Summer Adventures // the local places we visit most

Personal opinion: Labor Day marks the official end of summer... so I guess there's only a bit over a week of summer left! I'm telling myself that I can't decorate for fall until I have my house super deep-cleaned, though. Hooray for incentives!

Perhaps I will live for "those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer" once my kids are in school, but right now I have a pleasantly tolerable relationship with the hot months. Nicole and I are both not fans of heat (Austin seems to tolerate it better), and so mornings are our prime time to do our outdoor activities. We save indoor activities for the hotter parts of the day. In case you Utah locals want inspiration for your own future summer adventures, our most frequent haunts this summer have included:

• Discovery Playground (deserted in the morning, and shown in this post's pictures)
• The All-Together Playground (also deserted in the morning)
• Walking up to Bridal Veil Falls
• Checking out various parks in our neighborhood to see if any of them are hidden gems
• The kids chill in the stroller while I jog/power-walk on the trail near our house. Depending on when we get out the door and how far I go, we also make a slight detour to say hello to some horses and chickens at a home near the trail.
• Going through Costco for all the samples
• Exploring the mall
• The new Orem splash pad
• The splash pad at Riverwoods, or hanging out at Provo Beach at Riverwoods. Mainly for the Carousel, of course. Dole Whip is a plus too.
• Occasional trips to pay-to-enter facilities like the Lindon Aquatic Center or Kangaroo Zoo
• Going up in Provo Canyon for a picnic or to play/explore. On a good day it can be 5-8 degrees cooler up there, not to mention there's usually a breeze going.

No matter the activity, though, one of my top priorities is keeping cool and feeling comfortable. Ya feel me, fellow mamas?!! Dresses and skirts are summer staples for me. It's hard to stay cool when I have an extra layer of clothing (Mormon garments) and so it's important that whatever items I DO wear are not only appropriate for my personal modest clothing standards, but are also breathable and light without being completely sheer. I'm always on the lookout for great sources of cute modest clothes, such as those found at Cleo Madison. I have all the heart eyes for this dress, as well as this shirt (hello, pumpkin!!!!!). Some of the dresses even have pockets. Pockets, ladies!

I'm loving this floral piece that I picked from their inventory. It can be worn casually as I am wearing it in these pictures (great for errands and running after kids) or dressed up if you throw on some heels, jewelry and perhaps a belt. Aside from being a great piece for warm weather, the rusted shade of the floral makes it a perfect transition piece for--drum roll, please--fall!!!! Yes yes yes, I'm talking about FALL again! Just add boots and layers!

Ooooooo. Boots. Layers. It's coming, folks.

Independance Day 2017

Utah Valley is aaaaall about patriotism. There are festivities going on the whole week leading up to the 4th. This year we didn't take advantage of too many activities, but our 4th was still enjoyable! We watched the parade in the morning (Nicole loved the horses) and spent time with Doug's family all afternoon. We attended a block party for dinner, then went straight home to put Austin to bed. He slept soundly (hallelujah, white noise machines) while we watched our neighbors light up tons of fireworks. Nicole loved the aerial rockets, and she was entranced by the sparklers we got for her. One of the only pictures I took all day was this gem from my phone:

I love her little lips puckered in awe. And yep, I've been terrible at pictures lately.

I've been trying to be less attached to technology. I uninstalled facebook from my phone nearly 2 weeks ago (magical!), I have traded more books for less Netflix (also magical!), Doug and I only watch one episode of our current shows in the evenings... it makes a difference!

Anyways. I'm not a huge fan of hot weather, but the month of July is my jam. I'm not sick of summer yet, and the whole month feels festive (thanks to Pioneer Day here in Utah). The only downside to summer this year = I haven't had a single piece of corn-on-the-cob. What's up with that?!?! That's something to fix next time I get groceries!

Who plays frisbee in 100 degree weather??!?!

My husband. That's who.

(Obviously, that picture is not one of my husband. I just think it's a cool shot.)

There is no shortage of Ultimate Frisbee players in the Provo/Orem area, and this past Saturday was when the championship matches were held for the league Doug has been competing in. Nicole was napping during the first portion of Doug's games, but we made it to watch the last one.

It was hot.

We were in the shade and I was sweaty. I can't imagine how all the players felt!

Nicole enjoyed flirting with everyone, though.

Undefeated team, whoot whoot!

This was my first time taking action pictures... with a kit lens, I might add, so I couldn't ever zoom close enough... it's interesting. I imagine having a proper lens would be more effective ;) Someday I'll graduate from my kit lens. Someday. For now, though, it's all I've got!

On a different note, I think it would be fun to shoot at a ballroom dance competition. Maybe at the next BYU DanceSport... (once again, though, I would need a better lens!)

another summer "first"

Can you believe that - after 4 years in Provo - yesterday was my very first time getting shave ice?! What kind of Utahn am I??!?! I am very late in jumping on the bandwagon. And... these things are huge. And so much softer than snow cones.

Anyways... August is over halfway done already. Cray. And I'm attending Education Week at BYU, so I basically have no time to do anything this week. At all. But I'm getting an intellectual feast, so it's all good. See you on the other side...

Meanwhile, feast your eyes on another shave ice picture and be jealous.

Ending the hiatus (and banana bites)

Pardon my blog hiatus. I'm just busy enjoying the last of my school-free summer hours (because BYU is strange and we don't start classes until this Tuesday. No complaints here, though).

Doug and I have been Harry Potter Marathon-ing it up over here (currently on movie 6) and I still need to make my snickerdoodle cookies sometime tomorrow. In the mean time, I've been snacking down on these awesome semi-but-not-really-healthy treats that I have affectionately termed "banana bites".

I originally got the idea from Pinterest (here) but I decided to flip things up a little. These little beauties are filled with Nutella and coated in melted peanut butter chips. The original ones on Pinterest are filled with peanut butter and coated in melted dark chocolate chips (although I used semi-sweet for mine).

I'm not going to lie... I think I like the super chocolaty ones a bit more. Go figure, I'm a chocoholic. The best part? Doug is not a fan of frozen bananas, so I got the whole batch to myself. I ate over half of them before I remembered I needed to take pictures.

In case you want to make them... you have to freeze the bananas and their filling first (about 1 hour) and THEN dip them in the melted coating. Otherwise they'll get mushy. And once you take the bananas out of the freezer to dip them you need to work fast because the bananas defrost quickly and the melted coating hardens quicker than you expect. Then just pop them back in the freezer again for a while and they're ready to eat!


Alrighty, it's back to the magical world of Harry now.

Must. Finish. Before. School. Starts.

Weekly Wishes 8.26

I'm back from California! It was super hot over there, but boy was it worth it! You just can't beat spending time with family and friends. And, as I predicted, I absolutely loved coming home to a clean apartment (thank you weekly wishes goal from two weeks ago).

I keep flipping out and thinking that school starts this week, but I still have another week of vacation before the first day, and I intend on enjoying every last bit of time I have. Which leads me to my goals from last week and my new ones for this week!

A word about this picture... I think that M&Ms and popcorn are one of the most awesome snack food combos ever. Preferably plain M&Ms, but other types work as well. And I've been craving this snack. Just throwing that out there.

Last week's goals:
        - Not think about school at all on my vacation
        - Visit Downtown Clovis with Douglas
I only thought about school ONCE, and that was because I needed to order my textbooks online... but that was all, I promise! And we did not make it over to cute little Old Town Clovis because our days were just too darn busy. Well, there's always next time!

This week's goals: 
        - Try at least 3 new recipes. With all this time on my hands, I just have to spend some of it in the kitchen. Snickerdoodles are on the top of my list!
        - Organize my hair and makeup drawers. It just really needs to be done.
        - Practice the piano music for Seussical the Musical for at least 1 hour each day (rehearsals start up again soon, and I'm the Music Director!)

Other than that, I'm going to make sure I enjoy this last week before classes start. I will be reading books, watching the final items on my Netflix playlist, trying new hairstyles, and listening to John Mayer's new album over and over again. Yes, this should be a good week!

Don't forget to link-up your wishes

Weekly Wishes 8.19

I am currently blogging to you from the hot, sunshine-filled land of California. We're visiting my family, so pardon my lack of blogging. We'll be back before you know it! Until then, let me do a quick report on my goals and such! I really love this link-up, so I just couldn't resist, even though I'm on vacation!

My goal last week was to completely clean my apartment in preparation for our vacation. I am pleased to say that our apartment looks pretty good... except for our storage closet. I can never seem to get that thing organized! I started on it, and I think the biggest thing I need to take care of in there is organizing all the holiday decorations and all of my gift wrapping supplies. Other than that closet, though, I'd say our place looks pretty dang good!

This week, my main goal is to relax and keep my mind off the upcoming school semester. The last thing I need to do is think about which books I'll need to buy when we get home and the preparations I need to do for my ballroom auditions and all that. For now, this is ME time.

I also want to go walk around Old Town Clovis with Doug sometime this week. Downtown Clovis is pretty cute with it's cobblestone sidewalks and old store fronts that contain tons of antique shops and art stores and boutiques. We're staying at my grandparents house, and they live pretty close to the area. I've decided that we need to spend some time there. Now I just need to figure out when to fit it into our schedule! There are so many people to see and things to do! Sometimes, vacation hardly feels like vacation at all, ya know?

Well folks... I've got things to do. Friends to see. Movies to watch. Frisbee to play. The Fresno LDS Temple to clean. Ice cream to eat. Pools to swim in. Siblings to tease. Naps to take. You get the picture, yes?

Why are they called "Dog Days" anyways?

Sometimes, I love "the dog days" of summer. And other times I hate them. It just gets so hot during July and August! Who came up with that name anyways? There is nothing dog-ish about the hottest days of the year. I'm almost too lazy to go look it up, but my curiosity is getting the better of me... (I'll put my findings at the end of this post, if you're interested.)

The dog days remind me that summer is reaching it's pinnacle, and we will be slipping into wonderfully amazing fall weather in no time at all. Summer classes are over halfway done. My play closes tonight. We'll be visiting California in a few weeks. July will be a thing of the past in just a couple of days. And now I can look back at my summer and marvel that it's already almost done - and reminisce on all the weddings, activities, endless play rehearsals, new foods, and late nights.

Despite the fact that I have not spent much time with the hubs this summer (as I've said before... theatre eats my life) it's still been great. My parents and my little bro Johnathon were in town the past couple days, and we got to go inside this beautiful building and do some temple work. It was awesome.

Aside from that... there will be some big changes on this blog very soon :) I'm excited about it, but I just need to find the time to finish everything up. Keep your eye out!

And... enjoy the dog days!

What are the Dog Days? Basically, there is this star called Sirius (known as the "Dog Star"). Back in the time of the Romans, this star would be bright in the sky during the hottest parts of the year. The Romans thought it was so hot because Sirius was angry at them, and so they would sacrifice a big red dog during April in hopes that Sirius wouldn't be as angry and summer wouldn't get so hot. Whoo hoo!

Oh, those rainy summer days

Summer is a time of sunshine, nearly unbearable heat, swimming, blue skies, and ice cream. Well, it's sunny right now, but I woke up this morning and had to wear these to campus.

Provo can have the most bipolar weather. For the past week, we've had on-and-off thunderstorms and surprise rain showers.

And I love it. Absolutely love it.

Plus... this campus looks so lovely with the grey skies, ultra-green trees, and that earthy rain smell.

I love this place.

Need some help surviving summer rainstorms? One of my favorite Utah bloggers can give you some tips :)

Even a rainy beach will do

It's days like today that I wish I were back here.

With the weather hovering in the high 90s, the beach sounds really nice. Even a rainy-day beach like this one. I'm not picky as long as there's sand crabs, ocean water, and a salty breeze. It's been nearly half a year since I stood on a beach, and nearly 2 years since I went to a beach when it's warm and sunny.

That day was windy. I can't decide if I like windy beaches or not. It cools you down, but your hair gets crazy. Beach-hair to the extreme!

Speaking of wind, I can hear a lot of wind outside right now! I'm crossing my fingers because the temperature has dropped down to 73 degrees and it's supposed to get into the 60s tonight. There's even a 20% chance of rain tomorrow! I suppose I'm getting my hopes up, but you never know. Provo has very strange weather...

Summer rain storms, anyone? I don't know about you, but I love them. Especially when you throw in a little thunder.