Happy New Year!

The closing days of 2008 have been a whirlwind of holiday activity at the Reynaldo family household: a large Christmas Eve dinner for family and friends, followed by a two-night stay at Disneyland for Christmas, then a two-night vacation to a local mountain ski resort where my daughter learned to ski for real after a brief taste of it last year which didn't quite take. (That's my youngest trying on his sister's ski equipment in our cabin. Our goal is to hopefully get him started next year!)

This was our first time at Snow Valley—when we ski locally, we usually go to Snow Summit at Big Bear Lake. However, the crowds and traffic at Big Bear have finally become enough of a hassle that we decided to try Snow Valley, which is only half as far up the mountain as Big Bear, staying at an inn in a small town about 5 miles away from the ski area. Snow Valley turned out to be a terrific place, and perfect for my daughter to learn to ski—less crowded and less of a "production" to get to the slopes. Don't get me wrong, I still love Snow Summit (and know what part of the mountain is very sparsely used even on the busiest days), but with a family in tow and traffic, Snow Valley turned out to be a very pleasant and family-friendly alternative. I'll definitely be going back!

Anyway, while I know 2008 was a tough year for many people, and world peace and stability seemed more out-of-reach than ever, being the eternal optimist I am, there was also much to be grateful for as well. So here's to an even better 2009 to all!

(See below for a couple of vid clips of my little girl skiing down the slopes!)