Schwarzwalder reunion

Every three years, there is a large Blackwelder reunion at Solitude ski Resort, near Salt Lake City. This year, we have a German theme: Schwarzwalder Reunited!

Aunt Candice

Elliott and I are in Salt Lake City visiting Aunt Candice!

So far, we have attended a fundraiser in Briana's honor to support a midwife going through school. Our friend, Vanessa, planned the event for International Women's Day- if you would like to donate, more info here.

Beside the fundraiser, we also visited Briana's crash site - it has been almost 11 months.

Then we visited friends old and new and played with their babies, had a family pizza party, sweat at Bikram Yoga, soaked in the Ogden hot springs, ate ourselves silly (In-n-Out, SmashBurger, ice cream places, bakeries etc.), and played with Elliott.

Elliott LOVES this vacation. Salt lake is having a warm spell (sunny, dry 60 degrees - feels like Seattle summer!) so E has been in short sleeves, shorts, and no socks for the first time in his life! He has been sweating all day and night. He has seriously never been in weather this warm.

I think Saturday deserves some more photos...First we went to Tulie bakery, then met up with friends to Caravan to the Ogden hot springs.

Elliott was cutting a tooth and very distraught on the drive up. However, he loved the hot springs! He was calm, quiet, and seemed to think everyone bathing outside together was pretty interesting.

Then we drove up the canyon to buy honey from the Trappist monks at the Catholic Monastery...but they had stopped tending bees 6 months ago. We did enjoy the beautiful valley of Eden:

After striking out at the Monastery, we drowned our selves in ice cream at Farr's:

And then...we went to SmashBurger. Yes, it really was quite a fabulous day. Thanks Heather, Erin and Sarah for the minivan road trip!

Elliott likes to ride around in Candice's Jeep because he can see out the big windows and soak up some rays. I know I keep posting about this, but we haven't seen the sun in a long long time. You can't know how exciting it is to be in the sun if you haven't lived in Redmond.

He also got a new "car toy" from GrittyPretty. It's a vintage Fisher Price Activity Center!

...Did you have one growing up? So far, everyone who sees it says, "Oh, my gosh! I had this when I was little!" Elliott adores it and will sit quietly in the car while playing with the buttons/dials/levers.

Baby Elliott met our friend Elliott Ferris: two Elliott's!

Candice showed us her favorite new coffee house, the Rose Establishment:

And I went to The Leo (a science/technology/art museum) with Vanessa and her family.

I drew this funny self portrait using an overhead projector-type reflection box at one of their interactive exhibits:

Check out this cutie - total puppy face! Did you know Elliott's nick-name is Budder Dog!

We had a wonderful visit, Candice!

loveU/meanit!

Thanksgiving 2010!!!!!

Since I never got around to posting photos from last Thanksgiving (I can't believe a year has raced by!), we aren't doing much this Thanksgiving, and there are a lot of lovely ones with Briana...may I now present: Thanksgiving 2010!

It started with a few days of Sisterfest at Briana and Candice's house in Salt Lake City.

First off, we walked around Sugarhouse and ate at Omar's Raw Foods

Then we picked up Bri's car at the shop and followed her home:

The next day we also ate at Omar's Raw Foods :)
All 3 of us had bought Living Social Coupons!

Sara came up from Provo to visit

Adam got a sister-in-law backrub

while Bri and I made mac and cheese with Ian's friend Ivy (check out that beautiful black clay baking dish!! Briana always ad the coolest kitchen supplies - actually, the coolest everything.)

It snowed the whole night and we had a 1 am snow fight.

This captures what I love about Bri: up at 1 am baking a complicated treat with organic powdered sugar while wearing a silly hat.

I miss these beautiful Wasatch Front mountains

Here's Adam in front of his Freshman year dorm: Budge Hall

Some YouTube videos and a little sibling preening at Ian's dorm room...

Adam and I ate at the Red Iguana with Zina, Davey, and Pack!!

Whew, that was all pre-Thanksgiving...for real Thanksgiving, we spent the night with family friends, the Hollaways, in Huntsville, north of Salt Lake.

We made delicious food, hiked to a natural outdoor hot spring, ate pie, and then sat in the hot tub! There are even some legendary photos of us (including my mom!) running in the snow in our swimsuits. They're on facebook :)

Then, we played Apples to Apples, massaged each other's backs and had a yoga competition. Nothing like some good ole' family fun!

Here's Adam with the snow blower on the day after Thanksgiving.

A little snow slack-lining

Back at Bri's house, we made gnocci with our cousin Bridgette.

And Briana asked me to help her start knitting some socks (which I recently finished and gave to Thomas)

Serious work!

The holiday lights at Temple Square!

Additionally, I found a street named Tess!!!!!

And saw good friends Vanessa

and Analiesa

*Not many pictures of my parents, but they were there!

**This was also the Thanksgiving when I was secretly pregnant! My family didn't suspect anything, or at least they didn't say so, but Corrie knew! I felt okay, but was tired at night and would get instantly motion sick the moment I sat in a car. I also had a panic attack in Ian's Ford 'Exploder' as we attempted to drive down the steep, snowy, freaky hill of the Avenues to get free bread for Thanksgiving. Absolute terror. We never did make it down the hill.

Oh, I love this Thanksgiving! It was the best. So many memories :)

I guess this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for last Thanksgiving. The one where we were all together being crazy at Briana's house.