Utah!

   So my new macbook just came in the mail, and I thought I'd break it in by posting some pics of our trip to see my cousins Jenn, Tim, and Redwolf and my niece Stori. We had such a great time, despite the initial debacle with my luggage. I can't say how good it was to finally get some time together. They moved out there from here in NC this past fall, and saying that I've missed them is the understatement of the century. We had a full week of exploring Park City (one of the best small towns ever), snow tubing, bushwhacking through waist-high snow to snowboard and sled, a beautiful train ride around a frozen lake, a horse drawn sleigh ride, and lots of just hanging out and being together. Unfortunately my poor brother had an accident on his first day of skiing and wasn't able to ski the whole rest of the trip. He looked pretty pitiful limping through the snow all week on his crutches. But other than that, everything couldn't have been better. Stori has grown so much just in these past six months, and I can't believe how much she's changed and learned. It's amazing how fast they pick things up at only two years of age. It made me realize how important it really is to plan and prioritize more trips out there so I don't miss so much. It's hard being separated from the ones we love, but it makes the time in our visits together so sweet.

   Aside from the sheer joy of being with my family, the beauty of the mountains of Utah is indescribable. Everywhere you look seems like a postcard. All it needs is a postage stamp and a little caption in the snow that says "Wish you were here."

   On our drives to see something scenic, each bend in the road was even more beautiful than the last. Now I love the blue ridge mountains where I'm from more than I can say. They roll gently into each other, their different shades of blue blending like a watercolor painting, and I love the way the clouds nestle themselves down in the valleys between each peak. It's beautifully blue, and comfortable. It's home. But the mountains in Northern Utah are completely different.

   They are incredibly grand and majestic, and their sharp peaks rise straight up, piercing through the clouds. Some of them are high enough in elevation that the snowcaps never melt. They couldn't be more impressive. And framing the mountains is the brightest bluest sky I've ever seen, complete with huge billowing cotton white clouds. As much as I love my beloved blue mountains, I never fail to be completely awed by the Utah mountain ranges.

   While we were there, one morning we all got a wild hair to go exploring back in Uinta National Park. Tim, Jenn and Redwolf are all pretty avid snowboarders and wanted to find a nice hill of fresh powder to hike and snowboard down. With my brother Matt's injured feet, sledding was as adventurous of a snow activity as he could manage. So off we went, driving through the beautiful national park, scouting out clean mountain sides. I, knowing absolutely nothing about how to pick out good snowboarding snow, thought they all looked pretty great. But eventually we found one that Tim deemed good enough for us.

   As soon as he made his first steps into the snow, six foot tall Tim sank up to his waist in the fresh powder. I couldn't believe how deep it was. He and Wolf and Matt looked like a line of mountain goats as they slowly carved a little path up the side of the hill. But apparently all their hard work was completely worth it and the boarding was great. Boys being boys, they built a pretty great snow ramp just to kick it up a notch. Matt had fun scooting his way around on the sled and Jenn and Stori and I had fun falling around in the snow and cheering them on. I have to say, it was a pretty great way to spend an afternoon, and if you ever get the chance to create your own snowboard/sledding run, I totally recommend it.

Tim and their loyal Labrador Yoda hiking through the snow. 

Yoda was light enough to stay on top of the snow most of the time.

Stori and Jenni getting geared up to trek through the snow.

Stori was so excited and bundled up, ready to go, then Jenni (she'll kill me for saying this) jokingly poked at her and barely knocked her back in the snow, causing a full scale pouting meltdown. Smile to tears in three seconds or less. That's my girl lol.

Tim on his first few runs down the hill. For a make-shift snowboarding run, I was impressed.

Stori was a little more into the cuddling than the snowboarding.

I still can't get over how deep that snow was. Matt's six feet tall! Fortunately the snow was so soft that he was able to walk through it and still have some fun.

Redwolf carving his way down the hill and flying over the snow ramp. He looks pretty good doesn't he?

More Stori and Mommy lovin'. Who could resist kissing that sweet little face?

Matt flying down the hill, over the ramp, and totally wiping out in a pretty impressive spray of snow. I'd give his jump an 8.5 and his crash a solid 10. Check out his face when he's in the air. Hilarious.

Like I said before, I know virtually nothing about snowboarding, but I thought Tim looked pretty great in these jumps. The boys worked really hard building that ramp, and he totally rocked it.

And as impressive as his jumps were, his falling might have been even more so. He didn't fall much, but when he did, he did it like a champ. As I always say, if you're going to bomb, do it with gusto.

How cute is he on his little sled?

Redwolf was apparently immune to the cold, so Tim had to take advantage of the moment.
Who could resist that?

After a really fun, but long day, the girls passed out as soon as we got in the car to go home.
But not before we saw this sign:

When we were driving and saw "Nudist Ave" we just had to turn and see what was there. And then we came up on this sign, and could hardly believe it. Not exactly what you expect to find when you're driving around Utah is it?

  All in all, it was a perfect way to spend a day together. Honestly, I didn't care what we did as long as we were together. But this was just so much fun, and I'm so glad we have the memories. I have more photos to share so I'll post more soon.