perfect summer saturday

This morning we had these for breakfast, again (they are amazing!):


And then Klane and I spent a few hours here:


I love summer.

P.S. If I were in Utah today (and not also at Bear Lake with the Hardings), I would absolutely be hiking the Y at 7 pm with Nie. If you can, please go and celebrate the miracle of healing with her and her family.

single for a night

Klane had a scout campout last night. Pat and Lindsay invited me to come hang out with them around the West Village. It was so fun; I didn't even feel like a third wheel! (Thanks, guys.) We watched a free showing of Ghostbusters on Pier 46. The Hudson River Park, with winding paths, trees and all the piers, is so beautiful. I want to go back! Later we wandered through the tiny, tangled streets in the village. That whole area is so cute. It's very picturesque. I love the narrow tree-lined streets, the cute, small buildings, the cobblestone, all the little shops. I want to get back there with a camera, though I don't know if I could really capture the feel of it. We found Milk and Cookies Bakery for a treat. It was a really cute place, and as you can see below I was very serious about their delicious vanilla ice cream.

Thanks Lindsay for thinking to bring your camera and letting me steal your pics. (See Lindsay's post here.)

4th of july in nyc

We packed an awesome picnic and found a great spot to eat, chill and watch the fireworks. We got a perfect spot on a pier at about 70th street. Lots of good food, good company, perfect weather, relaxation, surprisingly not too crowded, and a spectacular fireworks display to top it all off. It was a ton of fun.

mixed berry parfaits. we got fancy.




entertainment



scotcheroos




gorgeous sunset. it got even prettier later.



the main event

I was surprised there weren't more organized events happening in the city for the Fourth. In Provo there are a ton of things happening July 4th with Freedom Festival. It made me a little sad to know all the traditional things our families were doing together all day: wake up early for the hot air balloon festival, watch the parade, go to breakfast, set out blankets to save a perfect spot by the Marriott Center to watch the fireworks from Stadium of Fire, have a BBQ, light fireworks, get KFC. Here in NY, there didn't seem to be a ton going on besides the fireworks in the evening. And the thought of people in NYC trying to save a spot by leaving a blanket on the grass is laughable. Guaranteed, your blanket would be long gone within a couple hours. It is such a different mentality here in so many ways. It was still a wonderful holiday and it was cool to spend it somewhere so different but still feel proud to be an American.

saturday on utah lake

Boating is definitely one of my favorite things. My parents are so awesome; they made sure the family went out on the lake while Klane and I were in town. I love the dry heat in Utah, it's so much more comfortable being outside when there's no moisture in the air. It's so relaxing riding in the boat, being with family, listening to good music, tubing, surfing, and skiing. (Oh, how I love slalom skiing. If only the water had been flat today!) We had such a fun time with lots of laughs. I just really love these people.

These pics enlarge when you click them. It's more work so I only do it if I really like them. We're having fun playing with our lens, check out the sharpness in some of these shots! :)

I love this kid.

(okay, is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?)

the perfect end to a perfect day

Today was my favorite day in NYC so far, hands down. It was perfect. First the fantastic job interviews, then Klane got off early and we packed a picnic dinner, walked through Central Park, and went to a free concert. Klane loves Josh Ritter, so we were super excited when we found out he was playing the opening night of Summerstage, the annual free concert series in the park. We ran into friends Carly, Tommy, Riley, Billy, Scott, Pat and Lindsay at the show. The weather was absolutely perfect, the park was beautiful, the music was great, the company was fun. It was definitely a good night to be living in New York. Everyone went to Shake Shack afterward for burgers, shakes and fries. We ordered the Upper West Side: strawberries, bananas and cookies in vanilla custard. Yum! Tommy introduced me to their cheese sauce and I am now addicted. We had such a great night and I am just so happy that we are where we are. We're loving it!

Bethesda Fountain


the line to get into the concert

Eating our sandwiches in line. Oh, he's cute. Even with his mouth full.

Strawberry Days

I'm waiting to get pictures of our camping trip this weekend, so in the meantime I'll post our pics from the Strawberry Days Rodeo. We didn't bring our big camera so the pictures aren't amazing, but we love the people in them and we had fun at the rodeo. This year featured motocross riders doing backflips! And there's always the delicious strawberries and cream.

P.S. There are also two random pics of us after a wedding reception... notice my mom and my coordinating outfits. No we did not plan it, yes we think alike.