If I Could Capture It In A Bottle...

There are a few days in my life which I would love to suck in all the events and emotions of that day and capture everything in a bottle, and this afternoon would be one of them! It was so good that I want to write it down, as to remember some of the joy and feelings I had.

We checked Sydney out of school just a few mintues early and headed to Alta, where they have a faaaaabbbbuuuuulllllooooossss program for beginning skiiers. They have a free rope-tow for those just learning to ski and then at 3:00 each afternoon, the Sunnyside lift opens up for those who are ready for a beginners lift...at no cost.

I learned how to ski here at Alta and now my three (living) kids have too!

Both girls are good enough to ride the lift, but today was Hayden's first day...wahoo!

When he tried on his boot, he started jumping around. And anyone who has worn ski boots KNOWS you can't jump in those things. He had a huge grin on his face and I must admit I was relieved. If he hated the boots, then I knew that skiing would be a waste of time and money. But he liked them and then he was thrilled to see that his rental skiis had a dinosaur on it. That made his day! Now I wish I had remembered to take a picture of those dinosaurs. Oh well.

So off we went...Spencer and Sydney headed for the lift...watching for Elle who had ridden up with our friends...while I went over to teach Hayden on the rope-tow. Just as we arrived I saw my Dad (who is an instructor there), finishing up a lesson. Talk about perfect timing!! He didn't even know we were coming. Anyways, he grabbed a huge hola-hoop and we took off.


Just as we started gliding away, Hayden said "This is cool." My Dad looked down at him with this funny expression and I could almost read his mind..."This is cool?" I knew my Dad had picked up on the "cool" word...as it's a word you'd expect from a teenager...not a three year old.

As we skiied on the rope tow I was thrilled to see one of our dear friends from Virginia. Of all places!! It was so fun to see them and even spent a few mintues teaching their "little" Eli how to make a snowplow. It was neat to do this...and made me think back to the time I took photos of him just a few months after he was born.

We kept pulling Hayden around and he lasted about 30 minutes or so. I was grateful that he liked it. I love skiing and have wanted all my kids to like it too. Hayden doesn't know how to stop yet, but he's steady on his feet and has a perma-wedge!


But then an unexpected thing happened...and this was the highlight of my day. As we all gathered around the van to take off our ski gear at the end of the day, I looked up and saw the living members of my family all doing their thing, and this feeling of love and gratitude washed over me. It dawned on me that I was there with my whole (living) family....all of us skiing together for the first time. At that moment I stopped and just soaked in that feeling. It was the feeling I would capture in a bottle, which could be opened and savored any time I wanted.

Kind of like the day Connor was born.

But no bottle like that exists. So my journal will have to suffice. That is one of the reason's I am coming to treasure this journal/blog. It's a way for me to "Remember" the sweet times in my life, as well as the not so sweet.

Thanks Dad!!