Mags' visit

So, Mags and Danny left over a month ago and I have yet to finish posting pics of their trip. We had a lot of fun doing some all around american things with Danny since he had never been to the states. We had a BBQ and Chris made these bacon cheeseburgers from a receipe he found, people really liked them. I unfortunately, don't like bacon - very unamerican, I know. Anyway, We had a great time hanging out in the backyard (thanks to Justun and Jamie, we now have a backyard!) and then Mags, Danny, Chris and I continued talking in our dining room. I actually fell asleep at the dining table and woke up as they were leaving around 5am! Here are some pics from the BBQ-

On Sunday before Danny and Mags left we went to the Salt Lake Bees game. Danny had never seen a baseball game before and so it was really funny to watch him react to the game and american culture. So much different than European football! One thing that I thought was really interesting is that big fuzzy, furry mascots are not popular over in Europe, as well as games to keep the crowd entertained, so when Boondock's sponsored a race between an ice cream cone, hot dog and piece of pizza, it was pretty funny. After the game, I made them stand with the Bee to take their picture-

After the bees game on Sunday we met at Mag's parents' house and celebrated Danny's Birthday. It was two days after they were flying out. It was great to visit with them and be with them as much as possible before they left the next morning. We had so much fun, we loved Danny and we are so glad that he and Mags are together. Hopefully, it won't be almost two years until we see them again!

MDA Lockup and Telethon

On Thursday, August 20th, I represented Homewood Suites and participated in the MDA Jerry's Lockup Telethon. At first when I signed on, it was mostly because I am a huge pushover and couldn't say no. Then I decided to see if we could have Lewis for the event, so I was excited about that. After a couple weeks, I decided to research MDA. If I was going to raise money for a cause, I felt like I should know more about it. So, I during my lunch break I went to mda.org and clicked on diseases. It was hands down one of the most depressing lunch hours I have ever had. MDA.org doesn't just cover Muscular Dystrophy, but covers most neuromuscular diseases. For just a tiny glimpse of the diseases. Below are pictures of the event:

(Lewis with Heather and I in the Hotel Lobby)

(Me, Anthony and Heather - best sales team ever!)

(Lewis watching me get arrested)

(transporting Lewis, not easy to get that duck butt in a vehicle)

(Lewis and I "behind bars")

Everyone Loved Lewis! Below are some of the volunteer staff who wanted their picture with him!

Office Space

What happens at the Homewood Suites when you won't personalize your desk? We personalize it for you. This is Anthony's desk after he went out of town for a week on business. We had a good time:

Noelle's Graduation Celebration

On Saturday Noelle's family had a huge celebration in honor of Noelle graduating from college last week. It was really neat to see her family fly in from all over the country to be there.

(Noelle and her mama. Maryalys was cooking for 3 days for the event! Good food!)

(Noelle and her parents)

(Noelle's mom's side of the family)

(Alex, Noelle, Chris and me)

(Holly, Cody, Alex, Noelle, Chris and me)

Mags is Here!!!

My very best friend (I am very blessed with a few very close girl friends) finally came home to Utah for the first time in 6 years. We were lucky enough to meet up in Paris almost two years ago. That was the only time I've seen her in the last 6 years. 7 years ago this past July, Mags did something most of us don't have the strength to do. Her dream was to move to Germany, so at the age of 26, she moved there, after just one semester of German at the University of Utah. Now, don't get me wrong. She didn't just up and move to Germany without plans. She received her masters degree from the U in Education and received her English Second Language Certificate enabling her to teach in other countries. Then she moved. And, often we tease her that she was a huge Alphaville band groupie and followed them to their home town. But what she did as a single female took so much courage. I'm very proud of her, even though I miss her terribly.

On Monday I was so antsy. The opening scene from "Love Actually" (If you haven't seen this movie, it is AMAZING, you must see it!!! One of my favorites.) at the Heathrow Airport where Hugh Grant is talking about how love is really all around us and one of the best places to see this is the airport kept playing in my head. The truth of this really hit home to me as I was thinking all day long about seeing Mags come down those escalators and getting to meet her husband, Danny, for the first time. Obviously, I arrived at the airport twenty minutes before her plan even landed and waited FOREVER until she and Danny finally came down that escalator 50 minutes later. Afterwards, I went to her parents' house with them so that I could visit. It was really great to talk to them. I really like Danny. He is hilarious. This is his first time in the United States, so it is so interesting to see things from his perspective. (Like the fact that this past weekend they drove to San Francisco and he was fascinated with the desert of Nevada. He thought it was amazing- they don't have anything like it in Europe.) I finally left Sandy at midnight.

Then on Wednesday evening they came to our house so that they could see the house and meet our dogs and Danny could meet Chris. It was a lot of fun. Once again we talked until midnight. I felt so guilty because I didn't want them to leave, but I had to work in the morning. Like I said above, they have been in San Francisco for a long weekend, but I am excited to see them again this Tuesday night and more pictures are sure to follow. The dogs loved Mags, as you can see below:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

For those of you who may not know (fam in CA) the 24th of July in Utah is a HUGE deal. State Holiday celebrating the day the Mormon pioneers came into the Salt Lake Valley and decided to settle here. It's a good thing I wasn't a pioneer. If I had just spent months walking across the country and this is where we decided to settle- on what is usually the hottest day of the year and the scenery is all dried up and brown, I would have been PISSED! (Sorry mom and Dad) Seriously pissed though, over the years people have come to realize Utah has some great attributes, especially if you are an outdoor enthusiast (although I do not experience any of these attributes first hand, people tell me about them...)but none of that was around in 1847. I'm not criticizing, mind you, due to the fact that since those pioneers decided to try to create a Zion in this desert Chris and I had the day off. Also, the days of '47 Parade is the 2nd largest parade in the country, the Rose Bowl Parade being the 1st. During the parade I took advantage of everyone watching it and went grocery shopping, great experience! the store was EMPTY!

For the evening we did have big plans. This year we decided to take my sister's two oldest kids to the Salt Lake Bees game. They have never been to a baseball game and there is always a great fireworks show after the game on the 24th. My parents decided to join us as well, which was fun. I think the kids enjoyed going somewhere with no parents or little siblings more than actually seeing the game. We bought them hot dogs and my parents brought Cracker Jacks. Chris and I got "Chicago Style" hot dogs. Which, for the record, was to the best hot dog I have ever had. The hot dog line took an entire hour, but luckily there was a lady in front of me who was really nice and we talked, so it went by much faster. Plus, Chris and I totally scored- The Portland Beavers got sick so the Bees game had to be cancelled. They had 2 high school all star teams play. And, to make up for the fact that we didn't see the Bees, we got 12 tickets to future Bees games, 6 tickets to Miller Motorsports Park and 6 preseason Jazz tickets! That's 12 free date nights! Below are pictures throughout the evening:

Happy Freedom Day! blah blah blah...

Forgot my camera for the whole day. But I found this pretty awesome picture below to make up for it:

I would spare you all from the 4th of July post so you don't have to read another one amidst the masses, but we did have a pretty fun day, none of it included waving flags, BBQ or parades. Totally unamerican, I know. As many of you know, Chris and I are not the most devout patriots. We're glad we live here because of our family and friends, but not necessarily because this is the greatest nation ever. I know, I should go to confession this week...

Saturday morning we did my favorite 4th of July tradition, we went to the Sugarhouse Arts Festival. Held every year on the 4th. This year it was especially fantastic because the weather was so nice. We found this local photographer who had amazing pictures. We bought a couple prints of Paris for a specific spot in our living room. We'd been looking to get some local original art. You should check him out. His website is http://www.waltzphotography.com/. He and his wife were really nice. We also bought a bandana for each dog from the No More Homeless Pets booth. After a few hours we went home and had fantastic Saturday afternoon naps. Then we went to my sister's house to have food and watch the fireworks with her kids. Fireworks are much more entertaining with kids around. They are so much more excited about it. Plus her house is really close to Riverton Park, so you get a great view from her front yard. Chris played a silly game with them where they had to duck and hide from the green fireworks or they would be poisoned. The kids thought that was the funnest idea ever. Then Chris and I discussed what big fireworks shows around the country we'd like to experience on the 4th one year. Me - Disneyland, Chris - New York City. Yeah, we all know who the more cultured one of us is...