this morning

when i woke up this morning, my kitchen was filled with the most beautiful natural light. and birds were chirping. birds were chirping. i don't remember the last time i heard that sound. the sun was out! it was gorgeous and springy and made me smile.

but i still had to take a scalding hot shower to get warm.

so i knew it was too good to be true.

but at least i know spring is on it's way.

a good morning song here.

fog

Utah seems to be having an identity crisis lately. It started with several weeks straight of below freezing temperatures... without any snowfall. Next came a morning of freezing rain. Which I have never seen in Utah in my entire lifetime. It was a rare sight! I had to pull over mid-commute and scrape my windows! And now, the weather has settled with this dense, thick fog that draped the wasatch front last night and has only gotten worse. Devin was fortunate enough to spend this afternoon at the OR show, and I was getting a little sick of laying around the house so I took Cooper on a walk to give him a little exercise.

^ there's a neighborhood back there...

The fog was intense. I got lost twice! After about an hour of walking around, we finally happened upon our own backyard and came back inside. I was still a little stir-crazy and decided our next adventure would be a drive. Living in an unfamiliar city has the perk of fun and aimless drives. I love looking at houses and thought today would be the perfect day to finally find my way to the Up House, which I had been wanting to do since I found out it was in Herriman, and could see it from the [one and only] main road in town. Once I got from our street down into town, I laughed at myself. I could barely see the car in front of me, let alone find a house I had only seen from a distance as I passed by! I made a prompt left turn, right into Mcdonald's for a diet coke and went straight back home. Now cooper and I are back in bed, chugging diet coke for me, sleeping for him (that surgery must have really wiped him out! he's sleeping as much as he did when he was a baby!), and endless episodes of my newest guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl (I know, I'm awful!). Hopefully Devin will be home soon, but in the meantime, Coop and I will just keep our stink faces on.

[adorable hat knitted (is that a word?) for me by my long lost best friend, Kylee's mother. she's got a talent!]

Ski Day

Devin's wonderful boss and dear friend Jeff gifted us some day passes to Deer Valley a few weeks ago. As soon as Devin told me about them, we both knew exactly what it meant: a ski day with Brandon! Brandon, Devin's brother, works as a chef for a restaurant at Deer Valley called The Stagg, and as an employee, skis at Deer Valley for free, and very often. We will probably never get another chance to ski at Deer Valley because a) it's pretty much a country club, so b) it's unrealistically expensive. Neither of us had ever skied there before. 

And it wasn't until the night before that it occurred to me that we had scheduled our ski day for the same weekend as the Sundance Film Festival. Which means, that even if we didn't see anybody (everyone is clad in layers and goggles or glasses), chances are we were skiing among celebrities all day long - which is also pretty cool. I did see a man who looked an awful lot like Ben Affleck, so I'm counting it. 

Anyway... the weather in the valley and even up on the bench where we live in Herriman has been so awful. The air quality is the worst in the world right now and the inversion is probably a huge cause for how sick we've all been lately. Not to mention the average temperature hovering around 10 degrees every day for the last... month. That being said, my first concern was being warm and staying that way for an entire day outside on the slopes, especially since I am just now getting better from being so sick last weekend.

Friday night, when Devin got home from work, he came bearing gifts! He had gone to REI and scored on their clearance section and got me some much needed ski pants and an awesome hard shell / rain jacket I had been eyeing on backcountry.com for some time. He prides himself in the fact that he can shop for me by himself and know exactly what I'd like. And it's true, he's a pro. 

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning and dressed in layers upon layers! I had on an undershirt, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece jacket, an 800 fill (really warm and puffy) down jacket, and my hardshell. Plus, leggings, ski pants, really thick wool socks, and a fleece lined wool hat! Needless to say, I never once got cold all day! Devin's layers were basically the same, and we all stayed really warm, thankfully! 

We drove up to Kamas to Brandon's house and dropped Cooper off there to stay with Koda and Riley and we took off for the resort. Brandon's roommate Tom came along, too. 

When we got the resort, the skies were blue, the air was clear, and it was about 30 degrees! It was like a heat wave compared to the valley! We were so happy and it felt good to spend some time outside without the inversion. Deer Valley is massive compared to most of the resorts I've been to (which isn't too many). We skied from one end of the resort to the other and spent over 5 hours on the mountain! We did tons of runs and I ate it pretty bad twice (snow down your shirt mid-somersault, anyone? brrr!) - I guess that's what happens when you wait until the middle of January to get back on skis when you haven't been since March! But we did a pretty steep and long black diamond run and both Devin and I conquered that thing. I was happy with myself and so impressed with Devin's talent. He's such a natural! We rode in the fancy gondola just before our last run, and headed back to Kamas for some dinner before our legs fell off.

Dinner was a whole other event. Rewind: before we left, I asked Devin about 10 times if he thought I needed to bring my wallet for any reason. Or if I just needed my ID and he said no to both. That I probably wouldn't need it. So I didn't bring it. Which is ironic because we decided to have dinner in a bar that is known for their burgers. We went to The Notch in Kamas, and Brandon had told us this place is just like Cheers for him because everyone knows his name - he was right - he's a regular, ha! When we walked in, the woman asked to scan my ID. I told her I didn't have it, but I was, in fact, 21, and I didn't plan on ordering any drinks anyway. She said she couldn't have me in there. Devin said "she's married to me" and Brandon said "she's my sister, I promise she's 21" and Tom said "you can scan my ID twice if you want". She decided that she trusted Brandon enough to not lie to her, so she let me stay and I ordered my Diet Coke and she called me "sweetie" all night - which I hate. This is the first time I had ever been anywhere that requires you to be 21 or older since I turned 21, so I already felt weird anyway. I felt like she was watching me like a hawk the whole time! Shoulda just brought my ID! Gah! Oh well. The burger was good and the nachos were better, and the Diet Coke was flat, but we had a good time! 

On our drive back home, we stopped at Dairy Keen for a shake. I got the s'mores shake. It tasted just like a s'more. Like, exactly like one. I downed it! Devin got raspberry. Then we drove through Provo Canyon instead of Parley's so we could say hi to Devin's family on our way home since Amanda was down with the kids again. 

It was a pretty spectacular day. I love skiing and I'm glad Devin does, too. And even though my legs feel like jello today, it was totally worth it. Totally.

 

a weekend consisting of:

the wedding reception of my oldest friend, Mitch, who is finally married to his gorgeous high school sweetheart (cutest couple award status, these two) 

said wedding reception turning into a home ward reunion (which was both good and awkward - it seems like forever since i've been to my home ward)

a date night with my baby brother, who is almost 17 - which i am finally coming to terms with. 

letting said baby brother drive my car to redbox, hearing all about how he's getting his license and already had 2 dates lined up (he's so grown up!! and such a stud!)

eating an entire bag of cookies with said little brother while we half-watched "Dark Shadows" and half-babysat my crazy dog

sleeping in until 11:00 a.m. on saturday with my puppy while devin went to work

a lot of episodes of gossip girl (new favorite - so embarrassing and awesome at the same time. p.s. i want to be blair waldorf)

some home made mac-n-cheese making (failed the first try, emergency trip to the grocery store, and made the best damn mac-n-cheese this world has ever tasted on round two)

a family thanksgiving dinner in my parent's church's cultural hall with my dad's side of the family

smoked turkey (melt in your mouth deliciousness)

my first go with cranberry sauce (verdict: it's good.)

fresh pumpkin pie

my cousin announcing her pregnancy! (first great-grandbaby in the family! plus, my aunt looks way too young to be a grandma - so exciting!)

a hilarious round of white elephant (we came home with a wooden wreath in the shape of ears of corn)

my brother in law Sean getting the giggles, which resulted in devin, kelli and I all getting the giggles, too. funniest moment of the night. none of us could stop! 

realizing that i need to see my sister and brother-in-law way more often (we have so much fun together! wish they weren't in layton :( gah!)

sleeping in on sunday

getting called as the Young Single Adult Representatives / Ward Missionaries in our ward 

making a chocolate chocolate mousse pie

doing a you-take-ours-we'll-take-yours family photo session with Jared (our wedding photographer and friend) and his family

lots of wind and a crazy-hyper puppy

the world's most beautiful 9 month old baby, miss ellie medley (i'm not kidding. she's cuter than any gerber baby)

an amazing dinner made by Lynn after our photo shoot 

the discovery of roasted garlic for bread (uh-mazing)

devouring said chocolate chocolate mousse pie 

ooh-ing and aah--ing at our photos (so excited to share them!)

rain (not snow... dang it. it's december for crying out loud!)

homework :( (for devin, at least) 

needless to say, it was a pretty great weekend.

cooper's first snow

remember that Friday, when we had our first big snow? Herriman had at least 6 inches by early afternoon. I went home to let cooper out and feed him, like usual, and decided (thankfully) to record his first experience with snow. I wasn't sure how he would react to it.

the result?

H E  L O V E S  I T .

sorry it's sideways. iMovie won't let me rotate it. it's worth tilting your head to watch it though. pure puppy happiness right there.

mini sessions!

that's right, folks! Devin and I are back at it! We are so excited to offer these mini sessions just in time for the holidays! Whether you want to send out Christmas Cards or replace that outdated family photo on the mantel - let us know! This is the perfect opportunity to grab a few photos! Quick and easy :) I've got all kinds of cute ideas for styling the shoots and lots of props to personalize them! If you're interested, send me an email! katieashby26@gmail.com or text/call me at 385.201.6529

a good place

F R I D A Y

first real snow. awesome. gorgeous. antsy to ski.

crashed ryan and danica's date night and met up with them at olive garden, then went home and grabbed cooper and headed to their place for some basketball and an impromptu puppy play date.

watched the new office. a classic. i loved it!

S A T U R D A Y

slept in an extra, glorious 2 hours.

watched the snow fall from our bedroom window.

grocery shopping trip (which we actually like, so...)

devin hung out at home with brandon.

i went to city creek with my sisters and had the best time ever. girl talk, cute clothes (finally found a really great pair of thick, long, black leggings. score!), delicious Cheesecake Factory food, hilarious jokes.

cuddled up at home in blankets instead of turning the heater on.

S U N D A Y

slept in again. (looooove.)

church. (we have such an awesome ward and we love it so, so much. we love it!!!)

devin had to work

i went down to my parents with cooper for family dinner. kelli and sean came down with zero. so much fun. delicious homemade chili and cornbread. card games. playing puppies. i love my family.

more cuddling at home in blankets and relaxing, sans husband this time :(

it was a fantastic weekend. the snow has made me peculiarly happy (in that giddy, christmas feeling way). i'm terribly in love with my husband. i have an adorable dog. my family is amazing.

I ' M  I N  A  G O O D  P L A C E .

Skiing with The Hancocks

Our good friends Josh and Amy are on their way out of Utah soon, so Josh can go to school to become a P.A. and they made a "Utah Bucket List" to finish before they left. We are big fans of the beehive state, so we enlisted ourselves to help them complete their list. First on the agenda: skiing!

We went up to Sundance on Saturday for our last trip of the season. It was so warm, we didn't even use gloves, and Devin and Amy both got sunburns! The snow got pretty slushy after 12:00, so we only got a good 4 hour day in, but it was so worth it! Devin finally tried the famous nachos from The Bear Claw, and I never even fell! I was also proud when I successfully helped Amy re-learn her ski techniques. It was an awesome day! Devin spent a good amount of time on the black diamonds, totally rocking them, and I only joined him for 1 of them, but it was a great afternoon!

I'm glad the Hancocks still have several months before they move, because we are sure going to miss them! Once it gets warmer, the next thing on the list is to hike Timp!

twilight

the weekend was great. we went to Shoots for dinner for Friday. we made the plan to go earlier this week, but in my head, we were celebrating my new job. it was delicious. they have the best soy sauce. and the wonton chips? i could eat them every day. i love that place. favorite chinese restaurant, definitely. after that, we wandered over to Zion Mercantile to meet up with Shawn, who we had Coldstone with the night before after we went climbing, which was also a great addition to our fun weekend.

Devin and I have realized that we have pictures of the temples and even the proclamation in our home, but no pictures of Christ, so we wanted to change that! we love Simon Dewey's work, and will probably get one of those prints eventually, but Devin decided to get a Christus Statue. Good move, babe. I love it.

After that, we headed down to Pleasant Grove with Shawn to watch Benton Paul at Sammy's for free. Devin has gotten to know Benton pretty well, just from going to shows and spending some time with him. He is incredibly talented, and even though he only played for half an hour, it was awesome! We were joking a lot with him after that all of his fans are young girls. He said, "it's all the touring I did with David Archuleta. and the Jonas Brothers thing probably doesn't help either." (he has done some writing for the Jonas Brothers, and is good friends with them.) It was entertaining to watch these girls swoon over him and sing along. I told Devin that Benton should be on The Voice. I think he would do awesome.

After that, Shawn really wanted some Cafe Rio, so we went next door and got some frozen yogurt at Menchie's to eat with him. We were disappointed with that place. Farr's is definitely the favorite. Except I tried this thing called "Lychee" which is like a sweet grapefruit, and it was delicious. And they strawberry popping boba's, not just orange ones.

On saturday, we slept in until 10:00 and Devin got up and did some homework and studying, and went to take a test, and then we went to Sundance. We got twilight passes for skiing (which is my new favorite time to ski (2:30-9:00p.m.)) and spent a good 5 hours on the mountain. It was awesome! I think I forget how much I love skiing until I'm actually skiing. (again, there are lots of duplicates. i'm getting my money's worth before picnik closes. and by "money's worth", i'm not implying that i ever paid any money... but it is worth it. anyway... pictures...)

 

getting all our gear on

 

pausing for a photo before our first run

 

not realizing how bright it would be to take off our goggles and get a picture

making stupid faces

 

lunch. devin got a bread bowl and soup

i got a pulled pork sandwich

and we shared those chili nachos. yummm

 

making really stupid faces

 

lunchtime

 

getting a few more pictures before it got too dark, after we had shed layers of gear

 

best picture of the whole trip. he kills me!

 

prettiest views at Sundance

 

i am horrible at devin's signature move

in the middle of a twilight run

we are both pretty positive we're going to get colds after the day we had in nursery. naturally, kids don't understand germs and how they spread, so they will get right in your face and cough and sneeze all over you. it was a giant incubator for a cold in there, today. i can feel it already! good thing those kids are all so darn cute. 

we have absolutely no plans for the rest of the day, just the way we like it. 

tomorrow, i start training at work and i can't wait. i have missed the world of work, and i'm anxious to learn exactly what this job entails, and to meet my co-workers. it's going to be a good day!