Saturday, February 08, 2025

October Opulence

Okay, so there's really nothing particularly opulent about these photos.  I just think "opulence" is a outstanding word, and you know me, I'm a sucker for alliteration.  Besides our lives are rich with meaning, making every day opulent.

Eli driving.  Just look at that fantastic smile!

Speaking of opulence, a friend from Book Club works as a yoga instructor at Snowbird and treated us all to a free class and entry to the spa.  This was my first time at a spa ever, and I have to say, it was kind of awesome.

True to form, I started off my spa experience with a hike.  Because really, even a sauna can't top a sunbath in the aspens.


Annika also had some pretty amazing pampering courtesy of her friend Berkeley who gave her Halloween nails.  Spider webs and ghosties--the nails are so cute.  Thank you!


Chocolate tasting--now that's pretty opulent!  Jason and I attended a free event hosted by the library where we enjoyed artisan chocolates at the UMFA (Utah Museum of Fine Arts.)  Each of these chocolates was inspired by a different piece of art, and created by Romina, the woman who runs the bakery (now dumpling shop) directly next to ASSIST.   Such a fun event!



Amazing orchestral music courtesy of Talia and the Young Artist Chamber Players.  I enjoy listening to these young musicians so much--they really are so talented.

A touch of somnolence listening to the peaceful melodies.

Homecoming--that's pretty sumptuous as well, especially when your high school is close enough to the Capitol to take pictures there.  From left to right we have Lincoln, Danyn, Zach, Audrey, Thatcher, Kate, Sake, and Talia.


In October I tried to take Annika hiking a couple of times.  While completely subconscious, I think I often wanted her to hike with me just as reassurance that her heart was fine.  But this trip we only made it about an eighth of a mile before her chest hurt so badly that we had to turn around.

Plus, there were tons of wildfires in the Uintas.

At least we brought our fishing pole, but alas, no bites.

Disappointed in our Uinta trip, we decided on a different strategy and used our Brighton ski passes to take a fall ride to the top via the Majestic lift.    Eli had grand plans of mountain biking.  Meanwhile I thought Annika and I could just hike down.

The mountain biking was great, albeit challenging, especially since this was Eli's first time.



Annika had lots of fun climbing on the ski jumps.



Still, she was pretty miserable hiking back, even though it was downhill.  When I got home, Jason finally asked, "Why do you keep trying to get her to hike?"  As much as I hated to admit it, it was obvious that her heart was getting worse, and quickly.  Jason and I reached out to the cardiology team to renew our conversations around transplant.  She'd been approved to be listed for transplant ten months earlier, but since we'd turned it down, we had to go through the transplant evaluation all over again.

Resting in a conference room during our eight hour day of meetings.  Definitely a lot to process, but at least the view was opulent.  Also, just for the record, our plan at this point was to slowly work on getting all the necessary testing done and list Annika outpatient at the beginning of January,  Definitely not what happened!

But hey, lasagna, pajamas, and an entire tub of ice cream make everything better.  What do you think of Eli's portion versus Jason's?  Hey, fifteen year old boys running cross country need a LOT of calories.  (Perhaps I should share.)


Other moments of indulgence--Annika dyed her hair blue!  (Thanks for the help, Talia!)  It was supposed to be temporary, but unsurprisingly stayed tinged for months.



Where's that blue hair headed?  Crystal hot springs!  I'm not sure if all the minerals washed the color out or set it in.


Rollerskating is lavish in its own way too, especially at Millcreek Commons.  Thanks for joining us, Eila!




Or how about movie night?  We liked The Wild Robot so much that we saw it twice.

Perhaps the most opulent moments of all are spending time with family.  Thanks for coming to visit, Papa Kay!  We love spending time with you and all our grandparents!


The news may be troublesome, each October sky reminds us of the richness of life.

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