Sunday, July 29, 2012

Harper's First Hike

We took Harper hiking for the first time ever on Friday evening. We hiked to Cecret Lake, which is up Little Cottonwood Canyon at the Albion Basin. Harper loved it. The hike was pretty short (about 1 mile) and easy. Harper handled most of it with no problem. She was quite proud of herself for making it all the way to the lake and had so much fun that she asked to hiking again the next day (of course we said yes to her requests... pics to come).










We saw several moose during our hike.
This one was about 10 feet from us.


Once again, it was more than wonderful to share yet another first with Harper. Watching her explore and discover the world around her is an absolute treat. Harper loves life and adventuring is pretty much her favorite thing ever (tied only with Ariel and Otter Pops). I can't believe that she is nearly three (I just booked a very special red-headed guest for her party and I'm so excited!) and must admit that I get a little sad when I think about having a two year old for only two more months. In what feels like the blink of an eye, Harper has gone from baby to toddler to little girl. Each stage has been magical for me- truly magical because for me, being Harper's mom is pretty much the best thing ever.

Music Crush: Nate Reuss

I'm known to have some pretty big music crushes. Josh Groban, Adam Pascal, Bruno Mars, Dave Matthews, and James Taylor are some of the big ones in my life.

Recently, I've been crushing on Nate Reuss (of the band fun.) in a major way. I love his voice and his obvious passion. We Are Young was my jam long before it became a radio hit and I'm currently totally obsessed with the entire Some Nights album. Carry On is my favorite song on the album.

Check it.


"May your past be the sound 
Of your feet upon the ground 
Carry on."


I love it.



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hi.

Tonight, we have nothing- absolutely nothing- to do and it feels amazing. I have been so busy lately with work and other things that I've barely had time to breath. This evening is the first time in a few weeks that we have really been able to relax. We have nothing planned and nowhere to be (well, except the snowie shack, which is where Harps and I will be in about an hour) all night. Hooray to that!

I can't really complain about being busy, though, because life really has been good lately. Miss Nebo was successful and I'm really excited about our new titleholder (meet her here). She is a classical pianist, a medical student, a future cardiac surgeon, and gives back to the community through service. I like her so much already. It was really fun to see her win. Girls like her are the reason I wanted to be involved in the Miss America Organization. It's so exciting and inspiring to see them learn and grown in so many areas.

We took Harper out boating again over the weekend. She loved it even more the second time around and had a blast jumping in the lake (about 593 times, thanks only to her Papa Doug). She finally got comfortable with her life jacket and was able to swim around by herself.

What else? I have been trying to get settled in with several new children at my daycare. They are all darling and their parents are wonderful (seriously, parents make or break this job). I'm so grateful for my job and for the fact that I've always had the perfect number of children coming to me. It is always a little rough to adjust to new children, however, and I've definitely felt a little off my game the past two weeks. It's nothing that a good swim party won't fix, though. We are having one tomorrow. Harper and I are both pretty stoked.

Speaking of Harper... We finally did away with her pink tutu. I was sad to see it go (Harper has basically lived in the thing for nearly a year) but it was torn and worn out and had nail polish on it. We replaced it with a brand new purple one. Harper was tickled pink when it arrived (getting mail is pretty much her favorite thing ever).

Colt and I are training for a half marathon. It's in November so I have three months to prepare. I hope I can do it. I'm definitely not in very good running shape. I ran a 10 minute mile last night so obviously, I have some serious work to do. I'm excited about it. I'm ready to push my body to a new level. I am open to any and all advice you may have for me as well as good running song suggestions. I need a stellar playlist if I'm going to pull this off.


That's about it, I guess. In all honesty, busyness hasn't kept me from blogging. I've been in something of a slump lately and I don't know why. I need to snap out of it, though because I'm tired of feeling like a food stamp and I definitely don't want to be all slumpity slumpish on my birthday next week. :)


Anyway, here are a few photos from Miss Nebo and our recent boating trip. I hope that you are all well and happy. This summer has been good to us. I hope that it's treating you right, too. 
Harper got a little bored during the Miss Nebo interviews so we went for a walk.

By the end of the pageant, she was done for.
One of the other committee members held her so that I could take photos of the royalty.




Colty, if you didn't already know, is an avid fisherman.

Harper took a little nap in the boat.

She (and we!) were so proud of her swimming.




Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Calli's Wedding

I've already told you that Calli's wedding was perfect. I wasn't exaggerating (there was gelato, after all... what more could you want?). It honestly went off without a hitch and I'm not kidding when I say that I was close to tears all evening. Calli was so beautiful- probably the prettiest bride I've ever seen- and I was so excited for her. Calli is pretty much the sister I always wanted (Kenzie, too, for that matter) and seeing her so happy was an absolute treat for me.

It's taking a lot of self control to not share all of the wedding photos. Here are just a few of my favorite...







Best. Pic. Ever.




Calli's wedding was at Red Butte Gardens.
Have you been? 
If not, you need to go. It's so beautiful there and the children's garden is delightful.






I don't even know how much gelato Harper consumed throughout the night.
I do know that it was no small amount.






Harper was the center of the dance floor for most of the night.

 She led the guests in arm circles, fist pumps, twirls, and claps.



These two are two of Colt's oldest friends.
Watching them fight for the garter was really entertaining.


Meet Brad, Harper's crush.

Calli filled these with goodies for all of the bridesmaids.
You don't even need to tell me how cute they are. I already know.







all photos credited to Elisabeth Kate Photography