Mountain Mom and Tots

International Womens Day!

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Saturday March 8th was International Womens Day and I got to spend it with some of my favorite women in the world!

My niece Kim just returned from an eighteen month mission to Russia for our church. She spent two winters in Siberia and returned to family and friends this last weekend. She said her face froze on a daily basis. I’m proud of her and wish her a hearty welcome home.

Her hard work is inspiring, as is the hard work of so many wonderful women in the world. So if you have a special woman in your life, someone who inspires you, let me know about it by leaving a comment.

International Women’s Day is not supposed to be a second mothers day, but I can’t help but think about my mom when I think of influential women in my life. Thanks for all you do mom!

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Believe in Steven Nyman Post

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I recently had the opportunity to write this post for Sundance Mountain Resort on Steven Nyman, three time Olympic skier. Enjoy!

This post originally appeared at www.sundanceresortblog.com.

Steven Nyman — From Sundance to Sochi by Susan Strayer

Watching the Sochi Olympics this year has reminded me how lucky I am to live close to Sundance Resort. One of my favorite athletes to watch was Sundance native and three time Olympian, Steven Nyman who competed in Downhill Skiing. I caught up with his dad, Scott Nyman at Nyman’s Ski and Snowboard Shop, to ask him about Steven and his favorite winter sport.

Skiing apparently runs in Nyman blood. Steven’s parents, Scott and Becky Nyman currently own Nyman’s Ski and Snowboard Shop. Before that, they lived and worked at Sundance Resort for more than twenty years. Scott was in charge of the Sundance Ski School while Becky taught ski lessons and supported her boys on the Sundance Ski Team. Steven’s older brother Michael used to be on ski patrol, and younger brother Blake has appeared in free skiing magazines and videos. Even the next generation of Nyman’s are hitting the slopes, as the Nyman grandchildren, ages 3 and 10 months, were out skiing with their mom, Lindsay, during our interview.

Future Olympian“

We have lots of fond memories of living at Sundance,” Scott said. “It was the boys’ mountain playground.” No doubt that mountain playground gave Steven a good skiing foundation. His mom taught him to ski starting at age two. At age seven he joined the Sundance Ski Team. In 2002, he was named World Junior Champion in Slalom and World Junior Silver Medalist in Combined. Since then he has been a member of the US Ski Team, a two time National Downhill Champion, two time World Cup champion, and has competed in three Olympics – Vancouver, Torino and now Sochi. Even with all his world travel, Sundance is still home. “Steven loves Sundance,” said Scott. “He’s skied at resorts all over the world and Sundance is still his favorite place to ski powder.”

Steven for NBC, age 8 skiing with family @ Sundance

Skiing with the family

The Downhill race, in which Steven competed in Sochi, regularly clocks skiers going more than 80 miles per hour. “Downhill is the scariest discipline thanks to the icy track and high speeds,” Scott said. Steven was up for the challenge, finishing within three seconds of the winning racer. “We’re really proud of him,” said Scott. A family friend coined the phrase “Believe in Steven” years ago and it seems his family and friends have done just that.

from skiracing.com (http://skiracing.com/stories/austrias-mayer-wins-second-downhill-training-run/)

Sundance on Dwellable

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah

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Last year I read Terry Tempest William’s memoir Refuge. It’s a beautifully written book about birds, loss, and cancer that takes place for the most part at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, just a short drive north of Salt Lake City, Utah. As a long time resident of the state, you would’ve thought I’d have visited the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge before now, but I hadn’t.

Our first stop on this adventure was at the visitors center, where little g and Big E explored the varied exhibits on bird habitat. Little g would not let go of my hand as she ran from one exhibit to the next and during the 25 minute introductory movie, she vacillated between climbing on the bench in front of us and pulling me out of the viewing area.

After the museum, we drove out to the 76,000 acres of protected land and drove the 12 mile one way gravel auto tour (open year round from sunrise to sunset). The refuge is an oasis for migratory birds that provides a source of food and shelter for millions of migratory birds each year. Even though our visit was in February (not a common time to go out bird watching) I was amazed by the musical sounds that resonated through the entire area. We saw geese, swans, seagulls and other water birds, and a beautiful sunset lit up the entire area.

My favorite part of the day was listening to the bird calls along the 12 mile auto tour. The honks, coos, chirps and whistles created a beautiful symphony of wild sounds and although we didn’t see any bald eagles (I was hoping) the trip was still fun and worthwhile. Next time I’ll bring along binoculars.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Location: From I-15 Turn west off of exit 363 at Brigham City, Utah. Visitors Center is the first turn on the left.
Length: 12 mile auto tour
Time: 1-4 hours
Tips: Stop at the visitors center first and bring binoculars.

Teach a two year old to snowboard … or don’t

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Our Mountain family loves winter sports, so it makes sense to start our kids early. I’ve heard other people say they started skiing at age two, which I always thought was ridiculous, until I tried it with my two year old. Now I know it’s ridiculous.

Parents know their kids, and I know little g well enough to sense that she would not enjoy skiing, yet my compulsion to do outdoors activities propelled me to try it out. My expectations were low. We went to the tow rope area at Sundance Mountain Resort (which is free for anyone by the way). I’m not above bribery so most of the time, little g sat on the side and ate candy or sucked on her highly regulated pacifier.

When I finally forced her to stand on my snowboard and ride up the tow and down the bunny hill she cried as much as her pacifier would let her. She did not like the feeling of sliding on the snow, did not like standing on my board and really just wanted more candy. Once was enough for both of us so we headed home after that.

This experience taught me something about myself – I enjoy the outdoors for my own sake and mine alone. My tots would be happy playing video games, legos and make believe all day, but I need daily time outdoors to feel good. The monumental effort it takes to pack, lug, comfort, encourage and man handle my children into an outdoor activity isn’t always worth it. But for those few minutes I get with the sun on my face, and introduce my tots to something new and fun, it is.

Sundance on Dwellable

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Steven Nyman — From Sundance to Sochi by Susan Strayer

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