Easter at the Thornbrues

We spent Easter at Allie and James' today. First we went to church with them. Allie and James both commented that the kids never have enjoyed church so much, probably because of all the toys and snacks that Jarom and Melissa brought for Bryson. The Thornbrue kids got to sit on Grandma Jane's, Molly, Seth and my lap, so Allie and James got to relax a bit. Marie memorized an Article of Faith that she recited in Primary. I snuck out my cell phone and recorded it. Here it is. Sorry about the distance and resolution, but hey, what do you want for church?

Guthrie, Oklahoma

I was visiting in Oklahoma last week, and the last couple of times I've been there, I travel between Stillwater and Oklahoma City. About 10 miles north of Oklahoma is this tiny town called "Guthrie". I've heard about Guthrie for years, and last Thursday I decided to get off the freeway and see if there was anything to see (there wasn't). If you click on the picture you can see what there is in the distance, but its not much. I'm sure I missed the main part of town, but from what I could see there wasn't much. But here are the pictures I took just in case you've heard of Guthrie. Apparently it figures somehow into the Oklahoma Land Rush.

Novice No More

Yesterday was the next-to-the-last week of ski season. Its been almost three weeks since I went last, and the conditions three weeks ago were so horrible then that Jarom and I left after a couple of runs. Yesterday Jarom and I went up hoping the snow would be skiable, and we had a great day. After warming up on our favorite green runs (the ones with all the terrain parks) we headed over to the East Village where all the blue and black runs are. I've been watching some training videos at home and got some great tips that have really improved my skiing the past couple of times. After a successful first run down one of the blue runs (blue is intermediate), I had Jarom show me where one of the shorter black (expert) runs were. Conditions were perfect and I lead the way. I blasted down that black run at what seemed a million miles an hour in perfect control. When we met at the bottom Jarom said that as he watched me I made him worried I was going so fast. The next run I had a spectacular wipeout where I slid about 50 feet down the moutain skis-down with a spray of snow going everywhere. When I stood up I had snow all the way up under my coat to my armpits, and while sliding the snow had unzipped my pants part way and stuffed snow in my crotch. It was amazing! And I didn't even pop a ski. We did the same run a couple more times, and then all of a sudden it got too warm and the entire mountain turned to slush in about 30 minutes. We did one more run and then called it quits because we didn't want to ruin what had been a perfect day up to then. I had a couple of interesting observations over on the expert runs: (1) you sure get down the moutain faster on the blue/black runs. What takes us 10-15 minutes on the green runs only takes about 7-10 minutes on the blue/blacks and (2) it is a lot more work to ski on steeper slopes. I was really beat after about five runs on the blacks. I'm wondering what I can do during the spring/summer to get in better shape. Next weekend is the last week of ski season. There is some kind of wild life migration in the area and the resort has to close so there aren't people in the area. Its been a great season, with over 20 days of skiing. We are already missing it and can't wait for next season.

Blizzard of the Century vs. Prom

Hey, this is Seth. So this weekend was supposed to be my Prom. Tuxes had been rented, dresses and tickets paid for. Then on Thursday afternoon, the bombshell was dropped. On Saturday there was supposed to be a huge blizzard. The administrators didn't want drunk kids driving so far to the air hanger we were having Prom at in the snow. The wonderful event was rescheduled for May 16th, the Saturday before finals. Now my two friends (Austin and Coleton) dates can't go and Coleton's date was driving. So fun eh? Anyway, below are the pictures from our "blizzard" this afternoon.

Today "Uncle Jason" (my brother) finished a video of our ski trip last week. Its pretty good. For his complete description of the trip check out their blog post linked in the family list, but for a quick wrap-up, I linked to his video from here. The introductory music was playing in the center square as we were leaving, and we thought it would make great background music for a video. Fortunately Jarom knew the song so Jason used it.

Bryson, Teething & a Popsicle

Bryson has been teething and today (Sunday) he woke up while his Mommy was gone and Daddy was still asleep, so Grandma Jane gave him a new treat to sooth his sore gums. We tried this a few months ago to a less-than-enthusiastic baby; it seems like our timing is better now as you can see from the pictures and video.

More Skiing with Jason & Brandon

On Friday February 27th, we went skiing again (of course), but it was even snowier than yesterday, and it was colder. I couldn't find my face mask, and eventually my face got numb with the cold and ice started building up my cheeks, but it didn't matter. There was a lots of powder snow, which is so fine and fluffy that my skis sunk in 6 to 12 inches and it was like gliding through cotton, but with the snow gently swishing around my legs. We didn't take many pictures because it was pretty dark and snowy, but we did have a great day.

From left to right: Brandon, Seth and Jarom

Jarom and Randy

Seth's ski mask got caked with all kinds of interesting things that came out of his nose and then froze

Seth, Randy & Jason on a ski lift chair



Randy, Seth, Jarom, Brandon & Jason

Wrapping up another great day

Seth dream car: a Volkwagen camper van. This one isn't a camper, but pretty close in appearance.

Ice sculptures at the Center Village

On our way to the parking lot shuttle at the end of the day

A montage of short videos shot by Jason. In order of appearance: Jarom, Seth & Brandon.