Tamara, Tom, and Kids: Anniversary

We decided to take an early anniversary ski trip this year since we will be in the thick of Easter Pageant Rehearsals in February. We chose a beautiful day to go skiing up at Deer Valley. The sun was shining which means I was one happy girl!! We found some Adirondack chairs and soaked in the mountain air at the end of the day and honestly, we didn't want to leave!

One of my most favorite things to do is to go skiing with my best friend and hubby, Tom!

When we got back to our hotel, this was waiting for me! Can you believe it? For our anniversary he ordered a chocolate grand piano to be sent up to the room. I felt so loved!!

We went to one of our favorite restaurants, The Roof, in the JS Memorial Building. It overlooks the SLC Temple which is where we were married. Something crazy happened, the pianist played "Beauty and the Beast!" That was the song that was sung at our wedding because it won movie of the year and the song won the best song award. It's pretty special to us and I just couldn't believe that the pianist would play it right as we were walking in!

Then on Sunday morning, we went to Music and the Spoken Word which is always fabulous!

We stopped and spoke with Mack Wilberg for a quick minute afterwards and he is always so sweet to ask how Tom's mother is doing. She worked with Mack in the music dept. at BYU for years and was Tom's director for the BYU Men's Chorus. What a talented and kind man he is. It was the perfect ending to the perfect weekend with my perfectly wonderful husband, Tom!

Two weeks ago Friday, Tom and I got up really early and flew to Utah to celebrate our 21st Anniversary. We took the 6:20 a.m. flight and couldn't wait to hit the ski hill!

Ahh . . . Utah has SNOW this year!!!!

We went to my favorite ski resort, Deer Valley. I will admit it---I'm a little spoiled. Tom introduced me to Deer Valley a few years go and now, I don't want to ski anywhere else. No snow boarders are allowed which is nice, since they tear down the moguls. Almost all the lift chairs are high speed quads or for six - very nice! Tom has the system down - he knows exactly where to rent skis which lets us park in a gorgeous resort area instead of down at the crowded main parking. We were able to change into our ski clothes right there and be on the hill around 10 a.m. Not bad for waking up in AZ!

The Utah powder was absolutely AMAZING! I had to film my sweetheart coming down the mountain with the clear blue sky behind him. He is such a beautiful skier and so fun to watch! This lunch is one of the other reasons I love Deer Valley. They don't just thrown hotdogs and fries out for lunch. There are gourmet paninis, salads, desserts, etc. you name it! After skiing hard all morning, a hearty late lunch is SO worth it!

Another reason why we love Deer Valley so much, is that the first weekend of February, they are usually hosting a ski competition. This year it was the world cup Aerials and Moguls Visa Competition. SO AWESOME!!!!!

Did I mention that I LOVE LOVE LOVE skiing around the huge, monstrous, gorgeous cabins that are at Deer Valley? Wow, wow, and WOW!

Funny story - after our first day skiing, we wanted to visit one of our favorite places, Midway. We were looking at lots available--just for fun---- and Tom decided to drive our rental car into a non-plowed area. NOT a good idea . . .

We were there for over 45 minutes trying to get our car un-stuck out of the snow. It was hilarious! Eventually we made it out and headed to SLC to go see the BYU Ballroom Dancers perform at the Conference Center.

Their concert was fantastic. They are such a talented group and always put on such an entertaining show. But, there was a missionary host that looked EXACTLY like my dad! I had to snap a photo of him---it was crazy how similar they looked! ha ha!

After the concert, we were starving (again we burned major calories skiing our hearts out that afternoon!). We ate at the Blue Lemon (SO yummy!). They had the best butternut squash soup and sugar cookies. Ahh - I am still dreaming about it.

From our window in our hotel, you could see skaters enjoying a cold night out. It looked so fun - but we were too exhausted to even think about skating!

The next morning we were up and on the hill again. We really wanted to find Mt. Timpanogos so off we went on an adventure. It wasn't hard to find and oh, was it ever magnificent!

I am usually very cold when I ski - especially my fingers get cold. So, this year, I treated myself to an early bday present: I got myself a new ski outfit plus gloves that have reflective heat technology sewn in the lining (Columbia "omniheat" - amazing stuff). I haven't had a new ski outfit in over 10 years and boy did it ever make a difference! I was so toasty warm the entire weekend---it was unbelievable. Tom was SO happy I bought it because I didn't end up hitting the lodge early to warm up at the end of the day. I skied right until the end and loved every minute of it!

Everyone we talked to says we came during the best weekend! The weather in Utah has been so gloomy and cold and we brought the AZ sunshine, baby! :) On our second day, I found a table and sat down to reserve it while Tom went in to get some lunch. He said he heard someone shout, "Tom Chamberlain?" He looked up and it was my best friend from my early childhood, Cinda Callister Taylor! I couldn't believe it! She was up there skiing with her two little girls. (she also has two teenagers but they weren't there) It was SO much fun to run into her. I haven't seen her in over 10 years, at least. We just never seem to have the same vacation schedules when we visit home in Merced, CA. She looked great and it made my day to see her.

Cinda, me, Kate and Ellie.

Saturday was the moguls competition---the best of the best in the world come here to compete and boy was it spectacular!

Check out the skier upside down doing a jump in the picture below!

Here is some incredible footage of what we were able to see--and we were right next to the jump on the hill! It was the final cut round before the finals that night.

Tom got some footage of me skiing too. I want my kids to know that their mom was out skiing in her 40's and not sittin' around! ha ha. I still got it!

That night, after we ate some awesome Mexican food, we walked around Park City. We found a really cute bookstore and inside, there was an eagle puppet!!! Hailey would LOVE this! So, sweet Tom said, "We just have to get that for her!" She is obsessed with birds right now, and especially eagles. It was such a unique find that it made our way into our suitcase without question! Of course we had to find something special for Spencer too so we got him a BYU basketball since he is playing bball this semester. Pretty sweet!

On Sunday, we drove down to visit Tom's mother and make her a delicious Sunday brunch. It was SO fun to visit her and help her out with a few things. She is really doing her best to recover after so many medical procedures and still has more to come. My heart goes out to her and I wish I could be there more often to help. I did help her make a gluten-free almond pound cake that was TO DIE FOR! She put strawberries and whipped cream on top and we all couldn't believe how amazing it tasted. The cake lasted her all week and she said she enjoyed every bite! I can see why :)

Thank you, Tom---for an absolutely memorable weekend. It's been two weeks now and I still catch my mind wandering to those majestic panoramic mountain scenes and how we would laugh our heads off skiing down the hill together! I am so thankful to have been married 21 years to my closest, dearest friend and ski buddy!!