The last time I wrote I was getting ready to hit the slopes on the fourth day of our ski vacation and I had every intention of sending you pictures from the Canyons Ski Resort. Well, at the last minute, we decided to stay at Park City because the snow looked pretty good and the day was beautiful. Besides, it is a lot easier to "ski in and out" than drive to another ski resort.

Our family has been skiing together in Utah for many years and Park City is still our favorite ski area. We can ski all day and never do the same run twice if we so decide. Sometimes one or two of us may elect not to participate in the downhill tree run contest (as you can see we do wear helmets) or do one of the backcountry bowls for the sixth time that day, but for the most part we all ski together from the top of the slopes to the bottom, from the beginning of the day to the end.

I do let everyone stop for lunch at the Mid Mountain Lodge, if I didn't they may not make it the rest of the day, but then I plan our last run to coincide with the closing of the last lift. See, I have it figured out. The lifts close at 4 p.m. and we like to be at the highest point on the mountain when the last lift at the top of the mountain closes for the day. You know you have gotten all of the skiing you can when the ski patrol and us are the last ones down the mountain. Now that makes for a rewarding trip to the hot tub.

The remainder of the week provided us with milder, dry conditions and unfortunately, the snow was showing signs of overuse. Even some of the bowls were not as much fun. Well, thankfully, Thursday morning dawned with the promise of fresh snow and we were not disappointed. We skied all day in a pretty intense snowstorm and when all was said and done, by Friday morning, we had about a foot or so of fresh Utah powder.

Since Friday was our last day to ski we could not have asked for better conditions. We hit the slopes early and stayed late making fresh tracks on a lot of runs we made that day. As we ended our day in the hot tub that evening we toasted to another wonderful family vacation and, by the way, we also toasted to another injury free ski trip. Hey, a racecar driver has to be thankful for those things. You know, you do need two good working knees to drive a Pro Stock car.

We packed up our gear and caught an early morning flight home Saturday morning. Unfortunately, there is no rest for the weary. After arriving back in Virginia, we went home and finished getting Melissa's things together for her move to North Carolina. Since she began her new job at TPI (Tysinger Promotions, Inc.) Monday morning, we had to have her moved into her new apartment Sunday. So, once again, Toni, Jon, Melissa and I (oh, I can't forget Emma the cat) headed to North Carolina with a truck full of boxes and a trailer loaded with all of her worldly possessions.

She had rented a great apartment right next to one of her co-workers and it didn't take us long to have her unloaded and set up. Well, at least the furniture was set up and arranged. Dads aren't supposed to unload boxes and arrange closets. Anyway, since everyone had a busy Monday ahead of them, we grabbed a quick dinner at Outback with Melissa and her new co-worker/neighbor, Lisa, said our goodbyes, and Toni, Jon and I headed for home.

As a Dad, it is always so hard to relocate one of our children but this time I felt pretty good about Melissa's move. Not only is she involved with a great company but also a family of people who really care about her. I know she was extremely excited about getting started at work and getting settled in her new home, and as her Dad I am so happy for her. With racing seasons beginning soon for every form of motorsports, I know she and everyone else at TPI are working hard to meet lots of deadlines.

Speaking of deadlines, we are getting close to our deadline of finishing up our new Jerry Haas GTO and getting it ready to test. We still have a few weeks ahead of us but Pomona will be upon us before you know it.

Well, I guess I best get back down to the shop to see what Jamie has accomplished today. Last time I checked, the car was customized just the way we like it, the computer was up and running and I think I just saw a shipment of new rear end gears come in. I'll check in with you in a few days and hopefully be able to share some new and exciting news with you! Thanks for checking in.