A month in Utah: weekend 2, part 1 - PARK CITY

I seriously think I am going to have to do 3 posts for this one weekend!
We did try to keep the week-days as chill as possible, knowing what we had planned for the weekends, both energy-wise, and financially.  We couldn't just play EVERY SINGLE DAY for a MONTH.  (Well, maybe we tried.)  We filled the weekdays with playing in the backyard, heading to the pool, and hanging out.  Weekend 2 was something we really planned for.  We wanted to take the kids to Park City to do the Mountain Resort.  The tickets and hotel were outrageously expensive, so we really tried to make the most of it.  I know Melissa is still saying bad words about me under her breath over how much I tried to do in a day.   I know she would have liked to hang out and relax more.  But we were only there 24 hours and wanted to make the most of it.  My kids will go forever, so we've developed a habit as a family of just going until we drop.

We stayed at the Marriott Mountainside that is incorporated into the Park City Mountain Resort.  The room alone was a palace, let alone the hotel, and the resort.  It's a true ski village, but summers there are just as fun.  There's an alpine slide, alpine coaster (this was new to me - so cool!), bungee trampolines, rock walls, a giant paradise of a swimming pool, and of course, the gorgeous Utah mountains.

Jess, Nick, and Sloan came up too.  

We tried so hard to get Sloan in a picture, but it just didn't happen.  

Ready for Alpine sliding!

 Seriously, this alpine coaster thing is pure genius. I think it's my favorite ride I've ever been on.  You have your own "coaster" and have control over it, but they tell you to go full speed for maximum safety.  So, we did!  It's so cool because it takes you on a slow ride up the mountain as it pulls your coaster up to the release point.  It is so beautiful and quiet.  Harriet and I went together and just listened to all the nature sounds.  We were totally alone.  Then, after it drops you off, you CRUISE through the trees at lightning speed.  It's one of those rides that isn't so crazy that you feel sick or scared, but is fast enough that you just smile and laugh the whole way.  The line was crazy long, so we only did it twice, but we could have just done that one ride all day.

I love the wide 6 person chair lifts!  We all got to go together.

You can see the coaster tracks through the trees there.  

 So pretty.  I do love mountains in the summer time.  It was like the Sound of Music up there.  

Winter is okay too, as long as there is lots of sunshine and I'm not freezing.

Harriet wanted so badly to be able to do a flip on this thing.  She tried forever and never made it.  We headed back to the room about 10 minutes before it closed.  Then, after getting to the room, she decided that if she tried ONE MORE TIME, she could do it.  So, we raced downstairs and back out to the plaza, just minutes before they closed up.  That little firecracker gave it all she had and flipped over!  I could feel Melissa rolling her eyes from the pool that we were STILL not in our suits and it was like 10pm.  Sorry Lis!

We finally did make it to the luxurious pool and swam until like midnight and headed back to the room.  I had bought the old "Annie" movie for the little girls to watch.  Funny enough, it turned out to be Sloan's favorite thing.  He couldn't get enough of the singing and dancing and gymnastics.  

Who knows what time it was by the time we bathed 5 kids and got to bed.  I was looking forward to a super lazy morning and making a big breakfast.  Mom had stayed in Salt Lake with poor Shadow puppy (thanks, Mom!) and so I did get up super early to drive down the canyon and pick her up so she could join us for our lazy fun morning.  That was actually kind of nice - being in the canyon by myself so early in the morning.  But, I found out very late in the game that checkout was 10:00AM!!!!  Really, I am still flabbergasted by that.  I have stayed in a million Marriotts and checkout is never before 11 or noon and we always get late checkout up until about 2pm.  They would not budge!  How in the world would we have a lazy morning and be out of there by 10?  How would any guest be out of there by 10 on a Saturday morning?   It was so ridiculous, but they were super rigid.  I finally begged and pleaded my way to 10:30.  Thanks a lot!  Really? For what we paid for that room?  So, we hurried everyone, made breakfast, cleaned up the place and left for the outlets.  

The outlet shopping went something like this:  Kate and Hattie found a million cute things they wanted for school.  Sean and Grace, not so much.  We all spent a while in Carter's looking for cute things for Jess's new baby, but Sloan thought as much of it as to, um, go poop in the corner of the store, on the floor!  I'm serious, that kid is a story a minute.  Then, we did find an adorable little toy store for the kids to spend their money.  Grace and Hattie had been saving their money all spring/summer to shop on our weekends in Utah.  Grace and Sean bought these awesome bow and arrow toys, and Harriet got some new bath toys and a craft to do.  Kate came away with a new doll.  

I think Grace looks so awesome using her archery skills in her Sunday dress.  

"A princess never places her weapons on the table." 

Thanks, Park City!  And, thanks Mom, for all the help, and Aunt Lis for putting up with me (admit it, you had fun!  No, we really did have quite an awesome time.  Just wish we had more time up there to enjoy it.)