San Diego to Sundance

Hello! I feel like I've been away from this little space for a month with all the traveling I've been doing these days. Back-to-back trips from the snow, to the beach, back home, to the mountains and home again make for one exhausted mama. I've been gone 7 out of the last 8 days and even with 35 cups of coffee today, it's catching up to me. I'm wiped out. While both trips were amazing, I certainly missed my kids (and my bed) more than I ever imagined. Getting away and spending quality time with friends was good for my soul, but this mama is ready for a long relaxing weekend eating chicken nuggets and playing hide 'n seek with my babies. But first, let's recap the trips, shall we?

First up, San Diego, California for three nights. While technically this was a work trip (lawyer conference during the day), I managed to get a good amount of time in with friends and soak up some sunshine in my off-hours. Desiree, Erin and Liz were kind enough to road-trip down from L.A. and hang out with me on Sunday, before the conference began. Meeting these girls was AMAZING and the four of us had so much fun catching up over a harbor-view lunch and sunset cocktails. I so wish I could have hung out with them for days and days. Who knew that you could have SO much to talk about with people you've never met! This makes me really excited for a potential meet-up in September! I also got to have a lovely dinner with Katie, who I met "in real life" four years ago when I was in Coronado for the same conference while pregnant with Mac. So much has changed for both of us since then (three babies!), but we picked up right where we left off. It was so amazing seeing her light up when she talked about her son and how much she loves being a mom. I just love that girl. The rest of the week was a whirlwind of meetings, calls, seminars, emails and note-taking. I did manage to take a run along the beach all three days I was there, which was amazing. I loved exploring the island, watching the kids play on the beach and the surfers in the waves. If I had an ocean view, I'd run every single day! I got home late Wednesday night, spent all day Thursday with the kids and caught my next flight bright and early Friday morning.

Second trip of the week was Park City, Utah for Sundance Film Festival. My gorgeous bestie Ally (the cute redhead in the blue coat) is getting married in May and this was her bachelorette weekend with the girls. We spent the good part of Friday in/around Salt Lake City, which was absolutely beautiful. I've never been to Utah, so this was really fun and exciting for me. We made our way to Park City and checked into our awesome little ski-in/ski-out condo right next to the mountain resort. Park City itself was adorable - I have a soft-spot in my heart for mountain towns and this one ranks right up there with Jackson Hole, Breckenridge and Vail on a cuteness level. Of course we were there for the films (and celebrities), but I'd love to come back sometime with Ryan and ski. It snowed a ton while we were there and the mountain looked incredible. We spent most of Saturday strategizing movie waitlists and eating an obscene amount of Thai food. We made it to a showing of a film called "Sophie and the Rising Sun," which was about a Japanese-American man in South Carolina right before/after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. We spent the evening chatting nonstop over plates full of cheese. Sunday we all headed back to Salt Lake to catch our flights home. I had a later flight than the others, so I had a chance to meet up with Laura for a drink. She was just as gorgeous, funny and sweet in person as she is online. I'm so incredibly lucky that blogging has given me friends all over the country! Who would have ever thought? 

And now I'm home and simultaneously want to play with my kids non-stop and take a 3-day nap. 

I'm exhausted, but my heart is so full.