Into the Sunlight and a Day of Jiu-jitsu

We got up early and took a hike in Millcreek Canyon on Desolation Trail. It's amazing that we can be socked in the thickest "fog" at home, but drive up the street five minutes and realize that we were really trapped in inversion soup.

See the clouds below? That's the inversion that sits on the valley making us seem to be in a deep fog day in and day out.

Winter Wonderland!

I love being just 15 minutes from fantastic hikes. Today was Dan's first hike in the snow (except for the hike/back country ski beyond the Millcreek snow gate. Which is actually a big road covered in snow and groomed. So today was his first legit trail hike in snow. We wore our crampons/snow-trax which made us feel, (as Dan put it), "invincible." Often if there's fresh snow, you don't need them. But today was pretty slick. I was glad we were wearing them because instead of hating every slippery, dangerous step, we absolutely loved being outdoors. 

The sun was shining and it was beautiful. 

So nice to get into the sunshine!

In the afternoon, we watched Marty's jiu-jitsu tournament in Provo. He's taking a class and today was an intramural tournament between UVU and BYU (the teacher teaches classes at both schools). 

It was professionally organized and judged, the gym was full, lots of great competition 

and the whole thing was very exciting. 

Marty did awesome! He won his first "fight." It was super intense and competitive. I loved seeing the look of determination and focus on his face. I've seen that look so often. 

One thing I learned is jiu-jitsu is strategic. You have to be constantly thinking ahead of moves to get the advantage of your opponent or get out of holds. 

Perfect for Marty who always loves a challenge and strategy. 

He lost his next two matches. One was against the kid that won the whole weight-division. The last match they seemed pretty even. It lasted 12 minutes! Marty had to tap out in the end when his opponent had him in a grip that almost made him throw-up. He decided tapping out was better than barfing! You get out either when you tap out or pass out! So freaky for parents to watch! But he and his roommates loved it. Aldo and Mason also competed. It was so fun to be there with Aldo's parents. They've had years of watching Aldo's wrestling matches so they were prepared with drinks and treats, wet towels and apples for all the boys. I love them so much! We went to a Peruvian restaurant after with everyone and Tania and Pedro introduced me to my first Lomo Saltado, fried yucca and a wonderful drinks made with purple corn, pineapple and apple juice. It was so good!