little notes

To the pioneers,
Thanks for crossing the plains. Besides giving us Utah, youth conference treks, and 1996 EFY classics like "You Don't Have to Cross the Plains", I'm really glad that because of you we get a holiday with no obligations and sunny weather. Thanks.

To the Greeks,
When you created the calendar system, I doubt you thought about Pioneer Day 2012 being on a Tuesday, but I'm sure glad you made it that way. One day of work then a bonus weekend day then back for a three day week? The greatest.

Dear Ichiro,
I never thought I would see the day that you would leave Seattle, and for the worst team no less. Well, it's been real. I'll be trading in my Ichiro Mariners jersey and cheering against you on the Yankees, but in a few weeks when the outfielders aren't robbing people of home runs, I'll probably be missing you. (Listen to Death Cab for Cutie's Ichiro Theme here. you will love it.)

To the Olympics,
Wow, we love you. A lot a lot. Can't wait to watch you in a few days, cheer for our team, and get really into an obscure sport (this year I'm feeling kayaking and rhythmic gymnastics)

Dear knit jersey,
Please stop being so stretchy and difficult to sew! I've heard all about you on Project Runway, but you are not the favorite fabric of this novice sewer.

To my sweet husband,
Thanks for laughing with me and helping me improve. I can't believe we've almost been married a year-- what a year it has been!

the summer of mini golf--some of us are more intense about it than others.

summer snaps

 This is a taste of what our summer looks like...

 the only picture we took when we went camping//writer's block//fountain at City Creek//grapefruit sale at the Mexican market--I was the only gringa around//arena football from the nosebleeds//andre, me, and my crazy hair got free slurpees on 7/11

Contender #1

After our out-of-state write-ins, we decided to officially kick off the Great Fry Hunt 2012 with our first contender: Smashburger.

We ordered their signature Smash Fries at the recommednation of an employee.

Overall, we enjoyed their presentation, light rosemary flavor and shoestring texture.

They are currently our #1 in Utah County, but it wasn't enough to put them in the ultimate lead.
Current Standings:
1. Good Times (Broomfield, CO)
2. Smashburger (Orem, UT)
3. Good Stuff (Washington, DC--it pains me to put them this low, but tastebuds don't lie)

The hunt is on!

'Muhrica

^go ahead, say it like George W Bush, I dare you.

We had a splendid 4th of July. It is a very rare occasion to have a day completely free of school or work for either of us, so we had to take advantage.

We started the day with a walk/hike up the canyon. Let me tell you, living a block off the parade route is insane (people were camped out since Sunday), so it was nice to get away from the crazy. We could have made some money off our parking spot, but we did get to enjoy the parade for about 5 minutes when we got back.

After a lunch of free things (my husband is a champ--free tacos and root beer floats? sign me up!), we headed to Colonial Days, which was much better than imagined. I even got to sweat my way through a traditional dress. I felt like Felicity the American Girl doll!...and André got put in the stocks.

We ended the day with a BBQ, games and watching the fireworks with a group of friends and of course I forgot to take a single picture. But it happened. And it was great. Happy birthday, America!

friday favorites 2.0

let's try this again, shall we?

Things we are loving this week:

Honing our baseball skillz playing catch at the park

Honey Lime Enchiladas, Homemade Applesauce and Peach Raspberry Ice Cream (Happy 11-monthiversarry to us!)

Reading NieNie's book Heaven is Here. I've never gotten into her blog but felt I should read the book to be a good Mormon wife. Half-way through her incredible story and loving her openness about faith and church related things, especially to a non-LDS audience.

With the impending doom of starting church at 2:30 in a few weeks, the heavens opened and we move to 9am on Sunday. Hallelujah!

Wishing we were riding this on its opening weekend

And ok, I'll admit it--with our dinner group out of town, we have eaten dinner almost every night on the couch watching the Olympics swimming trials. You guys, I just love the Olympics. And we have our favorite swimmers and cheer them on, but I mostly get sucked in whenever any version of this commercial comes on:

east coastin'

 We had the best time spending a week with the Treasure family on the east coast. We rented a large and vintage lake house in Virginia for the perfect week of relaxing, exploring, and spending time together.

Some highlights:

We loved spending time on the water! Kayaking was a fav, and we may have scared away the neighbors with our lively game of catch the watermelon. (Instructions—drop a watermelon in the lake and have fun throwing it around. Kind of redneck, but super fun)

The Olympics André and I planned were a hit!

After years of hearing about Rita's Andre's favorite treat on the mission and an east coast exclusive, the entire fam had to check it out. We loved it!

We adventured to beautiful Monticello one day and even took a detour to check out the UVA law school.

Visiting the Luray Caverns in our matching shirts and deciding we could never be cave explorers of yore.

But we really just enjoyed spending time together. André is in the running for favorite uncle and we had a grand old time. And of course, what vacation isn’t complete without a trip to urgent care? (Don’t worry, André is fine)

Our last day we got to go into Washington DC for a bit so I could show Andre around and of course get a toasted marshmallow shake from Good Stuff (heaven on earth). I loved being back in my favorite city, if only for a few hours.

A wonderful week with my favorite people. Now if only we didn't all live so far away from each other!

the search is on

Last summer, we went on a quest for the best shaved ice in Utah Valley. But with wedding prep and all the festivities, we didn't make it far on the delicious path. This year, however, we are re-dedicated in our new search for the Best Fries in Utah Valley.

Competition with be rough, but we are saving our pennies to sample the best the Provo/Orem metropolitan area has to offer.
The contenders:
Sammy's
Gurus
Smashburger
In and Out
and more...


We kicked things off with our out-of-state write in, Good Times, when we were in Colorado last weekend. A Broomfield and Kaiser family favorite, I had long heard about the wonders of wild fries but had yet to taste them myself.

 The verdict? These fries were incredible! The fry places in Utah have some big shoes to fill. And the fact that we ate in the middle school cafeteria made it even better.

Any recommendations of fry places we should try?