A couple weeks ago (Labor Day weekend) we took a trip to Sun Valley, Idaho with Emily's two sisters, Amy and Abbie, and their husbands. Amy's husband, Whitey (actual name is Scott) has a grandpa that lives there and had invited Amy and Whitey down - so they called us and invited us - we are really grateful they did. (The first picture posted here was actually a hike we did on a Saturday at Bridel Veil falls in Provo Canyon - it was fun).
We left early Saturday morning with Amy and Whitey and got down there around noon. Whitey's grandpa's house was really big and nice. It was in a nice neighborhood with ponds and big houses right up against the mountains. Whitey's grandpa was very generous the entire trip, buying groceries, letting us use his bikes and tennis raquets, etc. The first thing we did was get on some bikes and ride down to downtown Sun Valley for a parade that was going on.
Emily had been to Sun Valley numerous times but this was my first time. I loved the place. It felt a little like Park City, but not as big. There were bike paths everywhere and everything was very well kept. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding around town, playing tennis, and making dinner at the house. On top of all that, the US Open was going on, so we watched some tennis too.
Abbie and Jon arrived late Saturday night after all of us had gone to sleep. Sunday morning we lounged around and Em and Amy made german pancakes (a favorite and Em and I's) and then we went to church. In the afternoon we went on another pretty long bike ride (not to difficult), made dinner and dessert, watched the US Open, and then in the evening we played the Wii for quite a while. Whitey's grandpa had the Wii fit which provided us with entertainment until around midnight - it was really funny.
Monday (Labor Day) was our favorite day. After breakfast, Amy, Whitey's grandpa, and Em and I went mountain biking. Abbie wasn't feeling great so her and Jon stayed home - as did Whitey to watch their daughter Sammie. Em and I hadn't really been mountain biking before (at least for a very long time) so we were excited to try it out.
Whitey's grandpa knows Sun Valley inside and out and took us on a really pretty ride through some hills that overlooked Sun Valley. We LOVED it. It was a great workout and it was so different than biking we had done before.
We loved going uphill and downhill and riding through all the turns of the mountains. We loved the views around us and the fact that it wasn't too hot or cold. We would love to do it again soon.
After we got home, we all went to the Sun Valley ski resort (except Whitey who went on his own bike ride at the ski resort) and took the lifts up to the top.
It was really great scenery and besides the freezing cold winds it was fun. At the top we took took another lift to the top of another mountain and walked around for awhile enjoying the views.
There were a bunch of hang-gliders that were taking people with them (200$) that looked really fun but too expensive. Maybe next time... We later went to lunch and then stopped by a bike shop as Em and I really wanted to buy mountain bikes after how much fun we had. They were a little too pricey so we didn't buy any but we are still looking around for some good deals.
The trip was a near perfect trip for us as it combined all the things we love to do on vacation - exercise (lots of biking, tennis, and swimming), eating (great homemade food and ice cream), games (Wii sporting games), and watching tennis (both Federer - Em's favorite, and Nadal - my favorite, were victorious that weekend).
