Thompson Family: i heart Park City

Without fail, every time I return to Utah and catch my first glimpse of the Wasatch Mountains from the airplane window, I am amazed at the beautiful place in which I grew up. I know people think of Salt Lake City and Park City as a great skiing destination, which they are; however, I think every season has something amazing to offer!

My time with the kids in Utah was very different from last year. At that time, I was seven weeks pregnant and my morning sickness had just begun, so it was hard to fully enjoy my time out in Utah. This time, I really tried to soak in all Park City has to offer. The kids and I did some hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon – Amelia was a trooper and hiked two miles without being picked up once. By the end, she sat on the ground and said her legs didn’t work anymore. I felt like a champ for taking all three kids hiking by myself! My dad and I enjoyed a mountain bike ride followed by a hike to the top of Summit Park, where you have a 360-degree view that includes Deer Valley, Park City Ski Resort, The Canyons and even the Great Salt Lake.

My dad took Mike, Noah and I in the Apache simulator and we got fly and shoot rockets and machine guns. It was really cool but really hard!

Mike flew in and got to enjoy our last four days. We went camping in the Uinta Mountains with my parents and my brother Jared, sister-in-law Amie and their two kids, Kai and Aria. My dad taught Noah how to shoot a BB gun and showed the kids how to mine for gold. I was apprehensive about sleeping arrangements: my parents, Mike, Amelia, Max and I were all to sleep in their RV, but it went very smoothly. Noah and Kai got to bed down in the back of Papa Ken’s Toyota truck in sleeping blankets. Jared, Amie and Aria spent the night in a tent.

Amelia was OBSESSED with her Uncle Jared!

The highlight of the trip was getting to spend so much time with my family! Noah and Amelia loved getting to see so much of Kai and Aria. They had a lot of fun building forts, having tea parties, and sleep overs. Amelia and Aria were dressed up as princesses most of the time and the boys were good sports about agreeing to marry them.