A Sundance Date

 A few weeks ago Jeff and I sent Calvin with my parents for the night and had ourselves a fancy little  date. We ate dinner at the Tree Room at Sundance and attended the Utah Symphony's patriotic concert at the amphitheater.

I felt like I hadn't gotten all gussied up for a date in a while and boy was it refreshing to carry only a small clutch, wear my favorite bracelets without fear of having them ripped off by tiny hands, and only have to worry about myself spilling on my white shirt.

However, we did spend the entire intermission looking at photos and videos of our baby because we are kind of really obsessed. He, meanwhile, spent his night looking at farm animals, going on four-wheeler rides, and staying up until 11 pm eating popcorn. Win, win for all involved.

Any night spent in Utah mountains during the summer is magical to me, and gosh I'm lucky to have Jeff. July 9th is the day we got engaged seven years ago. Time has flown by, but I still remember that night on a beach in Miami like yesterday. What we both wore, what we talked about, what we ordered at dinner, and how I said nothing for five whole minutes when he proposed. (I really didn't see it coming!)

So far no seven-year itch Jeff. You're still the best decision I made.

We are alive

What can I say, we have emerged from winter victorious and I haven't cared to spend but a minute on my computer lately. Winter wasn't as dark, dreary, depressing, and lonely as I expected (here's to anticipating the worst!) but it was just bad enough that when spring showed her glorious face and temps decided to stay above 50 I bid adieu to days inside.

However, considering how much Calvin enjoys flipping through my past years' blog books, I decided I should continue to document our wildly exciting lives. Our lives, which are not wildly exciting, really are great. I recently went to NYC with my family and the trip was amazing. Like I-forgot-how-great-traveling-with-my-family-is amazing. I surprised myself though with how much I missed Calvin and Jeff. It was my first time away from Calvin and to be honest, the sight of little babies made me want to cry! What a sap.

The point is, I spent a lot of time thinking about how mine and Jeff's life was before Calvin. We traveled a lot together and I traveled for work. We went out to eat and to movies like it was a second job. Then little C-man came along and our adventures for the most part are much more small scale. We occasionally eat at 5 Guys because for some unknown reason Calvin is always an angel there. We are still behind on pretty much all of the big holiday blockbusters, and building Calvin's sand box is now the type of thing that keeps me up at night.

I love it. My second Mother's Day is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited or grateful.

For now, here are my three favorite photos Jeff sent me while I was away and some day soon I'll catch up on the past three months.

The great Christmas tree hunt 2013

 This bison was not involved in the hunt, but it's a really cool picture my dad took somewhere.

Back to the story. This year's hunt was one of our best. We discovered a new place, with a much smoother road, good views, and a Costa Vida near by :) Last year's drive made my pregnant body nearly lose bladder control the whole way, so this year was a dream.

Plus it was Calvin's first time. He loved the pack, even in the snow, until he fell asleep about 15 minutes in.

 Cheeks and peace for this baby girl.

 Morgan is the best aunt and those boys adore her.

 Jeff bringing home the prize. He does not settle and this year's tree is as good as ever.

 Helping to bring my parent's tree to the trucks. The men hiked clear to the top of that mountain, which didn't look too bad until they had to bring back huge trees.

I love my family so much. And next year....Collin will be with us! Wahoo!

The rest of our Thanksgiving weekend was amazing too, though I didn't take any pictures. We enjoyed the most amazing dinner at Jeff's parent's home on the big day and I'm pretty sure I ate more than I ever have. It was disgusting really and I'm still trying to move past it. But I don't regret it!

We also put up our tree and Christmas decorations, watched the annual Auburn/Alabama game and couldn't believe our eyes when Auburn pulled it off, did a little hiking, and a lot of relaxing.

War eagle people. War eagle.

That holiday I forgot to write about

 

Somehow Halloween slipped by without being documented. It was a dandy time as always.

 We did the annual hayride, pumpkin patch trip with the family to search for the great pumpkin.

 I don't know what's going on here but it makes me laugh.

 Meg, Morg, Mom and I attended a witch party at my Aunt Deb's. It was so much fun. I love girls nights with them.

 And this little spider made his Halloween debut by posing on the porch and eating the one sucker in his hand. He was a pretty good sport about it. Jeff carved a minion pumpkin too, it was a big hit with the kids.

I'm a mountain climber

Seven Years in Tibet is one of my all-time favorite movies. Brad Pitt plays an Austrian mountain climber and our favorite quote from the movie is when he says in his thick Austrian accent, "I am a mountain climber! I climb mountains!"

Climbing mountains is what I would like to do for a living. However, I don't want to climb any mountains with snow (Kilimanjaro would be my one exception) and now that we have Calvin and have to pack him, I don't want anything too strenuous. Basically I would just like to spend part of every day hiking. Mountains and trees are my favorite things next to God and family. Jeff and I want to take a trip to the redwoods/Big Sur in the near future and I told him I'm pretty sure I'll cry when I see those massive trees.

We were fortunate enough to get in some amazing late summer and fall hikes. I made it a goal to hike at least once a week in September and I'm happy to report that I did.

You'll notice Calvin is almost always smiling. I think he loves hiking as much as me. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Well done Utah, you're amazing. Here are ten million pictures of our adventures.