Surprise, surprise; we met the Hudsons at the zoo on Sunday morning to take advantage of the “cool” weather. Helen Grace has such a crush on both of the Hudson boys, especially “Baby Davis,” that she was in hog heaven chasing them around.
On a rainy Saturday morning, we celebrated our friend Mary Claire’s third birthday party down on the farm, complete with a cowgirl hat and bandana {that were more fun to swing around like a lasso than wear}. We love going to Cedar Hill Farm, and this time, she finally conquered riding the ponies!! I guess after you’ve ridden a camel twice, a little pony doesn’t seem so intimidating, although I had to be within an arm’s reach at any point. We also rode the train, took a hayride, saw the chicken show, and fed the animals- which she actually put her palm out and let them lick the food right off her hand- big girl! Despite the drizzle, we had a blast, and HG declared, “That was pretty fun,” after each event. And she looks like such a big girl in her Keds. Please, someone, make her stop growing!
Riding the train. Even the rain couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
Happy happy birthday, Mary Claire!!
Lunches with Lawson and his mama, Melissa, have been a staple for Helen Grace throughout her life. We added one more to the books this past week, and for kicks, I looked back to find pics from our first one- at Memphis Grill in Hernando, followed by Ann Olivia’s cupcakes. Lawson was 3 months old, and HG was 17 months old. Oh my, how times have changed!
December 2010
August 2012
As you can tell, Helen Grace was a little spoiled while we were gone…Children’s Museum and the zoo, just to name a few. I’m still surprised that she was actually excited to see us with all that her grandparents were doing for her!
John and I snuck away for a long weekend trip to Park City, Utah, and this little escape from reality couldn’t have come at a better time. Helen Grace was happy as a pig in you-know-what with her grandparents for the weekend, and Mama and Daddy were able to kick our feet up and RELAX.
After a direct flight {a small miracle in itself} to Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon, we checked into the St. Regis at Deer Valley. It’s a fabulous hotel that sits high up on a mountain with a funicular down to the Deer Valley ski resort, and our room overlooked the pool and terrace. This place is the epitome of good service. We enjoyed cocktails and dinner that night on the terrace, followed by s’mores cooked by John over the fire pit. Yummmm!
On Saturday morning, I visited the spa for a $200 massage that was worth every penny. I’d consider a trip back there just for another one! Afterward, we headed into Park City for lunch and shopping.
That afternoon, we went back to the hotel for more spa time. I had loved my massage so much that morning that I booked a facial for the afternoon, and John had a massage as well. My esthetician had no sooner put the first cream on my face when the power went out. Like, out out. We waited in complete darkness for a few moments, and when it didn’t come back on, she went to find some candles. I have to say that was my first {and hopefully, last} facial by candlelight. When we finished up in the spa, we quickly cleaned up- still no power- and headed downstairs for cocktail hour. We immediately noticed that the staff were antsy and soon learned that the power was out because of a wildfire that was close to the hotel. Within minutes, we received evacuation orders, complete with police officers standing outside the doors of the hotel. We ran upstairs, packed an overnight bag, ran back downstairs only to be told we needed to pack ALL of our bags, and were finally evacuated to the Montage a few miles away. It was a little eerie as we pulled out of the hotel and saw the planes dropping water on the flames and the huge plumes of smoke.
“We made it at last!”
While we thought the St. Regis was decadent, the Montage was on a whole new level- it was breathtakingly classic and wonderful! We ate dinner there at the Apex, and the food finally got in front of us around 10:30 p.m. Zzzzz….what a day!
It was all worth it when I woke up to this view on Sunday morning…
We were shipped back to the St. Regis that morning once the ‘all clear’ was given. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hotel and then headed into Park City for the Park Silly Market, a street market in the middle of downtown.
For dinner on Sunday night, we went into town to eat at 350 Main Brasserie.
On Monday morning, I decided to finally get my butt out of bed, and we ventured out to ‘climb’ Bald Mountain {via ski lifts}. It was a breathtakingly beautiful view from the top.
Monday night, we rode a ski lift up to the top of the mountain where we were greeted with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and then we came back down for dinner at the lodge. While I didn’t wear my stilettos that night, I did have on my platform wedges, and I was quite proud of myself for making it safely on and off the ski lift without incident, although I refrained from any wine until my feet were safely on the ground at the lodge!
Sweet indulgences
Tuesday morning, we headed back to reality. On the way to the airport, we saw the damage from the fire- wow, it was CLOSE- and passed these pretty hot air balloons.
We couldn’t have been MORE excited to get home to this little girl. While she did really well while we were gone, she obviously doesn’t want us to take a suitcase anywhere without her again.
