winterlude winterlude my little darling

we had the perfect winter getaway.

our trip to utah was just too packed full of fun, and i want to write about it all at once, so here goes...you've been warned :)

we started out saturday with brunch at sammys.

it's a favorite provo spot; we adore for its cutesy punkrock vibe, walls plastered with funny polaroids, and super cheap grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato and onion.

oh and lest we forget...

sweet potato fries!

then we headed up into the mountains through the canyon past the half-icy winding river,

into a winter wonderland!

we dropped the kids off at amy's aunt's house in midway utah, which is a pristine little wild-west-meets-ski-resort place in the heart of the snowy mountains.

the "hot pots" nearby were worth checking out...

it ended up one of the highlights of the trip for me:

matt and i risked getting soaked (which we did) and took a brisk (freezing!) run through the snow over to see them.

met a little buddy warming his bum on the thawed ground near the springs.

he was so quiet and peaceful i thought he was someone's domestic rabbit, escaped.

but the minute i took this photo, he dashed away quick as a wild creature should be!

what a BEAUTY, mesmerizing.

the hot springs, out in the middle of that blizzarded landscape, just steaming away...

oh hello nature. for a second i almost forgot how dazzlingly intelligent and benevolent you can be.

my brother and i. the adventurous ones.

well, amy too but she had to keep addie company; addie was like NO THANKS i'm not running through snow and getting soaking wet and freezing and miserable.

we, on the other hand, well... we can never pass up a little adventure.

and then it got even more wintry.

this is where we parked to go to the sundance film festival; this is the deer valley ski resort and from there you get a free shuttle into the bustling madhouse of park city.

we stood out in this mini-blizzard with girls in thigh-high black leather skirts, all waiting for the bus, some more freezing than others!

no wonder our first stop was Java Cow Coffee for warm treats.

everywhere we go, we get to talking so much that we stay way too long and forget what other things we were trying to do. no wonder we didn't have the time/gumption to try to see an actual film.

but, amidst the throngs of people all staring at each other to see if they are someone famous, we did get to pose in front of the Egyptian Theater, where so much of Sundance goes down.

and then on to the bookstore, one of those bookstores that only has new stuff but seems to stock the best selection of everything, from nature books to literature to biographies to notecards...so that you want one of everything and you could spend ten thousand dollars...

with the bonus of having the sweetest old cat in the world, mister Che, who loves to snuggle.

and the extra added bonus of being attached to the candy store, where amy bought an entire bag full of atrociously delicious goodies, luckily we all get to share!

we couldn't leave without checking out our favorite western trading post.

how cool would it be to have a real bearfur coat from the 1890s?

did you see True Grit? the old grizzled tangly bearded fur trapper dude? loved him. i want to be his bride out in the wild wild woods; reminds me of milla's story about the girl who married a bear.

we picked up the kids late at night, drove home on crazyslippery icy roads, and stayed up till 3 in the morning talking.

next day we got a very late start and made it to Crystal Hot Springs just before dusk.

this is the place that supposedly made jarom's wound feel so much better.

actually all of us were feeling pretty great after our soak.

we do think it was extra crowded, possibly due to the sundance peeps in town for the festival?

 apparently it is the most mineral-rich hot springs in the USA!

a lady in the dressing room said, "excuse me, miss? i love your style, all of you! are you sisters? please wait till my daughter gets out so you can show her your outfits, she's gonna love this." she commented on each one of us, even bella. so we had to get a picture afterwards in the lobby.

we headed to squatters brewpub in salt lake city for the most delicious dinner and beer. if you like the double ipa you have to buy it bottled because utah state law limits draft beer to something like 4%. but their "hop rising" is definitely worth drinking from a bottle.

also, they make a damn fine yellow thai curry with tofu.

we were in heaven.

our last morning, we got up just in time to see these cuties off to school.

can you tell which one loves it and which doesn't? :) (even though they're both brilliant)

and this cutie tike gets to stay home and play with mama.

"this box of play-do is SO STRONG" as he carries it upstairs.

amy shows off her cute new thrifted embroidered jumper right before we make one more stop at DI (felt like we were there for 20 minutes, it was actually almost 2 hours ?!)

we met matty for a nice lunch and then headed home, making it across the vastness of nevada in record time

with a million sweet new memories in our hearts.
if you made it this far, thanks for looking so long! i have to make this scrapbook count especially for such a whirlwind trip!