... that we love summertime fun?

It is no secret that I don't like living in Utah. It is too cold in the winter and I hate the snow, but almost even worse than the snow is the unbearable heat in the summer. Ugh! There are very few months when the weather is actually pleasant here! But Utah tries to make up for it with lots of fun summer things to do. Like rodeos and amusement parks!

Matt's family wanted to go to the rodeo together, and I invited Deb and her kids to come with!

It was a pretty good rodeo, there were actually professionals there this time, from all over the world! Kind of impressive. But not as impressive as this giant ice cream cone that took 4 of us to eat it!

So fun! Then that weekend we went to Lagoon with dumb Chad and his (then) fiance!

It was kind of crowded and about 2 million degrees, but we had a pretty fun time. It's the closest thing Utah has to an amusement park, although it's no Six Flags or Disneyland (I miss home!!!!!) And let's not forget, I was forced to hang out with Chad all day. They tried to be cute on the Sky Ride,

But obviously we are so much cuter.

Utah sure does a good job of trying to make up for the sweltering heat. I love summer fun!

... that we went to Draper Days?

Kar and I hit up Draper Days by ourselves this year. How is it that we LOVE fairs so much and our husbands could care less??

We wandered around a little bit and even stopped to watch the reptile show in Matt's honor

Before we really got down to the reason we came: Food.

Kar got a delicious Korean BBQ sandwich and I snagged us some curly fried potato chip thingys... that may have been left over from a man and his little girls... Hey, they were going to throw them away!!! I think I've been married to Matt for too long... Anyway, we lounged in the shade of the tent for a while with a few kisses

And a little dancing,

Then snagged a few more treats for the road: a bag of cotton candy to bring home to Matty and a pina colada shake with mango boba for me and Kar! And by "me and Kar" I mean "the little piggy in the back seat who cried until I gave it to her."

Gotta love Draper Days!

... that we were double lucky?

The weekend after we went boating with Am, Matt's friends Matt and Megan invited us to go boating again!

A lot of Matt's friends from elementary/middle/high school were there, and it was really fun to meet them all and hear a lot of old stories. I decided to forego the wakeboard this time.. maybe because I was still sore from wakeboarding the weekend before? But I did get on the tube and HOLY COW! Matt is a crazy fun driver! We ate under the tent, took turns on the boat, and enjoyed our selves immensely.

I love boating and friends!

... that I always hear the people sing?

After I posted my undying love for Les Mis, my cousin Stephanie sent me a message that the Scera Outdoor Theater was doing a performance of Les Mis for the summer and if I wanted to go, she would go with us. IF I wanted to go?????

It was a pretty good show! Utah is just chock full of musical talent! We invited the Nuttalls to come with us too and we all had a great time.

And I got to see Les Mis for the third time this year! I was so happy, I didn't even care that I was eaten alive by mosquitos.

I love Les Miserables!

... that best friends are forever?

My best friend from high school came to Utah for the 4th of July!

This girl has been my closest friend for 15 years. We were best friends in high school, then we roomed together in college for a few years while she waited for her missionary. After they got married, we had a few years in Provo together before they moved to Arizona and then to Texas, and then I moved to San Francisco. We've kept in touch, but we have only had a few chances to actually get together over the years. So I was so excited she was coming to Utah for a visit!!! She invited Matt and me to go boating with them, and there is no way I would ever pass that up!!!



It was a gorgeous day and a great afternoon with Am! It reminded me of all the times we went boating with her parents in college. We all got a few runs on the wakeboard before it got too choppy, and let's just say, I still got it.

Mostly. Okay, a lot of my time on the board looked like this:

And this:

But it was awesome! We went to lunch in Park City afterward and then they stopped by the house to see the Harrison Zoo. And I even got to take off a couple of hours on Monday to join them for lunch in Provo! I was so glad that I got to spend so much time with her! I love Am so much, she's always been there for me and will always be my best friend.

I love ya, Am!