12/26/2012 12:06:00 PM

OUR DAY STARTED early Christmas morning with our neighbor’s children excitedly awaking in wonder of what Santa had brought them. There is no better alarm than a preschooler and 2nd grader exclaiming “Santa” at the top of their lungs as they run down the stairs. After their gracious reminder that Santa had come, we awoke to find that he had brought more than just gifts, but also a fresh blanket of snow making for the start of an amazing white Christmas.

Like our friend’s children, my girlfriend and I couldn’t hold back our eagerness to share the gifts we had carefully hunted down and chosen for each other. While sipping coffee, we excitedly exchanged gifts and tore into our presents as shreds of wrapping paper fell around us.

After our first course of coffee and gifts, the morning only got better with a delicious homemade breakfast. Eggs, chorizo, oatmeal bread (specially flown in from my Grandma Ruth in Missouri), and mimosas rounded out our hearty Christmas/pre-skiing breakfast.

We ended our morning before skiing with a Google+ hangout that included my whole family. After we overcame a few minor technical difficulties, the hangout mostly went off without a hitch. Clown faces, pirate hats, and snorkels were among a few of the effects used to spice up the conversation in addition to sign language from my speech pathologist sister in times when the sound was disabled (1 of the minor technical difficulties).

Clad in my new base layer and R1 fleece, I set our sights on Lone Peak and were on the slopes before we knew it. Heading straight for the Tram, we navigated our way through the top of Liberty and around the Yeti Traverse to Marx. Santa had truly treated us well as we delighted in the fresh blanket of snow that lay before us. After making a lap through Chicken Bowl, we proceeded to make a holiday tour around the mountain before finishing our ski day off with a high speed groomer lap down Hangman’s.

When we finally arrived back at home, we began to prepare our Christmas feast with the uncorking of a nice bottle of wine. While pre-heating the oven we put the finishing touches on our soon to be eaten prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and delicious dinner rolls. Once the roast was in the oven, we began to dine on our deliciously assembled cheese plate and laughed as we watched and quoted National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (“And why is the carpet all wet Todd?! I don’t know Margo!”).

After the feast and once we were able to move again, we ended our evening with dessert and the all-time classic: A Christmas Story. Now, if I could only get over this nasty cold.

-Kipp Proctor