There is nothing better...

Than new baby kittens!

These little boys are less than 24 hours old.

I am in love.

Oh my Helper!

We ditched Salt Lake, again, and hit the mountain lands this weekend. My dad was involved in an art weekend in Helper, Utah. If you have never heard of Helper just imagine Radiator Springs from the Pixar movie "Cars" and that should give you a fair idea of what this place is like. Let's just say Main Street is not exactly hopin' these days... Although the town is mostly run-down, there are some redeeming qualities about this little town. 

Helper is an art colony. It is known for its great artist including David Dornan, Paul and Silvia Davis, and David Steele. During the winter this little town is not much of anything but during the summer it is buzzing with artist and art students. It just so happens that the "Salon" Raymond and I stayed in is also home to many student participating in art programs taught by David Dornan.

We had such a good time supporting my dad in Helper. It was so nice to get-a-way before summer is officially gone. 

We were lucky to see the very talented David Dornan give a painting demonstration. I love to see the process it takes artists to get from a blank canvas to a beautiful work of art. David has one of the strangest methods I have seen yet... For the first few layers of paint he basically slaps in on there and rubs it around with his fingers. I just love his finished pieces though.

I'm still not sure if you would classify our accommodations as a hotel or a hostel. The room wasn't so bad and it was indeed private, but the bathrooms were shared and nothing short of scary. I didn't dare take a shower without my flip-flops on... Despite the interesting hotel/hostel situation, Raymo and I made it fun, as always.

Park City Get-a-Way

This last week we decided to ditch Salt Lake and head for the mountains for a much-needed family vacation. Although we didn't go far, it was so nice to just "get-a-way". We love spending time with the family and it was especially fun to be with the nieces and nephew so much. The girls are pretty much in love with Raymo and it is so cute to see them play with him.

While we were in Park City we hit all the best shopping and ate at all the best restaurants. It was basically a non-stop party! Thank you, thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for yet another wonderful family vacation.

Here are a few pictures to highlight the trip...

With a group as big as ours we had to do a lot of waiting around for dinner... Our main source of entertainment during these times was taking pictures and playing with the camera.

We hit up the Park City Mountain resort to celebrate Emma's 9th birthday. The Alpine Coaster is an absolute blast. It's for sure better than the Alpine Slide. 

Michael was genuinely smiling and we were lucky enough to catch it on camera!

These two little girls are so NOT afraid of the camera. Not only would they actually smile for the camera but they would pose too! I love them.

A peek into the future maybe? So. Dang. Cute.

Date Night

Sometimes date nights are better spent in the house... 

We are absolutely LOVING waffles with fruit right now. And no, we do not eat them for breakfast, we eat them for dinner. It's delicious! I could really get used to this whole cooking thing if every meal was as easy and as delicious as these waffles were...

Congratulations to Eliza and Jeff!

I could not be more excited for these two...

Eliza Jane and Jeffrey Monson - July 28, 2010

Raymo and I were so fortunate to be able to be apart of their special day. It was such a wonderful experience being back inside a sealing room. This time though, we were able to relax and really listen to the words spoken by the sealer. It was beautiful. There were so many wonderful things said to Eliza and Jeff and I know that they will be truly blessed for making this decision.

Their wedding reception was beautiful too. The decorations were adorable and the entertainment was great too (compliments to Abe Kaelin). We enjoyed good food and then danced the night away. I have to say... it was the most dancing I have ever seen at a wedding! Kudos for getting people on the dance floor.

Eliza and Jeff... We love you both! Can't wait to tear it up at the Garden with you.

Go Pan World!

Raymo joined a football (soccer) league.

This past week we went shopping for cleats, shin guards, socks, soccer balls... all the essential "stuff". Despite being totally bored while he tried on half-a-dozen cleats, I loved seeing how happy he was getting ready for his first game. After gathering his soccer duds we came home and he immediately tried everything on. 

You should have seen his face.  

I kid you not he was like a 5 year old on Christmas morning! He even ran around the bedroom with his cleats on. It was hilarious. 

GO RAYMO!

Parade Camp (again)

July is officially over and with it went parade camps...

I had so much fun teaching parade camp this year. We would spend 5 hours dancing, learning a march and cadence for the parade, playing games, doing crafts, and much much more. My kind of fun for sure. 

Here are some pictures from the Bountiful parade. This was our last and best parade camp of the summer!

We made poofy flip-flops by tying fabric around the strap of the shoe. It was so much fun to see what the girls did. Some of them made patterns with the fabrics and others just chose colors at random. They all turned out so cute though and it was way easy and really fun to make.

Showing off their flip-flops!