family reunion

The family reunion was filled with the usual assortment of crazy and fun activities and lots of visiting with family. The weather for the weekend was great. Cooler with dramatic skies and pretty sunsets. We did get a little rain but it didn't interfere too much. I was just happy to be away from the yucky heat and humidity of the south. There are several runners in my family so there was a 10k run Saturday morning. It felt so great to run in cooler, humid-free weather. I hadn't attempted to run that far in the heat here for a few months so it felt great to do a bit of a longer run. I was sad my kids couldn't be at the reunion to take part in all the fun but I was glad I got to be there and see so much of my extended family. All 4 of my siblings were there which doesn't usually happen so that was fun.

A wild game of fruit basket.

Pretty scenery on the morning run.

It was great to get away for a few days but I was so happy to see Ben and the kids again. I only saw Ben briefly before he headed to L.A. for work for the week.

Salt Lake City

Ben surprised me with a ticket to fly out to Utah to see my Grandma and go to the annual Bronson family reunion. We hadn't been to Utah in 3 years so it was so nice to be able to see family and especially my grandma who I don't get to see enough. It was pretty luxurious to fly alone. I even finished an entire book on the trip. I spent my first night in downtown Salt Lake at Steph's place. I woke up early Thursday morning and walked around Temple Square. It was so peaceful and pretty without anybody else around. Then I went for a run through Memory Grove and up City Creek canyon and past the Capitol. Ben and I used to walk and run that path all the time when we lived downtown so it was fun to revisit those spots. I met my dear friend Micaela for breakfast and I loved catching up with her. Plus our breakfast at Gourmandise was so delicious. I was able to meet up with some of Ben's family for lunch at City Creek Center which was really fun. Steph gave me a tour of her work (the Church Office Building) with some nice views of the valley. My dad flew in later in the afternoon and picked me up and we made our way up to my Grandma's farm, stopping at In 'n Out for dinner. There was the most beautiful sunset on our way to the farm.

Morning view from Steph's apartment.

In the Church Office Building, looking up.