brighton.

the highlight of february so far has definitely, definitely been this weekend.

every president's day weekend, most of my mom's side of the fam gets together in utah for a reunion of sorts.

we generally play in the snow, watch movies, eat (and eat and eat), and play games. 

this year, bennett and i spent the first day of the weekend up at brighton for a day of boarding.

truthfully, i haven't gone much since middle school (i know; i'm ashamed. but sports and sickness seemed to take over my winters for a while there...),

but every time i go, i remember why i love it so much!

we couldn't have asked for a better day!
the sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and the slopes weren't too crowded.
we spent the day exploring the mountain, chatting, and jamming in the car,

and it was awesome.

a great day with a great little brother. 

can't wait for him to be here in utah permanently next year so we can go on more adventures!

post script: please ignore the pixel-y quality of my iphone photos... and my crazy ski  hair.

sundancin'.

take five stressed-out, college-age kids, a 4runner full of snowboard gear, and some night skiing passes at sundance, and what do you get? a painfully good time.

a few of my friends and i have been talking about hitting the slopes for months now; i've just needed to get strong enough health-wise to make it happen.

and last night, we made it happen.

after departing provo around 5:00, we scored an excellent parking spot and immediately grabbed our gear to get moving.

i hadn't been snowboarding since last march, so it felt great to get out there again.

i do have a little beef with these utah mountains, though.

have you ever heard the phrase "the best snow in the world" associated with utah?

(if you haven't, check out a majority of utah license plates...)

well, it's a lie.

utah has pretty mountains, indeed, but this snow was a little bit evil.

it was basically an ice rink of a ski slope.... and i've got the bruises to prove it!

i guess i'm just a little bit bias, growing up in the beautiful state of colorado and all...

(and you all know how much i adore the big CO)

i digress.

it was an awesome evening.

we had a blast.

and ate our body weight's worth of red robin fries when we returned home.

also, please, please, please wear a helmet when you snowboard. or bike, for that matter.

protect yo brain!

the ever eager michelle... it was her first time boarding, and she rocked it!

lauren and 1/2 of anna.

i had no intentions of taking an artsy photo (for once)... i was trying to snag a shot of the mountains, but two lovers decided to hold hands in front of me... hmm...

proof that we really skied sundance. and a fraction of my awesome turquoise snow pants.

mister robert redford loves his sundance.

(did you know my mom skied with him there once... she's awesome, i know)

it's little and quaint and so close to provo, so i think i kind of love it too.

the end.

snow days.

not that i don't appreciate the moisture and everything, but wasn't the winter wonderland supposed to delight us all in december?

but really, who am i kidding? it's colorado, after all... the first time i ever got a snow day was in sixth grade... in april!

we've been enjoying the snow (more or less) and praying for guillermo as he's snowed in back east!

i just hope that our trip to utah this weekend doesn't get snowed out!

post script: my lack of blogging has been due to nothing other than activity... i am back on my feet! i'll fill you in asap and let you know what little pieces of sunshine have been making my days.