A Spoonful of Sugar

Tonight we went to Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City.  Kristie, Becca's mom, was so nice to purchase these tickets for us all to go as a group.  Becca had seen this musical before, but I hadn't.  We had such a great time.  Becca and I went to the Olive Garden across the street for dinner, and walked over to meet Kristie and Rachel for the show.  It was fun, whimsical, and very nostalgic!  I grew up watching Mary Poppins and just loved that show.  Fun fact: When I was six I broke my arm while playing on the furniture and singing "Just a spoonful of sugar".  All in all, it was such a fun night and I loved hanging out with Becca and her family. 

Take another little piece of my heart...

Well, this blog isn't just about the good memories, but also about the rough stuff.  And the hilarious stuff.  This blog combines both the rough and the hilarious.  I had to wear a heart monitor for 72 hours to see I had some irregularities.  Good news: totally fine.  Bad news: looked totally ridiculous for three days while I tried to keep chords from sticking out from everywhere. These are the days of our lives....

Greek Festival 2011

One of our favorite early Fall traditions is attending Salt Lake Greek Festival.  In September, Greek Festival occurs over a four day weekend and incorporates food, music, dancing, art, food, and food.  Obviously, a match made in heaven!  This festival is so good that we go multiple times over the weekend, which means that the amount of gyros, tyropita (read: delicious flaky cheesy pastries), and baklava that we consume is nothing short of uh-mazing.  This year, we invited my mom and sisters to join us on one of the evenings. 

University of Utah 5K

In September I ran a 5K with some of my college / high school friends.  The 5K was held on campus at the University of Utah and was a fundraiser for a campus health organization.  It was a beautiful morning on campus and I loved running around this beautiful area that now feels so much like my home. 

I had to stop and take a picture on Central Campus Drive.  The view of SLC from campus is one of my favorite things about the University of Utah campus. I'm a total Aggie at heart, but I gotta say, this place is growing on me.

With Ashley, Melissa, and Rene before the race.

The race was so fun and went really well.  This race marked my fastest 5K time at 35 minutes.  I felt pretty good about that.  My friend Joe, who is also a colleague at work, came in first place for the entire race, running the 5K in about 15 minutes.  So...there's that.  :)  Such a good time with the girls, touring this beautiful campus on foot, and running.  Afterward we kept the tradition of post-race breakfast at Kneader's.  Mmmm....cinnamon french toast....

Labor Day Weekend 2011

We had so much fun over Labor Day weekend hanging out with the Swain's up Mueller Park Canyon in Bountiful, Utah.  This weekend we enjoyed a Labor Day breakfast.  We beat the crowds, had perfect weather, and enjoyed breakfast of eggs, sausage, OJ, and my blueberry crumble.  All in all, such a fun time!

Twinners.  If you see Utah, you know you're with the Swains.

Firing up the grills!

Rachel and Steve strolling before breakfast

A butterfly joined us for the morning

Becca and her dad

Summer ending concerts: Sugarland and Brandi

Becca and I love our summers.  Summer is nostalgic for us because it's when we met, fell in love, and decided to make a go of it.  Whenever it gets warm enough for Becca to pull out her flip flops, cargo shorts, and polo shirts I always feel familiar and excited butterflies because that's when we met, when she was summer Becca.  Because we love our summers so much, we always have a really hard time letting them go.  Summer 2011 was one for the records: weddings, Bike MS, hiking, walking in Pride, BBQs with friends and family, birthdays and dinners up the canyon.  It wasn't anything too crazy, but it really was perfection.  I was finished with coursework, Becca's scheduled slowed a  bit, and we just enjoyed the crap out of it.  Fortunately for us, the weekend before school provided us a lineup of concerts that were straight from our own personal music gods.  We ended the summer doing what we do best: hanging out, listening to live music, eating great food, and enjoying each other's company.  Ours is a Sunday kind of love; and these are the Sunday concerts we polished off our summer with.

SUGARLAND

We sure love this country duo.  I'll admit it, Jennifer Nettles? Total crush.  NBD.  We saw Sugarland for the first time in concert in May 2010.  It was such an amazing show that we vowed that anytime they come to our area, we're going.  It's a promise that we kept.  They toured in August 2011, and we were there dancing, singing, and enjoying the night. 

It poured rain all the way out to the USANA ampitheatre....

But the sun finally came out...

Just in time for Sara Barailles to open for Sugarland.  I am a huge Sara Barailles fan and was not disappointed at all!  She was funny, friendly with the crowd, and amazing live.  I'm happy to say that she totally won Becca over, too.

The girl's face behind us is amazing.

Jennifer and Christian.  Yeah, we're on a first name basis...love them so much.  BAH!

Out of the entire space at the USANA ampitheatre, we ended up sitting right next to these lovely women from my graduate program.  It was very fun to dance the night away with Stephanie and Julie, as well!

Overall an excellent evening.  Tomorrow morning?  Concert round two.

BRANDI CARLILE

Oh, Brandi, Brandi, Brandi.  What is there to say except for that we love you so.so.so much.  It may sound dramatic, but Brandi Carlile is number one on our list when it comes to music.  We have seen her many times, and will continue to.  Yeah, she's that good. :)  Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City, Utah is a fabulous concert venue.  It was recently remodeled and can now accommodate more people.  We have a certain area that we sit in every year that is fairly close to the stage, but not in the middle of the craziness.  Perfect for a sunny Sunday afternoon to end the summer.  With coolers of light beer, diet soda, swedish fish, fresh strawberries, and Subway, we lounged on the grass the entire evening and just enjoyed a fabulous finish to another wonderful summer.

Love summers.  Fell in love with this woman all over again. :)

Brandi and her band

It honestly doesn't get much better than this.  Sunset, open amphitheater, and Ms. Carlile at the mic

Look at her arms!

Another great evening, and a great end to summer. Coming home to this guy doesn't hurt either. School starts tomorrow...

Ellie

This is a pretty common crime scene in our house.  Ellie sits on top of the dresser and uses her paw to inch open the top draws.  Then she spends our sleeping hours of the night reaching in a little white paw, hooking our socks, and pulling them out of the drawer and onto the ground.  Naughty.

Another familiar scene.  We are eating dinner, which means Ellie is on her very tip toes, trying to reach the chicken on the table.

Some pretty rare window time.

Another rare scene...she's letting Becca pet her!

We don't know why, but Ellie loves to bite our hair when it has gel in it or is freshly showered.  Fetish.

Nap time with momma.

We sure love our buddy.