After 12 years of marriage, another first... snowmobiling! I was definitely nervous because I didn't want to get stuck or hit anything, so we played it safe and went to the gorgeously groomed trails of Daniels Summit Lodge. My Hero got the hang of it right away and was tearing up the snow off trail. I think I was more of a 'cross country' snowmobiler. I was just taking it nice and easy only taking a couple of well worn off-trail circles.
Slow and steady wins the race. Because I was taking it slow and My Hero was hopping off the trail every chance, I got ahead of him and we were separated. When he caught up with me, I think I wanted to show off a little. You know, impress my man, so I went off trail and ended up WAY off-trail. I couldn't make the turn back onto the trail and went over the slope. I fell off the snowmobile right away as it dropped out from under me and it just coasted down the hill until it finally parked itself in the trees. Wah-oops! There was no serious damage to me or the snowmobile, but it was exhausting trying to stamp down 3 feet of snow or use a pine lever to help it out. Unfortunately, I wasn't much help trying to budge a 500 lb. machine buried in powder.
We finally admitted defeat and headed back to the lodge for reinforcements. Yikes! I had been taking it about 20 mph on my own ride, but now I was hanging on around My Hero's waist going his normal speed - 40-50+ mph. There were some awesome off trail rides he just couldn't resist, so he was tearing it up with me hanging on the back. Did I mention the snowmobile seat was branded with a picture of two people riding a snowmobile with a slash indicated Do Not Do This? Well, it's a good thing we did because I got to enjoy some adventure I never would have considered on my own and it was a totally blast despite practically blowing out both of my knees as I tried to stay on. My Hero actually liked riding with me in the hootchie-mama seat following all of his moves and keeping him warm.
Once we reached the lodge the lovely and wind chapped Jesse came to help us. What?! I thought we could just tell him where it was and go home. I could barely stand. Evidently, we had to show Jesse the stuck snowmobile guru where it was and then I had to be there to drive it back. So...I hopped back on with My Hero and braced myself for another ride. Jesse wasn't just a stuck snowmobile guru, he was also a speed demon like My Hero. We made it to the crash site in record time. Two brawny men were able free my ride in about 10 minutes. It's a good thing I was there. I had to rev the gas as they pulled it in reverse, very important. ;)
We were finally on our way again. I was still cautious on the ridges, but when the trail opened up, so did I. After all, My Hero had shown me how to do it and the worst of my snowmobiling fears had already been realized resulting in little more than a dented bumper. In fact, I was loving this adventure. When I came to the flats, I actually pinned the gas and broke 50 mph on my own. I saw My Hero take a jump and a spill, but he just hopped back on his machine and continued tearing it up. WAHOOOooooo!
P.S. I think the reason I don't look as cool as My Hero is that none of the adult helmets fit, so I had to wear a squinky child's size helmet w/o fierce face guard.
Happy Birthday, My Hero! 
This was my 4th time skiing, but it was a first for the girls. It was so fun to watch them go and, I'll admit it, it was really fun to leave them with the instructor. I mostly stuck to the blue routes but My Hero took on a couple of black diamonds for his birthday.
The Smith's grocery store in Heber was so gigantic that I got lost on my first visit. They offer about 30 different choices for Spaghetti sauce...dizzying. Sometimes more is just more. Fortunately, we found the milk since that is clearly a staple in our home and I wanted to visit this labyrinth as little as possible.
