Way up in the sky, the little birds fly

This summer my firm opted for a cool summer party. They rented us all rooms at the Zermot in Midway, a swiss-themed resort, and organized activities in the area. Chris and I decided to finally get some mountain biking in, our first of the season, before cleaning up for the festivities. We dropped the puppy off for doggie Disneyland at David and Natalies and headed into Midway to find a series of trails that were not too scary. Ten minutes into our ride we were both cursing quite loudly, trying to remember why this was fun. An hour and a half later after some twists and dips reminded us. If only it wasn't so dirty and bruise inducing!


We then checked into our hotel and headed to the pool area for a little chill time before dinner. It's a lovely resort and the pool is awesome. We cleaned up and met my coworkers and their significant others for cocktails and dinner. We grabbed some of the younger bunch after the meal and played late night shuffleboard. No one was playing spectacularly, but it's a game easily learned. Chris and I made it back to our room just in time to watch Phelps win another gold. Oh the entertainment that is the Olympics.





Sunday morning found us up at an ungodly hour. Ungodly! But, I made this sacrifice because we were going hot air ballooning! Hooray! I've always wanted to do it, and this way it was free. Two vans of my coworkers and others were loaded into vans and taken to a nearby school to watch the balloons fill up. We were soon loaded and came to the realization that this was going to be a full load. We were separated into compartments in the basket, and my compartment happened to take on an extra person, making for a very cozy situation. Chris was in the next compartment. And if I stretched my arm I could touch his arm, not quite the romantic situation I envisioned. We were off rather quickly and soon floating over the Midway valley. I was surprised by how slow it was. I've been more scared on rides at Disneyland. We floated up and down and across the valley, enjoying the early morning. About an hour later we came to a soft landing in a field, anxious to be released from our basket prison. It was a lovely experience, but perhaps one that is better shared in a romantic situation, not butt to butt with a coworker. We were returned to the hotel and we all parted ways.



I had talked Chris into taking me shopping at the outlets in Park City before heading home, surely a big sacrifice on his part. We finished earlier than I expected and the shops weren't yet open. I noticed the sleeping bag still in the back of the jeep and begged Chris to stop for a nap. We found some school, pulled out the sleeping bag, and narked out for a much-needed rest. Revived, we went on to do some shopping damage and then collect our happy worn-out puppy.

Sure beats a WSGR summer bbq and kiddie jump house party anyday.