Winter Wonderland at the Zoo!

We're not much for staying inside all day, so Saturday after getting back from our Utah excursion, we thought it would be fun to spend the afternoon at the zoo. We've never been to the zoo after a snow storm, but we thought we'd give it a try! I'm so glad we did! There were no lines to see anything and the place was so peaceful, minus all the animal noises!

We had a great time going from one indoor exhibit to another.

Hayden wasn't too sure about the gorillas!

Her favorite animal right now are ducks, so seeing one so close at the Avion Bird House was AWESOME! I think she would have taken it home if she could!

We had a blast at the zoo and can't wait to go back soon!

Utah Vacation- Part 5

Snowbasin & Lakeside Resort

Our vacation really started when we got to Lakeside Resort in Ogden Valley! What a beautiful place! Everywhere you look there's mountains! Our condo had a view of the lake and Snowbasin. We even had a private hot tub on the deck! We definitely made good use of the hot tub, let me tell you! It was nice to just sit back and relax, take nature in and enjoy the scenery. During the day Dan would go to Snowbasin to snowboard while Hayden and I headed out to visit with friends. Then we would meet up again in the afternoon, hang out and relax at the condo then go out to dinner (or barbque on the grill). After Hayden would go to bed, we'd step out to the hot tub and just soak for as long as we possibly could!

Hayden loved this bear and would constantly go and hug it!

R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N!!! It was great visiting everyone, but in the end, we did want to have a "vacation" so staying at the resort was just the ticket!

Due to the tundra that hit the east coast, including the Philadelphia area, our flight back to Philly was cancelled, giving us an additional, totally unexpected, day in Utah. The people at Lakeside were so great in accommodating us for another night (at a discounted rate too)! Since we had an extra day that we weren't counting on, we decided to spend the day as a family and head up to Snowbasin together. We took the gondola up to the top of the mountain and had lunch together in the ski lodge overlooking Ogden Valley. What a site! Unforunately it was a little cloudy that day, so some of the pictures don't exactly depict what we saw up there, but you'll get the basic jist!

Our flight back to Philadelphia had a layover in Las Vegas. Unfortunately we didn't get to leave the airport, but Hayden got to sit at a slot machine before we got yelled at for allowing a child to be in the "gaming area"!

Utah Vacation- Part 4

Play dates galore!!!

We had more play dates then we had time to get to! It was great having those few extra days to be able to spend with friends that I haven't seen in YEARS! Most of these lovely ladies I haven't seen since Young Women's! So that would be... 6 years! All of these visit were WAY long overdue!

Our first stop was visiting the D family. I was so happy to be able to sit and chat with my old friend. We basically grew up together and were best friends throughout YW, going to girls camp together, Tuesday night activities, and just hanging out with the girls! We definitely had lots to catch up on, especially the new addition to her family! Her son is now 9 months old and what a little cute!

Next we went to visit the H family! They too have a new addition to their family who is just a month old! Little miss J was super cute, I wanted to take her home with me!!! It really got me thinking about baby #2! It was so great to see the H family, wish we had more time to hang out with them! (A, I know you're reading this! You guys better come out here to the east coast soon!)

Our last visit was with the B family & M family! All the kids had a great time playing and it was so great to be able to catch up with H & J! I haven't seen them in ages!!! Hayden loved H and wouldn't stop hugging her! When we left, Hayden got so upset and started yelling at me and throwing a tantrum and pointed to the house because she wanted to go back to play! Poor kiddo! I wish we lived closer so we could see them more often! Next time we won't wait that long to see each other again!

Utah Vacation- Part 3

Driving Around Ogden!

On Monday, we said our goodbye's to Lynn, Brandon and the kids and headed south for Ogden where we would be spending the rest of our vacation. Dan had heard about this little brewery that had great food, so we decided to check it out for lunch. If you're ever in Ogden and looking for a good place to eat, definitely check out the Rooster Brewing Company! The food was phenomenal!!! After lunch, we walked around for a little bit since the weather was beautiful! Hayden loved being about to wander around and touch all the statues!

In front of the Rooster Brewing Company

Dan insisted I take a picture of them in the middle of the street

so we could get the mountains in the background!

Utah Vacation- Part 2

Snowboarding at Beaver was amazing! I didn't get to go snowboarding or skiing like I had hoped, but that was perfectly fine by me! I got to spend the day playing in the snow with Hayden and watching her go down the bunny hills with her dad! She had a blast!!!

Here are some pictures of our day at Beaver!

This is exactly why we call her our little "monkey"!

I couldn't have asked for a more fun filled family day in the snow!