Big Air...

Way back in April, when I was visiting Utah, my family headed down to P-Town for family night at Big Air Sports. All I can say is, WHAT A BLAST! Some of you may have been somewhere like this before, but I hadn't so I thought it was amazing. Just imagine 8 trampolines, 3 huge foam pits, and pretty much no rules. It was crazy, but so much fun. We jumped, flipped, rock climbed...and then dropped, chucked, spun, and did as many crazy tricks into the foam as we could. Even little D loved it. I'd jump with him into the pit, or just give him a big chuck and watch him fly! The only downer...Mitch wasn't there. He would have LOVED it, so we are for sure putting it on our next UT trip's agenda.

You could climb up the rock wall and when you were done you could just let go and fall into the pit. Please check out Dieter flying through the air below! Awesome.

And She's Off...

There is a new skier in the Duckworth Household! Miss Finn is a natural, and absolutely loved it! (She threw a fit when we had to leave!)

We headed up to Alta and started on the Bunny Hill. Mitch is so patient and such a great teacher. After a while Finnley pointed to the lift and said, "I wanna go on dat!"so, we did!She mastered the penguin walk, and made a decent pizza for a first timer.

She had strong legs, stood up, watched where she was going.

She even had a smile on her face the entire time.

Oh...and Dieter was quite the sport too. He rode the lift, and made a couple runs down the slopes too. What a gifted child. :)
Finn, you made us so proud! We can't wait to ski with you for years and years to come!

Raccoon Eyes...

That's what we had after skiing the PERFECT day up at Alta.
Just me, Mitch, and my dad.
I love a MILLION things about my dad, but one of them is that he wants to ski on his 80th birthday! And I bet he will.

It was so much fun, and I am itching for another day like today.
Now...its Finnley's turn! We'll keep you posted on how she does.

No Turkey this Year...

This year we did Thanksgiving a little different. Not that we don't LOVE our families (because we do...too much!) but sometimes going home for such a big holiday for such a short time can make things a little crazy. So, since Mitch doesn't have a lot of time off to do long getaways, we decided to put the long weekend to good use and discover San Francisco.

We had both been there, but it had been years. Mitch's awesome, generous, amazing cousin Blake offered to let us stay in his apartment for the weekend while he was away. Seriously...awesome place! It was smack dab in the middle of Union Square and the Wharf so we just walked everywhere.

I will get to all the other fun stuff later. For now I want to focus on our Thanksgiving Day. It was a blast. We decided to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, grab lunch in Sausalito and take the Ferry home. Once in Sausalito we thought, "hey what the heck, let's keep going"! Our kids were being AWESOME and there was another Ferry boat in Tiburon so, on we went.

After 25 miles we arrived, hopped off our bikes and excitedly looked for the Ferry. One Problem...there was no Ferry. Huh? Yep, that's right...the Tiburon Ferry boat wasn't running on Thanksgiving. At first I was a little ticked. It had been MY poor planning, so there was no one to blame but me. We decided we ought to hurry back to Sausalito to catch that Ferry boat. So, back on the bikes.

To make a long story short, the Sausalito Ferry wasn't running either. So, our 25 mile bike ride turned into a 50 miler! All the while, our two were happy as can be. They just enjoyed the view (which was GORGEOUS), took naps, smiled, chatted, and didn't fuss - not ONCE.

Mitch in front of Alcatraz.

Lunch in Sausalito.

We got the best views on our route. Can you see the city way back there?

We didn't' get back until after dark, and our plans to find a hotel with a yummy Turkey Dinner were kind of shot. So, we ate chicken nuggets, french toast, and an Oreo Shake at Mel's Diner. It was an experience and definitely a memory we won't forget. We loved it!

I loved this Thanksgiving. I had a lot of time to reflect on the things I am thankful for.

My family, first and foremost. I love my man. He keeps me sane - he knows when I need a Diet Coke, or some food, or even a short run. He puts "us" before everything...and I mean everything. My girl. She makes me giggle everyday, and I love her personality and her concern for everyone around her. My little man. He is my number one fan and I love it. His big grin and excited and jerky movements melt my heart.

My parents who are the most loving, generous, caring people. I strive to be like them. My In-Laws are amazing and wonderful and I couldn't have done better. And all my siblings and sibling-in-laws.

This gorgeous World. I couldn't help but just soak in all the beauty as we rode past bays, oceans, parks, and fields. I love the outdoors and I am amazed by all the unique and beautiful things there are for us to enjoy.

My health and the health of my family. As my legs were getting stiffer and stiffer and my bum a little more saddle sore, I had to give thanks for the fact that I had the ability to ride this bike. I'm grateful to have had two healthy babies as well.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. We missed our families, but we'll see ya in just a couple of weeks!

Tennis Anyone?

It was another gorgeous day and Mitch didn't have to be to school until 11, so we woke up and headed straight to the tennis courts! Mitch and I just kind of lobbed the ball around making sure we didn't hit Finnley as she ran around the court collecting the abandoned balls. Cutest ball girl I've ever seen! After we were done, Mitch worked with Finnley for a bit trying to get her to hit the balls. I think we need to get her a smaller racket! She's into it though...I think she just might be the next Venus or Serena!Oops...a little fall!