Oh what do you do in the Summertime? part 3

Last installment of summer festivities thus far: camping up Little Cottonwood Canyon at Tanner Flats. Campers included me, W, P, T, Laura, Steve, and Isaiah. Again, another night of epic smore making, scary story telling, flip flop waterfall hiking, and midnight bathroom trekking in the pitch blackness. P and W made sure to play a prank on me with a freakish finger dog toy they randomly found. A couple of times grabbing my legs under the blanket with that thing and I was officially freaked out. Still not funny.

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!