Utah Week Three: Solitude

Yes, we are still on Utah posts… it never ends!

The morning after the wedding, the Kagels stopped by to say adios as they were on their way back to California.

Bedheads!

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After a very long and tiring evening the day prior, it was nice to relax and enjoy the mountains for a bit.

We explored the area around the Solitude condo, which was very…solitudinous! We happened to hit the week after summer vacationers had left and the week before the winter season began, so there was very little staff around and all the restaurants and shops were closed.Next time, we will plan better and bring more food to cook at the condo, since we were counting on being able to eat at some of the lodge restaurants part of the time. We hardly saw a soul out our entire stay, which was perfect in my book.

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Samantha scouts out the next awesome rock to throw into the lake.

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Amelia fell in the dirt and was proud of it!

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We can scream as loud as we want and nobody cares!

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Being silly.

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Monkey see, monkey do.

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The girls are nearly always good sports for photos with Daddy, but not with me. Those stinkers.

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Watcha doin,’ Samantha? I thought we agreed to stick out our tongues on this one?

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Amelia gives her ironic face for our family selfie.

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Samantha’s turn.

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The girls thought picking out “cattails” was pretty much the funniest thing ever.

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With Aunt Sarah and Mike off on their honeymoon to Oregon and Northern California and most of the out of town guests gone, it was just us and immediate family left in the mountains. Later, Great Grandpa, Grammy, Mike and Ali stopped by to take a walk around Solitude with us and play some foosball back at the game room. We caught up on everything we missed at the wedding and gave high fives all around to a job well done.

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The girls were way better foosball players than their mom has ever been.

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Absolutely no clue what a “telephone” or a “booth” is.

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After naps, we drove up the road to Brighton and passed several moose along the way, including this one which crossed right in front of our car. The girls were enthralled and cried the entire way home the next day because they wanted to “see more moose!”

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A mama moose with her baby moose not too far off.

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At Brighton, we met up with Grammy, Grandpa and our friend, Susan, and took a lovely fall walk around Silver Lake. Amelia loved to be bundled up tight and pushed in the stroller most of the time.

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Wish I could have been bundled up and pushed around in a stroller! I was freezing and, to her intense protests, stole the only one of Samantha’s hats that would fit over my ears.

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Walking with Grandpa.

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Samantha and Daddy.

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Grammy with the swaddled Amelia.

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The ever popular throwing rocks in the lake.

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To end our last night in the mountains, we roasted hot dogs over at the cabin with Grammy, Grandpa, Great Grandpa and Susan.

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Sammy with a hatchet. SCARY.

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Girls on roasting duty.

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We all snuggled up on the couch with some hot chocolate, which started out well and ended with lots of spilled hot chocolate and some very sugar rushed/cranky toddlers.

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We don’t get to snuggle up with hot chocolate very often in California, so it was worth the consequences!

Lots of love,

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