Music Monday: I can love you like that

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Andrew and I spent Saturday afternoon and evening at the nearby amusement park, Lagoon. I have so many wonderful memories of Lagoon, and spending time there is like coming home.

When I was little, even though we lived about three-and-a-half hours away, we would go to Lagoon when we were visiting my grandparents in Utah. I also went there with my school at the end of eighth grade, and it was the main focus of our senior trip when I graduated from high school. 

I still think of my good friend Kristen whenever I ride the Spider, and I like to snuggle up to my husband on the Sky Ride (a ski lift-esque ride that takes you from one side of the park to the other). Twenty years have passed since I first started going to Lagoon, and it really hasn't changed much — other than the prices have skyrocketed. I hope the ancient Terror Ride and Dracula's Castle are still there to frighten my own kids in a few years.

While we were in line to ride the swings, which are my favorite, this awesome '90s song came on and transported me back to junior high. Andrew and I knew practically every word and sang along with it. I seriously love the '90s. Best ballads ever.

Idaho, how I love thee

Idaho's sunsets are unparalleled.

I'm back! Andrew and I headed up to Idaho to see my family for an extended weekend (we got back at about 2 a.m. Tuesday morning). It was actually a fantastic time to head up there, because for once I didn't feel like I'd missed out on a bunch of family stuff since I live four hours away. Here's the lowdown:

My sister got engaged! She is marrying Tom, a great guy from Burley, Idaho (about 2.5 hours east) in February, since she's about to head to Jerusalem (!) until December. Funny story: Tom had actually planned to propose on their hike to Table Rock Saturday morning. When Lauren (who had no idea what he was planning) asked if she could bring her roommate along, Tom sent a text to his mom, griping that he couldn't propose if another girl was there — except that he sent it to Lauren by mistake. He realized his mistake and proposed to her early, so she was caught completely off-guard. It's pretty funny, and it'll be a great story they can tell their kids! 

P.S. My sister HATES having her picture taken and ruined many pictures we tried to take of her and Tom this weekend. But since she doesn't read my blog, I don't feel bad putting this up. 

They were a little sunburned from the hike.

I got to meet baby Evelynn for the first time. I know I am her aunt and am more than a little biased, but she is seriously the most beautiful baby. She just turned three weeks old, but she's still tiny and wonderfully snuggly. Evelynn screamed for a few minutes when I was trying to take pictures of her, and then she fell asleep almost immediately when I laid her against my chest. Megan (my sister-in-law) thinks maybe she could just sense my heartbeat and it calmed her down — for about 20 minutes anyway.

We floated the river and went huckleberry picking with my family. For some reason, Andrew and I have been married nearly three years and I've never taken him on one of my favorite summer pastimes: floating the fork of the Snake River that runs through my town. While it was a lot more shallow this year and we had to get up and stumble over river rocks several times to find faster-moving water, it was relaxing — and Andrew actually wanted to go again before we left (but we didn't get a chance to). We also picked huckleberries about a half hour away from my parents' home and have the horsefly bites and scratches to prove it.

We watched my dad and my brother perform Les Miserables. With my dad as Javert and Reggie as Marius, it was a wonderful production. I actually teared up during Eponine's "A Little Fall of Rain" since my brother is so great at conveying emotion. And my dad's version of "Stars" was beautiful, too. I feel lucky to be part of such a talented family. If you're in Idaho, you can still see the play through Saturday! :)

It was a fun way to spend the weekend. I hope yours was as great (even though we're halfway to another one now)!

Glass and class

We finally made time to go down and get our glass flowers from Holdman Studios in Lehi! Before I show you how they turned out, though, here are the pictures of Andrew making his flower:

Doesn't he look so excited in the second picture? We both could not stop smiling. It was that cool.

And here's how they turned out! Mine is on the left, and Andrew's is on the right.

Don't worry; we're not going to keep them on the nightstand like this. They look a little creepy from the side, I think. But we do have to figure out a place to put them. Hmm. I really love how mine ended up. Andrew's is cool, too -- it's a mossy green with black in it.

We had a low-key weekend cleaning and getting rid of a crappy old desk we had. It rained basically all day Saturday, which made me a bit unhappy, and I'm coming down with a cold. I guess I'm due for one. But this next week is shaping up to be good! We're taking a photography class Saturday morning and celebrating my birthday a little early. :)

An egg-cellent weekend

Pardon the pun in the blog title, but I thought "Happy Easter" was a little too generic for today. :) We did have an excellent weekend, however. Andrew and I, along with his sister Becka, her husband, Jared, and their daughter, Mya, went with us to the City Creek mall for the first time since it opened a couple weeks ago. Yes, I know City Creek is now old news, but we weren't too keen on going when it first opened because of the ridiculous amount of people there.

Of course, there was still a ridiculous amount of people there and probably will be for months, but it was beautiful and lived up to all the hype. I honestly felt like I'd left Utah and was walking around a much bigger city. We went into Tiffany and Co. (still not sure why there's one in Salt Lake, since I don't know anyone who could afford jewelry from that store), Rolex and a bunch of other stores we will probably never go into again, but the sun was shining and it was nice to be outside. Mya really liked the fountains.

Then we walked around Temple Square for a few minutes to see the beautiful tulips, and I got to wear my new colored jeans again. I know it sounds weird, but I've been wanting a pair for a while and after an ill-fated trip to H&M in which I couldn't get a pair of skinny jeans over my ankles (Andrew had to remind me that it's the PANTS, not my body, that are the problem), I was SO EXCITED when I finally found a pair at Macy's that were a) long enough, b) not skin-tight and c) stretchy but not so stretchy that they look like leggings. Yay for finally finding the perfect pants! :)

Then we came back home and dyed Easter eggs a few hours later. Mya was intrigued by the dye, but she only spilled it a few times and had some colorful fingers. She also liked drawing on them with the wax crayon.

We also tried dyeing eggs with silk ties, with the tutorial I pinned here, and discovered that you have to choose silk ties/scarves that are printed on both sides, because otherwise the pattern doesn't transfer. But here's a look at the rest of the eggs. They turned out pretty cool. We're already planning what to do next year!

Can I just say how much I am LOVING the new lens we got? We've actually had it for almost a year, but I've been experimenting more with it lately because I love the soft focus it gives pictures. The first one of Mya looking over the egg cups is my favorite. I need to take more pictures -- but it's much more fun to take pictures of kids. Can't wait until we have our own. :)

Of course, no Easter post would be complete without a picture of traditional dyed Easter eggs.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Andrew and I read the story of the Savior's crucifixion and resurrection in Matthew and John this morning, and I was again struck by how much He loves all of us and how much He wants us to return to Him and to our Heavenly Father. One thing that often sticks out to me is that He healed the ear of the centurion who had come to capture him and take him to be judged. He knew that He was about to be scourged and suffer on the cross, but He had the compassion to heal one of his captors. 

If He can heal those who betray Him, what can He do for me? He is always there and is always aware of me. I am grateful to be a part of a church that bears His team and helps me to draw closer to Him. May you all feel His spirit, especially at this wonderful time of year.