Being an Aunt on Pioneer Day

For the Pioneer Day holiday here in Salt Lake there's a huge parade downtown. So huge that people camp out overnight to get the most awesome seats. To ensure that we were one of those people who got awesome seats, I spent the night on the corner of South Temple and State Street, in front of a Big-O Tires on a tarp covered with sleeping bags, blankets and pillows with Ivy, Elliett and Moses.

So we watched the parade, had breakfast, went swimming, took a walk, ate pizza and ice cream, played at the park, and watched the fireworks while sitting the rain. Well, most of us watched the fireworks. Ivy, Elliett and Moses all fell asleep. I guess it was all the things we did that day and it was past their normal bedtime with no naps.

I love love love them. I love nothing more than combing their hair, or having them give me a hug, or showing me what they've colored, swimming with them, playing with them, and loving them. I even love when I have to take all three of them to the bathroom in a street-side porta-potty.

The Avett Brothers

I discovered The Avett Brothers about a year ago. I heard one of their songs on a tv show and bought their cd I and Love and You based off that one song. I love the album, and when I found out they were coming to Salt Lake this summer I immediately got tickets.

And tonight, Pammy and I braved the slight rain coming down to attend the concert. I love, love, love live concerts, the energy and excitement and fun they create. Nothing is better. I'm only familiar with their most recent album, but I enjoyed all the songs they sang. They have a ton of energy on stage and really get into their songs. I love it. (Have I used the word 'love' enough in this post?!) The rain let up early on in their set and it was just pure fun and love after that.

On a random not, I had no idea what they looked like when I bought their cd. I bought it based purely on how much I liked the sound of it (my brother thinks it's country because they're from North Carolina, Pam's husband refers to it as 'hippie music'. It is neither.) But if you know anything about me, you know my strange affinity for beards. And The Avett Brothers really rock the beards.

Jurassic Park in the Park

Friday night Em and I headed over to Fairmont Park in Sugarhouse to check out Jurassic Park in the park. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of movies in the park ever since I experienced it the first time in New York. I love when summer comes and parks all over the valley have Movie Nights.

You might remember Jurassic Park, the Spielberg-directed tale about dinosaurs gone amok on an island in Costa Rica, and the people who unfortunately get in their way. I remember seeing this movie when out came it with my whole family. Tickets were like 5 bucks, we bought two large popcorns and two large drinks, I sat with my mom and dad while Jared and Em sat on the front row. The theater was packed and it was a pretty cool experience.

The movie and dinosaurs hold up really well after all these years (it came out in 1993). It's intense and scary and a great ride. Spielberg rarely misses, and this one is definitely a hit (too bad the subsequent sequels weren't quite as good).

Car Adventures

This latest car adventure was entirely of my own making. Afton (as I've named my car) this time was not in the wrong. Instead she suffered from my lack of preparation. After driving around town yesterday running errands, and being too lazy to get gas (because I hate getting gas), I thought for sure I could make the trip out to Sandy for the baby blessing of Pam's son and back, no problem, with the gas I had.

I was wrong. So very wrong.

As I exited the freeway my car started lurching, and I was afraid that it would stop right there on 600 S. I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it to a gas station, as the lurching was getting worse and accelerating was not happening, so I crossed four lanes of road to take a quick turn. My car slowly came to a stop on the side of the street by a car and doggy wash (separate businesses next to each other).

And once again my brother came to my rescue, this time with a gas can full of gas.