"Come on baby, let's get away...

...let me take you on an escapade."

Nick and I had a lovely time at The Homestead Resort in Midway, UT. This place is very dear to my heart. I grew up going to the Homestead once every couple years or so with my family. I have lots of memories of swimming in the crater (geothermal spring with mineral water), horseback riding, hiking, golfing, tennis...good times!  And the last time I visited was before I was married, so I was REALLY excited to go with Nick.

The Homestead has 19 separate buildings connected by little walkways.  It is very classic Americana.

We stayed in St. Andews Cottage.

Our cottage was right off the golf course. I was in 7th heaven with all the mature trees because they are pretty sparse in Eagle Mountain.

Inside...

 

Nick catching the Spurs/Miami game.

 

 

Can you tell I love the panorama feature on my phone? ^

More cottages...

 Some prairie dogs peeking out.

 

Midway has a strong Swiss influence. I love it.

 That evening we went to a highly recommended Mexican restaurant called Tarahumara. It was awesome. Very flavorful and authentic. Definitely not your Taco Bell.

Nick trying to look natural for the camera.

I'm kind of a salsa snob and this place did not disappoint. They seriously had some of the best I've ever tasted!

The next morning, after a nice sleep-in, we grabbed some delicious, homemade fudge from the gift shop and headed out to Park City for a little shopping. 

On our way out, we spotted the 2012 HGTV Dream Home. It was pretty, but not as big as I thought it would be.

 

 After an afternoon in Park City, we headed home. We wanted to do more activities around the Homestead, but were kind of on a time limit.

A huge thanks to Nick's parents for taking care of the T-man and Miss Aspen while we were away. It was nice to know our kids were in good hands so we could actually enjoy ourselves. I was trying to remember the last time Nick and I had a little getaway like this and I'm pretty sure it was December 2007 when I was pregnant with Toby.  So even though it was a quick trip, it was very much appreciated and needed. And I'm hoping to keep up the Rarick tradition and take my kids to The Homestead several times over the years. Such a beautiful, peaceful place. I can't wait to go back!

8 is great!

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. I'm a little embarrassed to report that we've never really done much for our anniversary. In fact, I can't remember the last time we just went out to dinner to celebrate! How sad is that? Well, this year we aren't doing anything...TODAY that is. Nick has a little something special planned out for later this week. I seriously can't wait. And no offense, but I kind of want to keep our little secret plans, well, secret - for now. Just want to create a little intrigue for all 5 of you who read my blog. ;)

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 Now onto the mushy stuff: I think one of the first things that attracted me to Nick (besides his gorgeous, dreamy blue eyes) was that he was so different from most of the guys in my dating history. He definitely stuck out. He was very candid - sometimes a little too candid (see this post for more details). He could always make me laugh with his blunt one-liners. Also, I can't tell you how many times he made dinner for me while we dated. That was a huge sign of things to come. You might think, "well that was just to reel you in." Nope. Nick is a rare breed I tell ya. Cooking and cleaning in our home has always been a joint venture. In fact, he is much more of a neat freak than I am. This will probably sound like an exaggeration or me just trying to impress everyone with my lovey-dovey anniversary post, but no. This is fact: whenever I'm gone for any amount of time (a couple hours, out for the evening, gone an entire day) Nick will absolutely take care of everything in the home. He will do all the dishes, he will scrub the toilets, he will do the lawn work, take care of the kids and have them tucked in bed (when I'm out for the evening). If you can't tell already, Nick is the hardest worker. He worked full-time and went to school full-time for over 4 years with 2 little ones at home and a mortgage to pay. That was a heavy load to carry but he never once complained. He literally lives the phrase: "forget yourself and go to work."

These pics are from when we lived in Anchorage, Alaska. I cherish that first year. We grew a lot and learned a lot. It was a fun adventure that I still hold close to my heart.

 

Just thought I'd throw in this GQ picture of Nick - though the pic does not do his eyes justice. If you ever feel the urge to get lost in a deep, blue sea of tranquility, just stare into Nick's eyes for a few moments (I'm totally laughing right now, you should be too). Seriously though, they are gorgeous. :)

Love you, Nick. I'm so happy we have shared 8 glorious years together. Look forward to forever with you.

Missing Kaya

Yesterday marked exactly one year since our little Kaya passed away. I still remember the tough emotions of that day and the following weeks. What made her passing even harder is that we never had a definitive answer as to what went wrong in her little body: poisoning or cancer. She was only 2.5 years old. Not fair.  Something Toby likes to say when he misses her: "Kaya died but we will get to be with again someday, right?"

Here are a couple pics of Kaya just a few hours before we had to make the hard decision of putting her down because her organs were shutting down.

 

We will always miss that sweet temperament and good-natured personality of the first Sibert family pet. 

Love and miss ya, little Kaya.