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 

Merry Happy Everything

This Christmas was a bit slapdash for our family; none of the presents were wrapped until Christmas Eve, our extended family "christmas party" wasn't until Dec 27th, and we watched exactly zero Christmas movies together. It wasn't that we were lacking in Christmas cheer, we just were too busy with everything else going on!! And guess what? It has honestly been the best holiday season yet!

I'm just so happy to be reunited with my friends and family that nothing else has seemed to matter much!

And what better present is there than to be bursting with love and gratitude?

The week before Christmas one of my dear (and tallest) friends, Gardner, came back from serving a two year mission for our church. While waiting for him to land at the airport I saw another friend of mine whom I also hadn't seen in two years!! It was just Grand Reunion Central

As our friend group keeps welcoming more and more friends home, it is so fun to see how everyone has changed over these last 2 years, but also how they are exactly the same. 

Speaking of change, I was more than surprised at the airport to find that my little brother (who is 10 years younger than me!) is not so little anymore! On his tiptoes we are almost the same height! 

Every winter break my mom lets each of us choose one family activity that we really want to do, mine this year was to make gingerbread houses. Ev and I teamed up and came up with two masterpieces! Everett wants to be an architect when he grows up (plus a goalie and a game inventor, but that's besides the point) so he gets credit for most of the ideas, I just helped him execute his vision. Usually he really isn't into this kind of thing, so I couldn't help but laugh when he poured some sugar in the palm of his hand and gently blew on it to give the gingerbread houses a snow dusted look, genius! 

I am going to just have to do a whole separate blog post about skiing.. But suffice it to say that while the valley was seriously lacking in snow, the mountains were not. This photo was from when it snowed 18" overnight and we skied in deep powder all. day. long. 

Also: Is anyone surprised that Santa was shredding at Alta the day before Christmas Eve? nope. 

low quality picture, but high quality friends, so it's staying right here. 

And then BAM, in the blink of an eye it was suddenly Christmas Eve! 

Our tree is always ladden with ornaments that us kids have collected over the years. This handmade one is my favorite. I bought it in Germany at a christmas market a few years ago. 

While I loved watching my younger siblings open up their presents, the real highlight of Christmas was without a doubt: MY BOY BRENNON, or should I say Elder O rocking it in the Orlando, Florida mission! We got to talk to him for a whole 45min on Christmas day and we all just screamed when he popped up on the screen, because we were so excited. 

He is doing so great, I love that kid! I couldn't be prouder of him. He also sent us the most random assortment of presents and letters in a box from Florida, which I loved too! He is such an example to me of love and service, I can't wait to see how he grows over his two years! 

Cue more friends, more homecomings, and more reunions! 

Then, Dads birthday on the 29th is always special! This year we kept it simple and went skiing, went to noodles & co, then had a very green mint chocolate chip cake! I failed to get a good picture of him, but this one somehow seemed to suffice. HBD Dad! 

Finally, to kick off 2015 right Pelle and I went on a 3hr long hike in the terrace hills. The view was gorgeous, the air was fresh, and the good karma was flowing! I accidentally dropped my drivers license in the snow and a kind Russian woman picked it up and found me on the trail. 

Also, we saw a coyote, the coolest flock of birds ever, and a large herd of deer. So I'd say it was a successful outing! 

Holidays schmolidays, traditions are fun, but friends and family are what it is really all about! 

2015, I'm ready. 

Do Rad Stuff

Our mom has a tee shirt that says "do rad stuff" and although we always made fun of her, telling her that it really said "do BAD stuff", that saying somehow became the self-proclaimed motto of us tribal kids! We wanted to make the most of our winter break, we wanted to do sick things, have adventures and just "do RAD stuff". While packing in all these rad activities made for a busy winter break, I had a ridiculous amount of fun, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

// a day at the shooting range, a first for all of us! I wouldn't call us "gun-totting" kind of people, but we had a good time. It is a lot harder then it looks in the movies. But I did get THREE bulls-eyes my first time! Although, don't be too impressed, I have to admit that the target wasn't that far away..

// ice palace pics! yep you heard that right, we went to a palace built completely out of ICE. It was freezing cold and dark, but they had the coolest (no pun intended) lights and we managed to get a few pics. Also pda alert: those are my cute parents in the far right photo.

// rock climbing.. super rad, but a lot harder than I thought! I love climbing up small cliffs while hiking, so I thought I'd be a natural at these boulder walls. False. But I did get a nice workout and had a good time.

// getting my wisdom teeth out.. not so rad! But I made a super speedy recovery and a week later I was going out to dinner with friends and eating copious amounts of Mexican and Thai food.

// and the raddest activity of them all? SKIING of course. Powder was the name of the game this time around! So. much. snow. The powder skiing over winter break was amazing! Skiing through all those storms? Not so easy, but I love it anyway.

and thus concludes my Winter Break SLC posts.
more New York City posts coming at ya soon though!

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..