Spring Break

Our spring break looked a little different this year! Normally, spring break means packing up the car and heading to Durango for our annual ski trip. But this year, the ski season was just…bad. There was hardly any snow, and with the way things were looking, we decided the drive out there for a few sad ski days just wasn’t worth it. So instead, we decided to make the most of our time and do something that suddenly felt much more important, college tours with Carson!

Our first stop was Texas A&M. When I first moved to Katy, I remember seeing a few Aggie decals on cars and thinking, Wow, there are a lot of Utah State Aggies who live here! 😂 It took me a little while to realize that Texas A&M has Aggies, too!

And apparently, Aggies are a BIG deal around here.

Texas A&M is only about an hour and twenty minutes from home and is consistently ranked among the top schools in Texas. It also has a reputation for having almost a cult-like following and an incredible amount of school pride. Knowing Carson, I wasn’t sure how he would feel about that. School spirit isn’t exactly his thing, so I figured this might not be the school for him.

Well…apparently I was wrong.

It is currently his top choice!

Getting into A&M is definitely not easy, so now we’re just hoping and praying that he gets the opportunity to go there. 🤞🏻 I would absolutely love it for him. The school has such a rich history, and being close enough to home is a huge bonus.

We also heard some fun stories about the alumni and connections to the school. One that really stuck with me was hearing about people from Pixar who went to A&M and used their experiences there as inspiration for Toy Story—including Woody’s cowboy boots. We also heard that the character of the old professor from Up was modeled after one of their former professors. I love little stories like that that make a school feel like so much more than just classrooms and buildings.

And our tour guide? SO bubbly and enthusiastic. She definitely had the Aggie spirit down!

College football here is huge.  I mean Texas HUGE.

Next up was Texas State in San Marcos, right between Austin and San Antonio. It’s about a 30-minute drive from either city, which immediately caught Carson’s attention. 😂 And, of course, the fact that Six Flags is within easy weekend-trip distance was definitely a perk in his book.

To me, Texas State had a very similar feel to Utah State, which made me like it right away. And now that they’re in the same conference, they’ll actually be playing each other, so I’m sure that will make things even more fun.

One of the coolest things about Texas State is the river that runs right through campus. They even have a tradition where graduating students jump into the river wearing their cap and gown. Definitely a memorable way to celebrate four years of college!

And because you can’t visit the Hill Country without getting BBQ, we had to make a stop at Kent Black’s BBQ. The restaurant has been around for decades, 94 years!! The food was absolutely amazing. Mouth-watering, fall-apart BBQ that made the early morning wake up call to drive 2.5 hours worth it.

Between the college tours, good food, and getting to see a couple of very different schools, it ended up being a really fun spring break, even if there wasn’t a ski slope involved.

But I’ll admit, the biggest thing these college tours did was make something hit me a little harder than I expected…

Carson’s senior year is coming.

And with senior year comes a whole lot of lasts. Last first day of school. Last Orchestra concerts. Last school pictures. Last homecoming. Last time all three boys will be living at home together. Because before we know it, we’ll be packing him up and sending him off to college.

I’m definitely not ready for that.

So maybe skipping our usual ski trip was exactly what we needed this year. Instead of spending spring break doing something we’ve done many times before, we got to spend it looking toward what’s next.

And, that feels pretty special. ❤️

 

Ski Purgatory

Another spring break in the books at Purgatory Ski Resort! It’s hands down one of our favorite family traditions—we just love the beauty of the mountains and the charm of Durango. There’s something about returning to this spot each year that feels like coming home.

This year was definitely one of the warmer ones we’ve had, and there wasn’t as much snow as usual. The second day especially got pretty icy. Still, the mountain was beautiful and we made the most of it.

This trip came with a few bumps—Tanner wasn’t feeling great on the drive up (we think he caught the flu from his best friend), and the first day on the slopes he was still dragging a bit. He powered through with a few extra breaks and still managed to enjoy the day. Then on day two, it was Logan’s turn. He rallied for a couple of runs in the morning but ended up napping in the lodge for most of the day.

Carson took off to do his own thing on the mountain, so Brad and I got some rare one-on-one time skiing together. We explored a few new areas of the mountain and really soaked in the views—it’s always so stunning there.

The trip always flies by, and before we knew it, it was time to head home. We decided to make the full 16-hour drive back in one day—long, but totally worth it to sleep in our own beds that night.

two sick boys taking a nap in the lodge after lunch!

Already dreaming of next year! ❄️⛷️💙

Ski Durango

I know, I know. Another ski post. The third one. I’m sorry! But I have to post about our family ski trip! Our yearly ski trip to Durango, Colorado over spring break, has become a favorite family tradition.  It’s a trip we look forward to every spring break. The boys love it and even though we hate the drive, we love the town and the stunning mountain setting that keeps us coming back every year.

This year our hotel had the Oscar Meyer weinermobile!

All bundled up and ready to hit the slopes!

It snowed pretty heavily almost the whole ski trip, the night before it dumped a whole bunch of new snow which made for some really fresh powder our first day. We aren’t used to skiing in such heavy powder (except Brad) it’s quite the work out and made us a little more cautious out on the slopes. I think I like my skiing a little more groomed.

Love skiing with these guys

Last year this guy (Logan) was a speed demon going down, but the powder slowed him down and he started really working on his turns.

Carson

Tanner

So much fun skiing with this guy

Dad taking these two out on some harder runs

These two started going on some black diamonds for their first time! They loved doing the moguls.

💙🤍🩵❄️

Of course the sun decides to come out on the afternoon of our last day

As always such stunning views!

Waiting for the others to come back from their last run of the day/trip!

Till next time Durango!