Staycationing 101

Oh Summerness, how I love thee. We spent last weekend tucked away in Deer Valley with friends. It was one of those off-the-diet-hair-in-a-bun all weekend treasures! This time of year the mountains are nothing short of glorious, and you can't beat only 45 minutes in the car to feel like you're a world away. I must have been overly excited to be on vacation because I failed to sleep past 7:00 am on the first morning. Apparently BD was even more pumped because he nearly jumped for joy when I finnnnally started stirring around 6:30 am. Such a vacation no-no.

Friday night we went to the Deer Valley Music Festival and heard The Von Trapp Children with the Utah Symphony. Perched on blankets in the snow park amphitheater we shared a beautiful picnic and I was introduced to cranberry mustard and now I can never go back. Me and cranberry mustard must never be separated again. The Von Trapp's were delightful and fun to sing along in such a pristine Sound-of-Music-y setting. I loved every Dirndl minute of it. 

I smothered little ellejay with no less than 10,000 kisses. The look on her face really says it all. I'm sorry littlemiss, but aunt G has her needs. Someday I will sneak you gum, k? Maybe it's because I adore her mother to no end. Maybe it's because she is a miracle baby that was never meant to be, and yet is. Maybe it's her sweet mohawk. Maybe it's because at 9 months she's oodles of fun and yes, that stinkin' cute. Whatever it is, this littlemiss fills us both with so much hope. She tugs at my heart!

 

The rest of the weekend included a scenic drive to Oakley for lunch and a caramel-Oreo malt at the Road Island Diner, a little baby buffalo {swooooon} and a never-ending rendition of "The Wheels on the Bus" because Leah would cry when mom stopped singing. Oh so cute. Kim had that bus doing things I didn't know buses could do! Superb Mommy skills.

We also spent some time poolside where I somehow managed to unevenly burn the left side of my body to an indelicate crisp. I'm so over being tan. There was nap time, not just for the babe. Come dinner time we ate an elegant meal on the outside patio; I am of the opinion that in the summer it is an absolute treat to dine outdoors. Come bed time I knew we wouldn't have any trouble sleeping in after such a full day. And we didn't. I also didn't want to go home. But we did. Thoughts of chips and salsa at the Loco Lizard certainly helped pry us out of bed and in the right direction. Rough weekend, you see?

P.S. I'm not about to let my passport expire, but I think we're enjoying the staycation thing more than we ever thought possible. If BD were writing this he'd boast "Utah is just a giant playground." My somewhat obvious, unsolicited and non-expert advice is to take advantage of local off-season deals where you can get way more bang for your buck. Oh, and make sure to go with friends, especially if they have a cute baby to munch on. Class dismissed ;).