Valentine's Weekend

I'll be honest. Valentine's last year sort of sucked. I don't blame the poor kid. I'm Justin's first girlfriend and first lots of things... he didn't know that to do anything on V-day you have to plan it far in advance. The year before I was in Telluride so we just texted a lot and sent gifts. This year he made up for it BIG TIME. And yes, we probably spent too much money, but I think that it was a fantastic weekend.

On Saturday night Justin got us reservations to Fleming's Steakhouse and Wine Bar. I got to eat seafood, which is a rarity considering my husband's repulsion of anything from the water. The scallops were delicious. Justin was so cute he whispered across the table, "What's the difference between a Filet Mignon and a New York Sirloin and a Ribeye?" He is definitely more of a Crown Burger and Cafe Rio man than an expensive restaurant eater. Some how the food snob and the meat and potatoes man make it work. :)

After dinner we went to Ballet West's performance of Swan Lake. The best part of the show for Justin? The fact that we snagged a parking spot literally 15 feet from the front door of the Capital Theater. Yup. That was his favorite part. My favorite part? The choreography between the Swan princess and the prince... the lines were beautiful and her arm movements made her look like the grace of a swan... When I think about it I revert back to my childhood of wearing ballerina costumes and jumping around with my sisters with our over-sized jewelry and gaudy makeup we painted on each other.Another interesting part of the ballet was the fact that our seats happened to be right next to our physics TA from last semester. Justin sat down and said, "Hey, Will, can I ask you a physics question?" He looked at Justin and was like, "No way dude."

On our way home I was looking at a street corner and recognized one of Justin's mission companions. I yelled, "Hey! It's Thompson! He looks exactly like Harry Potter!" So he and his girlfriend got in the car and we gave them a ride to their car. Thompson is hilarious. A former stoner, he makes the most ironic looking returned missionary. We always laugh when we're around him.

On Sunday we visited my cute grandparents. My Granddad was finally in a good mood and my Grandma managed to not obsess too much over him. Caroline, Jordan, my Auntie Cathy and cousin Erik and my Dad spent about 2 hours together the McAvoy way... just sitting in chairs and talking. I love my grandparents. :)
On President's Day Justin went up to Solitude with Chris Hardy to ski. It was cold and somewhat of a whiteout so I stayed home and helped my friend, Tali with her high school geometry homework. That night we saw the Blind Side. What an INCREDIBLE movie! We could not get over how amazing the film was. Every aspect of it was beautiful. We were so moved by the compassion of the family, the teachers and the coaches that guided Mike to rise above poverty and give him an education, a family and a fighting chance. Justin was particularly inspired by the teachers in the movie because he is going into secondary education. He said to me, "I'd like to think that someday I could make a difference in someone's life like that." We both would like to.

On Tuesday we skipped our 5:30 class to go nightskiing/boarding at Brighton. Brighton is one of my favorite places to go. Too bad I forgot my coat! Justin let me wear his coat and he skied in a fleece... brrrrr!! But so fun.

Well, it was a fun weekend and hopefully more adventures soon to come. This Saturday we're snowshoeing with our friend Marianna and her boyfriend. In March we're hoping to go to Zion's National Park to hike and bike. Then in April we're planning a mountain biking trip with our friends, the Einfeldts at SlickRock trail in Moab. Hopefully it'll all fall into place!