A Deep Freeze & A Wedding

This past week has been very eventful!   We started off with a Snow Day school closure last Tuesday due to sub- freezing temperatures.  Wednesday also brought another Snow Day as the temps were dangerously low for kids to be out waiting for buses, a record high of -3F (-19C) for Denver with wind chills of -15F (-26C).  It is such extremes, instead of a heatwave and UV warnings, we are experiencing sub-freezing temps and frost-bite warnings!!  Because of the school closure on Wednesday, we were able to leave for Utah a few hours earlier, AFTER my water colour class nearly finished!!

A very cold, but beautiful day.  The Rocky's are very spectacular

I have just come from art class, and am so tuned into the colours and shades.  The mountains are very grand..

...and have so many different formations.

We followed the Colorado River which was covered in a healthly layer of ice and snow.. It looked amazing, but I was unable to get a clear photo from the car to do it justice.

We arrived in Salt Lake about 8.30pm, missed the turn off from the freeway and ended up very lost in Orem.  We drove around for a bit then called the boys, fortunately both Tom & Mike are both familiar now with the city and came and rescued us!!  However, not before we had a bit of a roam around in our lost state.  I have heard how there is a chapel on every corner, but wow!  To actually see it!  We counted 10 chapels and 2 Temples from what we saw just from that main stretch of road and a little part of Orem. 

 It was really nice to see Michael again!!  We stayed in a home with the Crosley's, that was made available to us by Emily's family (bride) in Midway Utah, dubbed 'The  Palace' by the boys due to the grand size and splendor!  This is about a 45 min drive from downtown Salt Lake. 

Thursday, the big wedding day was clear of snow, blue skies but -3C! So a tad chilly!  It was so exciting for us to actually be in Salt Lake City, see Temple Square and particularly go inside the Salt Lake Temple.  The history of this place is incredible, I loved it!  The sealing was beautiful of course, one of those tender family moments that is a priviledge to witness.  Ben and Emily are of course very happy and we enjoyed being a part of it. 

Here we actually here!! On the famous steps of the Salt Lake Temple.

Emily & Ben Crosley - congratulations!!

The Groom's family: Front - The Crosley's, Middle - The Bennallack's, Top - The Scott's & Emma Korte

Photos were taken on the steps of the Temple and the smiles on our faces are happy ones, but frozen in place!! The breeze made it a very cold day!  We spent the afternoon warming up at an eatery called 'Chuck-a-rama' an all you can eat place with all sorts of typical American dishes.  (We thought the name of this place would not bode well for the business in Australia!!)  It was really nice to mingle with Emily's family and catch up with ours and friends (the Scott's) from Aus. 

The mountains in Utah are spectacular and very close!  No foothills here.. just beautiful.

The American wedding reception is something quite different!  There was a 'line' where the bride, groom and their parents greet guests, this went from 6.30-8ish, so quite a long time. Guests leave a present, mingle, stay for the cutting of the cake and leave.  We saw people leaving when we arrived!  This reception also had an Aussie flavour with Michael also acting as MC, the bridal party was introduced, speeches and toasts and dancing.  Emily's Dad is in a rock band, and they played for most of the night, it was a fun fun night.  It was held in a rustic barn decorated  beautifully for the event.  Congratulations Emily & Ben and all the best for a wonderful life together.

After the 'line' finished, the Bridal Party was introduced. Michael did a great job as 'MC', although we were not sure if many guests understood what was going on, it was very noisy..

We had trouble seeing, and hearing, so we ventured to a better vantage point up on the balcony.

The Bridal dance, with Emily's sister Alta singing.

Tom right where it's all happening, surrounded by girls of course!

Michael as 'MC', very entertaining!!

Sarah with her big brother Mike

Friday, once we got going, we returned to Temple Square for a good look around.  There is so much to see there, with most buildings having a tour guide to show you around.  We had a look at the Assembly Hall and Tabernacle, built by the Pioneers without nails, the Lion Pantry, a cafe now, but was once part of Brigham Young's home, the Church Administration Building with it's spectacular views, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building which used to be Hotel Utah.  This is a magnificent old building restored to it's former beauty and elegance.  There are a couple of restaurants here with splended views of the Temple and Square.  We also had a long tour of both Visitors Centre's. We ran out of time to see more, but this will give us more to see next visit!
We spent a quiet night at home, while the kids went 'out'.  Friday was milder, which means it was very cold, not freezing, so it was nice to be cosy at home catching up.

Inside the Assembly Hall.  Today it is used for Symphony performances and recording media presentations.

A wonderful view of Temple Square from the Joseph Smith Memorial Building



Rick & I outside the Tabernacle

 

All three, at the popular spot where Bridal photos are taken!



OverlookingTemple Square & the city from the Church Administration Building

We left by 6am for the drive back to Utah, anticipating to arrive around 3ish in the afternoon.  We had a fairly smooth trip stopping only for about 30mins at Grand Junction, a town at the base of the Rocky's  inside the Colorado State line.  We were doing ok with the weather until about half way through the Rocky's, by the time we got to Vail, we were in a snow storm.   The rest of the trip was slow going with a complete stop in the traffice by the time we got to the Eisenhower Tunnels which are about 30-40 mins to Denver.  The trip took us 11 hours in the end, which meant Sarah had to adjust her plans for meeting up for dinner prior to the Winter Formal.

Visibility was poor, the roads thick with ice & snow, and traffic heavy.. not the ideal driving conditions, so well done Rick!

Slow going, down to a stand still at periodic times. The traffic became extremely backed up both sides of the Tunnel.. But, yes, Tom & Sarah made it to the Winter Formal, the first major social event on the Columbine Calendar!!  Tom took  a 'date' because he is a superstar!  He took Chelsea, who is actually Sarah's friend, who only lives a few houses away.  They both said it was a really good night with lots and lots of people!

Sarah ready for the first Columbine social event!!

The snow didn't stop overnight, and by morning we were covered by about 8" of snow.  None of the roads were plowed as we went to church very slowly and carefully.  The snow is nice to look at, but very inconvenient to live in!!  As is turned out, our ward ended up being the only one to hold Sacrament meeting. The rest of the meetings were cancelled, and all other ward meetings in the Stake were cancelled.  Because we have the first early meeting, it was too late to cancel it.  But we had a lovely time 'visiting'  with new friends!  It's really nice too, to have Michael with us for a couple of weeks.

On Sunday night we went to DJ and Russell Stutz' for dinner and had a lovely fun evening with them.  On a sidenote, Sunday night was also the SuperBowl.  This is really huge here, as big as the Grand Final for AFL.   So lots of groups happening around the Sunday night TV with Chilli or such!!

Monday brought beautiful blue skies, and a milder temp which melted the snow a bit during the day.  I had never seen so much snow on branches since we had been here, and during the day it blew and dropped off the trees, raining snow.  However, overnight, we had more snow, there were some school closures, but not from Jefferson County, but seminary was cancelled due to the extreme low temps, so that was an extra hour sleep there.  So, today has been quiet and cosy.  Temps are supposed to 'warm' over the week, so hopefully the weekend looks good to visit the snow!  We are also looking forward to a visit from Nerissa, our neice who lives where it really snows - New Hamshire.