Summertime

 Summertime in Utah is somewhat different than Idaho.  There is actually something to do... anyway.  I had an amazing first summer in Utah.  I plan on blogging the big stuff on its post but here are some of the little things that I did.  I got my passport!  I was so ready to go to Atlantis, also in a future post, something to look forward to all my blog fans. (I know that only my family reads this so I am joking when I say things like that.)

There is the cutest place in Sandy called Gardner's Village.  Kaitlyn took me there when we were looking at apartments and shopping at the teacher store.  We were in the neighborhood and I was hungry so we had lunch.  This make my mouth water just looking at it.  It was so good and I love taking visitors here.  Come visit me and I will take you! 

 In honor of my sister-in-law Afton, I had to take a picture and go ahead and go inside.  I might have left with a couple of sweet treats....

 Living in Bountiful, aka "the rich part of Utah", we found ourselves invited to many pool parties.  A member of our bishopric had a pool and summer FHE's consisted of many activities being pool side.  We didn't complain! 

 Some of you may have heard of Mary Anne's families tradition of doing alphabet day summer's.  It is not hard to understand how it works but every week day in the summer you have a letter of the alphabet and you do things that start with that letter.  I got to partake in this adventure a couple of days last summer.  I loaded up my bike in my trunk and we went for a bike ride on "B" day.  I also bought my iMac on that day.

 I got my laptop for my birthday right after senior year, that is June 2007, for those who are not aware of what year I graduated.  Well 4 years later and that laptop was not cutting it for me anymore, 4 years of college had killed my laptop and maybe some maintenance that Dad and I had done on it.  We had taken it apart and fixed it and I don't think we put it back together properly.  It lasted long enough for me to get through student teaching and until I got my iPhone.  While it is fun to watch Netflicks on my iPhone, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new computer.  

My new set up!  I didn't have an office chair but who needs one when you have a exercise ball.  Ansley would be proud since she once asked her work to get her an exercise ball instead of an office chair.  This one is for you Ansley.

 City Creek opened up in March in Salt Lake City and has become one of our favorite places to shop/hang out on any given day.  It is so beautiful and I am sad I don't have actually pictures of the shopping center.  You will just have to settle for the parking garage.  Kaitlyn always takes pictures of where she parks and we decided to be funny and pose.  I look really dumb but it was such a good memory that I couldn't pass it up.

 Another alphabet day with the Wiseman's, we went to Ensign Peak on, you guessed it, "E" day.  We were ecstatic to climb to the time and we carved "E" things out of caramels.  We also visited the capital building and rode the elevator.  Later on in the day we had eclairs and english muffin pizza's.  Thank you Wiseman's for entertaining my summer.

 Another exciting adventure was going to the Parade of Homes.  I have always wanted to do this and I now live in a big enough city where it will be worth my while, no offense Idaho Falls.  We visited some beautiful homes, but the one that is pictured was my favorite.  They had a garden growing on the wall, inside their house!  I can't remember what it was called but it had a fancy name.  They also had a mini golf course on their patio, and a 4th floor just so you could go down a slide to get to the third floor.  Of course I would never want to live in this type of house but it was fun to look at.

 They also had this amazing library and fireplace pictured above.  I wouldn't mind having this part of the house.

My friend Shalese has an aunt and uncle that live in a mansion in Bountiful and invites us over for parties on a regular basis.  They have really weird stuff in their house and we found these two gems.  I am in the gorilla suit and Shalese is in the bear suit.  Shalese had the bright idea that we would get into the elevator and when the newest guests had arrived and wanted to use the elevator we would scare them in our costumes.  Well we put 4 people on the elevator and it got stuck.  The plan didn't work out at all and we ended up looking like crazy people dressed as animals.  We were able to get out of the elevator and salvage some of our dignity but I was ready to get out of the hot gorilla suit.  Spoiler: The guy I am dating now (a year later), Kennedy, was there that night and when I told him about this experience he said, "That was you?"