Want to See Where I Live?

I'm warning you now...there are a lot of pictures in this post. But I want you all to get the full idea of how amazing my life is right now. :) Yes, there's a great deal of work to be done, and it's not exactly the most fun work in the world. And it is easy to get a little stir crazy being stuck up here all the time. And sometimes living with the people you work with can be a little grating. But, guess what?! I'm still in heaven! I could not have chosen a better place to live for my off-track. I live in a canyon, in the midst of huge mountains and sweeping forests, all of which is currently topped with white, perfect powder. 

Emerald Dining Hall--where I spend my weekends. Sometimes I work dining hall (which is basically like my old catering job), but most of the time I'm in the kitchen with a fantastic chef, Brian, my wonderful supervisor, Auralee, and a sweet commuter named Catherine. It's tons of fun, and I am learning a lot about what is entailed in working in a commercial kitchen. The shifts go by really quickly and they are always a lot of fun. It is such a privilege to work with Brian. He is a great teacher and a very talented chef. We basically have Pine Basin-quality food to work with, but he makes it taste incredible at every meal. He once made the best guacamole I have ever had with pre-packaged, pureed avocados. He also makes delicious salsa out of canned chili sauce. He's a miracle worker. :)

The Aspen Lodge: home of the office, several conference rooms, the ski shop, and some guest rooms. Basically Aspen Grove headquarters. I love working in this building. The cleaning is pretty much the same as anywhere else, but here I get to set up conference rooms and hook up A/V equipment, which I actually have found to be extremely fun. My coworker/friend Cindy and I also happen to be really good at it. :)

Check out those sweet icicles. I've heard that eventually they'll go all the way down to the ground. Icicles are by far my favorite thing about winter.

This is one of four family lodges. These buildings are beautiful inside. They are one of my favorite places to clean just because I love being in them. 

The Huish: apart from our lodge this is where we spend most of our free time. We get to use it whenever the guests aren't. There's a huge TV, three pool tables, two foosball tables, two ping pong tables, and air hockey. It's a pretty good place to hang out. This is also kind of the custodial headquarters. All the linens and a lot of cleaning supplies are stored here.

Finally: home sweet home. Snowshoe lodge is an interesting place to live. There are nine of us living here total: six girls and three guys. Yes, I have male roommates. And let me tell you, if you thought living with girls alone could create drama, you should try throwing boys into the mix. It's been interesting, that's for sure. But I can also definitively say that I am learning a lot. Just when I thought I had the roommate thing/keeping-drama-under-control thing down, Heavenly Father found a way to help me learn even more.

Something else I love about Aspen Grove is the amazing play areas they have. I would LOVE to bring my children here (*ahem* steveandrachel). We have this sweet old fire truck that kids can climb on (one of the managers, Scott, is the Fire Chief of the North Fork Fire Department)...

...fun, classic playgrounds...

...this super cute playhouse...

...a pirate ship...

...and, by far, my favorite place in camp: the cowboy village. I would have died for this place when I was little.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. We also have basketball and racquetball courts, virtual golf, disc golf, a pool complete with slides, tennis courts, a volleyball pit, a huge ball field, gorgeous hiking trails, etc, etc. Basically this place is bomb. I can't wait to come back as a guest in May for mini-camp. Even in the winter I can usually find something great to do. I am so grateful for this job, its perks, and its lessons. Being here has already helped me grow in so many ways that I couldn't have even imagined, and I'm only a little over a month in. It can be hard work, and somedays the work is long and difficult, but those things are easy to overlook when I think of all the blessings I have already received this semester. Besides, how can I complain about my job when I have views like this to enjoy every day?