Shall We Sundance?

Sundance takes place every year in Utah. If you already knew this, you're smarter than me. Before I'd ever been to the annual movie fest, I assumed it took place in some magical, North Pole town. Sundance, Antarctica, maybe. That's a slight exaggeration, but I really did have no idea where the thing was stationed.

Imagine my surprise two years ago when I learned I'd be going to Park City, Utah. Cory is a big film buff and attending the festival is a yearly tradition for him, sort of like Mecca, and I got swept into the yearly pilgrimage. I've been twice now, and I'm pleased to say I love it.

This past festival, we stayed a week with our friends Elan and Melissa, and Cory's sister Lindsey and her friend Stephanie. The photos for this post were fun to go through, as Melissa was about four months pregnant on the trip and not showing at all. Now, she'll be a mama any day, and her outline looks a lot different! (She still looks beautiful though!)

We saw many a movie and several celebrities, but my favorite part about the trip was the beautiful scenery. I had no idea Utah would be so pretty, but it was. We stayed in the picturesque Westgate ski resort, and the whole place looked like a snow globe:


I skied for the first time in Park City, and I was equal parts bad at it and amazed by it. Skiing was a lot of fun for me, surprising as I've never been much of an athlete. Or a fan of cold. One of my favorite things about skiing was riding the gondola up to the top of the mountain. It's so quiet and the only thing around you is tall, white mountains. I loved it. Cory said this was not the typical highlight of a ski trip, but I was unconvinced.


We also went snow tubing, a more laid back snow sport. That is, of course, until the boys decided to turn it into a snowball battle. Not a fight, a battle. There were many casualties, including Cory's pants.





After all that movie-watching and snow diving, we did plenty of nighttime eating and drinking...and TV watching in pajamas. Please don't mind the random pics of us with girls dressed in Stella Artois snowsuits. The pub was giving out free drinks if you took a photo with their girls, and we were happy to oblige.





You can't tell, but in the pajama pic I'm wearing a Banksy T-shirt. Cory is obsessed with the famous street artist, and Banksy's documentary debuted at Sundance in 2010. This made Cory very happy. As you may know, Banksy is a recluse artist and no one knows his true identity. When we were there, Banksy had tagged a few walls around Park City with his art, like a great big "Bansky wuz here" sign. This past Sundance, Elan made a joke of it by giving Cory a Banksy T-shirt. The joke was on Elan, as it's now one of my favorite pj tops.

Here's a photo of Melissa with one of the Bansky walls in Park City. We were happy to see the art was still there a year later.


To cap off, let me reiterate, Utah is cold. Case in point, here's a photo of Cory and I walking down Park City's Main Street. This wasn't one of the snowiest days, but I think it proves my point.

And now, some gratuitous photos of my friends with various celebrities at Sundance. Ten points if you can guess which "The Office" actor Melissa is with below, and who that actress is that Cory is stalking in the last...