Fall / Winter Roundup

Before I move on to talking about my most recent travels during my last semester here at Franklin, I want to wrap up 2015! Since I'm so behind on blogging, this post is going to cover October, November, December AND January!
So get ready!

I spent last Fall at home in Salt Lake attending the University of Utah and working for 3Degrees, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Power, on their Blue Sky Renewable Energy Program. I wasn't planning on being home for the Fall semester, but I am SO glad I was. I needed that time with my family and I had some more (new) health problems -- this time with migraines -- that I needed professional help with. It would have been impossible (not to mention so much more stressful) for me to get the help I needed if I was back in Switzerland. Plus I got to hang out with my family for a few extra months, so that was nice too!

Sorting through all of those months of photos and picking out my favorites was actually hysterical.  I was (literally) laughing out loud at how many photos I had of our dog Zoe. Apparently we spent a lot of time together during those months! So it feels appropriate to start the post with a photo of me and Zoe in Liberty Park! I remember that I was trying to get her to look at the camera, but her attention was riveted on the geese at the pond's edge that she was about to run after! She is so tiny but the geese (which are 5x bigger than her) are terrified of her and she LOVED it!

Beautiful sunset hikes in the terraces above Salt Lake! 

Utah ain't so bad! ;)

My hiking fam ^^ 

^^ semi-awkward pic but I have to document the day that I got my hair cut the shortest it has been since I was probably 8 years old? I didn't tell anyone I was doing it, and when Marissa came to pick me up she said, "was that on purpose..?" and then when I got home Everett immediately says " OH NOOOOOO" hahaha, I like it though! I needed a change after having such long hair in high school and my first two years of college. It has been progressively getting shorter, but this was the big chop! 

I swear Zoe begs to be carried around like this. What a diva!

Grams and me on Halloween! I was a gold star (if you couldn't tell!) and she was a witch! Maxwell was an astronaut, so my star kind of went with his theme. 

We carved some dope pumpkins this year!! Mine are the two faces looking at each other and the moon with the bats (to the left of the faces). 

Ev got major ear surgery right before Halloween so I suggested that he should be van gogh! The resemblance is striking! 

Liberty Park in the fall is the prettiest! 

ZOE being adorable, playing chase with that ball in the kitchen was my nightly workout! She always seemed to get super feisty and playful at about 9:30pm! haha 

Ev and I at brunch at The Park Cafe (so good!) This was also his bribe to be good for his ear surgery and appointments! 

Mom and me at the Natural History Museum Gala ^^

Ev admiring his cookies ^^ 

I swear she thinks she's a human ^^

This is when we put on our matching scarfs so that we can brave the chilly weather and go get hot chocolate at Ev's new addiction, The Coffee Garden. Ev always offers to pay for mine :)

Waiting with Max at the bus stop, that kid's got flair. 

Zoe is not a morning person

Meeting my hero!!! Naomi Klein! 

THANKSGIVING SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS! Yayyyy skiing! 

Live nativity in the glenn! 

BFF christmas card

It snowed so much one day they canceled school and we went sledding! 

This was a different day, but I was laughing so hard when I looked out the window and saw Maxwell laying dejectedly in the snow. 

Zoe. Again. I have a problem. 

Getting some major air sledding! 

We spent so many nights like this on the couch! Ev, Max, Dad, Zoe and I went on a pretty big Star Wars and Clone Wars spree! 

8am Christmas Morning 2015! 

ALTA, our happy place! Fresh mountain air, soft powder and blue skies! 

And this is from when ALL of us gave talks in church one Sunday, Ev took my phone and decided that we should take a covert selfie from the pulpit. Love that guilty smile he has, haha. 

Big kisses Salt Lake, I miss you and the whole tribe! 

And thus concludes my four month roundup of fall/winter in Salt Lake! 

On to Switzerland! 

xx Jess 

Snow Canyon

Camping with my little sis + twin bro for 3 nights in the desert of southern Utah was the best first weekend home. We climbed up way too many cliffs, hiked for miles, explored secret underground caves and roasted mallows under the stars. 

Hello summer! 

she's 6 years younger than me and we are the same height.. nbd. 

our trusty campsite 

spelunking was quite an adventure. These pictures were at the mouth of the caves where there was still some light. For most of the exploring though we were in the pitch black and had to use our trusty iphone flashlights (we weren't planning on cave exploring) for light. At one point we all crawled on our bellies through a narrow crack to reach a secret room in the cave. 

while spending so many hours roaming the desert we decided that the sage brush is the most perfect shade of green to compliment the red soil. To some this may seem like a barren landscape, but I absolutely love it. I think red rocks are the coolest. 

While hiking with a ranger up a closed canyon she said that she spots a desert tortoise once every few months. So as we were walking I jokingly called "tortoise where are you?" and then immediately my eyes zoned in on a tortoise just a few feet away from us! Pretty comical timing. 

we also did a ton of free climbing. Pelle loves to climb and is definitely the expert of the group. For anyone who has the gear + expertise to harness climb, there are hundreds of bolted routes within Snow Canyon. So check it out! 

our last full day there we decided to go on a 5 mile hike around the rim of the canyon, but in reality it was a 10 mile hike! Someone had mistakenly told us that the distances on the map were round trip, when in reality they were one way. We definitely were hot, sweaty, tired and completely out of water by mile 8. But we made it! And treated ourselves to some ice cream afterwards. 

^^ the best two adventure buddies 

I have made it a goal this summer to be out in nature as much as possible! I love it and am excited for the many camping/hiking/exploring adventures sure to come this summer! 

Hope your memorial day weekend was as lovely as mine! 

Pow

Meet my second home: Alta Ski Resort
aka #thebestever
Out of the 29 days I have been home, I have managed to clock in TEN solid ski days amid a wisdom teeth surgery, multiple family parties, and a weekend trip. So I am pretttyyyy proud. I have only been skiing for three years, so I am no expert! But this year was so much fun!! And really the first year where I feel like I have improved my technique while still having a good time!
Plus, we have had a few awesome storms and some serious powder days!

the twins go skiing

i do my own stunts (^^) which is to say that I end up looking like this 75% of the time I am skiing.

And only sometimes do I look like I, just might, have a clue about what to do (^^)

I am seriously bummed that the ski season is already over for me. I am hopping on a flight tomorrow evening. But, I am also stoked because I have one last winter break adventure before school begins again; New York City 2014 with the twin and mom! I just have to get packed now..