A highly anticipated visit...

We were so excited to have the Ellis family (well, most of them) spot by on their way home to Colorado. Sarah had been talking about seeing Christen for months now. She was so excited she went out and bought matching lockets for them with her own money. We had a great time going to the movie, eating out and mostly just hanging out. I love that friendships continue through distance and time!

*I love the little "friends" in the photo that Sarah and Christen created from taffy.

It's always fun when...

...friends come to town! What a special treat to have Karen and Diane in town at the same time. We meet at Chili's for dinner where when enjoyed chips and salsa (of course!) and lots of laughing. After dinner, we did some quick shopping. By the time we were done shopping, we were ready for dessert, so where did we go for dessert?? Chili's, of course. It was great seeing our earlier waitress do a double take as we returned for molten lava cake! Even though it was quick, it was wonderful to have a night to reminisce and reconnect.

Last weekend, I went to "Witches Night Out" at Gardner Village with some of my girlfriends. Have you ever been? Wow...craziness. As you can tell by the photos, we were pretty decked out...as were about 8,000 other women from the Salt Lake Valley. No joke! We literally parked almost a mile away. I'm not lying. Look at the photos. And I was wearing high heeled boots. Ouch. Once our trek ended, we joined the throng of other women starving for a night out in full costume. Speaking of starving, many of us did. The line for the food was so long, it was hopeless. Good thing for Chili's at 9:30 on a Friday night! There are so many people you can barely work your way through the crowd. I say people because while nearly everyone in the crowd is of the female species, there were a few strange characters from the other side. Take Mr. Super-Creepy-Clown-in-a-White-Suit. Weird. Guess he didn't get the memo that the costume request was for witches. lol  Even the animal species was represented with a lady toting around an owl. See, I told you...it was craziness! With Witches Night, G'ma and G'pa's Halloween party, the neighborhood party and the Omniture party, I just might be done with Halloween before it even gets here! So much fun (with an itchy wig and make-up) is exhausting!

How wonderful to have Kerri visiting from Colorado! Although she was staying with Jackie, I got to see her a couple times. It was so fun to hit a few classes at Education Week in Provo with Kerri and Andrea. Just enough to know we'd love to do it again. We were totally cracking up that we went to all the effort to climb over flowers and stand next to Brigham only to have the person taking the photo cut his head off! Saturday night, Chad, Jackie and I went with Kerri to hear her friend, Dave perform. He was awesome...taking on any request we had with ease. What talent! Although it was quick, it was wonderful to Kerri...love you, Kerri!

What is the "Summer Salad Social?"

It is every one's favorite Relief Society gathering! This activity has become an annual tradition in our ward. It is one we all forward to with great anticipation. Food and talking. I mean really, how can you improve on that? I say don't mess with perfection! This event is always well attended. I love being ablel to visit with many women that I may not have the chance to on a regular basis. Everyone looks forward to sampling so many yummy and unique salads. Of course, there are the desserts, too...this year, the pina colada cupcake was a highlight for me! Not surprisingly, I had my camera with me. I realized how few (if any) photos I have of these wonderful women in my ward. I wanted to change that. I truly love associating and learning from this beautiful group of women and I want them to be a part of my permanent memory.

A little spontaneity ...

Last Saturday, after a beautiful (hard!) trail run up Draper canyon we decided we needed some more girl time. We being myself, Andrea and April (who kick my rear in trail runs!). After cleaning up, we headed to some of the homes featured in the Parade of Homes. However, looking at homes is a lot of work and we needed to fill our stomachs. ;) A philly cheese steak was just the thing. While we were at lunch we noticed a farmer's market going on and decided to wander through. After picking up some produce, we continued our home tour. (Isn't that front door amazing btw?) Sometimes, it so much fun to have NO plan. I know I am guilty of needing a plan so it was really nice to let loose a bit and do whatever we wanted as it came our way. Sometimes simple things like this can be really refreshing. What a fun Saturday!

Weekend highlights...

July is one of the most busy and most fun months of the year. I love all the out of state visitors, parades, BBQ's and celebrations. Last week I saw a few of my oldest and dearest friends. I got to see Alysa (Rhode Island) and Teresa (in transit from Iowa to Oregon) for lunch and dinner twice. I also got to see Mia (Nebraska...soon to be Utah!), Erin (back from New Jersey) and Kristi for lunch as well. So. Much. Fun. It is so great to reminisce and catch up on each other's lives. It is so wonderful to have friends that you can pick up right where you left off!On the morning of the 4th, I did the Murray 5k with some of my "Slacker" teammates. We had such a great time doing the Wasatch Back together that we couldn't resist doing this small race together. With his I.T. band still healing, Chad was bummed to serve as the support. My goal for this race was 33min and I did it in 31min!!!! That is a 10:05 mile, folks! Slow for many of you, but a new record for me!We then headed up to Kaysville for the parade (getting more and more crowded every year...I'm not sure why!). After the parade, we went to Dan and JaNel's for swimming and BBQ. The cousins couldn't get enough of each other and the pool!
This year, we did something new for the fireworks. We headed to Sandy for the festivities there. We went with our great friends the Fletchers, Larsons and Yraguens. What a super fun night...live music, friends, (junk) food and fireworks. Sarah couldn't resist dancing to the music...it was so cute to see her dancing. I think this is an event we will be going to again next year!

Chad and I had the opportunity for a quick getaway to Southern California last weekend. Chad's sister Tammi owns a condo in Aliso Viejo near Laguna Beach and we decided to take her up on her offer to use her place. We went with our good friends, April and Wade. We had a wonderful time...lots of sun, beautiful landscapes, and of course food. I'm not sure which was a the priority, sun or food. Okay, it was food. I think we ate our way up the PCH. Pizza (BJ's Pizza), Mexican (Avilia's), sushi, sea food (crab legs and fish and chips), hamburgers (In & Out of course), gelato (holy delicious creamy lemon!!) and cupcakes (Babycakes and Sprinkles lemon and red velvet mmmmm). Yes, I love food. :) Another priority was to do a session at the Newport Temple. What a beautiful temple. It was wonderful to experience the peace and beauty of the temple in a new location. The weather was warm and sunny inland, but the fog never seemed to burn off along the coast. It didn't stop us from enjoying the ocean air, scenery and people watching on the beach. We loved visiting Balboa...I wouldn't mind living there someday (ha!!). As you can see I found a home I would be happy to live in. Talk about a charming neighborhood (and expensive I'm sure). We had a wonderful time with the Morden's...who are always good sports to put up with my silly stories and dancing. THANK YOU Tammi for letting us use your beautiful place!

PS...thank you to my mom and dad who once again helped with the kids. They are quickly getting a reputation in my neighborhood as "Super G'ma and G'pa." I have already been asked if my mom will hire out.
PSS...before I hear it from the William's....YES, I totally thought of all of you while I was there. It was a quick trip and we weren't on our own...we WILL see next time. (hopefully it will be very soon...June or August??)

Food + Friends

Last Saturday, we had the chance to get together with some wonderful friends from Colorado. We met the Davis' and Sabeys while living there. Davis' live here now so we get to see the more frequently (yay!) however, the Sabeys are still there. It was so great to visit...I love these people and am so thankful for their friendship. The conversation and food were enlightening (we ate Indian food!). Always nice to know that friendships can easily pick up where they left off.

I am too old for this!

So last night...or umm, I mean this morning was the opening of Twilight. And some of the girls in the neighborhood had the brilliant idea of going to the opening show. At midnight. I am old. This is much past my bedtime. But, I knew it would be fun. We all laughed as we hopped into the car...all commenting that we felt like we were sneaking out. Apparently we were far from the the only ones up to no good. I have never seen the theater so full...even on a weekend. They were showing the movie on 20 (twenty!!) screens and all of them were sold out! It was crazy...girls in prom dresses, picture booths, and pajamas. Crazy. The movie was good (not great). Not as good as the book. Some things I think they did really well and others, well just didn't work. I mean how could they successfully create some of the effects that are in the book? I kept wondering what people will think of the movie who haven't read the book. I enjoyed it (didn't love it)...makes me want to read the book again. Now, I know many of you have seen it...what did you think?

Things are a changin'

Well, yea, a lot has changed....homes, jobs and a spouse and yet our friendship always stays the same. With things pulling us in different directions and not enough time, our friendship doesn't change! On Saturday, we had the chance to go to a movie together and even got to hang out long enough for Chad to wash her car! ;) WE saw "Ghost Town." Loooved it...laugh so hard we cried. Other than a few unnecessarily strong words (stops me from giving it a full recommendation), I loved it...really loved it! Love you friend...movie again this Saturday??!!! :)

Viva Las Time-Away-From-Kids!

Yes, this is unusual, very unusual. And, I will take unusual because I'm sure it won't be back for awhile. Chad and I took a quick trip to Vegas with some friends from our neighborhood, April and Wade. I've been through Vegas and around Vegas, but I've never directly experienced the downtown "Strip" in its current form. We found a great deal (sit through a time share presentation) that offered 2 nights at a resort (an interesting place to sleep) and some tickets and coupons for local food and entertainment (buffets and shows that no one goes to and at times you wouldn't go). Before we arrived we found out we had actually been bumped from the the resort to a Hilton down the road (which I thought was actually more clean and quiet). April and Wade were still at the resort so we had access to all the amenities. Kind of funny they expect us to be interested in buying a property we don't even get to stay at, huh?! Since I already sound like I'm on a negative rant, let me quickly say that aside from the sales presentation we had a wonderful weekend.

Our first night there, we had reservations at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill at Caesar's Palace. We knew this would be a splurge and mmmm....was it worth it! We couldn't resist tasting each others dishes. I had a Mahi with mango, Chad had Salmon with a black bean sauce, April had a Halibut with a red chili sauce and Wade had Pork Tenderloin. Wow. They were all so tasty. I think April's was actually my favorite...the red sauce was such an unexpected yet delicious combination with the halibut. (sorry, I'm not a "foodie" so my descriptions are not great) After dinner we walked around "the strip" a bit. We watched the fountains at the Bellagio. Wow. That was an amazing site. They were all synchronized to music and shot so high into the air. The water pressure was so intense that is almost sounded like fireworks going off. Also, so beautiful at night with all the lights. Definitely one the trip highlights.

The next day began with sleeping in and relaxing by the pool with a book. Then it was off to the time share presentation. I will spare you the details. Lets just say I'm still undecided as to if 90 minutes of being very uncomfortable is worth the good deal on the accommodations. Luckily, the cringe moments with the salesmen quickly became a memory with a massage. Ahhh. We then headed to Isla at Treasure Island for dinner. I had the most delicious shrimp tacos. After dinner we walked "the Strip" some more. This time we headed over to the Wynn. This was another highlight of the trip. The way it was decorated was just amazing. The floral tiles and carpet were so colorful and vibrant. There were also these amazing Asian-type lanterns that moved up and down. It was a really fun place to walk around. We then went through the Palazzo. Another beautifully decorated casino. These both seemed to be a step up from Caesar's and Treasure Island.

Our last day began with sleeping in (I have to include that because it never happens at home!). After checking out, we headed to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. (These were the only worth while tickets given to us from the time share presentation) As if all the casinos weren't big enough, this place just seemed even bigger! As we walked through the game floor, we noticed they had a "House of Blues." What a trip this place was. The decor seemed like it was inspired by some one's acid trip in the 70's. Almost everything was done with bottle caps, license plates and other random bits of metal. So cool to look at. This was another trip highlight. We then headed to the M&M store to get some goodies for the kids.

Seriously, Vegas is crazy. Talk about sensory overload. I was astounded by the sheer size of everything and how they fit so much into one building. I was struck by each casino's ability to offer something unique and fabulous. It was also interesting to observe how deceitfully well everything is planned out. There was no straight shot from point A to B....you are hypnotically led where the casinos want you to go (you can't even cross a street with going up escalators, over bridges and through casinos). Everything is cleverly crafted to benefit the casino and satisfy the worldy appetites and passions of man. I was slightly surprised that we didn't see too much overt filth. I'm certainly not ready to call Vegas family friendly, but we didn't see or experience some of the shocking things you hear about (gone were the hoards of nasty fliers being passed out and all over the ground). I am so grateful that Chad and I had the opportunity to get away (again!) and we had a wonderful time with the Morden's.

Ahhh...a little quiet

Getting away: one thing that Chad and I are definitely not good at (it's been over 4 yrs since we had time away "senza" kids).
You'd think with my parents condo set in the beautiful Huntsville/Eden area, only an hour away and FREE we would be much better at sneaking away. We are working on that and this weekend we gave it a good start!
Our good friends, Mary and Dorick Fletcher joined us for a quick, quiet weekend away. The boys played golf, the girls went on a hike. We sat at the pool, read (yes, I actually read a book), watched movies and ate too many Lindt truffles to count.
A few side notes to the weekend: we do NOT recommend Grey Cliff Lodge for dinner (canned fruit cocktail...really) and I ran into Sam Adams on the hiking trail. Whoa. That was an interesting blast from the past.
I guess we've been holding out for that dream vacation that seems to never happen and we are slowly figuring out we can do a small, quick getaway (ie: cheap and close to home) to refresh ourselves! Coincidentally, we even have another quick trip planned for this weekend...hmmm, I could get used to this! :)

Warm night, friends and JT....perfect!

Seriously, could you ask for much more? What a beautiful night to enjoy a little James Taylor under the stars. Connie shared her tickets with Shelly, Mary and I...thank you, thank you! Seems like the older I get, the less often I get to do things like this. James sounded as smooth as ever (does his voice ever change? He did look a little skinny, though). He seemed to have a more comprehensive band than when I have seen him in the past. He recorded an album of cover tunes recently and did several of those numbers (didn't love those as much). I'd have to say the highlight of the night was "Steamroller." Dang, that was awesome. There were some great keyboard, horn and guitar solos. And nothing makes you smile more than to see JT up there doing his goofy faces and dance moves...love it. I must say we had some pretty great moves ourselves! ;) Of course everyone goes crazy when Arnold breaks into his solo on "Shower the People." "Mexico" was another crowd favorite. I loved hearing "Carolina in My Mind" and "Your Smiling Face." I would liked to have heard "Sun on the Moon," "Traffic Jam," or "Chili Dog," but loved it all just the same! :)

The best thing about Utah in July...Part III

I got to spend the day yesterday with my dear old davis high friend, Teresa. She is visiting from Iowa. What a wonderful way to end the month! We started with a private photoshop tutorial. I had her teach me one small thing to begin with. I've been given an assignment to create a canvas with mulitple photos (see my next post!). We'll see how I do. Photoshop is one thing I'd love to learn and use. We headed to Rumbi for lunch. Mmm....love their Mahi! Taipan was next on our list. We had a great time just walking around and getting lots of ideas for gifts and home. We had a great time talking food, design, fashion, church, friends...what a fabulous day!

It was the most wonderful of surprises when my dear friend, Kathy called me and told me she was in town. She asked if I had time to see her. Are you kidding?! Of course, I had time! Jackie didn't want to miss the chance to see her either and ran over as soon as I told her. So, so glad she called me...love you, Kath!

What a wonderful month making great memories with friends and family! I missed seeing a few of you this time around, but hopefully we can get together soon!

The best thing about Utah in July...Part II

Ohhh love that I will get to do a couple of these posts this month. Like I said, this month is filled with visits from loved ones....yay!

So last week, the Smith family journeyed all the way from Rhode Island. They come out each year for harp camp (yes, they are a super amazing, talented family). We quickly got to see Dallin and Matt on the 4th (not enough time!), but Alysa was around a week longer for the music camp. She was staying downtown and we planned a night to meet and go out to dinner. The night turned out so much more exciting than we even anticipated. We had Alysa's mom and two sweet girls join us for dinner (wow, they are well behaved!). We hopped on Trax (always a great time people watching on Trax) and headed to the Gateway to eat at Thaiphoon. Dinner was delicious. The evening took a fantastic turn when Diane announced she and Alysa needed to go bra shopping and she wanted my help! All of us, including the kids were in the fitting room discussing fit and comfort...what a riot! I tried to talk them into a purple push-up, but they opted for a more conservative white. Either way, they both looked very "uplifted" when we were finished! lol What a fun night...thanks Alysa and Diane! :)

A few days later, the Carpenter family headed into town. We met the Carpenters while living in Colorado and they now live in Texas (much to Diane's chagrin). I was so glad when my mom took my kids for two days which left me free as a bird. Jackie and I headed downtown to pick up Diane. She is staying at her in-laws in a beautiful neighborhood behind the capitol. When Jackie and I eventually got there, we were thrilled to meet the two new additions to her family: JJ and Abby. We then headed to Zupa's for lunch and took a tour of some of the south end's great shops; Rodworks, Interior Elements and IKEA. We had such a great time (no kids!) wandering around at our leisure. We ended the day with ice cream (Coconut from Marble Slab mmmmm!) a Dunford doughnut (the best around) and a ice cold freshies (soda, fresh from the fountain). Yea, I didn't have any dinner that night because I was so full! We laughed ourselves silly trying to get a self portrait that didn't cut one of us off and show too much double chin. ;) Diane will be here for the rest of the month so we are looking forward to heading to Chili's for one of our traditional chips and salsa nights. Good times, good times!

The best thing about Utah in July...

without a doubt, is FRIENDS and FAMILY!!!

I just love it. Every July we get this awesome influx of friends and family coming to Utah. Even if it makes for a busy month, I wouldn't give up the opportunity to catch up and reconnect with our friends and family that are so dear to us. No time was wasted with the month starting out with visits from Jenn VanWagenen and the Madsen family.

I was so surprised when Jenn called and wanted to stop by. I love her and I love that she was not phased by my "in-the-middle-of-a-project" kitchen. I wish we could have spent more time together, but I'm so glad that she came over!!

The next day, the Madsen family came. They were headed to Cedar City for a family reunion and I'm so glad they made the effort to swing through our area on the way down. I love talking "projects" with them...they are always doing something and have so many great ideas. The next day, we headed down to Provo to meet Chad for lunch. Nick got his first taste of Cafe Rio and we made an obligatory stop at the Down East store. We then headed to the DaVinci Experience exhibit put on by UVU (formerly, UVSC). This is cool a exhibit where you came experience many of Leonardo's models first hand. A foundation in Italy accurately built many of his models. We had a great time...thanks again for making the time for us! We have more visits from others coming...yay!

I hope this goes without saying, but any of you that come through town please give us a call we would love to see you!

Ode to Ang :)

How can I begin to say how great it was to have lunch with these friends yesterday? Friends are one of the best things in life and these girls are no exception! I haven't seen Angie (Graham) Hyde for 9 years. I squeezed her so tight when I saw her...I just didn't want to let go....I cant' stand the thought of too much time passing before I see her again. She looked as cute as ever....loved her shoes so much I had to take a picture. Don't you love them? Yea, thought you'd like to see them. ;) I'm sure that anyone that knows her would agree that she radiates a light and love for life like no other. To say I wish we could hangout more often is an understatement. From our singing days in "Silhouettes," to shopping at "Big John's," to snapping self-portraits yesterday, we can always pick up right where we've left off! Trish and Bridgette even came out to see Angie...we've all missed her so and didn't want to miss the chance to catch up. Sweet Bridgette came by even though her twins were asleep in the car. We sat in the parking lot and talked as long as Bridgette dared let her car and A/C run! Trish also made sure she got there in between Dr's appts and taking care of her beautiful new baby. I have to say I'm so grateful I got to see Trish as she is moving to Boise in 2 weeks. So thrilled for Glen's new job and that their house sold so quickly (7hrs in the this market? Amazing!). I love these girls (I guess we are women now?!) so much and I am so grateful they are part of my life!












(would you believe I forgot my camera? Gasp...I know! At least I had the camera phone!)

Good Coke....Good Friends

Ohh alright, even though they didn't have Pepsi for Kerri ;), it still was good coke, but the friends are the best! How fun that Kerri was working in Park City and Jackie and I could meet her for dinner. We had such a great time hanging out...something I wish we could do more often! I love these girls so much and am so glad they are part of my life!

Who knew?

When I started scrapbooking and paper crafting more seriously for magazines a couple years ago, who knew that I'd have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. By far, that has been the best and most lasting aspect of this hobby. While my creativity/productivity in this area of my life has gone to the wayside for the time being, the friendships have not. Last night I had the opportunity to go to dinner with some great friends that I've worked with while doing design work for Paper Crafts magazine. I had such a wonderful time as we easily laughed and chatted the night away. I am so grateful for this hobby that brought me these as well as many other friends! :) Thanks and love to you all....Alisa, Heather, Jennafer, Sue and Valerie!