“It’s delicious” Reeve Petersen said snowboarding down Green Valley at Crystal Mountain, Thursday morning, January 19, 2012. With HW 410 closed from downed trees Petersen of Greenwater was one of the lucky few enjoying a mostly empty mountain. The Summit House waiter said “After the holiday rush it’s good to get a little privacy on the mountain.”(Janet Jensen/Staff photographer)

Santa Claus says “Hello from the North Pole” to Jason Pratt, 4, via a video conference at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, December 13, 2011. In reality Santa was holed up in a hospital conference room. Ryan Mathus, left, a systems engineer with Cisco Systems Inc., was a member of the team that wheeled the portable video-link setup into young patients’ rooms who would have had difficulty being transported from their rooms to visit Santa. Registered nurse Shannon Jackson is at right.(Janet Jensen/Staff photographer)

U.S. Army Spc. Patrick Intorre, right, and Janai Roberts kiss directly following their wedding ceremony while Shanna McMahon, left, and Zach Braun offer protection from the rain, in front of the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory at Wright Park in Tacoma, October 11, 2011. The couple selected Tuesday to wed since they consider eleven their lucky number. Pierce County District Court Judge Pat O’Malley, who officiated their marriage, selected the location after the couple were denied a mid-day marriage time by other judges. Intorre’s work schedule wouldn’t accommodate 4pm–when courtrooms are available for marriages. Without a courtroom O’Malley offered to conduct the brief ceremony at noon under a tree at Wright Park. And to make sure everyone found the same tree he suggested meeting in front of the Conservatory.(Janet Jensen/Staff photographer)