Boarding at the 'Bird

One of Matt's best friends got married in Idaho last weekend so Jake and I flew out to Utah a week early to play. The trip turned out quite a bit differently than I planned (more on that later), but I still managed to sneak in a little bit of play time. My not-so-little brother Christian took me up to Snowbird for a mini-snowboarding session on a beautiful Saturday morning. It was so much fun just hanging out with him, and the fact that I (finally!) learned how to carve was just icing on the cake. My brother should really be a snowboard instructor. Thanks again for the lesson, Kiken!

Utah is so pretty.

Grand

As many of you already know, the holidays are hardly complete without a visit to Temple Square.

This year, we headed North early and stopped by the Grand America to check out its Christmas displays first. My little brothers had a great time on their scavenger hunt to find the penguin's star in all of the window displays, and we were all rewarded with fresh cookies when they completed the task.

Then, we rode a Trax train a few blocks down the street for our main event.

No matter how many times you see the Christmas lights at Temple Square, they never get old. They're just so pretty and happy and all of those wonderful things. The weather was perfect for a nice, long stroll under the lights.

One baby nap later, it was time to head home. We had a bit of a wait for our train, but Jakey kept us plenty entertained. He's good at that, you know.

Fire on the slopes

We're always on the lookout for new, fun things to do, and the Torchlit Parade at Deer Valley easily fit the bill. For about forty minutes, the slopes lit up as expert skiers carried torches down in various impressive patterns. It was a cool little show.

After the skiers snuffed their torches, we stuffed our bellies with free cookies, cocoa and cider. Then we made our way to Park City's Main Street for a lovely stroll and another late-night snack.

Jake kept leaning back as far as possible to get a good look at the lights strung above the streets.

Also in Utah

Alright, one last Utah roundup post and then we'll move onto the baby shower, maternity pictures and life here in SoCal. Sound good? I actually flew out to Utah a week before Matt, so I got some quality family time in before all the festivities started. It's so nice to just hang out with family, doing regular things like:

*Playing at the park with my little brothers and running with my mom.

*Enjoying a free summer symphony on the lawn with good friends.

My cheer sis, Ali, joined us with her husband Brian and little boy Brody. Love them.

*Helping Mom in the kitchen.

*Playing games until the early hours of the morning... almost every night.

*Visiting my little brother at work and eating yummy ice cream.

*Chasing the babies on the trampoline (K, this one was just Matt this time around for obvious reasons!).

I also enjoyed just running errands with my mom. It's the little things, you know?