Derby, Night Hike & Farmer's Market

So it has become tradition to go to the Demolition Derby out by my folk's. Must be the redneck in us, because I honestly don't know why it is so entertaining to watch a bunch of old cars smash into each other....but it is fun.

A little taste.....

Don't you wish you were there?

Later that week, Brett & I had the "great" idea to hike the face of Grandeur Peak since the trailhead is pretty close to where we live. We thought it would be a nice evening "nature walk", if you will.

Of course, it is a lot steeper than we realized and took a lot longer.

We reached the peak at sunset. Note to self---when going on a hike after sundown, bring a flashlight. It was a great adventure climbing down a really steep mountain in the dark.

Does anyone love the Farmer's Market? You not only get some nice, fresh produce, but Brett gets his German food fix, I get my shopping fix, and we get entertained by a piano bike.

I love summer.

California Knows How to Party

So the beginning end of June/beginning of July we took a Lam Fam va-cay to the golden shore (aka California). We stayed at a beach house in Oceanside, which has a special place in my heart because that is where we stayed when Brett proposed. Awww....

Enough mushy stuff.

We went Deep-Sea fishing which was extremely awesome for the first 20 minutes of the day....then nothing for the rest of the many, many hours we were at sea. We slept over on the boat the night before so we could get out far enough to catch some Albacore Tuna. I was one of the lucky ones...we caught about 8 fish total, so not everyone even got to reel one in. But it was fun anyway. And I ended up taking like 3 naps...something about a rocking boat just lulls me to sleep. So here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Me and my sister-in-laws...they are so cute, even on fishing day! Please ignore my hair.

My first and only catch of the day...a 25 lb Albacore tuna. He tasted really good!

Brett was the master angler catching 3 of our 8 fish, including this beauty--a yellowtail.

Isn't this a cute one of the brothers and Mike?

Beach day...lots of boogie boarding fun. Don't let the sky fool you...it was overcast almost every day we were there. I tried boogie boarding and almost drowned. I think my place is on the beach.

Don't be jealous.

Summer Lovin' Had Me a Blast

Well, I know it has been quite awhile since I posted anything. Truthfully, I've been debating about whether or not to keep the blog. It is a lot of work! Anyway, here is an update about what we've been up to the past month or so.

Congratulations Scott & Elyse! They got married on May 22. I don't have a better picture, but Elyse looked beautiful and Scott couldn't stop smiling. What a cute couple!

Me & my cute sisters in law at the temple.

Look at the little man's tux!

Over Memorial Weekend we took a trip down to St. George with the good old Lam Fam. It was so nice to get out of Salt Lake and enjoy some quality time with our family. A few of us went drove over to Zions and hiked Angels Landing--one of my favorites. It was perfect weather and we made great time.

Scott & Elyse joined us on the hike. Cute little newlyweds.

And Eric, along with the aptly named, Lizard. Todd came too, but he is MIA in the photos.

It was pretty high.

Congratulations Grad!! Brett's sister Lindsay was so young when we started dating 4 years ago...and now she has graduated high school and will be going to the U! She is absolutely gorgeous!

Then Brett & I headed down to Moab for a long weekend for some hiking and bike riding. If you can't tell from the sky in this picture, it pretty much rained the whole time. In the desert. We have a running joke that Brett always brings bad weather with him when we go on vacation. Guess it hasn't worn off yet. Still, this was one of the best weekends. The rain really cooled things down, and what was supposed to be a 100 degree weekend ended up being mid 70's and perfect.

We were caught in a downpour during one of our hikes and it happened right where there happened to be an overhang big enough for the two of us...the only overhang probably along the whole hike. I think someone was looking out for us. In fact, with all the rain showers we never really got rained on...we were extremely lucky.

This was in the Canyonlands...it is so awe-inspiring and amazing down there. I can't wait to go back and spend more time.

We stopped at Goblin Valley on the way home--I had never been. It was pretty cool. The flash flooding was pretty bad down there and washed out the road. It's crazy what a little rain can do.

I know this post is already long and boring. But we finally took the boat out and it was amazing. We used to go every weekend but everyone's schedules are so hard to reconcile since we have grown up. It brought back a lot of memories or sunburns and whiplash, and fun stuff too.

Brian's mad waterskiing skills.

Try not to stare at Brett's sexy muscular arms and focus instead on his wakeboarding skillz.

Sunday was a joint Father's Day/Dad's 50th birthday par-tay. Please note the walker. We thought it was past the time for fun gifts and on to the practical.

Cute sisters :)

I might add that my goal is to make my Dad cry every time I write him a birthday/Father's day card. And I hope you know that of course I succeeded.

And last, but not least....Happy Birthday Bryttan!!

There is so much more, but hopefully you enjoyed the highlight reel. I'll try to update more often if I decide to keep the blog.

Cathedral Pillow Project

I want to make this pillow cover for my next sewing project. I have two pillows left. A little ambitious? Probably, with my minimal sewing experience. But isn't it pretty?

Does anyone have a pattern or know how to quilt?

By the way, you can purchase the one shown above here.

Cabin Fever

I'm feeling an itch, and I want to scratch. It's time to go away for the weekend again. But where? It's a short trip, and I don't want to spend all the time in the car. Requirements are: plenty of sunshine, all outdoor recreation (some fun hiking, possibly biking) and CHEAP. We just had to pay taxes.

Southern Utah sounds great...but do I really want to spend 4+ hours in the car? The problem is, we have some Mothers to visit on a certain day coming up and need to be back in time.

Possibilities:

Goblin Valley

Moab

Canyonlands

Or is there something closer? Gaaaaa.....decisions! Hate them!

A year sure goes by fast

I can't believe that a year ago I went from being favorite & only sister (and least favorite sister, as Brian so kindly pointed out) to sharing the spotlight with baby Melanie. Although probably not really sharing, more like I've graciously moved to second place.
Can I just say that adoption is such a blessing in our lives? It's hard to imagine life without my little sister. I just admire women that can give such a selfless gift to people that they barely even know.
Love you Melanie! You've learned so much in a year, I can't wait to see what you can do on your next birthday!

"Spring is when life's alive in everything" --Christina Rossetti

I love Spring. I love the feeling of renewal, of hope, of life. It reminds us that everything comes full circle. From the dead of winter comes rebirth. This is a great opportunity to start life anew. A lot of people make New Year's Resolutions. I vote we made New Season Resolutions! It's much more inspiring to put your whole heart into something when it seems everything down to Mother Earth is jumping on the bandwagon.
I see a sky like today and I wish I could paint. Maybe I should take a class. But where?

Even though Spring is a fickle filly in Utah I do love the three days that it lasts. I feel so energized. Like I could bike up a mountain .
Now that I've finished my little "Ode to Spring," I have an embarrassing moment to share along those lines. When I was in 9th grade, my English teacher, Mrs. Fraser, required us all to write some original Shakespearean type sonnets. Of course, being the studious, disciplined, non-procrastinator that I am (psych!--remember "psych!") I was busily scribbling something down in the class before english so I would have something to turn in. It had to be in iambic pentameter and have rhyming couplets and all that Shakespearean fodder. Little did I know, that EVERYONE had to read our "sonnets" aloud to the class. I just about died. Let's just say, I could barely even make it through the reading I was giggling out of embarrassment. Which only served to add to my abashment. It was a really sappy, sentimental, satirical, stupid homage to spring.To give you a little taste, the only part of my writing that I remember was along the lines of:

Late at night I sit on the roof

Hearing comfort in my little dog's woof

Mrs. Fraser even commented at the end, "Well someone's excited for Spring, isn't she?" 

Yeah....the whole thing was pretty much like that. At the end of the year our class gave out awards and mine was "Sonnet Superior". As excited as I was for Spring and rebirth and all that, I have never wanted to wither and die more than I did then.

Can anyone top that embarrassing moment?