Fall Break

I mentioned yesterday that we got to enjoy a very nice 4 day weekend with our little family.  The only bad thing about it was today, when Scott had to wake up at 4:30 so he could catch the early bus to work and proceed to be gone for 14 hours.  We need to move.  Like yesterday.  This commute is killing our time together as a family.  But the good things were wonderful.  Beautiful scenery, a beautiful place to stay, warm fire, good food and snow.  Lots of snow.  Creamie loves it as much as I do.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend, and I might share a few more tomorrow.  I mean, I did have to narrow it down from about 500 to these…

This was the deepest snow we found to play in.  We just stopped on the side of a very muddy road and hopped out into a foot of snow in this mountain meadow.  Creamie loved it.  And because the top few inches was pretty crusty, she didn’t sink to her hips and was able to stomp around and make tiny little snowballs.  It was hilarious.

This is Navajo Lake, the same lake in the picture I posted yesterday.  Only this year it was a bit colder.  Actually the highway this lake is off of had to close over the weekend because of an avalanche that took out the road.  Estimated reopening? Between two weeks and next spring.

Most of the young aspen trees (those are the one’s with the yellow leaves) that we passed were all bent over with the weight of the snow.  Ideally, their leaves should fall off before it snows.  Otherwise they hold too much snow on those leaves and the weight will literally snap them in half or pull them out of the ground as they bend over.  It was incredible.

Helping her dad build a snowman.  This was the very first order of business, as soon as we unpacked those little boots.

Yesterday we drove to Cedar Breaks National Monument.  A little sign directs you to a parking lot and a short trail.  Which looks like this.  And then when you get to the edge of that fence?

Beauty.  Pure Amazing Beauty.  The rim of Cedar Breaks is over 10,000 feet, and this rock amphitheater plunges 2,500 feet in amazing rock formations. A photograph just can’t do it justice.  Last year when we went it was not as snowy, but there was a bitterly cold wind.  With that in mind we came prepared this time.  (Also, this year Creamie didn’t have to wear her mittens on her feet due to poor planning on her parents part… ahem.)  But there was no wind, just warm sunshine reflecting on the snow and amazing beauty all around us.

Her preferred vantage point.  HA!  Also, you’ll notice her snowpants are soaked…

It’s because the only thing she really wanted to do was stomp in the puddles.  Over and over and over again.  Then she’d throw little snowballs in there and stomp them again.  I think I took about 200 pictures just trying to time that moment and catch the perfect splash.  Victory!

I built a happy little snowman to watch over the mountain and keep visitors company.  Also, Creamie thinks snowmen are the greatest friends ever.  I’ll share a few more pictures tomorrow and then it’s back to real life.  Halloween is coming up and I’m almost done writing a tutorial for her first Halloween costume.  It is by far my most popular post and I get requests for instructions all the time.  This week!  Yay!