Christmas 2016

After returning from Big Sky on 12/24, we celebrated Christmas together in Bellevue. The living room looked very festive with our new fireplace.

Presents under the tree

Opening gifts

Wilson playing with his new toy

Calm amidst the chaos

Joseph's annual Powerpoint recap

Dividing up the "Rootbeer of the Month" selections

The View from the Top of Lone Mountain

Lone Peak stands alone in the range, and is the highest mountain in the Big Sky Resort. The view from the top on a clear day is amazing - you can see Yellowstone National Park, the Tetons, and mountains all around. You take a tram up to the top and can either ski black diamonds down (Jack and Joseph) or take the tram back down to midmountain and ski from there (Dad).

Among the most beautiful views I'd ever seen.

Joseph and Jack at the top of Lone Peak

Dad, Joseph, and Jack at the top

Joseph at the top

And they're off! Jack and Joseph head down from the summit

Looking down on the slopes

Panorama from the summit of Lone Peak
(click for larger view)

Big Sky Ski Trip - 2016 !!

The week before Christmas the five of us skied for a week in Montana. Four of us drove out from Seattle, taking two days for the 11-hour drive, arriving on Sunday morning to ski. Joseph flew in after his last final exam, arriving in Bozeman Monday night. We all skied on Tuesday, and Wednesday and Thursday were clear blue-sky days. We left on Friday.

It was amazing scenery - here's the trip in pictures:

It was REALLY cold on the drive. Here the dashboard outside temperature gauge shows
negative-12. It went down as far to negative-15!

Sun setting in Montana 

Drive up to Big Sky from Bozeman

Getting ready to hit the slopes

Skiing out from our driveway 

Playing shuffleboard in the basement

Henry planning out his day

The White Otter Lift from our house - it just services our group
of cottages to take skiers up to the main base area.

Joseph skiing down to the White Otter base on a clear blue day

Our cottage

Joseph planning his runs from the top of Swiftcurrent Lift

Beautiful views from midmountain

Taking the tram up to the top of Lone Mountain

Big Sky Base Area

Mary Jo skiing down the Lower Morningside run

Mary Jo on the slopes

Playing Bumper Pool in the basement

Lone Mountain from our house at sunset 

Henry Finishes Fifth in International School GeoBee

In early December, the International School held a school-wide Geographic Bee, sponsored by National Geographic. The winner advances to the state tournament, and the winners of that advance to the National Bee in Washington D.C.

Henry made it through the first rounds to be in the "Final 10" for the school, meaning he would be on the stage for the finals, which is held as a school-wide assembly. While he got many questions correct, he was knocked out on the question "What country, on the Horn of Africa, is the easternmost country in Africa?". The answer: Somalia.

Early Morning Drive to Crystal Mountain

While we've skiied dozens of times in Washington, for some reason we'd yet to go to Crystal Mountain, just about two hours from us and the largest in Washington State.

It's right next to Mount Rainier. It was cloudy and snowy, so we didn't see the mountain, but it still was a beautiful early morning drive. Out the door by 7am, we were there shortly after 9am.