Let it Snow!

I had such an incredible weekend. Sometimes you don't even realize it, but you just need a break. I guess that's where I was, because today I feel more optimistic and pleasant than I have for awhile. Maybe it's the official start of Rivalry Week or the change in the weather making it feel more like the Holidays, but I think it's more likely thanks to two of my favorite people, Ashley and her little girl, Sam. On Saturday we started out our day going to Gardner Village. I needed to do some Christmas shopping that I wanted Ashley's opinion on, and as a bonus we got to see all their fun decorations. I didn't realize they'd already be decorated for Christmas, but I was glad they were.

Sam particularly enjoyed the little elves we saw all over. I think she liked that they were her same size. She doesn't look too happy in this picture, but trust me--she liked them. :)

We made our way up to Heber City. It was Sam's naptime, and Ashley thought it'd be good if we could find a movie to watch while she fell asleep. Well, Heber City has two movie theaters. Don't be too impressed--they only show one movie a piece. There was a showing of Mega Mind 3D starting soon, so we decided to hit it up, even though neither Ashley nor myself had ever heard of the movie and we both don't care for 3D. But it was such a hoot! And the 3D wasn't bad at all.

Kate was kind enough to take care of Zipsie for the weekend. While she dealt with this:

I got to enjoy this:

This is a pic of Sam waiting for the "North Pole Express" on the Heber Valley Railroad. It was so fun!

As we headed out of town, the snow started coming down. We decided to spend the night in Park City rather than continue down the mountain. Even though it's dark, this is the view from our hotel room just minutes after we checked in:

Ash and I were each in one of the beds, so I think Sam thought this was her spot:

What a cutie!

I'm sure you all know that I love my nieces and nephews. I try my best to make sure that I spend time with each of them every week or so. But sometimes it's hard. So when I get the chance to really spend time with one of them, I feel so grateful. I have three nieces that were born within five months of each other. They're all so close in age that it's sometimes easy to lump them together as "the babies." But it's incredible how truly unique they each are, even at such a young age. I'm glad I got to spend time with Sam this weekend and get to know her better for who she is, separate from her cousins.

And I can't really believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad it snowed. :)