an eclipse trip

Did you watch the eclipse? Mike and I traveled to Idaho this weekend to be in the path of totality. I thought Mike was kind of crazy when he mentioned it a few months ago, but oh, it was amazing! I keep watching the video I shot of the moment of totality over and over again (you can see it in my instagram), and it gives me goose bumps each time. It was an incredible experience.

This photo was snapped during totality. You can see that it wasn't totally dark, but pretty nearly. It was so, so strange.

We met up with my parents in Victor, Idaho. The skies were clear and the temperature was just right.

As we neared totality, the temperature dropped significantly and the sky started to darken, but it wasn't until the moon completely covered the sun that it got dark. I can't even describe it. It was surreal and spiritual and breathtaking. If you ever get the chance to witness a total eclipse, do it! Make it happen. You won't regret it.

One of my favorite parts of yesterday, though, was when totality was complete someone started blaring the song, Total Eclipse of My Heart. It was perfect. Not my favorite part: the post-eclipse traffic. Oh man, it was intense getting out of Idaho! We barely made our flight home.

But before the eclipse, we spent a little bit of time with my parents in Sundance. I hiked with my mom and we ate dinner together at the Foundry Grill. I felt so lucky to be there twice in one summer!

Mike and I made our way slowly north, stopping at temples along the way. First was Payson, for our Mabel, who was born in Payson. Then the new Provo City Center Temple (SO gorgeous, wow!).

And then up to Logan. Utah (and Idaho) is such a beautiful state. I am glad we were able to spend the weekend there. We had such a nice trip.

And now I'm scheming how I can see the next total eclipse in 2024. . .

happy weekend

It turns out that the Fourth of July is a good day to drive home from Utah. The roads are mostly empty and there are really great fireworks displays dotting the sky as you descend into the valley. We pulled into our driveway just in time to light a few sparklers and send everyone to bed.

We were away for two weeks, which felt like a good long time, but we were ready to come home. We are homebodies through and through and even though Sundance, Utah is my favorite place in the world to visit, home is my favorite place to be. I spent the rest of the week getting back into the swing of things and reminding myself that I don't need to drink Dr Pepper everyday.

The kids missed our cats while we were gone. I surprised myself by really missing my bike! None of us missed the heat, but summer time in Arizona is what it is. And strangely enough, 100 degrees at midnight feels like home.

More photos of our trip to come. . . Have a great weekend!

summer in Sundance, part two

Here's something fun we did while we were in Utah: We spent a day at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City. It has lots of fun activities, like ropes courses, zip lines, and an alpine slide.

Elliot is obsessed with American Ninja Warrior, so he was excited to try this ropes course. He and Oliver both said it was harder than it looked, but they did it! And then they had to zip line off. Ah!

It was so high, and Elliot looked so small, but he was brave! I almost couldn't watch, I was so nervous, but he said it was a lot of fun.

Meanwhile, Mike had the ride of his life. Just kidding. He loved the summer tubing slope the best. It went so fast and looked so scary! (You can see the track behind Oliver in the zip line photo just above.) My favorite thing was watching the ski jump team practice into the pool.

A tip if you decide to go to the Olympic Park: wear sunscreen and a hat! There's not a speck of shade anywhere, and we all came home a little pink.

Mabel was at EFY at BYU with her cousin, Audrey, all week. We spotted her from afar as we went to the BYU bookstore for our annual indoctrination tour.

This is my parents' backyard. (Take me back!)

And this is the stream that runs through the bottom of it.

We went on lots of walks.

My parents' house looks so different when it's not covered in snow. :) I love Sundance in all seasons, but summer is my favorite.

We took one final walk to the stream before we headed home to this hot, brown, burning desert. Sigh. This trip almost made me regret encouraging Mike to attend ASU instead of BYU for his MBA in the fall. Almost.

summer in Sundance, part one

We spent last week at my parent's house in beautiful Sundance, Utah, where I learned that one week is not long enough in that place! I was homesick for it the minute we left. Luckily, I took a ton of pictures.

My sister, Leslie, and her family were there with us. We gathered the cousins for our traditional cousin bench photo outside the Foundry Grill. Too bad we are missing the other 13.5!

Just up the road from my parents' house is a beautiful stretch of manicured lawn. We borrowed it one perfect evening for some frisbee.

Every summer, I try to snap a photo of Stella snuggling my dad. It's never difficult to do. :)

This walk through the ferns leads to the Sundance stables (and then to lots of paths through the mountains). This night, we stopped to feed the horses some carrots.

Stella and Elliot braved a lift ride with my mom.

And a trip to Sundance in the summer is never complete without a dip in my mom's friends' pool. She lives in Provo Canyon, high up and away from the world.

And to the boys' delight, she just finished installing a real live baseball field on her property. It was so fun. But I mean, that view!

more to come . . .

Christmas at Sundance: in the snow

It feels like a dream now, but while we were at my parents' house, it snowed and snowed and snowed.  I snuck out of the house for a few minutes to take some photos of the winter wonderland.

There is a road in there somewhere!

My dad spent hours clearing his driveway.

This is what "snowed in" looks like. The road to Sundance was closed for over a day while we were there, so we really were stuck. I didn't mind one bit.

One afternoon, while the skiers skied and the snowboarders snowboarded, we went sledding at Soldier Hollow in Midway. Well, Mike and the kids went sledding. I stayed in the warm lodge with my mom, who had foot surgery recently and was still on a scooter. Also, did I mention that it was snowing? I was happy to stay dry inside. Living in Arizona has made me completely incapable of dealing with cold, wet weather.

Which is why there are lots of pictures taken from inside the house. Desert living didn't seem to have the same effect on my children, though, as they spent hours outside digging and sledding and building snowmen.

Brother Lincoln and his adorable family.

Sister Julianne and her son, Ben.

Ben says goodbye for now! Thanks for the memories, Sundance!

Christmas at Sundance: in the house

We spent the week before Christmas at my parents' house in snowy Sundance, Utah. I don't think I saw my kids the entire trip. They were so busy with their cousins, playing in the triangle room, or out in the snow. I was able to sit on the couch and visit with my parents and brothers and sisters and knit. It was pretty great. 

Here are some highlights from inside the warm house:

Newest cousin, Richard, was the sweetest.

Cousin Ben was a favorite, too.

And cousin Dane, who turned three while we were there, kept us all in stitches.

Stella had Sadie and Elliot had David. They were perfect pairs.

I had my sisters, whom I don't see nearly often enough.

And everyone had their laptops. :) I guess work still has to be done, even the week before Christmas while on vacation.

pictured: sister-in-law Katie, brother Matt, husband Mike, sister Julianne, and sister Leslie

not pictured: the boys- Oliver, Jack, Max, Parker, and Miles, and the girls- Mabel, Annie, and Audrey, and my parents! I can't believe I didn't get a single picture of my parents.