Summer Has Begun!

So at the very beginning of the year, we (my mom, siblings/spouses, emily and i) were sitting around announcing our new year's resolutions for my mom to record and rehash in a year's time. It was decided that we do a large FHE event each month where everyone would come and we could do something fun outside of the semi-regular sunday dinners at my mom's house.

June was our month to plan/host our group FHE. It was a fun time all around. We got some classic, or should i say, classy, little caeser's Hot-n-Ready pizzas. After dinner we had a short lesson on baptism by immersion and then taught the kids the principle of immersion by dunking their ice cream scoops completely under their rootbeer in delicious rootbeer floats. Needless to say, it was probably more delicious than educational, but fun nonetheless.

(sitting for the baptism lesson)

After that, we broke out the lil weber grill and made s'mores. my nephew Zach was a pro at getting the mallows perfectly crispy, my niece Jane was pro at making them perfectly toasted, and my mom was pro at making s'mores for other people that she had no intention of eating.

Then we sort of sat around and had a good time. Kelli was challenged by all the kids to arm wrestling (not pictured below) and even almost put away Nick, which I think was more than just a little embarrassing for him.

While all this was happening, the Will and Simon show was in full display. Will loves his cousin Simon (about 9 months older). They followed, copied, and played with each other all night, totally oblivious to the rest of us. As far as the camera was concerned, that was the only thing that happened last night. The camera loves little kids, I guess.

Seriously, they played with each all night: trains, cars, you name it. Plus they laid on the ground looking up at the sky together. They kicked the pool around together. They took turns jumping on each other and others. They showed each other different things in the yard. seriously, best buddies.

loving his "baa" and first tastes of root beer

(like I said: the camera loves little kids)

Also this summer at work, we had our annual summer BBQ. As a fundraiser for the morale committee, people were allowed to place small donations that count as votes for people they would like to see get a pie in the face. lucky me, i was in second place, so i got a pie in the face. william was a little confused about the whole thing and wanted me to be well hydrated beforehand.

Also this summer, since Emily and I were in NYC for memorial weekend, we didn't get a chance to visit my dad's grave that day. So William and I went back the next weekend to take some irises from our home to put in the grave. Will also decided the grave would look nice if he put a carefully placed pinecone right in the middle of the headstone. I agreed.

All in all, the summer has started off well. Emily and I are doing our best to train up for the big saints to sinners bike relay at the end of July. We finally solidified our team and even chose an awesome team name: Deseret Demons... So if you live anywhere between here and vegas, look for us that weekend as we blaze by your place of residence...!

new york on my mind

and we're back.

a week in new york is the perfect rejuvenation.

this will be a long post, just like my last new york post, so feel free to skim if you'd like. but here is what peter and i did with our 6 childless days in new york. (btw, thank you shauna, elise, and kelli sooooo much for watching our little rascal!) we even tried new restaurants and found some new favorite places! peter had his conference for most of thursday, friday, saturday, and part of sunday, so for some of these activities i was solo. i had completely forgotten how much fun it is to shop without a baby. i could take as long as i wanted, try clothes on without having to stop william from running out from under the dressing room door, i didn't have to try and push a stroller through jam-packed aisles of clothes. it was heavenly. seriously, i probably shopped for at least 7 hours on thursday alone. anyway, like it or not, here's what we did:

WEDNESDAY

-i didn't arrive until thursday, but peter arrived wednesday afternoon.

-he went for a run along the Hudson River Park

-dinner with Stephen and Hillary at Brooklyn Star

THURSDAY

-shopping. shopping. shopping. mostly on 34th street.

-lunch with my dear friend, Adrienne :) we grabbed salads at Chop't and picnicked at Bryant Park

-more shopping

-dinner at our favorite ramen place. we don't even know the name. it's on the corner of St. Mark's where it meets Thompson Square Park. so yummy and very authentic japanese.

-went to a movie at our favorite NY indie movie theatre, Angelika, in soho. peter LOVES going there. they have really good homemade concessions also.

FRIDAY

-slept in!!!!!

-lunch with my good friend, Catherine :) at a little japanese restaurant in the village. catherine was in my Paris study abroad group years ago and she is a really wonderful friend. i'm so glad i had the chance to meet up with her.

-shopping.

-dinner at the flamboyant Cafeteria.

-took a nice stroll through greenwich village and Washington Square Park

-movie (again!) at Angelika

SATURDAY

-brunch with my fabulous friend, Michelle :) at Five Leaves

-the ballet with Michelle! i was so glad she wanted to come with me! we saw American Ballet Theatre perform Giselle at the Met. it was beautiful. then we walked over to the new Lincoln Center Grass Roof, which was so awesome.

-dinner at Woo Lae Oak. this was our favorite korean restaurant, and we found out that we got to eat there just two nights before it was closing! i'm glad we had a chance to eat there one last time :(

-then we acted like we were 22 again and we stayed out until 3:00am! we went to 230 Fifth, a really cool rooftop bar. it looks like a lounge surrounded by fake palm trees with an incredible view of the city and especially of the Empire State Building. we met up with Helen and Charles, two of peter's good friends from dental school. it was a fun night.

SUNDAY

-lunch at 2 Brothers Pizza. they have locations all over the city and we ate there 2 or 3 times during the week. their pizza is soooooo good and so cheap. yum. i want a slice right now.

-laid out at Hudson River Park. that place just keeps getting better and better.

-wandered through Union Square.

-then we went to Grand Central Station and caught a train up to Scarsdale to have dinner at peter's Aunt Linda and Uncle Ron's house. they were so nice to have us and we had a wonderful evening eating and chatting. linda is a phenomenal cook and the perfect hostess! whenever i've been to her house, she's always had hors d'oeuvres and a yummy drink sitting out for us. so fun!

MONDAY

-went to an early session at the Manhattan Temple. honestly, we were a little sleepy. but it was so nice to be back in that beautiful temple!

-lunch at Good with our sweet friend, Emily :) peter and emily have been friends for years. it was really fun to spend some time with her.

-shopping.

-dinner at M Shanghai Bistro. best pork soup dumplings ever. and for whatever reason all of their food goes perfectly with diet coke. delicious.

TUESDAY

-we went for a run along the Brooklyn Bridge, then we walked around and relaxed at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. it was beautiful and has incredible views of the bridge and of manhattan.

-long, relaxing lunch at An Nhau, a yummy vietnamese restaurant in williamsburg and definitely a new favorite!

-then i had to head home and peter wandered around soho, ate some dumplings for dinner and visited the apple store. he flew home this (wednesday) morning.

being in new york was so nice. we really miss living there, although toting william around that city sounds less than appealing . . . speaking of william, i missed him so much! we had such a nice vacation, but i was more than ready to return home to my baby and dress him up in the new clothes we bought him!

stereotypes map

source via

i came across this map today and i thought it was pretty funny. i'd just like to point out that i've lived in HOT, LIFE OF THE PARTY, MORMON, and HOT AND DRINK. but the three i'm most proud of are: OBESITY EPIDEMIC, FABULOUS UNHAPPY PEOPLE, and SNOOKI. so awesome. i also like the names for oregon and for oklahoma/kansas/missouri/arkansas. so funny. where have you lived? which stereotypes are your favorite?

new york new york

next wednesday, peter and i will be going to new york for a week. i am REALLY excited. peter has to go to a dental conference from thursday-sunday, so i decided to join him and we're going to make a little vacation out of it.

since this trip is pretty much all i've been thinking about for the last several weeks, i've decided to do a blog post about all my favorite new york spots. hopefully after this week's trip, we'll even have some more favorite spots!

so . . . here they are, divided into different categories:

RESTAURANTS FOR DINING

where to start. okay. here goes:

1. The Mercer Kitchen - swanky and so good.

2. Bozu - Japanese in williamsburg. best tofu salad i've ever had in my life. seriously, the tofu is like creamy deliciousness.

3. Good - best brunch ever.

4. Cafeteria - delicious food and you'll always be in the company of an entertaining crowd.

5. Citrus - their own description says it best: Latin Fare. Asian Flair.

6. Le Barricou - french bistro in williamsburg.

7. Tomoe Sushi - very authentic sushi and an assortment of japanese dishes. in soho.

8. Woo Lae Oak - awesome korean food.

9. Peep - yummy thai food. you've gotta check out the bathrooms at this place.

10. Balthazar - best french food. the mussels are TDF. and of course the steak frites as well.

11. Grimaldi's - hands down the best pizza i've ever had. if you want some good new york pizza, eat here.

i could go on and on, but i'll call it good with those.

RESTAURANTS FOR DESSERT

1. Kyotofu - yummy japanese desserts.

2. Max Brenner - more chocolate than you can handle. they have good food there too . . . but they're known for their desserts.

3. Rice to Riches - all different flavors of rice pudding with toppings to boot. mmm.

(don't ask me why that link just switched to blue. weird.)

COMEDY CLUBS

1. Upright Citizens Brigade - only go to see comics you know. otherwise you might hear some sketchy things. but UCB is almost always a good time.

2. Comix - fun to eat dinner while you watch. *** just clicked on the link and found out they've closed. bummer.

OTHER THINGS TO DO

1. Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

2. Brooklyn Museum of Art

3. Opera at the Met

4. Great Jones Spa - best spa ever. just go to the water spa for a relaxing morning.

5. Central Park. of course.

6. Go for a walk along the Hudson River Park (where my hubby and i got engaged!)

THINGS TO DO IN THE SUMMER

1. Kayaking on the Hudson

2. Free movies under the Brooklyn Bridge

3. Shakespeare in the Park

4. NY Phil in the Park

5. Summerstage - tons of free concerts, comics, plays, etc. in Central Park

6. Taking the ferry out to Fire Island

7. Going to Far Rockaway to the Beach

8. Rooftop BBQ's

TOURISTY THINGS/CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK

1. Take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty

2. Top of the Rock

3. Ice skating in Bryant Park

4. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge

5. Lincoln Center

6. Broadway

7. Rockefellar Center to see the Christmas Tree

so there you have it. off the top of my head, those are some of my favorite things to do in fabulous NYC!!! what are your favorite things to do in NY?

a mormon moment

i keep hearing the phrase: a mormon moment.

i guess we're having one. with mitt romney and jon huntsman toying with presidential runs and the The Book of Mormon musical getting raves reviews on broadway, i guess we have finally arrived as a staple in the ever fickle pop cultural arena. i guess that's a good thing.

it seems like mormons have always had a mysterious members-only mystique about them for outsiders looking in. but with all that has come about in the last several years with big love on HBO, the publicity of Prop 8 in california, and now this "mormon moment," it seems like mormonism is seemingly more accessible for the "outsider."

and along come this: Duck Beach, A Single Mormon Story.

i don't pretend to know what the producers/directors purpose for the film is, but i think it is going to be a very accessible, very in-the-moment look into mormonism.

being single in mormondom comes with a unique set of obstacles, rewards, rules of the road that serves as a great insight into what drives the mormon psyche in general. so i think this documentary will be of great service to educate the "outsider" into mormon culture and beliefs in an honest and probably amusing sort of way. anyway, i won't try to speak for the people behind the movie. i'll let them do that. check it out.

i think it's a noble endeavor. so while it's always tacky to ask for money. if you have any to spare and you want to contribute to a worthwhile project that will slant the mormon moment towards the positive, by all means give a little.

click here to learn more about the project and how to donate.

full disclosure: i know the producer of this documentary very well. and i would being saying these words regardless of that relationship.

let's own the mormon moment on our terms, before someone else does on theirs...