Weekend celebration in Park City...

This weekend we decided last minute to take a little road trip to get away from it all and celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  Initially we wanted to do something big to celebrate... San Francisco or Hawaii or something, but with everything we have had going on, it's just not the right time to be traveling.  So rather than just stay home we decided to drive a short distance to another part of the state and just have some fun together.  We chose Park City because it was about 10 degrees cooler than most of Utah, and heat not only drains my energy pretty quickly, but it also intensifies the zinging in my neck and spine and can make me very lightheaded.  I was hoping that I could at least spend SOME time outside if it wasn't as hot there.

We did have a lot of fun together.  We always do, but things are definitely different now.  One of the things I struggle with tremendously is feeling an overwhelming guilt that I'm keeping my hubby from doing different stuff.  He is so great.  If I get tired he takes me back to the hotel and we rest for a bit. If it's too hot, he will find somewhere inside to hang out at.  My stomach has been a mess the past few days, so he is very concerned about where we eat and that there is something there that caters to my needs.  I keep waiting for him to just lose it  but his patience with me is unbelievable.

We drove up Friday night and went and had a late dinner at Cafe Rio.  Their salads never make me nauseous or sick after and I love them.  Then we went and walked down Main Street for a bit.  We love people-watching.

Saturday we slept in for a bit then took a drive up to Olympic Park to watch the skiers and snowboarders perform incredible jumps into the Olympic size freestyle pool.  Walking around the museum afterwards gave us a break from the heat.  We had a reservation at Ruth Chris's Steak House that evening for our big celebration dinner.  We had never been to Ruth Chris's before, but our cool realtor had given us a very generous gift card for there, so we figured it was a great time to use it.  We had a lovely dinner.  It was a beautiful atmosphere and delicious food.  Mike had the 22oz Cowboy Ribeye.  I had the lamb chops.  We got the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and lobster mac and cheese to share.  They even put rose petals on our table and treated us to dessert, (we chose creme brulee), because we were celebrating our anniversary.  I was VERY careful not to overeat.  (I only had a taste of the sides and about half of my lamb and we shared the dessert).

Everything was perfect until about an hour after when my stomach suddenly felt like there was a helium balloon in it, expanding as far as my stomach would allow without popping.  I've only felt this badly one time before and that was about a week ago when we went to Tonyburger.  I'll spare you the gory details, but 8 hours later there was absolutely nothing left in me and I was finally able to get some sleep.  As horrible as I felt physically, I felt much worse emotionally.  I literally felt like I ruined the entire night.  Bless my hubby for his love and patience.

The next morning Mike was pretty insistent that maybe we should just head home, but there is no way I wanted our weekend ending like that, so I suggested we drive in to Provo River Falls and stop at the Hidden Fairy Forest that one of my co-workers had told me about.  My stomach was doing much better and I only ate toast and a banana for breakfast, so I knew I would be fine.

He was a little reluctant at first, but we ended up having the best day of the weekend.  Erin from work had told me that if we stopped at mile marker 17 on Highway 150, followed the trail and crossed the stream, we would find a hidden fairy forest.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was one of the COOLEST things I've ever seen. Hidden back in the forest were HUNDREDS of painted rocks that people had brought in and left.  There were rocks of every size and color and they were scattered for what seemed to go on forever!  We walked around for a good while just looking at the art work and enjoying the quiet together as there were barely any other people there.  The funniest part of this experience was trying to cross the stream together. There was a ton of water flow and some of those rocks were only just poking out of the water... additionally, it was quite the distance to get across the stream. Mike, ever the gentleman, insisted on going first to test the rocks so I could follow in his footsteps.  As we held hands and attempted to cross the stream wobbling and almost falling in at least twenty times, we couldn't stop laughing and giggling.  He also found it pretty amusing that I would make him stop midstream to take pictures while balancing on rocks.

Once we had finished exploring the fairy forest, we drove in a bit further to Provo River Falls.  I absolutely love this place.  It was one of the first places we visited when we came out to Utah to visit in 2001 and we took a family picture on the rocks here.  It is so peaceful and so beautiful... and in my opinion, the most beautiful waterfalls in Utah.

I wasn't able to clamber around on the rocks this time like I have in the past, but I got a lot of satisfaction watching Mike climb up and snapping his picture from the bottom.  I'll definitely have him bring me back for some clambering when it's a bit cooler. :)  We did enjoy sitting and listening to the water and chatting.  Next time we will definitely bring a picnic.  It really was the perfect end to our getaway.

Life is now all about adapting and I'm so grateful for this man who is next to me every step of the way.  His love and support truly make all the difference in the world.  Everything I do to try and make myself stronger I also do for him because I want our next 25 years to be as wonderful as our first 25 years have been and I want to make sure I am doing everything I can to help us live as normal of a life as we can.  Together, we got this. :)