Then Sings My Soul.....

For the first time in quite a while, Adam had a Saturday off of work. We wanted to do something fun with the kids, but we were having a hard time deciding what to do.

Buggy ride? ...We always do that.
Swimming?...Too crowded.
Movies?... Nothing good showing.
Ride bikes at the park?...Too hot.

We were about to give up. Then Adam and I heard an add on the radio...THAT'S IT!!! We Knew exactly what to do!

We did all of our chores as fast as we could, then we all piled in the car and away we went.
We wanted the activity to be a surprise for the kids, but we did give them some clues.

Clue #1 : Hold on to your seats.
Clue #2 : It has nothing to do with corn.  (We've been up to our "ears" in corn lately and frankly we needed a little break from it.)
Clue #3 : You'll see trees in a whole new way.
Clue #4 : It's past Show Low, but before Green's Peek.
Clue #5 : You're going to have to trust us!

Ha! We had them stumped. They were really starting to get on edge. After all, they cleaned their play room, worked in the garden and cleaned their bedrooms. But  for all they knew, we were taking them to run errands in White River.

Finally, we turned off the main highway towards Sunrise Ski Resort, and by the time we pulled into the parking lot, they had figured it out. We were going to ride up to the top of the mountain on the ski lift. They were SO up for it. I can't tell you how many times they told us that it was the best day of thier lives! 

The weather was amazing.  Partly cloudy skies with a cool breeze = Perfect day!
The kids had no trouble hopping on the chair lift (we all fit on one together). Up, up the mountain we went. It was so quiet and relaxing on the ride. As we looked around at the natural beauty that surrounded us we couldn't help but be awed by, and grateful for this earth. 

"...When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,
How great thou art!...."

Of course, the best view of all was the one from the top.

We hiked around and got a snack at the restaurant there. Then it started raining a little bit and it was getting cold so we hopped in the lift and headed back down the mountain. It stopped raining on the way down and we were having so much fun, so we asked if we could keep riding. They were happy to let us (there was hardly anyone there) so we went back up the mountain, then down then up and down again. On the last ride we really got wet from the rain and we were just too cold to keep riding so we reluctantly got off.

We decided that we have a new summer tradition. We'll definitely be back next year.

***The Sunrise ski resort offers scenic lift rides 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Saturdays and Sundays from  Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.  It costs $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids up to 12 years old. (I think senior citizens are $5.00 too, but I'm not positive)  SO worth it! ***