Moose Moments

There is a hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon that we love called Willow Heights Lake. It is steep, but short and beautiful. Apparently, this is also a popular hike for spotting moose.

This is the moose we saw last October. We are grateful to this moose for giving us one of our favorite photography moments ever.

On Saturday, we had just made it to the lake when some fellow hikers informed us that a moose had been spotted. We walked over to take a look and there it was, just across the small ravine next to the lake, staring right at us. We watched it for a few minutes before it started running towards us, at which point we decided to walk the other way and avoid getting any closer to it.

We didn't encounter any more moose, but we did find a trail that takes you to an overlook of the lake and surrounding mountains. The view was definitely worth the extra hiking and steep climb.

 P.S. If you are looking for a great autumn leaf hike, this one will not disappoint. The lake and meadow surrounded by aspen trees is absolutely gorgeous when the colors have changed. We saw some changing colors already as we were driving up the canyon. Fall is on its way! 

Hot Air Moments

Did you know Sandy has a Hot Air Balloon Festival in the summer? Tyler and I woke up early last weekend to go watch as they filled up and launched a lot of balloons. It is the closest I have ever been to a hot air balloon before...I've only ever seen them in the sky! We had a lot of fun watching the balloons, and taking pictures, of course.

Anniversary Moments

We celebrated Year #2 with:

2 dozen beautiful red roses 

(a dozen for each year we've been married)

A delicious dinner at Simply Thai. 

(For some reason, they gave us a complimentary mango with sticky rice for dessert. Sweet! 

Maybe they knew we were celebrating...or maybe the table next to us was really loud)

A drive up the canyon with a beautiful sunset.

A weekend of happy moments together.

Two years went by so fast!

In the last two years we have collectively:

• lived in 2 different apartments
• bought 2 new-to-us cars
• worked on 2 Master's degrees at 2 different universities (1 finished, 1 in progress)
• played a lot with our 2 nephews
• had 3 jobs (2 for Tyler, 1 for Sara)
• traveled, camped, or hiked to too many places to count
• enjoyed approximately 731 days of laughing, loving and learning together
• made so many wonderful memories and moments that we will always treasure

We feel so blessed, and look forward to many more adventures in the years to come!

Mountain Moments

I've had some fun mountain adventures lately.

First, a hike to Lake Blanche with a teacher friend from work. This is a beautiful hike, but it is long and strenuous--especially if you are as out of shape as I am. But we were able to take it at a perfect, not-too-fast pace that made it really enjoyable. It felt really good to be out hiking, especially with good company.

My dad took us to a play at Sundance theater, up Provo canyon. I don't know of any other place where you have to hike up a steep hill to watch a play- but that was all part of the adventure. (We could have waited for a wagon to take us up the hill, but we were running late so we decided to climb it.) It was a beautiful setting and a fun evening with my family. 

This week, we spent some time up at East Canyon Resort, which is a summer tradition for my family. There we enjoyed watching the Olympics, pretending to swim like we were in the Olympics, and counting wildlife sightings on on our nightly drive down the canyon. (7 deer, 1 raccoon, and 1 fox made our list this year...last year we saw a porcupine!) I love the mountains.

Although the last official month of summer is beginning, my summer break is coming to an end. Next week I will be back in my classroom doing Kindergarten assessments and getting ready for the new school year. I'll be honest, as nice as it has been to have a break, I'm looking forward to adding some structure back into my day.

P.S. Tyler and I are celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary this weekend. It's been a great 2 years!

Sometimes it's hard to get Tyler to smile normally for the camera...
but I love him anyways. :)