Last (but certainly NOT least) day in Big Sky

Today is our last day in Big Sky, Montana and we are really sad to be leaving! This place has been incredible- the people are so wonderful and very nice, the weather has been fantastic, and the skiing has been absolutely perfect!!! I keep begging Gregg to let us move here but he says we can't afford it so I guess we will pack our bags and go back to Dallas (and reality) tomorrow :(

We started our day today skiing the East side of the mountain! (After Gregg made us breakfast in the condo!) We met up with Scott, the fiance of the trip coordinator, who Gregg and I have become friends with and off we went!

New and old friends- Mush, Cheryl, Scott, Chels, Gregg, Mary Beth, Porter, and Mike

This afternoon we had reservations for the Zip Line!!! (Big Sky put in a zip line about 6 weeks ago.) We met with our instructors at the bottom of the mountain and got into our harnesses, then we took the ski lift up and skied about 3/4 way down the mountain to the zip area where we took off our skis and finished getting into all our gear.

Aren't we cute in our helmets?!?!?

We got to go on 3 different zip lines that took us through the trees and over a couple of different ski runs. The zip line was so much fun and quite an adrenaline rush!!! There was even a professional photographer along for the trip so we have lots of pictures of us on the zip line!

Gregg trying to flip upside down on the 2nd line
Gregg Zipping
Chelsey trying to flip upside down

Chelsey zipping

TUFF Group Picture

We also went tubing this afternoon which was lots of fun! Gregg and I were the only "grown ups" tubing and we were the only people there without kids.

Tonight was the Awards Ceremony for the races. TUFF was presented with a 2nd place plaque for our division! I was nominated to go pick up the award since I had given in and raced this year! This is TUFF's 4th Council trip to participate in and we have placed all 4 times! This is actually our first year not to get 1st place but with only 8 racers this year we just couldn't compete with the bigger clubs! Next year we plan on being back on top!!! Three of our members (Mush, Cheryl, and Mike) also got medals for their race times and Mike got a bronze medal in the individual races! Congrats everyone!!!

Gotta go pack now so that we can get in bed- we are leaving for the airport at 4:30am- YIKES!!! So long from Montana!

Our night

Tonight was the Texas Ski Council (TSC) Farewell Banquet! Normally the farewell banquet and the Race Award party are combined into 1 party but this year they decided to separate the parties so we got to go to this tonight and then tomorrow night is the awards party for the races today.

Tonight was a lot of fun! All the clubs were together to celebrate the week in Big Sky! We had lots of good food and great drinks! And there even was a DJ and dance floor! The leaders from each ski club were recognized for all their hard work along with the TSC Coordinator for this trip and the people from Big Sky that have been our sponsors this week.

Mush and the other Club Leaders being recognized

JD dancing

Club Race Day!

Today was the Club Race Day! I was convinced to race last night and let me tell you my heart was beating fast today! We got to the slopes around 9:30am so that we could make a couple of runs and warm up before it was our teams turn to race. I really enjoyed myself this morning and worked a lot on my technique and making smaller turns like I was going around the gates. We made about 4 runs down the mountain before the races began and I was feeling pretty good but still pretty nervous.

Gregg and I both sat out the race day last year and so this was the first time that either of us had run gates or participated in a race. Our club was the last to go today- meaning that the course was pretty skied out and there were a lot of ruts around the gates where everyone else had skied making the course a little more difficult. Gregg and I were the first to go from our club. I let Gregg get a little lead because it scared me to be right next to him and then I started down the course. I really struggled through the first 3 or 4 gates because they were close together and it was really rough and then I fell down! I got back up, determined to finish the course, and sailed right through the rest of it. I finished the course in 86.59 sec- the second lowest time of those that completed the course- but I finished!!! There were a lot of people who didn't finish the race or were disqualified so I was very proud of myself overall!!! Gregg finished in 45 seconds and did really good also! I think that our team is going to end up in 2nd place for our division- pretty good since we are the smallest club here and only had 8 team members race!

me at the bottom of the race course- I fell trying to take my ski's off!

Race times

Gregg and I's times (#264- me, #265- Gregg)

Irving Fire Department TUFF Members- Mush, Cheryl (wife), Gregg, Porter, me (wife), and Jorge

This afternoon we all skied together which was a lot of fun. We skied for another couple of hours before calling it a day and heading to "Whiskey Jack's" for some hot chocolate. Gregg and I are back at the condo now and are relaxing before going to the Farewell Banquet tonight! (I will post pictures and details on that later!)

Tomorrow is our last full day in Big Sky :( We have reservations at noon for the zip line which I am SUPER EXCITED about!!! After that we plan on skiing a little more and then tomorrow night is the Race Awards Banquet.

Our Wonderful Wednesday!

Yesterday was my favorite day here in Montana so far! The weather was absolutely beautiful and the skiing was GREAT! Gregg got up early yesterday morning to fix breakfast and then went out to ski at 9am when the slopes opened up. I woke around 8:30am ate breakfast and kissed Gregg goodbye as he headed out. I met back up with him and Cheryl at 9:30am to begin the Charity Scavenger Hunt/ Poker Run. We had so much fun doing this!!! We were given a card with all the clues for the scavenger hunt and a map of the mountain. We had to figure out where we had to go in order to draw our card for the poker game. I made it through half the game but then let Gregg and Cheryl finish because my knee was a little sore. I loved the runs that we skied- they were perfect and a lot of fun! I even made it down the most difficult run that I have tried so far!!! When Gregg and Cheryl finished we all went to the 5th spot together and turned in our playing cards- nobody from our club won any of the prizes :( Then we ate lunch at "Whiskey Jack's" (a bar and grill at the bottom of the mountain that we frequent at least once every day)

me skiing!

Cheryl skiing

Gregg and I decided not to ski yesterday afternoon and instead to go into town and find the Fire Department. We brought Irving FD t-shirts with us that we were hoping to swap out for some Big Sky FD t-shirts. The drive into town ("the Meadow") took us about 15 minutes and it was so neat to see the mountain and all the slopes from that far away! We visited the Fire Department and then went to the grocery store before heading back up the mountain.

Big Sky, Montana

Big Sky Fire Department

The mountain

Last night we all went to Cheryl and Mush's cabin for our yearly team party! They ordered pizza and we brought salad and wine. We had a good time chatting with everyone and laughing at different things that have happened so far this week!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from beautiful Big Sky, Montana!!! We have had another fun and amazing day playing in the snow and skiing! We slept in this morning and then got up and made breakfast before getting ready and hitting the slopes. Our first run of the day was on the same side of the mountain that we skied yesterday. I actually liked this run better than the one yesterday but it really long and a little hard on my knee. We took a break after that (took us about 45 min or so to get down because of me!!!) and came back to the condo. After resting and eating a PB&J sandwich we headed back out. This time we went to a different lift that only went half way up the mountain. Gregg and I both got to ride up with a couple of kids in ski school who were adorable!!! Gregg fell trying to help his little boy off the lift causing the kid to fall also. It was quite a site and I wish I had caught it on camera! The trail we took down this afternoon was perfect! It was a great length and really a lot of fun! We skied that twice and then I called it a day and headed to Whiskey Jack's for a "Hot Apple Pie" (Apple Cider and Tuaca) while Gregg made one more run!

Riding the lift up

We made spaghetti for dinner tonight and are watching the Dancing With The Stars result show right now! We have had showers and are also getting ready to go out and meet the group to celebrate St. Patty's tonight!

Tomorrow morning there is a Charity Scavenger Hunt/ Poker Run sponsored by Texas Ski Council starting at 9:30am. We are thinking about giving it a try- I know that Gregg can do it and hopefully the runs they pick won't be too difficult so that I can join in! We are also hoping to go down the mountain into the town of Big Sky to visit the Fire Department!

Montana Baby!

Gregg and I left Sunday afternoon for Big Sky, Montana! I am very excited and quite apprehensive about this trip. I have been going to Physical Therapy and to see a Chiropractor all week to try and work through my stiffness and soreness caused by the wreck. I really feel pretty good most of the time but still am not back up to 100% yet. My doctor has warned me to take things easy and not push myself because my body isn't completely healed yet. We have been looking forward to this trip since our trip to Telluride last year so I am quite pissed that I had to have this wreck right before we left town.

We are members of Texas Union of Firefighters (TUFF) Ski Club which is part of the Texas Ski Council. This trip to Big Sky is the last of the 4 annual ski trips the council hosts every year. TUFF is a Dallas ski club composed primarily of Irving Firemen and their spouses. This is our second trip to take with TUFF and we hope to make it a yearly occurrence!

TUFF Logo

Our flight left DFW Sunday around 4pm and we headed for Denver. There were 5 of us (Mush, Cheryl, JD, Gregg and I) who all flew together. We were supposed to have a 1 hour layover in Denver and then fly into Bozeman BUT of course it couldn't go that smoothly. Our flight into Montana got cancelled and there wasn't another flight out till 6 am this morning. We did get put up for the night by the airline at the "Crystal Inn" Hotel! (We were all a little scared of the place based on the name but the room was actually quite nice!) The airport shuttle picked us up this morning at 4:30am and took us back to the Denver airport. We had a plane this time and made it into Montana about 7:30am Mountain time. From there we got our rent car, ran by the grocery store and headed to Big Sky.



Gregg and I are sharing a condo with another Irving FF, Jorge and his girlfriend Susie. Jorge and Susie made it to Montana last night and got us all checked into our condo. We have a cute 2 bedroom 2 bath condo with a great kitchen! Our room is super tiny and has 2 sets of bunk beds in it. (Yes, the married couple will be sleeping in separate beds while the couple that is dating has a queen bed to sleep in together- not our choice!)

Our room (excuse the mess!)

We changed clothes, rented our skis and finally made it to the mountain about 1pm. The weather was nice but a little windy for me. I made it down the mountain once and called it a day. We all ate lunch together and then I went back to the condo to rest while Gregg went back out with the group. I felt pretty good most of the way down but was really tired by the time we made it to the bottom and my right knee was starting to hurt so I decided not to push it.

My Snow Angel!

We are taking it easy tonight- just laying on the couch watching Dancing With The Stars and plan on going back out tomorrow morning early. Big Sky is predicted to get 16 in of snow tonight so I am excited about the powder that will be on the mountains in the morning!!! We hope to ski tomorrow and then rest on Wednesday so that I can ski again Thursday.

Starting to snow!!!

Love to all from Montana!

Sadness

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog. Please keep our family in your prayers. My sister-in-law, Brandi has asked my brother, Seth for a divorce. It has come as a huge surprise to Seth and our entire family! She says that she has been unhappy for a while now and does not want to try to work anything out and so Seth has moved into my parents travel trailer for now. My parents have spent a lot of time with him recently and while he is really upset he is staying strong and going to be alright. I’m a firm believer that is takes two to make a marriage work and two to break it! I will be the first to admit that Seth can be difficult, but he was crazy about Brandi and her daughter Bailey. He just finished adopting Bailey last August so at least she will continue to be in our lives! Bailey spent the weekend with Seth and my parents and they had a great time. She is a little shaky right now since she has been through this before, but we are all working to reassure her we will always love her and want her and that she will always be a part of our family!

I have been completely shocked by all of this and am having a rather hard time dealing with it. Part of me feels very sorry for Brandi. She did not grow up in a loving and supportive family and doesn't have great role models. I truly feel that she doesn't know how to love or be loved. But the other part of me is very bitter about the situation right now since Brandi is so unwilling to even try and work things out. I just don't understand not putting the effort into your marriage to fight for it and try to save it. I don't understand how Brandi can be so fine with the situation since she has a 10 year old who she is dragging thru a divorce for the 2nd time. (And personally, I am bitter because she is in every single one of my family wedding pictures and that honestly pisses me off!) I am just so sad, mad, disappointed, angry, and confused about it all.

Please keep Seth, Bailey and my parents in your prayers.