As you may remember, my personal goal for this year is "No Fear" - or basically not to let fear keep me from doing things. So, I've made it another sort of, unspoken, goal to just have as much fun as I can. And really, that's what I've been doing. I've been having so much fun!
After my Disneyland trip with Jayni in April, my Mom came up to visit me for Women's Conference, our tradition for the last 6 years.
Then in May, Jayni and I took another trip up to Idaho (AKA The Ranch)for Memorial Day weekend, where I rode a horse for the second time in my life. (First time was in February, also at The Ranch.)
On Memorial Day, we drove home from Idaho and met up with a bunch of friends to see Pentatonix in concert. Also included in this show were BYU's Vocal Point and Delilah. All three are a capella groups (you may remember them from the TV show, The Sing Off - or you may not, whatever). And let me tell you, that show was SO much fun. Pentatonix are extremely talented.
The next weekend I had the pleasure to attend my first sealing ceremony for my dear friend Brittany's wedding. My friend Kathryn came to visit from AZ and we had a BLAST at her wedding. Yes, I know the last part of the previous sentence is counterintuitive, but really, her wedding was so much fun and I was just so happy to see her happy. She deserves it!
Two weeks later I hopped on a plane with my brother and his girlfriend and headed out to Southern CA for my step brother, Ryan's, wedding. It was lovely to spend time with so much of my family - especially my "Step" family - including nieces and nephews.
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| Look at this little munchkin. Is she not ADORABLE? |
When I got back from the CA trip, I got the surprise of my life when I was called into my boss's office one day and asked how I was feeling about my current role on the team. The next thing I know, he's asking me how I would like to be promoted to a manager position with an extra 15K a year for my salary. Definitely wasn't expecting that. But, I graciously accepted (even after he told me to "go buy a damn Elantra." Apparently nobody takes me seriously in my little rolli polli car...weird.) I was pretty much on cloud nine for the next few days.
The promotion was announced the next week at our quarterly team offsite, where we went to the Park City Olympic Park and did team activities that included a Nordic Sprint and a Street Luge/Biathlon. Not going to lie, I almost crashed right into the side of a mountain my first time doing the luge (which was, I suppose, a better option than the alternative, which was to fly off the side of a cliff), but I learned from my mistake and figured out how to steer when it really counted.
Which brings us to the Fourth of July, which I spent lounging by the pool in the daytime and rocking out to The Beach Boys live during the night. Yes, I said The Beach Boys. So what if only one of them is an original. These guys are ancient and they still rock! Besides, their music makes me feel like I'm at the beach in CA, so it's pretty much the sound of home. Can't beat that.
Stadium of Fire was amazing, truly. I can't believe I've lived in Utah for 7 years and this was my first year going. The production was spot on, the fireworks were incredible, and I must be growing up because I think this year was the first time I really thought about what it means to celebrate our freedom. Everyone knows that I'm an England lover - heck, I even spent one of my July 4th's traveling around Southern England. But my experience with living out of the country for just two short months made me appreciate America 100x's more. Ever since then (4 years ago - can you believe that?), The Star-Spangled Banner gets me emotional. And so does watching fireworks explode in sync with a choir singing America the Beautiful, apparently. I love this country.
Mixed into all of those events were a number of pool parties, BBQ's, pedicures, book-reading, and other fun activities. Now, there's just one more (the grand finale) thing to do on my list of things to look forward to this summer: go to Hawaii. Which is happening in a week and a half. And I seriously can't wait!
