Park City and all that Jazz....

You would think with 2 weeks off with nothing to do but ski I would have had plenty of time to update a blog, read emails, but no, instead the gentle slowing down over the previous two weeks slid to a total stop with only four things I was able to do. 1) Ski, 2) wash the clothes 3) sleep and finally what remaining hours I had left play solitaire (with real cards not on a phone!)

The hours whittled by on the slope and anyone that skis/boards will tell you that a fair amount of it is spent swinging in the chair lifts. When it’s icy cold conversation stops as ones face is fully covered to stop it going numb. It was perfect quiet and reflective time and honestly I miss the whole adventure already.

Steve not so much! Four days before we left Steve had two nasty falls on the slopes and is still sporting a whopper of a black and green bruise on his thigh. If you haven’t already read the previous blog. – do so, he wrote a funny ode about skiing and this was before he had his major falls!

Kyran and Erin had a fantastic time learning to snowboard and finished by being able to ride more difficult slopes. Erin’s confidence seemed to disappear every time she left the teachers care but I know she’s got it and at 9 years old I’m sure she’ll be back on the slopes with me in the future. Kyran, typically, was faster, less patient and emulating a few more spunky moves. Confidence on the slopes can be deceptive as to ones actual skill and two days before we left Kye had a major fall. He veered off into a small alley, full of confidence that he’d done it many times before with his teacher but at the other end he didn’t turn up! I traipsed up the hill and through the trees to find him on the ground being comforted by a dad and his children. The father asked me if Kyran could speak English because he wasn’t answering him! The shock of two falls in the alley and losing his board into the trees was a bit much for Kyran and he sat there while we hunted for the board. As shock does, he didn’t realize his wrist was in a lot of pain and we were able to get down to the restaurant with no further falls. This was lucky because about 10 minutes later we realized his wrist was sprained and required wrapping. I thank the Lord that he didn’t fall a third time on the journey down the mountain and move the sprain into something more serious. He tells me that he'll be fine for Breckenridge and can't wait to get back on the board. We will wait and see but I am happy that it didn't dent his enthusiasm for the snow.

Erin made use of a day off by building a fort out of snow with dad (who was no longer skiing). Her imagination and Steve’s determination with a recycling bin filled with snow yielded excellent results as seen in the pictures. Erin of course took the teddies along for moral support. I and Kyran turned up and after 20 minutes of helping them I needed a nap – it's way harder building a fort than skiing!

We found a book shop in Park City and Kyran has already got through two huge books he bought there The series is called ‘The land of Stories’ and he is already addicted! Erin is still working her way through the first book she brought along 4 weeks ago! My kids are very different!

Also, we definitely recommend a visit to the museum in Main Street. I love the history of Park City. I would have liked to go to Salt Lake City but Steve wasn't keen for visits other than to watch Utah Jazz basketball team which was an evening adventure. Steve is teaching Kyran the excellent skill of how to milk ones contacts for tickets. He has so many friends and contacts everywhere. I don't know how he does it. It may explain the constant use of the computer????!!! I still have no idea of the rules of the game and yet I think I have more to attend….where’s the ballet??

Overall the two week trip was great. Off the slopes Park City has some excellent restaurants. (Thai, Sushi, Italian were all fantastic) Food was amazing but good service was sporadic. We had a lot of Russian and eastern bloc servers who argued about our bookings, forgot to bring food, took phone calls while in the middle of talking to you and took away plates before we finished. We couldn’t work out the connection of Eastern Block to Park City but it was weird being in a Thai restaurant and not seeing a Thai face!

It’s off to Denver for work (Steve), basketball and visiting friends. I’ve been badgering the children to write up something on the trip to post. You can tell the difference in their enthusiasm below!

Snowboarding in Park City by Kyran Dunn

Here is what I enjoyed about snowboarding:

1. Learning how to strap/unstrap and turn

2. Going up the chair lifts

3. Going down the slopes

4. Having lunch everyday

5. Snowboarding in general

What I didn’t like:

1. Spraining my wrist: This is really the only thing I didn’t like, and this is how it went. I was going down a blue slope (Hard), when I suddenly fell and landed on my wrist really hard. I couldn’t move it at all. I called for Mum but she was to far ahead to hear. I was close to the end, so I picked up my board (with my good hand), and carried it all the way to the end. I met Mum there and so she called for the First Aid people to come. They eventually came and put my wrist in a splint. I couldn’t snowboard the rest of the time I was in Park City.

Snowboaring by Erin Dunn – days 1 to 3. (she is still writing up days 4-15 but I thought best we get this out before we leave Denver!)

We arrived in Park city at Silver Star Condos. Kyran and I chose snowboarding while mum and dad went skiing. Because Kyran and I have never seen snow before we had to have lessons.

At 9am the morning after we arrived we went into a group called the ‘Never Evers’ which meant that all the students in the group had never ever snow boarded. On our first day we learnt how to strap and unstrap the board and what the different parts of the board are called and how to do a few turns. It was kind of boring.

After that day we went into a group called ‘Developing turns’ Level 2. We had other children in our group and the lovely instructor was called Anna I think! We kept practicing our turns and stops and the day was lots of fun because we were the best (not to brag!)

The day after we thought would be great but it didn’t start so well. So we left our group and went to a man called Brndon, Luckily, there was no-one else in our group. Up until lunch it was fine but it got very windy and a massive storm bloew in and all the ski lifts closed. Every body was talking about it and that’s how I remember it was Thursday!