Absolutely Awesome Eight: Happy 17th Brinley! - Yellowstone, Park City & Logan

The day after Christmas, Brinley packed a bag and headed to West Yellowstone with friends. Haley's dad (Brett) let Haley invite a few buddies to tag along since he had been given a one-night stay in a king-sized unit at a Worldmark resort. It coincided perfectly with Brinley's 17th birthday!

Brinley, Rachel, Niki

Brinley, Rachel, Niki, Haley, Christine, Lacy

Brinley - looking out the window at resort

On balcony - checking out ALL the snow!

The girls went to the new Star Wars movie, ate pizza, swam in an indoor pool, had an 'incident' with a bathtub overflowing with bubbles and stayed up way too late. Brett was a real trooper and probably kept reminding himself he was leaving for Hawaii the next day. Literally. Ha-ha! With the snowy roads and slick conditions, Brinley finally arrived home around 3pm (Tues, Dec. 27) - just in time to re-pack and get ready for another unexpected adventure.

Long story short, Aaron just so happened to snag two nights at the Worldmark resort in Park City, UT for December 27-28. This ski-town resort is a happening hot-spot especially during the holidays. It's already booked out for 2017. We could hardly believe our good fortune and took advantage of the opportunity. Not sure how thrilled Brinley was to spend most of her birthday traveling in a car but I think she was happy with the end results! We pulled in and unloaded with time to properly celebrate via birthday cake and opening presents. The kids were surprised I actually packed along some ice cream!

Brinley - opening presents in Park City, UT

Art supplies, purse, gift card to Ross, Adidas pants & fabric to recover pillows

Sampler birthday cake = 4-in-1 flavors.

Happy 17th Birthday Brinley!

We love you and are so grateful you're part of our family.

The Chinese food tradition took place the following day when we stopped at Panda Express for lunch after visiting the outlets in the area. Later that afternoon, some of the kids braved the cold weather and swam in the outdoor heated pool/hot tub.

Anna & Elsie

Jantzen - swimming laps in heated pool.

Quinn & Aaron stayed in the hot tub area.

View from small balcony - ski lift/skiers below.

We didn't ski but sure enjoyed the ambiance of this quaint resort nestled in the mountains. Next on our bucket list was to see the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. As we drove down Parley's Canyon, Aaron and I reminisced about the cabin trips we used to make years ago (parents had two different cabins). Strange to realize most of our kids don't share these memories.

After navigating our way into a parking garage, Aaron promptly removed the toboggan sled we had strapped to the top of the Yukon. It was a little too close for comfort! Braving the bitter cold, we quickly made the rounds through Temple Square along with a slew of other crazy people.

We enjoyed our personal tour of the Conference Center very much. The kids had fun finding their great-great-great...grandfather's (Marriner Wood Merrill) portrait on the wall in the area designated for past members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We took an elevator to the top for the city views but the guides didn't let people explore the roof due to the weather. Interesting fact, even with all the vegetation (trees/grasses), no soil is used on the roof due to its weight. Instead, a combination of crushed shale and peat moss is the growing medium used during spring/summer.

Thawing out in the car, we returned to Park City for another night before heading to CV the next afternoon. We were excited to spend a few days with extended family who were visiting in the area, Taylor's family from China and McKay's family from Pennsylvania.

Jenna, Anna, G-pa, Brinley, Quinn

June, Jen & Taylor

June, Quinn, Will - matching pj pant pattern

McKay & Taylor - can you tell they're brothers?

June - playing in the snow

The cousins had a fabulous time sledding in the neighborhood and went a few different times. In the end, the hassle-factor of hauling two sleds in/on our car was worth it since the kids had so much fun.

June & Elsie

Quinn throwing snowballs

Tricia & Heather

After enjoying a long walk/talk together, Tricia and I tried to take a few pictures of the kids sledding but decided it was too darn cold. Taking our gloves off long enough to capture a quality photo hardly seemed worth it at the time! Here's one of the younger boys after they returned.

Quinn, Jameson, Will, Thomas

Because biking in St. George the week before wasn't enough for these two, they donned winter apparel and hit the snowy mountains fatboy bike style. I think that's all McKay really wanted to do to celebrate his 42nd birthday:). Then again, he did bring up his very own ginormous chocolate cake (Costco) to help us all celebrate his big day. This was after we ate a tasty dinner of reuben sandwiches of course. Oh, and Jen's homemade guacamole was incredible.

McKay, Jameson, Elsie, June, Will, Quinn, Korinne, Taylor

Sharing the love...yum!

Jen & Taylor

Tricia & McKay

Hilary & Adam

Heather & McKay - sampling a bite the next day.

While the cousins played and watched movies, the adults talked and were either foot-zoned or did foot-zoning. It was fantastic to have Jen practice on a few of us - including me! It's been a while since I've been on the receiving end and Jen did a wonderful job. Some of us also enjoyed attending the temple and doing work for family names on Friday morning (Dec. 30).

Jessica, Jenna, Korinne, Elsie, Anna

Back: McKay, Kristen, Cameron, Jenna, Jantzen, Brinley, Heather, Hilary, Tricia
Front: Steve w/Thomas, Jessica, Elsie, Anna, Quinn

The morning of December 31, Taylor's family left early for the airport. By late afternoon, Aaron and I loaded up our crew to return home. With more snow in the forecast, teenagers who had "plans" and responsibilities the next day, we sent a group picture/video wishing Tanner a "Happy New Year" and said our good-byes. It would have been nice to visit longer with family we don't see often enough:(.

After staying up way past bedtime the night before chatting with Tricia and McKay, I didn't keep my eyes open to officially ring in 2017. After church the next day (January 1), Elsie insisted we keep tradition alive and needed to bust out the fondue pot. Chocolate covered whatever-we-had-in-the-house worked!