A week in pictures...

So this past week I've been enjoying a little of this:

Got a new tank top from Lululemon and did this:

Had my teacher over for lunch, ate vegan peanut
noodles with cabbage and she held these:

Found this Mac Daddy cozied up and snoring here:

Let this little one FINALLY experience the snow on her own. 

Got a surprise text from my husband who said
I ought to get a babysitter and join him here:

Realized it was a beautiful Monday... and I better start a running program
if I'm doing a 5k in a month.  So I got to enjoy this view (top)
while the kids got squished into that (bottom). 

Recognizing the oil is in fact ALWAYS the tricky part,
spent time baking with this pastry chef:

And also enjoyed plenty of epic battles. 

Yes, it's been a good seven days. 

Before there was snow, there was SUN

Here's a little piece of airline trivia: The three letter airport code for Sun Valley, ID is S-U-N, that's right "SUN."

You know Sun Valley. The US's first destination winter resort? Where Hemingway completed "For Whom the Bell Tolls"? Playground for the Kennedy's back in the day? Ring any bells? Or shall we say "Toll any bells?" Ha! See what I did there? Genius.

So before Salt Lake got waylaid with snow this week, but just a weekend after I had run 26.2 miles (yep, still talking about it, ha!), the Mangums took a little trip North, past Napoleon Dynamite territory to this fabulous resort town.

Danny's family has been going to Sun Valley since before he was born. His Grandmother "G.G" as we call her (Grandma Great since she's Holden's great grandma), tells the story of the family being up on Sunday morning and telling the kids: "Well we have a choice. We can either get ready and go to church or pack up in the car and drive to Sun Valley for prime rib at Warm Springs Lodge." I'm sure you can guess the outcome.

My love affair with the resort town started a little differently. I used to nanny for the daughter of Sun Valley Resort's owner (Earl Holding). The family would take summer vacations and spend Christmas up there. Years later, when I worked for SkyWest, I found myself revisiting for Christmas parties with our dear friends that wrote and published SkyWest Magazine (Go! Publications out of Boise, ID).

Sun Valley has a special place in both Danny's and my heart(s).

So off we went. Holden's first trip to one playground of the rich and famous.

But what to do? We'll we've got our regular haunts, but it's always nice to check in with the locals when you're wondering where to eat and what to do.

So we did.

With 2665 of them.

The Sun Valley Guide published the results of the local's favorites -- from best breakfast to bike shop tune up. Our weekend also happened to coincide with the Annual "Trailing of the Sheep Festival," which among the many festivities ended with a parade on Sunday where 2000 sheep were brought down from highland to low land through Main Street in Ketchum. Classic. Holden loved it, and kept signing "More" while saying "Baaaa."

The boys waiting for the sheep

And here they are!

being blessed by a priest

Big cheers from the Little Guy

Sun in the eyes

This was before the parade; Holden was playing with his little skateboard (about the size of my thumb)

and then found a local skater and decided to try out the real thing

Here are some of the things we did (in no particular order):

1. Danny and I took a 30 mile bike ride (15 out to Hailey and 15 back to Elkhorn). I'm not a cyclist. Prior to that ride, I the furthest I had ever gone was the nine miles I did for the Bountiful sprint triathalon in 1999. (My sit bones were kind of numb.)
2. Coconut Steamers & breakfasts at Java (the blueberry muffins were Holden's fave)


3. We ordered Holden a cup of whipped cream (among other things) at Christina's. He had been eyeing everyone's warm drinks and wanted something to call his own
4. Romantic date night at the Ketchum Grille with Danny. His parents had Little Bits and we were treated to live Jazz music table-side
5. Hashbrown skillet and blueberry pancakes at The Kneadery (and whipped cream in Holden milk since we were all indulging in hot cocoa)


6. Four mile run and the serious realization why one should take a few weeks off of running apres your first marathon.
   SV Duck Pond & Dad's Shoulders
   


7. Sun Valley Resort for the duck pond (trying to feed them, but Holden just kept eating the bread we got for the ducks); Bald Mountain Pizza and a new *Vera Bradley from the gift shop I am now declaring the swankiest diaper bag I will ever own. (It's called "the weekender." How fitting right? And the color scheme is Baroque.)
8. Sandwhiches from Perrys (hailed as Sun Valley's best bakery)
9. Pedicure at "In N' Out Salon" (not the burger joint) where I was mistaken for a local (did I mention I LOVE the off season?) And Danny and the grandparents took Holden to see horses
   
10. Despos ('Best Mexican') for dinner and Holden's first real come apart when I suggested he share a toy. Usually the kid is so game...not so much om this particular night.
11. Some Signing Time, a French 'cartoon' and a lot of Beverly Hills Chihuahua for the roadtrip

And not a Walmart or McDonalds for miles....ahhh, heaven.

*So what is it with Old Lady Bags, you ask? Well, a decade ago, when I was a flight attendant, there were certain 'routes' I would fly where these bags kept popping up. Sun Valley in the summer time was definitely one of them; but any place that was famous for it's vineyards, wine, etc. It seemed that these 'weekenders' on my flight had a certain air about them. Not necessarily hoity-toity; but they always seemed so put together... they'd wear designer slacks or crisp pressed linen pants (how does one keep linen 'crisp?', designer sun glasses and toowhite sweaters tied around their shoulders... and more often than not they'd be sporting a Vera Bradley. That's when the love affair began. They're not ridiculously pricey like a Burberry or Prada bag; AND YOU CAN WASH THEM! So naturally, I now have three in various shapes, sizes and colors.

TFO – Is that txt-speak for TOTALLY FREAKING OUT?

If not, it should be. For those of you NOT ridden with angst, I’ve compiled a list of things that are making my blood pressure rise… as documented at my Midwife appointment yesterday (feel free to skip around to a header that interests you if you don’t have the time to entertain ALL my ramblings… hmm, as if you needed my permission to do so).

• The Freaking Snow – I don’t know when I stopped loving the snow. There are pics galore of me as a child playing in it. But I think my distaste mostly happened in college when I had to drive long stretches in it, and someone hit me in it (or I hit them… details are a little fuzzy still from my freshman year). Maybe it was driving from SLC to SGU coming home from THXgiving a few years ago… it took 8 hours for that trip. True, Danny helped me appreciate the white stuff when he got me into skiing again, but I mostly enjoy the “idea” of a ski va-cay. (He says I judge a ski resort by it’s Lodge/food. Is that a problem?) Besides, I’m not super fantastic at skiing, and even when I started getting decent last season from that “Zen Ski and Yoga Camp” last year, my progress has been significantly halted this year by the bun in the oven. (Obviously I’d rather not ski than take a risk with Holden). So my neighborhood looks like a winter wonderland after yesterday’s DUMP, and I mostly think it’s frightful… not so much delightful.

• Freaking Technology (mainly that I don’t/won’t have it anymore)…Goodbye Berry – that’s right, I’m turning my CrackBerry back into SkyWest while on this hiatus/break/interregnum (call it what you will… although, I think “interregnum” sounds a little PG-13ish.) I’m swapping out for a cheap mobile phone from days past that I.T. has left over… because let’s face it… I can’t really afford to keep fancy technology around when we’re living on one income. Dreams of an iPhone would take a Christmas miracle… and let’s be honest here people, I’m actually in more of a need for a crib for Holden than a 3G in life…right? (So the only “3G” world I’m living is paying off the $3K’s we spent on Christmas last year! Which brings me to….)

• Living on One Freaking Income – (Enter Expletives Here!) It totally sounded possible in theory. But then I actually looked at what the theory’s “numbers” were, and was thinking… hmm, I’m going to have to give up more than facials and designer handbags. Maybe even Aveda shampoo?!?!? (Well, let’s not do anything drastic, just yet.) Yep, kinda freaking out a little bit. At least gas prices are down… so that’ll help a little. I really need to find some writing jobs again on the side, or something to supplement the household income. Don’t get me wrong, Danny’s got a great set up at Zions… and we’re totally thankful for it, and I’m super proud of him for finding and working a grown-up job… but we’ve been spoiled. Soooo, no more shopping sprees, spa days, and we certainly won’t be eating out 5 times or more a week. I might actually have to cook.

• O.M.G. (gosh, obviously). I am going to have to start cooking again?!?! It’s definitely time to start working a little more on those “deep breathing and relaxation techniques.” I am obviously going to need them for more than childbirth.