Bryce Canyon

My best friend, Emily, had a big birthday recently which we celebrated in Southern Utah.  Unfortunately, my camera took a dive in to some water, so I don't have many pictures to show you. I do have a few from friends.  We spent a night in a super nice cabin outside of Zion National Park (Thanks James).  Although I love camping and sitting outdoors next to a fire, I have to admit it was great to be able to sleep on a nice, soft mattress and wake up to a warm shower the next morning. 

We spent the day in Zion then came back to the cabin, cooked dinner, ate cake, and played catch phrase. There was also a pinata beaten for its candy.  

Blowing out her candles.  Of course its Funfetti cake!

 With her family

The next day we went to Bryce Canyon - 

Yet another beautiful place we've come across in this state full of surprises.  

 Henry lets us know what he thinks of Bryce Canyon.  That face is saying this is no Zion!

 Even though it was no Zion NP, it was still quite beautiful.

The Weekend Group

 A good time was had by all.  Unfortunately it was a bad weekend for my things.  After my camera took a dive in the Narrows, my car got stuck in some mud and a tire was gashed while trying to get it out.  It all turned out alright - I ended up getting a new camera and four new tires the following week which may have been a blessing in disguise with all of this snow we've had here lately. Its nice to have good tread while driving on this slippery stuff.

Scary, Fun, New Hobbies

Since we live in one of the most beautiful states with so many outdoor activities at our fingertips, we are trying to take life by the horns and experience everything it has to offer.

Some sweet friends of ours are quite the outdoorsmen and on a weekend trip to Zion National Park (my most favorite NP), they planned a rappelling adventure.  David had done some rappelling in the past, but I was a rookie.  Luckily, they were patient with me.  

This was the beginning of the trail. We hiked and rappelled down cliffs for 5 miles into that crevice.

Our fearless, skilled leader Andy

In one of the narrow parts of the canyon, having a blast...

Dave

I'm starting to get the hang of it

At first it is hard to let go and give all your weight to the rope, but once you've done that its an amazing feeling.

Cool view looking up from the top of one of the long rappels

James on the first long rappel

David - dropping over 100 feet!

Me - only slightly terrified!

The last rappel was into water. This is me dropping in to the Narrows - a gorgeous hike in Zion NP

Notice all of the people stopped to watch and take pictures of the crazy people jumping off the cliff, haha.

View from the bottom.

We had such a fabulous time and we can't wait to try out some different canyoneering trails.  Now that winter has set in, we won't be heading back out until spring.  

In Laws

In September, David's parents traveled from east Tennessee to visit us in Utah.  They had fabulous, warm, sunshiny weather during their stay.  It was great to have them with us.

On their last night in town, we went to this wonderful little restaurant called Log Haven. David took me there for my birthday last year and we fell in love with it.  It is an old log cabin almost hidden in Millcreek Canyon with picture-perfect views of the stream, waterfall, and cliffs. We had great food, wine, and enjoyed each others company. 

Check out their website here.  I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the Salt Lake area.

Cindy, Dave, David, and me at dinner.

Anniversary Trip: Grand Teton & Jackson Hole, WY

For our anniversary weekend, we also went to Grand Teton National Park and spent the night in Jackson Hole, WY

David drooling over the sailboats.

We spent a night in Jackson Hole, WY

Our home for the night...

Jackson Hole has such a cute downtown.

Delicous Breakfast!

The second day,we rented a canoe and explored the breathtaking Jenny Lake. 

Beautiful Grand Tetons

Then we drove home on our actual anniversary. Since we didn't save the top of our wedding cake - well, we saved it one day and then ate it before leaving for our honeymoon - I decided to recreate it.

I made one layer of funfetti and one layer of strawberry cake and topped it with buttercream frosting.  I have to say that it was delicious and I think tasted much better than a 1 year old frozen cake!

We had a fabulous first year and I can't wait for many, many more!

Our Anniversary Trip: Yellowstone

This August 29th marked the first anniversary of our marriage. To celebrate a fabulous year as husband and wife, we spent a long weekend in Yellowstone, Grand Tetons National Park, and Jackson Hole,WY.

It was great to visit these places that I'd heard of since childhood.  One thing I love about living out west is the unlimited number of weekend trips, so many of which are a short 4 hour drive away - like this one.


Yellowstone National Park was beautiful. I'd love to go back again for some of the great hikes, but there is so much you can see just by driving through.

What they gave us at the entrance...

Got to love the imagery

Steam coming up from the earth.  A large portion of Yellowstone NP sits atop a caldera, or a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. It's what makes Yellowstone so incredible, housing half of earth's geothermal features in this one place. 

At Artist's Point

Incredible

Ofcourse, we had to see Yellowstone's most famous geyser...
 Old Faithful

Literally boiling from the earth

Beautiful hydrothermal hot springs

And great wildlife too.

Yellowstone Lake

Cat Comes to Visit

My best friend/cousin/twin, Catherine, came to visit me in Utah for the first time this summer. We had a great time filling our days with hiking, shopping, laying out, eating, ect.  I tried really hard to convince her to move here, but think I have my work cut out for me due to her exciting life in NYC.


Here are some of our adventures...

At the Farmer's Market

At Temple Square

At our yummy breakfast at Silver Fork

View from Breakfast

Cat and Peyton's First Hike!

Laying by the pool in SLC

Alpine slide in Park City