...And not so wisely (Laughing in the face of danger that is)

On Sunday we set out for a snowshoeing stroll up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Donut Falls.
It was kind of a monumental day for us because we did something with other married people.  We quite enjoyed it, just as suspected.  Hopefully it is the start of a new trend.

Anyway, we were surprised how untouched the snow was.  People must have been a little weary of venturing away from the trail.  Not us however.  The boys decided that they would carefully find their way up to the falls. Just a few steps into their journey, Billy fell through the snow into the river.  I felt a little bad, but since I knew he was fine, I couldn't stop laughing.

Despite Jana's concerns, they pressed on.  I reassured all the ladies that Brent was smart enough to know when the slope wasn't safe.  They had to stop before they reached the top because they didn't really know where the hole of the donut was and they didn't really want to find out by falling through the snow and then the hole into the falls.  They were slightly less careful on the way down.  Brent's careless maneuvers caused an avalanche.

Just a little one, but big enough to make some decent noise and look pretty cool.  Can't wait for next Sunday.

We laugh in the face of danger....wisely.

Remember when it snowed and snowed and snowed last week in the Wasatch Mountains? Maybe you don't because you don't live here. Maybe you were deceived by the lack of snow on the valley floor. Whatever the reason, you should know that Snowbird got 7 feet of snow in 7 days.  Brent and I however, were not able to enjoy the snowy bliss until the weekend, and we enjoyed it on snowshoes rather than skis.
Saturday brought us together with Lindsey, Jace, and Sarah (Jace's sister...we really like her). We went up Millcreek Canyon to Porter Fork.  After the well traveled trail on Porter Fork, we shot off onto the snowy slopes for adventure. Naturally, we chose our paths wisely due to the extremely high avalanche danger.  Here are the results.

                                                        

                                                        

                                                        

                              

This is my new favorite picture.

The Incredible Christmas 09' Extravaganza

Oh Christmas Oh Christmas how we miss you so. Christmas was wonderful and fun at the Lovell household this year. We left Christmas Eve from SLC and were blessed to pick up a neighborhood friend of Ashley's on our way to Boise. This seems to be a repeating trend for us, but sadly for our guests, we never make our trips any shorter or less awkward for them. On our way to Boise we stopped into see Aunt Brenda in the large town of Rupert, Idaho. We were only there about thirty minutes and the poor guy sat in between Ashley and Aunt Brenda the whole time they talked.

We stopped in because we wanted to go to a hamburger joint that my parents went to once in their travels from Yakima to Salt Lake City. Aunt Brenda kindly shared with us the name and location of the greasy hamburger joint (a Thompson tradition). We first went to Brenda's though because she had just pulled out a fresh loaf of bread and we could not turn down the invitation to take it home to Boise with us. We then continued on to find the hamburger place.

It was great fun and they had a a lot of variety on their menu, or in reality no menu. Your only choice was a hamburger, fries, and a drink and that is it. What more could you ask for? We made the easy order and waited. As we sat, Ashley mockingly commented on a lady who was paying with a check, because in all reality who pays with checks these days...this comment was quickly taken back when we were forced to pay with a check when we found out later that they did not except debit or credit.

The rest of Christmas went great with an amazing Pizza Hut pizza the night of Christmas Eve and lots of fun and games. On Christmas day I was the only one to wake up in the middle of the night to put out Santa's presents under the tree. Therefore, this earned me the right of the Christmas Vest. Slackers!

Some Christmas pictures for you liking.

 

This present was sadly given to Madison.

We opened presents and then went for a hike up the infamous and incredibly challenging Table Top Rock, or so is the name I remember (believed to have another name - "It's Table Rock" - Ashley). It was not only awe inspiring but incredible spritual and full of rich family moments that none of us will forget nor be able to get out of our minds. Oh wait, that means the exact same thing.

The trail was slippery and muddy but not too bad. We did have fun sliding and taking pictures on top. The end was the best when Ashley and I raced Laurie, Lindsey, and Jace to the car and as Jace just beat us we looked around for Ashley who came into sight slightly limping and laughing as she had just tripped flat on her face far behind the view of any of us. No injuries luckily occurred...only a little bruised pride and Ashley saying, "don't worry, don't worry about me, I'm fine."

We both thought the view and experience was fun but Ashley was so inspired by the endeavor that she became very serious at times, (or maybe just maybe she was more exited than us all)

We concluded the evening with bowling and we got a little carried away with Laurie's new camera and Crazy Bowl. Here are a few highlights of the game.

Ashley showing here multiple talents and abilities with the most strikes during Crazy Bowl.

Lindsey was awarded best form and most daring.

Brent was awarded nothing but only wonder and respect for the unknown.

Crazy Bowl Crew

And to celebrate Lee we ended the night in style!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Madison Sparling

This one is for Ashley's cutest niece.....or so is her opinion. I may say other wise. (Sorry Kaley) 

 This is Mad-dawg trying out for Karate Kid but with a creeper face.

Madison is not only a Karate Expert but a Broadway singer.