Sundance Ski Lift with Grandma Nelson

It was a beautiful day and we had a great time! Luckily I had Junie in the front-pack, since she kept trying to squirm down and asking to "play, play, play." She also waved and called "hi" to the people we passed on the lift (I remember Daisy did this when we went two years ago!).

Beautiful bright oranges

Let's go again next Fall!

Late-November Garden

We have been enjoying several weeks of sunny-but-cold weather, interspersed with sunny-and-even-almost--warm.  One day we went to Red Butte Garden to enjoy the sunshine and let everyone run around for a few hours---expecting to find everything pretty much brown and dead---but we were pleasantly surprised by how lovely everything still was.  Many of the leaves were still bright on the trees, and we saw lots of interesting textures we might not have noticed in more verdant company.  There is something so uplifting about being outside in the sun and the air after many days of indoors, even if it's a little chilly!    

Fly, birdie, fly!

This birdie is always hunkering down and hoping someone will pet him.  I love his expectant "birdie" look (he gets this particular expression on his face only when he is being a Birdie)

The evening light was unbelieveably pretty---so golden and slanted.  It always takes me by surprise when this light comes on at about 4 p.m.; I guess I'm not used to winter hours yet.  But it is so gorgeous for the brief time it lasts.

The pond was iced over in places (very interesting to our little explorers)

Last rays of sun

Silver Lake

Last week we had a few glorious days before the cold and rain hit.  I'd heard weather reports so I was feeling urgent about getting back up the canyon while the leaves were still at their prettiest.  So, one day the kids and I (minus Sam, who was teaching his class) went up to walk around Silver Lake at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  The colors were amazing.  So amazing, in fact, that we returned five days later (after the snow had come) with Sam to see if they were still as good.  They weren't, of course (which made me extra glad we hadn't missed them earlier) but the mountains are beautiful anyway. It is a lovely walk around the lake (boardwalk and easy trail) and we hope to return again next year!  I'll include a few pictures from both of our trips, the warm and the cold.

Before and after.  Not much change in this sweet girl's sunny mood, but her head was better bundled the second time. :)

Before

After (brrr!)

My faithful helper

This was on the second trip--see the snow on the mountainside--but what a lovely mirror lake!

Squaw Peak

We drove up to the Squaw Peak overlook to see the leaves on our way down to the football game last week.

While we were there, we got to watch two hang gliders launching off, as well as . . . whatever this winged thing is (paraglider?).  It was really cool.  The hang gliders were caught up in the wind so smoothly, it didn't even look scary.

Naturally, everyone spent the rest of the time pretending to be hang gliders (no one actually launched himself or herself off the mountainside, luckily)

Later, we saw them waaaay up above us, like tiny birds

This was shortly after I told Junie to "go on ahead"

A lot of cute people (by the way, Abe's Honey Bear shirt "counts as his BYU shirt", he says, because he loves it so much).  Last time we went here, there were a few fewer.

I was there too