Have you been watching this?

I love the Olympics! I finally have Kenneth as excited as I am - and we have been having so much fun watching together! I hope you are all enjoying them as much as we are :)

Dan the man :)

Today's blog thought is really just a tribute to my awesome brother Dan. It was his birthday this month, so I have been thinking a lot about him..

I have a fantastic family - 2 great parents.. 2 great brothers.. I really could not ask for more. I don't want this blog post to in any way diminish the coolness of the rest of my family - because they really are the best! But today I am just going to focus on Dan :)

And, in honor of his 25th birthday I am going to tell you 25 great things about my oldest little brother:

1. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know.

2. He is always willing to laugh with you or cry with you any time.

3. He has great taste in girls - his wife Sara is awesome.

4. He is super funny.

5. He is strong - both physically and spiritually - he is such a good example to me..

6. He is smart.. much smarter than he gives himself credit for.

7. He spent 2 years in Hawaii and throws really fabulous Luau's.

8. He actually gave up a long awaited trip to see all of his friends in Hawaii in order to spend 4 days driving across the country + 4 more days moving stuff and picking out furniture just to help Kenneth and I when we moved to Boston.

9. He text messages me more than anyone I know.

10. He is really good at keeping in touch, even though K and I live so far away.

11. He is super talented and makes awesome movies - so if you're getting married call him. His wedding videos are awesome.

12. He is always willing to do anything for anyone any time.

13. He is always up for a snowcone.

14. He introduced me to the avalanche.

15. He also introduced me to Guitar Hero and WII Olympics - ok, I probably would have found them on my own.. but I am still grateful.

16. He was my personal trainer for a whole year and he didn't even charge me. He even bought be a pink nalgene water bottle with a flower on it. I totally miss going to the gym with him.

17. He sent me 2 books in the mail just because he thought I would like them.

18. He makes delicious sandwiches.

19. He is an amazing public speaker. 

20. He has supported me in all of my crazy ideas for our whole life... even if it meant driving to Boise or walking to the grocery store in the middle of the winter.

21. He plays an awesome Ukulele.  

22. He took me to a Tim McGraw Dixie Chicks concert.

23. He loves a good midnight food run.

24. He has the best laugh, it is totally infectious.

25. He owns a white velour warm-up suit.

Hooray for awesome little brothers!!!

Pageants and Parlors

This past weekend was so much fun! So much fun in fact, that it has taken me all week to write this blog post. Apparently it took us a while to recover :)

Our weekend started with a wonderful day at work with Penny and Ameila, where we had our own beauty parlor day. I brought all of my supplies (nail polish, curling irons, hair clips and some light make-up) and the girls and I took turns giving each other the full beauty shop treatment. They brushed my hair and then I painted their fingernails and toenails. Next I curled their hair and styled them both using fancy clips. They even got to use my sparkly lip gloss! Next we took a few pictures on the lawn. Amelia looks more happy to pose in these than Penny, who was fighting the sun's glare. We ended our adventure at the Paris Bistro for lunch. We had crepes and a fabulous time. The girls were dancing the whole way there to show off their beauty to everyone they passed.

Here is a picture of my beautiful girls:

After work the real adventure began and we headed to New York with our friends the Seely's.
We went to Palmyra to attend the Hill Cumorah pageant - which was amazing! We have been wanting to go since we moved to the east coast and it was definitely worth it.

We spend Saturday seeing the rest of the sites in Palmyra - The Sacred Grove, the Joseph Smith house, and Grandin's publishing. Everything was so great. We had been there once before - but it was day 4 of our drive from Utah to Boston and we were a little tired. It was so nice to go back and spend a little more time.

Then we headed up to Niagra Falls - which was also fantastic! It was raining when we got there - but I think that made it even better. It made the falls seem even more powerful, and it cut down on the crowd because everyone was inside waiting out the storm. We are already planning our return trip. Next time we want to fully experience the Canadaian side - it is much more exciting than our American side. Who would have thought?

Here are some pictures from the trip:







We had so much fun! Thanks Seely's for accompanying us on this adventure! Hooray for vacations!

Tag

Let's see who reads my blog... and who's gutsy enough to comment!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! I guess good or bad, but be nice!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. 

Happy 4th of July!!!

Let's be honest.. I LOVE the 4th of July! I don't know why. Maybe it's because I have always loved to study history and the 4th is full of historical excitement.. Or maybe it's because it's a holiday right in the middle of the summer - so you get to celebrate outside with ice cream and fireworks.. I'm not sure exactly. But no matter the reason I love the 4th of July!

This year I love it even more, because for the first time in the history of this summer Kenneth and I both have the day off together! For the past 2 months I have been working days and he has been working evenings and it seems like we never get to spend time together. It's really hard for us to spend that much time apart.. So, today we are going to celebrate! Granted, the first part of our spending the day together plan started with us both sleeping in, and here is is 8:30 am and I am wide awake working on our blog and he is sound asleep in the other room.. but whatever :)

Tonight is the night that we officially become Bostonians. We are venturing out into the crowds to go to the huge Boston Pops fireworks celebration on the Charles River. Last year we chickened out because of the rain.. but this year we have our umbrella's ready and we are going to make it. Even if we just have to park our car at home and walk there, we will. This is supposed to be one of the best fireworks shows in the country. Hooray!

Besides the 4th of July excitement we have been having lots of summer fun in Boston. We went strawberry picking with some friends last week.. Amelia and Penny don't really look that happy in the picture, but I assure you they loved it. And they were very proud to present their mom with their glorious basket of strawberries when she got home from work.

This is my cute friend Meghan's daughter Mckinlay, also enjoying the strawberry fields:

Hooray for the 4th of July and summer in Boston! 

Best DAD Ever!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.. I have the best dad ever! Naturally Father's Day always makes me think of the important fathers in my life and reflect on how they have blessed my life. The truth is, I am really lucky. I have really great grandfathers that I was (and am) really close to. My father-in-law is fantastic. But my dad really is the greatest. 

We have always had a very special relationship, ever since I was a little girl. And one of the hardest things about living in Boston is not being able to see him as much as I used to when we lived in Salt Lake.

So, last night when I got home from work I had a package waiting for me. It was a father's day present from my dad. It was a copy of the book Hop on Pop (which we used to read together a long with a lot of other fun books when I was little) with a note saying that without kids there would be no father's, so he wanted to thank me. And then he included the sweetest letter talking about all of his favorite memories of me growing up. It was the best present ever. I was totally crying reading the letter. Kenneth (not knowing what I was reading) was a little freaked out - he actually made me a sundae to help me feel better. So, I got the best of both worlds - a great present from my dad and an ice cream sundae from Kenneth! 

After receiving this great gift I wish I would have done more for my dad than buying him a card (which I actually mailed today - so it will be a little late). 

If your reading this - I Love You Dad! You're the best ever!!!

I love you as much as a red velvet cake...

Last weekend one of my best friends got married, and thanks to the help of my mom and her frequent flyer miles I got to go to Utah for the weekend for her wedding.  Sadly Kenneth had already used up his 3 wishes asking for time off for all of our other summer vacations (our trip to Maine, our upcoming trip to upstate New York, and our already scheduled trip to Utah in August) so he had to stay in Boston and work. 

We don't usually make a habit of traveling alone - so this was a hard weekend for Kenneth. I was sad to leave him of course.. but I had a weekend of fun in Salt Lake to look forward to, all he had was working at the BU library. 

I think he might of been taking advantage of his situation though, because 2 days before I left he gave me his sad face and said "I would feel much better about you going to Utah without me if you made me a cake.." I, of course, laughed at him for quite awhile. But I also felt bad for him so I made the cake. I think I'm the best wife ever :)

The wedding was so beautiful and it was so much fun to see Jenilee and to spend time with my family. It was actually kind of nice to be there for only a short time.. it took the pressure to spend time with everyone away since I had the beautiful excuse of only having 2 days in Utah. I felt like I had a lot more quality time with my family. It was great!

Look how cute Jenilee and Spencer are: 

This is Jenilee with my cute dad: