causing my insomnia. After tossing and turning until 4 AM last night, I decided to get up and do something useful. I made a quick run to the nicest Walmart I have ever been to for much-needed aloe vera for our sunburned faces. Before we left the condo at 8:30 AM this morning to get our kids to snowboard school, Mike masterfully prepared delicious ham, egg and cheese muffins for the family. What a hearty start to an energy-intensive day.Since we rent our snowboards and gear from Park City Mountain Resort for our entire stay, we are able to store it in a complimentary locker at the slopes. It is so convenient to pick it up right there--a real perk! Mike and I hit the slopes to work on some of the skills we were taught yesterday in our freestyle lessons. Snow conditions were good. Mel & Denise, Dina, Wayne and Calysta joined us for lunch at Legacy Lodge. Legacy has the BEST kobe beef meatloaf I have ever eaten. Really. It is a must try! During our lunch, the sun turned the snow into a sticky mess. After that, snowboarding was a challenge so we focused on the gorgous weather, beautiful surroundings and great company for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner, we went exploring to the charming alpine village of Heber City. We dined on award-winning brisket and pulled pork at Tommy's Texas BBQ, nestled among authentic Old West buildings. We half expected to see Clint Eastwood eating barbecue ribs at the table next to us. Back in Park City, we met up with Mandy & Brian & kids for a relaxing swim and some hot-tubbing at our condo. The kids partied with us until 11:00 PM, snacking on cookie dough, before crashing in bed.This is SO not like home. We are making memories we will cherish for a lifetime. As I sit here watching the Utah Jazz beat the Lakers, I see snow gently falling outside our window. Tomorrow is looking to be a really good day.

Trip Diary, Day 1

Today was a fun-filled, amazing, incredible, perfect sunny day framed by deep blue sky against pure white snow. Some of us have sunburned faces to prove it.Mike and I took 1/2 day freestyle snowboarding lessons from the oh-so-talented instructor, Casey Mills. Casey is knowledgable, passionate and enthusiastic about what he is teaching. He tweaked our form to help us improve our carving and terrain park skills. Many of the stunts we tried were difficult and we were often frustrated. But as Casey challenged us, he kept reminding us to relax and enjoy the journey and he made it fun. We spent a lot of time working on and improving our apporach, take off, maneuvers and landings on jumps. One surprising thing I learned today was that little adjustments make a big difference in one's snowboarding ability. Thought of the Day: Take lessons. They are well worth it and will save you time and effort.

Isaac's Article on SnowMamas.com

A Snowkid's Take: Good Gear for Bad Weather By Snowkid Ike, 9

This Christmas I went snowboarding with my family at Park City Mountain Resort. Sometimes there was bad weather and you needed the right gear.

Here are some things that made a big difference for me. This year I grew out of my snow bibs and my mom bought me some snow pants. I like the way they look and feel but there were some problems. Snowboarding in all that powder I got snow down my pants and up my shirt!

By the end of the day my pants were wet and the bottom of my shirt was crusty with snow. Bibs are better.

My family went snowboarding on some good days and on some really blizzardy days. I had lots of fun every time because I had all the right gear.

These are my 4 most important suggestions to keep you warm and comfortable:

Snow bibs - They stay up better and keep the snow out

Ski socks - They made my toes toasty and my feet comfy in my tight boots

Balaclava - This is a hat type that covers head, neck, chin and ears. It keeps out the cold and wind and keeps you warm

Goggles - They helped me see better on the lift and snowboarding down the hill. Goggles keep the snow and wind out of your eyes. If you are not wearing goggles you do not want to go fast. My goggles have an extra lens that is yellow. It helped me see better on the really snowy days.

Those things are the special gear that helped me snowboard.

Snow days

Last month we had several snow days. The first week of February we had 3 snow days in a row because the ice was so thick. My kids took to sledding off our front porch and deck. They could go forever because the ground was like a big ice rink.

NYC trip, part 1

The Hawkes girls spent last weekend in NYC to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. It was what girls' weekends should be with laughter, eating, shopping, talking and little sleep.
One of the highlights was eating at the 21 Club. The food was delicious. The service was impeccable. The waiter and bartender were fun and witty.
The meatpacking district food tour is so great some of us have done it twice. Curt, our tour guide, was a great comedian and a lot of laughs.
We had lots of amazing pizzas. Grimaldi's and Lombardi's are still my favorites.
Katie wanted to make her boys proud so she debuted her break dancing moves with the home boys in the subway station to Black-eyed Peas.
I loved meeting up with my dear friend, Cori Fugal.