Thoughts on Sun Valley

I loved it. There is an overwhelming calmness, and presence of Ernest Miller Hemingway there. Matt made sure I saw all of his haunts.

The house Matt's parents rented was set on an exquisite lot, with a creek running behind it and picturesque views everywhere. Matt took Sam for a spin on a sled, which made him swoon. Matt and Sam are best buddies, and Matt is the best parent I think I've ever seen. Really. He outshines me at every turn. He has such patience and kindness. Love that man.

We ice skated at the Sun Valley Inn, and drank hot toddies to warm our bones. The ski conditions were challenging, and for the first time I was actually nervous skiing, but I made it through just fine. The problem was that it was snowing hard, and white-on-white is blinding. I couldn't see an inch in front of me, couldn't tell where the path met the edge, so I screamed a couple of times, bit my lip, whitened my knuckles and hotdogged down. ; )

And yes, I had a moment with Tom Hanks. Imagine if you will, me running into him in a drugstore, at the end of an aisle. I stood frozen, but smiling, and he smiled and hesitated for a moment. I said hello, he said hello, and then I think I tucked up my ski jacket and ran away, like the cowardly lion did with his tail.

Tom was carrying a man-purse around his body, and I think maybe he was shoplifting. He was wearing cool glasses and a hat, but I knew him. He's a little chubbier, but aren't we all? ; )

We saw William Baldwin (oops, had to look up their photos) skiing, and Matt said, "What a disappointment - he's the worst one!" He was incredibly tall, very handsome, but yeah, I've never seen him in anything. He was talking loudly, too, almost hoping to be noticed, which isn't good for shoplifting.

Sam got croup while we were there, and we made two trips to emergency rooms (one in Ketchum, one in Boise). Can't wait to get those bills. The poor guy couldn't breathe, and what made matters much worse is that he couldn't nap, either. We were all quite sleep deprived and spent most of yesterday catching up.

Matt's parents had dropped us off at the Airport Best Western (that was all that was available in Boise), so we had to call a cab to get to the hospital. Matt walked to Denny's after we got back, and we sat on the bed and had a picnic. Sam loved this. Matt and I were a bit depressed. Matt got up to get Sam a glass of water, tripped on the bedspread, and all of our delicious Denny's tumbled to the floor. I laughed uncontrollably, like I used to in church.

We had a so much fun together. We may return this summer!