An Evening at Sundance

On Saturday August 11th we enjoyed the perfect evening outdoors at Sundance to see the play 7 Brides for 7 Brothers.

It was absolutely beautiful.  I could live up there.

I sure do love that man of mine.

Strawberry Love

I found some love in my strawberry and thought I'd share.

5 Things I love about Howie:

1. When he comes home in the morning after working all night long and asks if he can come out to Draper and take me to lunch.
2. When he kisses me goodbye and it's more than just the typical peck on the lips.
3. When he sings songs to our cats. (sometimes they are really humorous)
4. When he wants to watch Gossip Girl with me.
5. That he doesn't mind when I spend time with my B.F.F.

The Big 3-0

I turned 30 this past July 7th.  We didn't make too huge of a deal out of it.  We went to dinner at Desert Star Playhouse and then called it a night.

Not sure its hit me quite yet that I'm a woman in my 30's instead of my 20's.  But, I don't miss my 20's.  I look forward to what this next chapter will bring.

4th of July

The 4th of July this year was pretty chill.  I started the day off early by meeting my B.F.F. up in Copperton to enjoy the races they put on.  They let anyone participate that wants to.  It's become a little bit of a tradition for us to do them.  This year, Genelle got cold feet and bowed out of our potato sack race.

They also get their old fire engine out for the kids to get a ride in it.  We decided to go along this year!

After Howie had a chance to get some sleep, we finally decided to check out the fireworks at Sugarhouse Park.  I always forget how incredibly crowded that place gets on the 4th.  It was insane.

It was a beautiful night though.  We enjoyed sitting and waiting for the fireworks to start.

I wish we would've walked around a little bit.  There were numerous spotting's of Jef (with one F) who was there that night.  In case you don't know who that is, that is a final contestant on this season of The Bachelorette.  I would have major bragging rights at work if that would've happened, but that's ok.

Keane Concert 6-26-12

On June 26th, Howie and I went to the Keane concert at The Gallivan Center.

Those guys rocked the house.  It was a very enjoyable concert.  The weather was perfect.

We had the opportunity to meet the lead singer of the band, but we didn't act on it.  I regret it now, but at the time we were afraid that security would tell us no.  Where we parked was around the back side of the center and the bands tour bus happened to be right there.  As we walked past it and continued on our way, three girl groupies passed us and before we knew it they were saying hello to Tom Chaplin.  I turned around and was like "Hey, that's the lead singer of the band!"  But we just continued walking.  Oh well, maybe next time Tom.

Mercedes' Baptism

My beautiful niece, Mercedes, got baptized on June 30th, 2012.  I am so proud of that girl.  My Mother asked me to give a talk that day on baptism.  I thought I would share it.  I found the concept for the talk online and then tweaked it a little.

Baptism Talk

Mercedes, today is a very special day that you will remember for the rest of your life.  Today is the day that you will become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Baptism is such an important step in this life, that even Jesus Christ was baptized to show us the way.  The 4^th Article of Faith states four major principles that we need to understand to make it back to our Heavenly Father.  Let me recite this article of faith for you and you see if you can tell me what the principles are:

“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Two of these principles are things that we feel or do in our hearts and two of them are things we physically do.

1. Faith – Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  This means that we trust Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, and know that Jesus is our Redeemer.  That he died for us and we understand that it is only through him that we can make it back to Heavenly Father.

2. Repentance – None of us are perfect.  We all make mistakes.  But just like in the first principle we put our trust in Jesus to wash away our sins through the process of repentance.  After understanding what we did wrong, we make amends by apologizing to any person we may’ve hurt (including Heavenly Father) and then we promise not to repeat that sin.  We must continually work at trying to be the very best we can be.

3. Baptism – Baptism is a physical symbol of our faith in Jesus Christ.  This is how we prove to him that we trust in his commandments and are trying to do what is right.  Baptism is a covenant which means it is a promise we make with our Heavenly Father.  What is it that we are promising?  Do you know?

To help you remember what it is you are promising to Heavenly Father today I have brought my little panda friend here.  Do you know the story of The Three Little Bears?  Well this is The Three “Bears” of Baptism.

1. We should “bear” his name.  We become Christians!  We take His name upon us and stand as His disciples.  Mosiah 26:18 reads:

“Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.”

We devote ourselves to him and we become his.

2. “Bear” your testimony.  By going to church, we are able to let our testimony of Jesus Christ grow so that we can share it with those around us.  We learn to know that Jesus is the son of God and our Redeemer.  And that the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ is the true church.

3. We “bear” one another’s burdens.  We help each other in times of need.  We do the things that Jesus Christ would do if he were here on Earth.  Like, for example, being a friend, helping someone in need, or by loving one another.

When we keep these covenants made here today our Heavenly Father promises us something in return.  Do you know what it is?  It is a special gift given to those who are baptized and it comes directly from our Heavenly Father.  It is the fourth ordinance of the Gospel…

4. The Gift of the Holy Ghost – Heavenly Father has promised us that if we keep our covenants with him that he will bless us with the ever present Holy Ghost to keep us going on the right path.  The Holy Ghost is a comfort to us when we are sad, a light when we feel we are in dark places, a compass that shows us the right way, and a voice of peace when we feel that we are in a world of chaos.  The Holy Ghost will be a great comfort to you and I hope that you will listen to his promptings.

Mercedes, I am so proud of you and the decision you have made today to be baptized.  I love you and I hope you will continue to make good decisions in your life and remember that your family is here for you.  We are here for you to help you and to guide you.  Always.

Love your Aunt Tara

She LOVED her panda bear!  It was a little panda purse that zippers up the back.  I wanted her to have something that she would cherish and always remember she received it on her baptism day.

I also found her a panda bookmark for her scriptures to help her remember the story of the three "bears" of baptism (perfect!) and some scripture markers.

Then we all went to Leatherby's for some ice cream.  That is a little tradition in our family.

I love you Mercedes!

Hiking With Lena

On June 16th I decided to go on an organized hike in Millcreek Canyon.  It was an organized hike, meaning there would be a guide to lead us and anyone that wanted to sign-up to go on it could.  I tried to find someone to accompany me, but couldn't.  Everyone was either busy or just didn't want to go.  So, relentlessly, I went by myself to hike with complete strangers.  I wasn't very happy about going by myself.  It had me thinking if any of my 178 Facebook friends were really "friends" at all if none of them could make the time for me.  I was a little bitter.

It turned out to be a good thing that none of my friends came with me that day because I got to meet Lena.  Lena is a woman from Russia who is super friendly.  Her and I talked all the way up the mountain and all the way down.  I learned a ton about her.  We talked about everything from cancer to religion.  Eventually, on the four hour hike, it was brought up that she was a convert to the LDS church.  I immediately perked up when she mentioned it, because we hadn't discussed religion thus far.  She said to me "my conversion story is actually a really good one."  She then proceeded to tell me all about it.

Back in the 1980's, Lena was living with her family in Russia.  She wasn't happy living there and she didn't get along with her parents.  She was in search of a way out.  Lena decided at a young age that a family was not in her future.  She had seen how children were treated in Russia and it had turned her off to the whole idea of ever having children herself.  An opportunity was presented to Lena to come to the United States to work as a translator.  She gladly accepted.  She was brought to New York City for some time, but had to return to her native Russia every so often to renew her working visa.  After returning to Russia one time Lena decided it was time for her to look for God.  She began attending an Orthodox church in Russia and was eventually baptized.  When she came back to New York again, she couldn't find an Orthodox church that was similar enough to the one she attended in Russia.  They were all so different.  So, she stopped attending church in hopes that the right one would find her.

One Tuesday afternoon there was a knock on Lena's door.  Lena said that when she heard that knock on her door, she just KNEW that the message the people on the other side of the door were bringing to her would be very special and something that she needed to hear.  She opened the door to two LDS missionaries.  "Hello, would you like to hear another testament of Jesus Christ?"  Lena said her heart filled with joy and she gladly said "Come on in!"  These missionaries visited her on a Tuesday and by that following Saturday she was being baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She hadn't even had a single missionary discussion.  They all came AFTER she had been baptized.  She said after she finished reading The Book of Mormon for the first time, it just re-confirmed to her that the decision she made was the right one.

After Lena had been a member of the church for a while and seen the way families interact in the church, it inspired her to have a family of her very own.  She now has two beautiful daughters.  She was very glad her mind changed on that aspect, because she was initially very adamant about not having children.  Now she doesn't know what she would do without them.

What an amazing conversion story.  By the end of my four hour hike, I felt like I had just made a new lifetime friend.  I was so grateful for the time I got to talk with her and the opportunity I had to listen to her stories.  It made me feel silly for being so upset about going on this hike by myself because you never know who you're supposed to meet.  God brings certain people into our lives for a reason and I think Lena was there that day to be a friend to me and a strong witness of faith.

I will be forever grateful to her.

Florida

We started our time in Florida by visiting the Kennedy Space Center.  I'm a really big space nerd so, I had to go.  Howie found it to be quite boring, but he was a good sport.

We got to meet an astronaut!

Then we went and checked into our hotel in Orlando.  The next two days were spent at Universal Studios Orlando!  We were going to do Disney World, but we just didn't have the time.  Maybe next time we're in Florida.  Here's the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando.

Day one of Universal Studios, we visited the Islands of Adventure park.  This was our favorite between the two.  Cool rides and it has the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

I can't even tell you how cool the Harry Potter world was.  SO cool.

I got a picture with the conductor of The Hogwarts Express. I stood in line for a few minutes to take my picture with him and when I finally got up there some guy tried to cut in front of me.  The conductor yelled at him.  Hehe, he's got my back.

Hogwarts!  We waited in line for quite some time to ride on this ride the first time.  Every other time after that it wasn't too bad.  Both days we were in Universal Studios it rained during the afternoon so, I think it scared crowds away.

The line into Hogwarts is very entertaining.  They even have a room you get to where the pictures talk to each other.  Pretty amazing.

We must have had at least five butterbeers while we were there. They were so, so good.

They had all kinds of fun things to take pictures next to.

We ate dinner that night at the Hard Rock Cafe.  The Orlando one is the biggest in the world.

Day two of Universal Studios was Universal Studios!

This attraction let you experience what it would be like if you were in a twister.  Well, witnessing a twister at least.

The Mummy!

We did the Men in Black ride.  You got to shoot aliens and stuff for points.  I beat our entire car!  I'm cool like that.

Awesome time in Florida.  Can't wait to go back someday.

Caribbean Cruise

We've been back from vacation for a couple weeks now so I suppose it's time to catch up this blog.  We had an absolute blast on our trip.  I'll tell ya all about it.

We flew in a day before departure and stayed at the Radisson at the Port in Cape Canaveral.  Here we are waiting for the shuttle to take us over to the ship.

Our ship was called The Freedom of the Seas and it was beautiful!  Here is a picture of The Royal Promenade.  It's a long alley down the center of the ship with restaurants, shops, bars, etc.  Very impressive.  We spent a lot of time here.

Checking out the boat. 

Kids pool area.

Rock climbing wall.

Adult pool area.  I spent a lot of time here!

Coco Cay, Bahamas
Our first port was Coco Cay.  I was looking forward to this port the least for some reason and it turned out to be a great time.  It was the perfect initial stop for this cruise.

There's our beautiful boat!

Hammock living.  That's how we roll.

We got a tip from an online video that Barefoot Beach was the best on the island so we sought it out.  It was VERY nice.

Howie found a shaded cabana...

while I laid out on my floating beach mat.

We forgot to take our camera with us on our sea-do adventure, but we got to ride on one!  It was super fun, but it hurt.  We were both sore for several days afterwards.  That thing really beat us up.

That night was our first formal night. 

After dinner we walked the deck of the ship and caught the sunset.  So pretty.

St. Thomas
After a full day at sea, we arrived at St. Thomas.  This island was beautiful so I was a little sad that we booked an excursion that took us away from it for the entire day.  But, that just gives us a reason to go back someday, right?

We boarded "Blackbeard's Revenge" for a full day of sailing and snorkeling.

Plenty of turtles to be seen!

If you look at this picture just right you'll see a stingray!

The boat crew gave us pirate tats.  We felt pretty hardcore.

After snorkeling, we sailed on to a little beach that is not as well known.  It's on a smaller island just south of St. Thomas.  It was so nice.  They served us a Caribbean BBQ and gave us time to play.

Such a pretty stop.  We loved it.

 St. Maarten

We had a blast in St. Maarten!  We did a zip line treetop adventure tour and it was the coolest thing.  We ported on the Dutch side of St. Maarten, but drove over to the French side for this excursion.  It was at a place called Loterie Farm.

We had to wear these harnesses with attachments on them for the course.

We climbed trees, walked across bridges, ziplined through the trees.  So cool.

Hard Rock Cafe St. Maarten!

After our excursion was through, they dropped us off in town to do a little shopping before heading back to the ship.  I got a beautiful jewelry set from a store called Effy Jewelers.  The Caribbean is THE place to shop for diamonds and gems.  Just beautiful.  Speaking of beautiful, check out the dining room we ate in every night:

Cruising is the bomb!  Here is who we ate dinner with:

We got to know some neat people.  There was a couple from Maryland, a couple from Virginia, a couple from Illinois, a mother-daughter duo from the Washington D.C. area, and then us.

After the cruise we spent some time in Orlando, FL before going back home.  I'll save that for another post since this one is already so long!