Christmas in Utah

David and I enjoyed a beautiful, calm white Christmas with each other in SLC.  For the month of December, David was on a plastic surgery rotation and was scheduled to work Christmas Eve. That morning the sweet, sweet fellow on his service told him to go home and spend time with his wife which gave us four whole days together.  So, when David got sent home we decided to go skiing.

We had a blast on the gorgeous, blue-sky day...

View from the lift - I think I could live here...

Tim came with us...

On Christmas Eve we went to the candlelight  service at church then to dinner at our friends Melissa and Dan's house. Melissa made some delicious soup, some appetizers, and pumpkin pie. We went home, snuggled on the couch for a bit, then went to bed.

Our living room on Christmas Eve...

I loved all of our Christmas cards...

Christmas morning we slept in then got up and made a breakfast casserole together. We spent the morning in our pajamas exchanging presents and watching Christmas movies snuggled up on the couch. David had made plans for us that night, but wouldn't tell me the surprise just yet. 


We started a few Christmas traditions of our own this year.  Each Christmas we will give each other an ornament in our stockings. This year I bought David a Tennessee football themed ornament and he gave me a Moose that says Salt Lake City, UT 2009 so that we will remember our first Christmas here together.  I've been trying to collect ornaments on trips that we've taken.  I have one from our honeymoon and hope to keep collecting so that every year while putting up our Christmas tree we can reminisce on years past.  


About noon we decided to go venture outside to truly enjoy our first white Christmas. We went to a park close by called This Is The Place Heritage Park. It was beautiful and all decorated for Christmas. They had live reindeer, working trains, and a village built just as it would have looked in the 1800's. We had a great time playing and exploring as if we were kids again.

Apparently Santa's reindeer relax in SLC after a busy Christmas Eve...

David considered getting a shave...

We came back home and got ready for our big date.  Once in the car we headed towards Park City. 

Park City's Main Street Christmas Day...

After arriving at our destination, David finally let me in on the secret. We went on an old fashioned horse drawn sleigh ride through the mountains up to a lodge where chefs prepared a gourmet western meal.  We had delicious prime rib and fresh Utah trout, mashed potatoes, green beans, caesar salad, soup, and lots of hot spiced apple cider while sitting by a fire.  

One of the horses that pulled us up the mountain

We arrived here...

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Warming up with some hot apple cider...

Perfect atmosphere...

It was a little chilly...

Our first Christmas was amazing.  I can't wait to share many more with this amazing man.  He is so kind and thoughtful and always full of surprises.