Why I Love Sun Valley

After 7 straight years of caroling in Sun Valley, I've been wondering why it is we keep coming back. Here are some of my thoughts.

An average day in Sun Valley...

9:00 AM Roll out of bed and throw on ski gear from head to toe

10:00 AM Catch the bus to River Run Lodge, pick up board from storage and HIT THE SLOPES!! Board all over, from Warm Springs lodge to Seatle Ridge. We usually run into some hot celeb while chillin in the lodge. This year was Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. He really is as hot in real life. VERY COOL!

1:00 PM Stop for lunch at Roundhouse at the top of the mountain for unbeatable tomato soup and grilled cheese. Jump back on the board and take a few more sweet runs.

3:00 PM Store board and catch the bus back to Sun Valley

3:30 PM Hit the pool that is 102 degrees of soothing relaxation

4:00 PM Grab a bite to eat and get ready for caroling

5:30 PM Run down to the limelight room for caroling call, warm up and devotional

6:30 PM Jump in line and head out on rounds with the rest of the gang to surround ourselves in amazing chords and musical sound that I just can't get any other time of the year. We stop at about 6 different restaurants caroling to all sorts of different people. Frequently we run into families that we have seen year after year because Sun Valley is such a tradition for so many people. It's fun to see familiar faces and even funner to hear the excitment in people as they see the carolers walk through the door. It's amazing the feelings music can bring to people. I like to imagine what might be happening in someone's life when I see them start to tear up as we sing "Have yourself a merry little christmas" or when they lean over and whisper to their spouse durning "mistletoe". It seems to always be the same reaction from everyone when we sing "It happened in Sun Valley" You can almost see the memories of past holidays in sun valley with their friends and families. At the end of rounds, whether my voice was tired, my nose was stuffy or I had the best vocal day of my life, I come back to my room happy to be there and happy to have brought a little bit of the saviors love to each of the people we sang for.

9:30 PM Back to the room for a quick dip in the pool again or out to the lobby for a crazy round of "Chuck Norris" or "10,000"(card and dice games) We usually end up laughing our guts out till we are so tired we can hardly keep our eyes open

1-2:00 AM Off to bed...FINALLY. Only to do it all over again in the morning. With occasionally substituting boarding with movies, ice skating, Wii tennis matches or just lounging around the room doing a whole lot of NOTHING! VACATIONS RULE!

Sun Valley is so beautiful. Surrounded by snow covered mountains and beautiful buildings. Lights on every tree and a bell tower playing christmas music. It's so sureal. The rooms are beautiful, the restaurants are fancy, the service is impecable and the feeling so relaxing. It's no wonder we can't pull ourselves away from this family tradition. Hopefully they'll let us come back for another 7 years!