Day with Daddy

The day with Daddy began very early this morning, just after midnight, when Mary cried out in her sleep and discovered DADDY had come to her rescue. Later, when I went to check on her, she said, "Daddy's home! Daddy's home! We're all together again!" At her request, Daddy came in for one more hug. They shared a loving, intimate moment as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed his face, and kicked her feet with joy and excitement. Then she rolled over and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

This morning at the reasonable hour of seven, David came in and happily crawled into bed between his mom AND HIS DAD. Oh happy day!

After Greg dutifully took care of the important task of cleaning and vacuuming the car, we drove over to The Canyons.

No, our intention was not to play in the bobsled again, but the cousins couldn't resist.

The purpose of our outing was to ride the gondola and go for a little hike. Here are some pictures of our fun adventure. Note that Uncle Andy, Aunt Charity, Caleb, Baby Annika, and Grandma Evie were all there too!

I am super proud of David for being so brave! Last year we did this same hike, and he was too scared to walk down to the creek because it made too much noise. He also didn't like the sound of the breeze in the aspens (my favorite sound!). And he thought he would be eaten by a bear. But this year he was a regular mountain man.

I am also super proud of Charity for jumping into the frigid water to save a Croc. (My feeling of pride also extends to Annika, who wisely did not jump into the water after her mom.)

Charity and my mom stayed to do some more hiking, and the rest of us headed down on the gondola.

After Greg, the kids, and I grabbed some lunch, we braved the Saturday crowds at the Olympic Park for the weekly ski jumping show.

David is so much fun at events like this. He totally gets into the cheering. This time instead of the standard "Woo! Hoo!" and "Alright!" he cheered, "You can do it!" and "Just do your best!" and "Don't give up!" It was kind of funny hearing a five-year-old cheer on professional athletes in such a manner.

The show was pretty amazing. We've been up there before watching beginners and intermediate amateurs, which is fun. I think having spent some time watching people learn how to do freestyle jumping made me appreciate the show. Most of these athletes have competed in the Olympics, and they were AMAZING! It was almost unreal.

I think what was the most unreal was how many stairs up the athletes have to carry their skis. I was amazed with these guys (and girl) before they even set foot on the jump!

Then look how high they jump.

Or even higher.

Or even higher!!

Plus imagine a millions flips, twists, and turns squeezed in there.

Wow!

When we left, David was worried that we wouldn't be staying here in the mountains where he could train to be a ski jumper. (Actually, he wants to be a snowboarder.) He knows that our move from Park City to Wisconsin is the nail in the coffin of his Olympic dreams. "Now I'm never going to be in the Olympics." Oh, David. Little does he know he's already missed his chances for the Olympics, slacker parents that we are.

Once at home, Daddy and Mary crashed, snoozing the afternoon away together. Meanwhile, Uncle Andy took Caleb and David swimming.

And the fun still isn't over! Charity, Andy, and Greg took all the kids to a free open air concert up at The Canyons. That is why the house is so quiet right now. That is why I am supposed to be packing. But that is also why I am blogging instead.

It was a fun day with Daddy, that's for sure. And now I'm going to think about packing...

Life marches on.