HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE

Please don't tell me don't you have never heard the name Warren Miller before this post. Whether you pray to the snow gods for fresh pow on your face every morning as you embrace all things snowsports, or you are a beginner skier to hit the slopes, you must see these films. The 67th annual Warren Miller film Here, There & Everywhere (67 means they must be pretty good) is kicking off it's national tour in Salt Lake City, UT, this coming October 14th/15th at Abravanel Hall.

It then moves to my hometown 10/18 -10/20 (and then 5 more places within Utah where we have the greatest snow on Earth). I feel super lucky to have so many show options to attend. Click here for tour dates to see if it is playing in a theater near you.

Check out the official trailer below or go to the Warren Miller Entertainment Youtube page for this and more amazing adventure moments.

Featured Locations in the film include: Squaw Valley, CA • Crested Butte, CO • Deer Valley, UT • Montana • Switzerland • Kicking Horse Mountain Resort • Cordova, AK • Greenland • Boston's Fenway Park • Steamboat Springs, CO. 

Perks of attending the show not only include partaking of this amazing film tour you had a taste of above, but attendees also receive 2-for-1 lift ticket to Snowbird, free lift ticket to Solitude & Brighton, 20% off cat skiing at Whisper Ridge, free early/late-season lift ticket to Steamboat, and more swag. Don't believe me? You find complete offer details at warrenmiller.com and be sure to follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

See you on the slopes!

SUMMER CAMPING HAMMOCK

What is a girl to do when she has a new camping hammock, dude with great hair, and a friend with a camera at her disposal? PHOTOSHOOT!!

So I am obsessed with this new camping hammock. It is great because it comes with everything needed to set it up and hang in it 

(2 steel carabiners, 2 hanging ropes, and an attached storage bag). 

Two people can lay in the hammock (up to 450 lbs).

This hammock is made of strong parachute nylon material.
It measures 107" X 55" (or 270 cm x 140 cm).

It is lightweight and perfect for taking on a hike or anywhere you might want to enjoy an adventure.

#hikingsolutions

I was able to purchase this item at a discounted price in return for my honest opinion.

BEES BASEBALL

The first day of summer is approaching and what makes my heart smile this time of year?

(Well, besides parades, lakes, and vacationing) It is baseball and fireworks!

My friend Joe Keller and I headed to the ballpark for a great night with the Salt Lake Bees.

 The view in the park is fabulous.

 It looks even better closer up.

I scored a great souvenir helmet to help Day-Z be a fan too.

ZOORIFIC DAY

It's almost summer and the perfect time to visit the zoo.

 I grabbed my friend Rachel along with her baby Claire and we headed to Hogle Zoo in SLC.

We were able to see 3 new baby lion cubs wrestle,

a family of orangutans play,

 large elephants eat,

 sea lions swim,

and some hilarious otters do this:

This is my favorite part of the zoo (it took me a bit to appreciate them).

"People forget the good that zoos do. If it weren't for zoos, we would have so many species that would be extinct today."

-Betty White

COLOR RUN 2016

I have participated in the Festival of Colors celebration in Spanish Fork, UT, a few times and had a blast. This year I am going to participate in something similar called the Color Run.

In this race, participants will experience an all-new Tropicolor Zone™ on the course, where they will be bathed in a tropical array of colors and cool island scents as they pass through the shade of palm trees, arches, and island-style music. At the Finish Festival, Color Runners will enjoy even more fun at Rainbow Beach, an interactive island featuring music, dancing, unique photo opportunities, and massive color throws.

Each Color Runner will also receive a limited-edition Tropicolor race shirt, finisher’s medal on a floral-printed ribbon, embroidered headband, and temporary tattoos. We can run as a team! So join me (your own group or just yourself) and let's put on our running shoes because the Tropicolor World Tour will be the most fun and memorable 5k of your life!

Here is a flyer with the dates and info. I want to share promo code COLORSLC2 that will give you a $5 discount at REGISTRATION. Hurry...prices will go up as the race gets closer.

Let's run!

VOLLEYBALL

Guess who has joined an intramural volleyball team. This girl. 

I need a ball to practice with so I got the Vetra soft touch volleyball. It's an official size 5 ball that feels super soft so it doesn't hurt your arms when you play. I like that it comes in white/blue/yellow colors (instead of just boring white) so other people on the team don't try to steal my ball at practices. It is great for indoor and outdoor play. I think I need to visit the beach to get some Top Gun volleyball action soon. Who is ready to play?

It doesn't come inflated when you order it, but it isn't that hard to grab a needle and inflate the ball.

#vetra

I was given this product at a discounted price in return for my honest opinion. 

LIFE BOULDERS

I haven't really grown up having crushes on movie stars or famous singers. I feel like they don't see us and say, "Hey, that's the person who stood in line for hours to get tickets to my show, " or "That person flew to London to buy our import album before it was available in the states," or whatever we may do to support them; so why should I know about where they went to college or which color is their favorite.

However, James Franco (and don't forget about Jimmy Fallon) might make me blush a little bit when I see them. The movie 127 HOURS starring James Franco is based on a true story. I saw the film in theaters and thought it was so good. (If you haven't seen it, go watch it now. Wait, watch it after you finish reading this post.)

Turns out 127 HOURS isn't just a movie with an adorable leading actor. It is the true story of Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a boulder crashes on his hand and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Today, I was able to meet Aron today as he spoke about this experience and how he spent 5 days examining his life and trying to survive. 

He started out saying he doesn't have his right hand any longer, but he didn't lose anything from this experience. He feels like instead he gained things from the event. He said that our boulders, whatever they may be, can either be pushed away by us or we can embrace them and be thankful for them. WOW, right?! He is an incredible person who suggested that we think of "hell" as a hot, crowded, noisy place yet he felt a personal hell that was just the opposite in that canyon. He found himself in a cold, dark, lonely, quiet hole where he was trapped. To help him get out, he had a premonition of sorts that woke him up to a realization that finding love could help him survive. I understand this - I had this same feeling when my brother Tim passed away. I too found myself in a lonely spot that made me realize I had a love that I needed to pursue and embrace whether it worked out or not. I guess we had a similar boulder.

After this experience, and having cut off his own hand, Aron returned to the outdoors and has trekked and climbed several different mountains. He reminded me that as we all have experiences in life (hopefully not as dramatic) we enrich our lives. The thing we need to remember tis hat we are here to enrich the lives of others along the way as well. He definitely enriched my life as he spoke today and I am thankful for the opportunity to meet and learn from him.

*I might have secretly wished James Franco would've come out on the stage to surprise Aron.*

SKATE SKATE

Watch me whip. Now watch me skate skate

I have experience with ice skating so I have recently decided to be brave and try my luck skateboarding. If you fall on the ice, you only bruise. If you fall on cement, you bleed.

But I am brave!

 Meet my new sweet red (8 ply maple laminated deck) longboard. It came fully assembled and ready for me to ride.

Ain't nobody got time for assembling things.

The size of the board is 40"X9.75" which gives me plenty of room to figure out where to position my feet since I'm new at this stuff.

The 71X52mm wheels are bright orange which is kinda fun and they roll smoothly (I assume because of good bearings).

Fingers crossed I make a post tomorrow and my knees are still in tact.

I was given this product at a discounted price in return for my honest opinion.

DAYS 6 & 7 - MEXICO ADVENTURE

It is the final countdown of our Mexican vacation. We stayed at the resort and dove into the amenities Banyan Tree Mayakoba offers.

 We spent lots of time on the beach during the day.

 Thursday was filled with an archery adventure. 

 Jose helped us keep score and find arrows that might have missed the target.

For dinner, the resort hosted a fancy cocktail night

 full of hors devours, 

mini show with Mayan characters,

 and then a 5 course Mayan dinner.

 We flew out Friday evening.

Before catching our plane, William and I played our first 18 holes of golf.

*We had to have a collared shirt to play so Ivanka and I borrowed some polos from William.*

Big thanks to our Caddy, Miguel.

Flying back to Europe with Condor Business class.