July 2019

On July 3rd I decided to take a few hours off work and hike to Adams Canyon waterfall with the kids for my birthday.




















On the 4th we met up with Lana and Tammy in Willard for their Independence Day celebration and play some bingo.






Later at home, the kids did some smoke bombs and parachutes.




July 9th Faith and I left with Lana and Tammy for our Utah Shakespeare Festival girls' trip. We started off with a quick stop at the Red Barn.

That night we saw Macbeth and it was my first visit to the new Globe reproduction theater there.

The morning of the 10th Faith, Tam & I went to the discussion in the grove.

We did some local shopping, saw a matinee of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, grabbed a bite to eat, and watched the Greenshow.

Afterward we saw Twelfth Night.

On the 11th we hung out on the SUU campus for a bit



and later saw an absolutely amazing production of Hamlet! Directed by Brian Vaughn (💖) and starring our new obsession, Quinn Mattfeld, the costumes and set were inspired by Imperial Russia. I just had to include a review at the bottom of this post.

June 12th we did some more exploration of the grounds,

enjoyed a free costume seminar,




and enjoyed some art at the on campus museum.

We just had to stop by the Parawan Cafe on our way home, not only to enjoy the history (Lana's mother, Grandma Mitchell was a waitress there when she was young),  but to also test their claim to the best cinnamon rolls in the state. They were amazing!


Back home, on the 15th I led Summer Riot in the sand volleyball workout. I even brought a music playlist full of Top Gun Soundtrack music!


I have to memorialize the hilariously awesome birthday gift I received from Joy & fam:




On the 25th my book club was discussing the book Rebecca. I love themed food (duh) so I went with something British and mentioned in the story--crumpets! Tried my hand at making them for the first time and they came out quite delicious!


And here is a portion of a review of the Hamlet we saw, by Kathryn Neves:

One of the aspects of this show that especially stands out is its setting. Immediately upon entering the theatre, you can see the signs of Imperial Russia: the costumes, the set, and the snow piled on the stage all work to transport you back to the time of czars and revolutionaries. Vaughn explains that this show is not necessarily "a realistic Russia, but a fictional Denmark similarly woven toward a kingdom under age-old repression, arbitrary rule, and an extreme sense of nationalism—resonating anger, divisiveness, and despair." The changed setting of the play speaks well to Shakespeare's universality: the story of a Danish prince seeking to avenge his father feels real and significant in any time period.

But it isn't only the changed setting that makes this show worth seeing. This production brings the oft-overlooked character of Ophelia (played by Emma Geer) into a much more prominent role. Too often, productions of Hamlet tend to cast Ophelia aside as merely a victim of circumstance, a damsel-in-distress subject to the whims of the powerful men around her. However, in this production, Ophelia takes on more significance—as a confidante, an ally, and a key part in Hamlet's quest for the truth. "I wanted an Ophelia of great agency, who is deeply in love with Hamlet, and a Hamlet who is deeply in love with her," says Vaughn. "I wanted an Ophelia who was like Hamlet: intelligent, strong, and curious and who is helping Hamlet expose the truth in this court. Through her madness she exposes those around her to the machinations that they undergo to try to keep her and Hamlet at bay."

Rest assured, even if you know Hamlet well, this production will still surprise you. The beautiful stage design, the phenomenal acting, and the overall direction of the show come together to create a Hamlet unlike anything you've seen before. The Independent reviewer Brian Passey, agrees; the show “might just be the best version of the Bard’s beloved play you’ll ever see.” And it’s true; you'll leave the theatre feeling as though you've just heard Shakespeare's immortal words for the very first time.

June 2019

On June 1st we went to Jordan's 40th birthday party. Joy set it up at their church and had us all dress up like old people. She stayed in character the whole night!












On the 3rd we had our Riot season finale which was rock climbing at Waterfall Canyon Via Ferrata.






Rachel and I didn't think it was for us (too scaredy), so we just hiked around and took pics and videos.






The 4th, 5th & 6th I spent at the center doing computer work to fix an error with our other airline partners' reservations. It was fun to carpool and hang with friends.


June 7th, after some Krispy Kreme donuts, we tried to skip town, but didn't make our flight.

But the next day we did, and we headed for Puerto Rico!

By the 9th we were on Condado beach.




We got some fresh coconut water.




That night we finally got to eat our favorite chimichangas!






June 10th we toured Castillo San Cristobal fort in old San Juan.It was very interesting!






























Tony looked thrilled waiting for Faith to get her picture taken, haha!

That evening we ate Puerto Rican fare at Raices. Christian had skirt steak mofongo, Faith had seafood paella,


Tony had fish tacos, and I had smothered chicken. Delicious!


On the 11th we rented a car and drove to Ceiba so we could take the ferry to Culebra island. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, we found that one of the ferries was broken and not running that day. They said we could wait another hour and catch a ferry into a different port, but one with no transportation to our hotel. We were nervous, but decided to try. When that ferry arrived, young people who were not scheduled on the earlier ferry pushed ahead of us in line and soon it was too full. We had to wait another hour and a half for the next ferry. At least that one went to the main port. We got a taxi to the place we were staying, which was more like a small condo, with incredible views.


We were thinking about renting a golf cart to get around, but after seeing some struggle on the steep hills, we gave in to our desires to rent the more expensive jeep!


We drove around, exploring the small island, and came to Playa Zoni beach which closes at sunset to protect the nesting sea turtles who arrive at night to lay their eggs.










That night we ate at the Dinghy Dock.


Faith was suffering from bad menstrual cramps which were also making her feel nauseated, so she unfortunately missed out and sat in the jeep while the rest of us ate this freaking awesome fish, fried whole.




After we were done eating, our waiter told Christian he should feed the remaining fish carcass to the fish who hang around the dock. At first we thought he was joking, but then we went and looked over the side. There were lots of large fish! (Bud is putting his foot in the picture for scale)


He threw in the bones and all the fish went crazy, like attacking piranhas!! It was super fun.


On the 12th we stopped by the cute little grocery store and bought some snacks. Buddy threw a few crumbs to some loose chickens. We saw chickens and cats EVERYWHERE.


Then we headed to Flamenco Beach, which we had heard was beautiful. We found it absolutely dreamy!


Christian tried climbing the palm trees and finally resorted to using a long branch to knock down a cocount.






We got in the perfectly clear, warm water and never wanted to leave it!




Sadly, we had to leave to catch the ferry back to the mainland that evening. Tony had quite an adventure returning the Jeep. He had dropped us off at the ferry terminal, but it took way too long driving the mile or two to the rental agency due to road work backing up traffic on the narrow streets. The shuttle driving him back to the terminal was yelling at the construction workers and zipping around trying to get him and another customer back in time! They just barely made it as the ferry finished loading people.


We explored the adorable cobble stone streets of Old San Juan


and decided to try some Puerto Rican Pizza :D


We made our flight on the 13th, and Faith was such a supportive sister, haha.


We had a layover in New York in the early morning. After a bit of a snooze,


we took some photos with Mama Ru (well, a cut-out of RuPaul. They had lots of fun things from Drag Race around JFK to celebrate pride month).


Here is a beautiful sunset back at home with our Skittle Bedittle on the 16th.


I don't remember which day we got it, but here is Bud on the 17th using our new, battery powered lawn mower we got using an old mower trade in program (similar to the snow blower one).


And then on one of our nightly walks.




More neighborhood gorgeousness on June 23rd


where just Tony and I walked and the kids took their bikes.

May 2019

On May 3rd I hiked to flag rock with my friends (left to right) Jodi Copa, Shelly Franklin & Rachel Milne. I didn't make it to the top the year before and was so excited to conquer my fears!

Cinco de Mayo was a little extra festive with a flag banner, fun plates,

and flan for dessert.

On the 12th I almost forgot my Mother's Day picture with my kids, but we raced out back while the sun was still up and Faith got this great selfie.

Obsessed with awesome drag queens, as usual. Here is a photo of Brooke Lynn Hytes that I took a screenshot of on the 13th because it was just too sickening (drag slang for absolutely gorgeous. LOL)!

 

On May 15th I left with Brandi, Merijo & Alison for New York City! I can no longer tell people that I was born in New York but had never been to the Big Apple :D

Here we are transversing the famous TWA tube at JFK airport (featured in the movie Catch Me if you Can). They made the old TWA terminal 4 into a hotel and so we just walked over to it.

It had just been mostly finished and hadn't even opened yet to the public. They were behind on getting enough rooms ready so we were lucky to get some!

On the 16th we woke up bright and early and took an Uber into town. We waited outside in line for awhile and then,

saw Ryan Seacrest up close while he shot a promo for the upcoming show of "Live with Kelly and Ryan"!

It was fun to see behind the scenes while they aired the show.

We got to see Johnny Galecki and The Bachelorette Hannah Brown.

Then we rode the subway to Central Park.

We explored for a bit

and ate lunch at Merijo's fave--Shake Shack.

Then back to the hotel where we got ready for the awards dinner. It was fancy, as usual.

That night we hung out with JetBlue execs including Kate Hart (who Brandi knows), then stayed up late in Merijo's room learning to twerk from YouTube videos :D

Meanwhile, back at home, Christian had his sixth grade Spring Fling which had a 50's theme.

May 17th back in New York, the girls and I hit the town to see what there was to see. We stopped for frozen hot chocolate at Serendipty

and tried banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery.

We checked out Times Square,

saw lots of sights from the double-decker tour bus,

remembered 9/11 at the memorial,

and ate the BEST PIZZA EVER!

That evening I got to see my first Broadway musical and it was incredible!

We stayed after to fangirl over the actors leaving through the back door :D

It was an amazing trip with some fabulous ladies!!

May 24th and I want to post some of Faith's paintings. She is such an amazing artist!

For Memorial Day on the 25th, we were invited to the Hodges' across the street for a barbeque. Tim made his delectable smoked brisket and we took macaroni salad and Snickers salad.

May 30th was Christian's elementary school graduation. Tammy made him this fun candy and butterfly lei.

His teachers were Mrs. Tate


and Li Lao Shi.


With his friend Gavin Shill.

I can't believe he is already so grown up!