BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Five years ago, I promised my niece I would take her to New York. Why did she want to go? Her name is Brooklyn and she just really wanted to see the Brooklyn Bridge. As we all know, crazy things in life happen and we put that promise on hold for a bit. Recently, I was given the opportunity to travel to NYC for the weekend with one other person and I chose my niece. We were finally going to make that promise happen!

A local radio station, 97.1 ZHT gave us tickets to see Maroon 5 in concert. Before the concert, we added a little fun to our itinerary.

First thing, we made it to Brooklyn for both a Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge shot.

We then headed to the Japanese Tea Room for yummy brunch.

We couldn't let her visit the Big Apple without seeing a Broadway show.

Mean Girls was so fetch!

Top of the Rock is the best place to get a fabulous view of the city.

Go at sunset for an amazing sky!

We took a cab ride to Madison Square Garden for the concert.

We sang along with every song and even enjoyed a slice of pizza on the walk back to our hotel.

Did you think we would not take a stroll in Central Park before taking the Subway back to airpot?!

It was a quick trip, but I think it is safe to say she loved New York.

DOG CANCER

Oh, hello there. I know I haven't written here quite some time, and I apologize for that. But here I am now. So...what's new? Probably lots and I'll get to that later. Moving on to the most important thing going on in my life right now:

If you know me, then you know I LOVE my dog. She is my best friend. We have been through a lot together and I appreciate her for being such a loyal companion.

 In May, I took Day-Z to a nearby vet because she was shaking her head a lot and I knew that meant something was bothering her. I thought it could possibly be a foxtail. She had one get caught in her ear last year around this time and the same vet removed it for us. There was nothing her ear. I had recently noticed a bump on the side of her face so I asked if that could be what was bothering her. We went back to this bet a couple times and they offered to take a sample and send it to a lab for a biopsy to see exactly what the bump on her face happens to be.

 I wasn't very happy with the speed of service from the veterinarian office, but they finally got back to me two weeks later and the vet said it wasn't a big deal and I should let it be. He told me sometimes dogs just get bumps that are benign and this was one.

It has been 4 months since that visit and the bump is bigger. I scheduled an appointment for Dayz's eye checkup. I mentioned the bump and the doctor immediately looked concerned and asked if she could ask the oncologist in the building to take a look. The doctor also contacted the previous vet and asked them to send their biopsy results over. It took a few minutes, but the first vet emailed the results. The eye doctor told me that just looking at those results it said soft tissue sarcoma (STS) which means it is cancerous. The oncologist from offered to see Day-Z that afternoon and took some x-rays.

Turns out the first vet lied and the bump is cancerous. It has grown so much that it has busted a little bit of the bone in her face (seen on the right side). It has possibly spread so much that surgery to remove it might not be an option without seriously disfiguring her face. The next option? Radiation treatment with specialized machines at Colorado State University. What does this mean? It means a 7 hour road trip with my dog, pet friendly hotel stay, a rather expensive radiation treatment, and lots of prayers that this helps stop the cancer from spreading. 

Do I love my dog and wouldn't think twice about doing something to help her? You bet! She really is my best friend. I am not very good at letting others in my super personal life or asking for help, but we sure could use it right now. So if you know anyone who might want to help out...maybe has hotel/car rental points that are going to expire that they can donate or something to help ease the monetary sting of our next phase in treatment. Thank you. Whether you can help out, offer a kind word, send love to Day-Z, or just took the time to read this whole post....I want to say thank you and I appreciate you. So much love.

UTAH HOT SPRINGS

Utah has so many cool hikes and places to discover. So I decided to get and out discover more.

It was time to visit some of the hot springs that are close by.

 The first stop was a 2.5 mile hike up to Fifth water hot springs. It is located up Diamond Fork canyon near Spanish Fork. There is a fabulous waterfall that greets you as you reach the pools. The pool closest to the waterfall is the warmest and they get cooler the farther you go from them.

There is a parking lot at the bottom and the trail was pretty busy that day. The pools are big enough that groups of people can wade in them at the same time.

 The next spring is Baker Hot Springs in Delta, UT. This one has 3 tubs that are large enough to accommodate several people at once. When we arrived, there was a skinny dipper already in the tub...a risk you take at the hot springs.

 Just like the other other Spring, the tubs have different temperatures and cool as they move farther from the source. The scenery around this one is fabulous.

Meadow Hot Springs was next on the list.

 My friend Rachel and I went with her daughter Claire during Spring Break. It was super crowded and full of people. This spring gets a lot of visitors.

 Meadow has 3 pools to swim in all serrated by short walks. The first one, pictured above, is the deepest and is known to have people dive in it to explore it. This one is the warmest of the three.

 The next pool is a little cooler, but your feet can touch the ground in most places.

I didn't get a picture of the third tub. This one has a cute wooden dock with small fish swimming in the water. It is the coolest of the pools.

 The final hot spring I visited was Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, UT. There is an entry fee of $16 for adults. There are other fees for camping per person and attending concerts that may be held there throughout the year.

 There are crazy buses and teepees as you drive in to the parking lot. There were almost no other people visiting the day we went because of the overcast weather.

As you walk up to the natural springs, the first spot you see is a giant pool with a small waterfall that can hold a large number of visitors at one time.

As you walk up the hill, there are individual bath tubs you can soak in. 

Like I said, we were the only visitors, so we had our own individual tubs, but you can fit more than one person in a tub.

 You'll spot 3 right away and if you walk to the right, you can find two more that placed right in the rocks.

These springs are so fun and worth the entry fee, in my opinion.

UTAH IN SPRING

I love my state.

 Utah's capitol building is fabulous any time of year.

Add cherry blossoms in Spring

 and you have a fabulous sight.

 Bring your camera because you will want to document the enchanting walk through the tunnel of trees.

You can also drive a few blocks to temple square and enjoy colorful tulips 

and other brilliant flowers as you walk around the Salt Lake Temple.

 Spring time in Utah has got the BLOOM BLOOM WOW!

PS My jewelry is from Alex and Ani #obsessed.

SNOWBIRD RESORT

It is Customer Appreciation Days at Snowbird. For every donation of 3 cans of food / hygiene items or $6 cash, visitors will receive a free foot passenger Tram ride.

There are two more days left for this deal.

 Just stop in October 29-30 from 11am-5pm to drop off your donation 

and receive your ticket for the tram ride.

Donations items will be given to Utah Food Bank.

Donated money will go to Wasatch Adaptive Sports Program.

Check out the Snowbird website for the most needed items.

Do good and enjoy some good views. #winwin

HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE

Please don't tell me don't you have never heard the name Warren Miller before this post. Whether you pray to the snow gods for fresh pow on your face every morning as you embrace all things snowsports, or you are a beginner skier to hit the slopes, you must see these films. The 67th annual Warren Miller film Here, There & Everywhere (67 means they must be pretty good) is kicking off it's national tour in Salt Lake City, UT, this coming October 14th/15th at Abravanel Hall.

It then moves to my hometown 10/18 -10/20 (and then 5 more places within Utah where we have the greatest snow on Earth). I feel super lucky to have so many show options to attend. Click here for tour dates to see if it is playing in a theater near you.

Check out the official trailer below or go to the Warren Miller Entertainment Youtube page for this and more amazing adventure moments.

Featured Locations in the film include: Squaw Valley, CA • Crested Butte, CO • Deer Valley, UT • Montana • Switzerland • Kicking Horse Mountain Resort • Cordova, AK • Greenland • Boston's Fenway Park • Steamboat Springs, CO. 

Perks of attending the show not only include partaking of this amazing film tour you had a taste of above, but attendees also receive 2-for-1 lift ticket to Snowbird, free lift ticket to Solitude & Brighton, 20% off cat skiing at Whisper Ridge, free early/late-season lift ticket to Steamboat, and more swag. Don't believe me? You find complete offer details at warrenmiller.com and be sure to follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

See you on the slopes!