Oh what do you do in the Summertime? part 2

My cute friend Sabrina came up with the idea that we should throw a "combined" birthday party for all the many people having bdays in June from our ward. It was thrown together kind of last minute, but it still rocked. We were all given random utensils and had to dish and eat our ice cream with whatever utensil we were given. Oooh yeah.

Yep, that's a pizza cutter. Awesome.

The night was complete with a good game of backyard volleyball and then "chillin" while listening to some Queen, Bon Jovi, and MGMT. Good food, good games, good tunes, and good company...make for a pretty sweet night.

Oh what do you do in the Summertime? part 1

I heart summer. It is fantastic and delicious. Because of this, I intend to enjoy every bit of it- even down to the last bite of gooey smore. :)

FHE BBQ up Big Cottonwood Canyon

We bought Jerry the BIGGEST marshmallows I have ever seen, along with some graham crackers and chocolate for his birthday, hoping he would get the hint...

He did.

It was a lovely evening full of fire roasted
hot dogs, potato salad, and juicy smores.
Does life get any better?

Well, maybe a good game of "Are you ticklish?"

New design

This new design is in tribute:

If you haven't listened, listen.

Yes, I get annoyed, cranky and sour with the massive amount of minutes

W plays their music, but let's be honest- they're delicious. I just happen to know for a fact they might make a crappy day better. Well, they did for me anyway. Today. Right now.

Okay, bring on the jokes.

*Bonus points: Stressed? Learn the dance to "Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin'" Want a break? Go to a Hanson concert. I've done neither, but heard it changes your life.

News: "Shout it Out" concert in Salt Lake City Sept 30. The Depot. Buy a ticket. Do it.

So, so, so much more!

This is me playing "catch up". There is so much that has happened and my fam keeps reminding me about my lack of blogging as of late. I am making up with a plethora of 2 months worth of thoughts...

Ever remember what it was like being 13? Remember the giggling, the blushing, the glasses and braces? Remember the awkward transition from bows and curls to bangs and mascara? To tell the truth, I would never want to relive my life as a 13 year old. It had to happen. I'm glad it did. And I'm glad it's over. Of course, these cuties are full of life and dreams...even down to their Percy Jackson book club meetings and facebook dance videos. They are everything 13 should be. And I love it.

This is T's bday party. Me and W did hair and mom did makeup.
We were rockstars.
They were rockstars.
We went to Chile's and rocked out a delicious southwestern wrap! Mmmm....

How was your Memorial Weekend? Mine included a 4-day weekend. Blessed little perks of being a State employee! Yesh! On Monday, I decided to put together a little family game of waterballoon steal the flag. Now, past experience has shown that "rules" are constantly changed and argued over during our family games, so I decided to set the rules and standards before we started playing. I made sure every player understood what was expected of him or her. They repeated back verbatim everything we discussed, so there was no room for error or misconception. We knew the rules. No doubts or confusion. It was time to play.

Dad, T, and I were on the purple team. Mom, W, and P were on the orange team.

We played hard. I have to mention me hitting P smack dab in the face with a waterballoon- twice! It was momentous. We all thought the P-train would beat us to the ground. I derailed that delusion real quick. :) I was proud of our little purple team, especially when...

...we won!!!!!!

Poor, sad little mice. There's always next year.

Have you ever been 25 before? A quarter century. It's momentous and I knew that hitting it this year would mean doing something epic in celebration. There was Utah's own Lagoon, renting wave runners for Lake Powell or Bear Lake, whitewater rafting, or possibly a quick road trip to Disneyland? But, nothing seemed to fit. Eventually, dad could tell I was a bit discouraged about how to celebrate my upcoming birthday and he took over. "Megs, I've got it figured out. Just plan for the whole day. I've got it under control." Of course, I didn't really care what we did, just how much effort, thought, and love went into it. Dad did not disappoint. Friday afternoon I went with him on a little drive and ended up at a car rental place right next to the airport. 20 minutes later, we pulled out of the parking lot in a brand new 2010 silver Chevy Camaro. It was beautiful. I had perma-grin. I couldn't stop smiling, especially knowing that I got to drive that baby the whole way to Wendover and back the next day. That was also part of the surprise. Of course, Wendover is not that fantastic, but driving the un-patrolled roads at high speed was. They also let me stop at the Salt Flats for some photo shoots. It was perfect weather and the roads were clear, which allowed for a 132 mph run. I love speed. I love speed in that car. It was lovely. Simply lovely.

Some of my shots:

Mom and T were in Washington DC and W had to work. So, the always funny and lovable Nycole joined us. My fav part was her jamming out Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" after each car we passed. It was fantastical.

Of course, the day wasn't complete without a lunch stop at Peppermill Hotel grand buffet in Wendover.

It was a great day. Actually, it was more than great. Epic birthday, dad. Epic.

It was SO bright out on the salt flats. If you took your shades off, you couldn't see. It was crazy!



Until next time, Peace!

A new "leaf" ...

Friday and Saturday found me in the garden.

I have a very small, specific memory of my mom many years ago. She had picked a small strip of dirt in our backyard and showed us how to plant seeds, water, and weed our tiny garden. When the time came, she was especially excited for us to see the "fruits of our labors". I remember feeling a little excited as we pulled out the 4 or 5 2" long carrots from the ground. It was a moment. A small, small...small moment, but a good learning experience nonetheless.

I thought back on this as dad and I worked laboriously this weekend building my own garden. For the past few months I have talked about, researched, planned, and begged for my dad to help me create a raised garden. After a "little" hesitation, he went out in the backyard and we measured and discussed our plan of action. His vision included 3 grow boxes, 8 ft x 2 1/2 ft.

We went to the lumbar yard, picked up some pieces of wood and 2 boxes of hot galvanized nails.

After, we headed to Grandma's to pick up the extra tomato, pepper, zucchini, and spinach plants she bought me from the nursery (Such a proud moment for her when her granddaughter decides to do something actually skillful. Proud, proud moment indeed.)

Dad cut the boards down to size and nailed them together.

We layed them out and he measured the dimensions and made sure they were EXACT (and when I say this, I mean it. No messing around here. With dad, "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." Even if that means spending an extra 30 min to an hour pushing 1/16" here, pulling a 1/8 " there. But when I ever thought about pulling my hair out or hog-lauging out loud at the craziness of it all, I had to remember that he was doing this for me. And then I loved him even more.)

Dad nailed cement stakes to each side of the 3 boxes to keep them in place and keep the boards from expanding when we put the soil in.

We cut some special fabric to help keep weeds out and layed down in the boxes.

We headed to the local nursery to get our first yard of top soil, headed back, dumped it in.

I ran over to my fav Vanly to get a brow wax. (It's a dirty job. Might as well look lovely while doing it.)

Came back.

Continued to help P and dad get soil into boxes.

Ate lunch.

Went back to local nursery and got another yard of soil.

Went back home.

Dumped it.

While it was raining.

Not fun.

Spread left over soil around the yard.

Went back to local nursery.

Got a 1/2 yard of mulch and picked up some more pepper and squash plants and onion, radish, and spinach seeds.

When we got home, we cut some more weed fabric, placed above the top soil, and then spread the mulch on top of that.

Realized how much I LOVE beautiful dirt- the touch, its smell. Scrumptious.

Then I recruited mom to help plant.

We planted tomatoes and peppers in one box.


Squash in the next.

And in the last, we planted my one spinach plant and seeds, including spinach, onion, and radish.

Then...we stopped and marveled.

Mom added "I'm so proud of you. You've worked so hard."

I wanted to take all the credit, truly I did. But my heart wouldn't let me. I was just the apprentice, the assistant, the student.


To the Master of Grow Boxes: You Rock!!

G&G Week: day 8

G&G: We are so proud of you.

(Outside the BYU Marriott Center, right after graduation. I couldn't see them at all when I sat down. It wasn't until the closing prayer was said and we stood to walk out that I caught a glimpse of Gramp's shiny white hair. My friend graduating with me commented "Megs, he's smiling! He looks so happy!" As we gathered as a family outside, Grampa saw me and walked swiftly to my side and threw his arms around me. I remember thinking how grateful I was for family and the deep, deep love that is available through those relationships.)

They left today. If they ever get a chance to read this, I hope they know one thing: that I love them and a part of them lives in me. This past week has been a wonderful memory and one I hope to keep with me always.

Gary and Tonya, I love you.

*More on graduation to come.

G&G week: day 5

Gramps: *knock, knock.*

me: Come in.

Gramps: Megan, you're alarm's been going off.

me: Okay.

Gramps: Do you want to get up?

me: Okay.

W: Did someone just knock?

(W's bedroom. We are bunking while GP's take over mine. 5:00 am is my goal. Of course, that's when I feel super motivated to get up and exercise before work, but I wasn't feelin' it today. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn my alarm off in my room. Fortunately, that meant I slept soundly. Unfortunately, that meant GP's were wide awake at 5 am. Fortunately, I still slept soundly. Unfortunately, Gramps made his way next door to where I lay sleeping like a little lamb and told me to get movin!) We unset the alarm tonight. Fortunately, we can both sleep soundly. Unfortunately, this could mean tardy to work- we walk a dangerous line for the few extra minutes of beautiful sound sleep. ;)