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What irritates me:

Have you noticed how most everyone is proud of the places/cities/states where they grew up? They think it was the best place ever and that their hometown is better than your hometown. That may be true, no way of knowing. And I know there are some amazing places out there, but Utah is one of them too! Ever since I have moved out here, everyone at school has bashed on Provo, “The Bubble”, and Utah in general. I used to join along, but then I actually started getting out and doing things, and realized Utah is actually awesome. And Provo isn’t bad either.

Why?

Let’s start with Utah in general.

It’s absolutely gorgeous.

The mountains are beautiful. Driving through the canyon is always remarkable. The streams and waterfalls are endless. The wildlife is incredible. The blue skies against the rocky mountains never cease to amaze me.

There’s a variety of landscapes.

We’ve got the rocky mountains, the plains, the salt flats, the lakes, the red rocks, the forests. There’s a reason why so many films are made in Utah, you can’t find all of this so close everywhere!

So much to do!

Outside, you can ski, snowboard, hike, mountain bike, go to a rodeo, canoe/kayak, fish, boat, the list seriously is endless as are the places in Utah to do all those things. Inside, there are museums, concerts, restaurants, and shows.

Moving on to Provo.

Granted if you are not LDS, this would be a strange place to live. But it’s a college town, and the college happens to be the #1 cold stone sober college in the Country. But isn’t that why you wanted to go to BYU? I know I wanted to enjoy a few years in a place where I could be around people with similar beliefs and standards so I could survive some of the hardest years ahead of me. So, let’s just get the “boring” description of Provo out of the way, because the only reason people call Provo is boring is because we are just lacking the crazy parties with all the drinking. And if you call Provo “boring” because you think there’s nothing to do, then maybe you should get out of your apartment and start being proactive.

We have concerts, hiking/biking trails, clean entertainment, a dollar movie theater, lots of restaurants plus a variety of interesting spots on Center street, a campus full of free/cheap activities including an International Cinema that plays great movies every week, bowling allies, lots of places to grab some dessert, malls, parks, monuments, tandem bike rentals, a lake with a boardwalk, crazy mormon dance parties, a temple, festivals, and farmers’ markets.

There’s a lot to do here, and yes, Provo is unique, but stop saying there’s nothing to do in Utah! You don’t have to love it as much as the place you grew up in, but give it some credit! Anyone with me?

It feels good to finally get all that out!

Now, enjoy these photos of some of my favorite times in Utah!

The Sauna

I’m in Kentucky! Back at home, missing my hubby, but loving spending time with family. But it was quite an adventure to get here today. To fly directly into Cincinnati, it’s about $400. To fly into Louisville, it is about $200. So, even though Louisville is two hours from my house, it’s worth the drive to save money. But today, my layover was in Cincinnati. So, here I was just twenty minutes away from my parent’s house hoping I could just leave and not take the next flight, but Delta told me my returning flight would be canceled.

I asked around hoping someone would make an exception for me, played a lot of cards which none of them worked, and so I got on to the connecting flight to Louisville, upset that I had to go all the way there for nothing.

That’s when the best thing of my life happened. The plane was broken. Although it stunk having to sit in the plane for a few minutes without air conditioning in a plane that felt like a sauna, it gave me hope that there still might be a little chance left!

Shortly after, the flight attendant told us that we were to get off the plane and wait for further instructions and that they could accomodate us if needed. Brilliant. SO glad I didn’t check my bags.

As soon as we got off the plane, one of the ladies I had been talking to about my flight pulled me aside, told me I could get off, she fixed my flights and WALAH! I didn’t have to go fly to Louisville, my dad didn’t even get far because of traffic so in fifteen minutes I was on my way home!

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Marriage is what brings us together.

My brother Sam is marrying Ashley next week!

I can’t wait to go home and be a part of all the events!

 

My Summertime

We were going to go to Arizona this weekend for a wedding reception, but it turned out to be too expensive especially with gas prices ridiculously high. But I told T.J. I still need a summer fix! So, we are heading to St. George with Lacey & Josh, my in-laws. I cannot wait, it will be a much needed break AND it’s supposed to be 90˚ there this weekend! We’re going golfing early Saturday morning, then resting by the pool for the rest of the weekend.

To celebrate this first summer road trip, here are three of my favorite summertime songs…

I love the 90s fashion in this one:

I love how LFO references these next guys:

And this is my newest summer fav, don’t watch it if you hate country music-I realize it’s not a classic like the other two:

Like an Indian giver?! …I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with that term.

This summer my parents are coming out to Utah for their vacation.

I cannot wait.

As if it wasn’t great enough that they were coming out here in two weeks for graduation, now I get to go home in May for a wedding see them again, and see my parents for the third month in a row while spending a few days with them exploring the national parks around the area.

So on the vacation, in addition to visiting hiking the Narrows in Zion and seeing the Arches in Moab, we will be visiting the Grand Canyon (hopefully by burro this time, because I want to say, “I’ve ridden a burro!”).

The place I’m most excited about is Monument Valley. I’ve never been there before, but from what I have read and seen, I’m positive I will love it.

Red rock PLUS Native Americans? Sign me up.

Anyway, it will be a very fun road trip with my parents and a great opportunity for T.J. to get to know them a little better. After all, there’s no better way to fall in love with my family than to be in a car with them for an extended amount of time.

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Summer Sun

The summer before last, my family and I went to Fort Myers, Florida for two weeks. We spent the days on Sanibel and Captiva Islands. We saw dolphins, found star fish, swam out to sand bars, rode bikes, walked on trails filled with alligators. It was hot, humid, and a great time with my family. I can just see myself now walking across that burning boardwalk in Miami with my siblings and eating at the Bubble Room in Captiva.

I wish we could go back. Today.

 

Did I leave anyone off of the map?

I {heart} summer.

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Sisters at Heart

I try to live vicariously through Blair.

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V is for Vegas

Sun + Shopping

What more could I have asked for?

Typeface Snob

T.J. + Katie + Vegas = Out-of-Control Weekend

Okay, probs not because we’re Mormon. But it will be awesome. Tomorrow we’re hitting up the Neon Sign Graveyard with his graphic design buddies for a typography assignment. T.J.’s typography classes has us into font elitists. So that combined with shopping at Caesar’s Palace and a weekend full of sunny, warm weather–it will be a prime next few days.