Oh Summer!

Well, to start off, I'd like to show you all what my new life consists of. Frisbee......and lots of it! Bryan is a lover of the game, and despite the fact that he says I don't have to come, I can't but help watch him. He's really quite amazing (and I'm only being a tiny bit biased). He loves it so much he even has me throwing around a frisbee once in a while---and I actually enjoy it! Shocking, I know. He even asked if I wanted to play in a tourney this weekend with his Orem team. (Apparently I'm not too bad at it.) I'm a little nervous because its been a while since I played on a team, and I don't want to disappoint him, but I think I'm up for a challenge right about now.

This is just a practice that he had on Saturday, but they are usually the most interesting because it's the best people on the "unofficial" BYU team.

I thought this was pretty cool. I don't use the sport setting on my camera much, but look at that cut! My man's a machine.

Later that day we decided to go on a hike up Rock Canyon. I have hated that the weather has been so crappy here lately. It's like summer isn't here at all. It rains all the time and is chilly. I thought this was supposed to be a desert? I must admit though, that all of that crappy weather certainly makes Utah green. It's really pretty now.

So Larissa, you can finally see our faces, how do we look?

This was a water fountain they have on the trail. It's just water that is constantly gushing out the tube. I put this picture here because that stupid fountain hated me. Everytime I'd go for a drink it would shoot up with more water pressure and get my face all wet. Argh!
I liked this picture because you can see how much water there is. Last year it was barely a trickle.

And this is us at the end of our hike. We didn't make it all the way to the top---I don't know if there is one---but it was a great hike and I'm certainly feeling it now.

I just wanted everyone to see how pretty Utah can be. I know that it's no Oregon or Washington, but it's way greener than Dallas or Vegas, so we appreciate it.

Bryan's Birthday and Vegas

So Bryan had his 25th birthday this past Thursday. YAY!! He really likes suprises, and I'm not very good at them, but I wanted it to be special. I really worried about him liking everything. I wanted it to be amazing, so he knew most of what was coming, But at least this little part was a suprise. I know that it's cheesy and kind of lame, but I had to do something! I would have made breakfast, but he goes to work at 7 and he actually makes a better breakfast than me, plus his apartment is locked, what else was I supposed to do? But as he put it himself, it was like a party in his car. I think he kinda liked it. So here it is:

I have to admit, as I put the streamers up all I could think of was Leilani thinking they are called Happy Birthday because that's what Dayne and Larissa kept saying as she walked through them.

This was probably my favorite part. Thanks to Heidi's tutelage and Larissa's wedding where I had to tie hundreds of ballons, I still remember how to tie them together in one easy motion. I added the noise makers because they are more fun than confetti and the kisses because--well I think you know why.

So I hope that it was a big enough suprise. I was up pretty late and I'm certainly not used to it anymore.

Oh, and the paint was causing streaks. Since it was new I would write something and it looked like it came from a scary movie, so I used my hands to wipe it off. Well I didn't want it on my hands since I had other stuff to do, so I was left with no choice but to wipe it on my pants. I will forever remember this day as long as I have those jeans since it didn't all come off and now I have red streaks. It was totally worth it though.

Later that night after Bryan's ultimate games we went to dinner where I paid for the first time. He's so good to me, I don't think I've paid for much in the last couple months. But it was his birthday and he completely deserved it! We went to Macaroni Grill where I swear there was only 4 other people in the restaurant with us. I know it was kind of late at 9:30 and it was a Thursday, but still, I've never seen that before. So we had great service, let me tell you. I got him the Mistborn series (if you haven't read them, you should). I'm pretty sure it was one of the first things we ever talked about. Plus he basically made me read them (just kidding!).

Bryan also has this thing for watches. Most accessories actually. And we had talked about the watches this the black faces and just the diamond at 12 to tell the time, so that's what I wanted to get him. Plus I guess he could have used a dressy silver watch. So I saw this and I wanted to get it for him. I pretty sure this was his favorite part of the day....at least from me.

When we got home I had asked Em to make him a cake seems I'd be gone all day. Bryan really likes the drizzly chocolate kind of frosting or cream cheese. I'm definitely a buttercream kinda gal, but I can enjoy any cake Em makes as much as the next person. So she had this amazing idea to make him a frisbee cake. It's stuck in the dirt and grass. It was so great!

She even made me find out what brand of frisbee he uses and found the logo and replicated it. Apparently Discraft is the best and you should never use anything else--especially Whamo.

After that it was time for my bedtime. I hadn't gotten much sleep and Bryan and I were headed down to Vegas (technically Henderson) the next morning, plus I still had to pack.

Bright and early the next morning, and by that I mean around 8:45, we were headed down I-15. We were going to listen to the 3rd book of Mistborn seems I was only 1 part away from the end. Funny thing was that Bryan had downloaded the entire book except that exact part. Luckily in Payson, Utah the Holiday Inn is nice enough not to make you pay to use their WiFi, we didn't even have to have a room. So we got the last part and happily started our journey once again. Thank you Holiday Inn.

After 5 hours we pulled into his parent's drive. I must have forgotten what heat was like, because man was it HOT! But even his parent's said that 108 was hotter than it had been. I really had forgotten what it was like. Obviously I've been away from Texas for too long. We spent the rest of the day with his family. I pretty sure I talked with his mom for an hour and a half about all different kinds of things. His whole family was so generous.

Since it was his birthday weekend, his family all got together, including his grandparents who I had met before, and shockingly enough they remembered me. Even my name. Crazy! Luckily I remember them just telling me to call them Grandma and Grandpa, so that just what I did. Yeah, we sat around the table talking most of the night. By the way, Bryan's mom makes this amazing stuff called Cherry Yum-Yum. I need to remember to ask for the recipe.

We did stop by and visit with his friends that night too. They call themselves the Trio. And they act like it. It was a lot of fun. We played MarioCart on the Wii. I haven't played that game in forever, but I'm happy to report that I have improved nonetheless. Perhaps real driving helped.

By the time we got home I was once again exhausted, but in that happy, contented type of way.

Still, we had an early start the next morning. We were going to Boulder to see Hoover Dam. I have been before, but the shear size still amazes me.

This is the new bridge that has been at least a year in the making. The last time I came through they had just barely started the edges. Now they are only a few months away from having people drive on it. It's going to be nice having it. Right now you have to wind down the canyon, across the dam, and then wind back up going 15 mph, with it finished, you can stick to 65. Woot!

I didn't realize my hair looked so bad.

Ahhh! Enough said.

Don't we look so happy, despite the heat.

The momument to the great people who risked their lives to build this.

We went on a tour. It's cool inside. It could have been so creepy, too bad hundreds of people go through it a day.

These are the generators. There are 17 that power Arizona, Neveda and California. It produces more than 4 billion kilowatts of power a year. Wow!

We tried to roll a penny down it, you can't see it after like 30 feet and you never hear it drop, but then again, it is 727 feet high.

Later we stopped for some smoothies and did we need it! We also stopped at the mall to get some sunglasses and to find Bryan a fedora style hat. Who would have known that the best one wouldn't be at the mall at all, but at Wal-Mart! I'm now sad I didn't take a picture. He looks pretty dang good in that hat. I made him try on a Kenneth Cole grey suit too. Hot. I'm determined he gets one someday.

We also wanted to stop by the Vegas Temple. It is beautiful. I love how everything seems more peaceful on Temple grounds.

Can you ever have too many pictures of the temple?

Lastly we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. That was some good food. The carrots were amazing! It was a lemon-herb chicken dinner and the carrots were sauteed in the same sauce. Yum! By that point it was once again the end of a wonderful day. We did make one last trip up a mountain though to look down on the city. It's so pretty, even with the strip that sticks out of the skyline. On Sunday we went to Church in the Single's Ward. I claim it's so he could show me off to all of his old friends. Then we got in the car and began our trip back. We had a little bit of the book to finish, but we just talked for most of the time. Overall, it was one of the best trips of my life yet. I had such a great time. Now don't you all wish you were me.

Graduation!

Well everyone, can you believe it? I graduated from college. Yeah, I can't either. Still, now it is time for me to jump into the river of the real world, and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for it. I have no clue which way my life it headed and I'll admit---it scares me to death. Still, I know I have lots of family and friends that love me and are willing to help me out. And that's a great comfort. Anyway, I'm so happy that Mom, Dad and Grandma could come out for graduation, even if I didn't follow the "plan" and come home. I always love to have them around, and I always realize how much I miss my family when they leave. I think we had a great time together (and the best of luck when it came to getting into packed restaurants). I could tell you all about what we did, but mostly we chatted, we waited, and we ate. But here are the pictures to prove that I did indeed graduate. YAY!!

Melissa and Me--We sat together during Commencement because we are both FHSS.

We were front center, 3 rows up from Elder Christoffersen.
The typical picture in front of BYU's motto.

Me with my fake diploma and the beautiful lei Larissa got me.

The people who got me through it.

Ahhh, Grandma.

Well, it was supposed to be me in front of our namesake.

Brigham Young's statue.

Grandma and me again. Our pictures together just came out great.

The next day when Mom and Dad had left, Bryan and I went to the zoo. I'm mostly posting this because I'm sure you're all dying to know what he looks like and who he is. Well....here you go. By the way, I like the facial hair, so that it a personal preference. Don't hate him if you don't. Oh, and the Hogle Zoo. We are so spoiled. It is tiny and they are missing some of the best animals like lions, bears, seals, zebra. But we still had fun.

Anyway, missing you all as always!! Love you!!

Murder Mystery #3

Okay, so I'm finally getting around to posting some of the stuff I've done lately. I just feel like everything is happening all the time and I'm sitting there wondering where all the time has gone. But, Em and I had our last Murder Mystery Dinner. I must say that it was a hit!! Everyone looked amazing and had so much fun. I should totally do this for a living. I think we chose really good people too. I have never seen 8 people work so hard to figure out a game before. But hey, we put our wits together and figured out the murderer in the end. Aren't we so smart? Anyway, these are the invitations that I made. Now I know if it were Anna, it would be a million times better, but hey, I only have Word.

The Players:

Duke Schwazhe B.U. Klare--played by Tad

Khover T. Ageante--played by Alex

Malcolm R. Conntint--played by Bryan

RAF Group Captain Weyland W. Awfcorce--played by Spencer

Belinda Screete--played by Annika

Mary K. Trairie--played by Jenny

Princess Idelle Chattre--played by Emily

Barbra Z. Enhussie--played by me

This is everyone in our typical "angry at the world" faces. So the setting was WWII Paris. We are on the last military train leaving Paris before the Germans invade. Of course we are all ridiculously wealthy and have nothing better to do than try and kill someone. So this next picture is what you see right next to the front door. We bought old looking suitcases, because we are all on a train, what else would you see.

This picture is of the bookcase. Em and I had to move off all the food and junk that was on it and move it into the living room. (It was originally in the kitchen.) We tried to light the candles and instead made some terrible black burns. Oh well. Still, it totally fit the 'rich' atmosphere we were going for.

You know Em and me, we have to change everything around and drape curtains on the walls to hide all the ugly stuff, but it looked so good. This picture really does not do it justice. But still, you also see the silk sheets we used to cover the plaid couches and the pillows. It's all about the maroon, hunter greens and golds!

Here you see the make-shift rug and the other covered couch. We pulled the couches in closer to the fireplace to give it a more cozy feel. It was funny, I measured the dimensions of the room and the furniture and drew it out like I do for my Interior classes and it came out just as I thought it would. It worked out great! So much so the roomies wanted to keep it this way.

This was my made-up chandelier. Considering I thought it was pretty ingeneous, especially since I had to make it up 10 minutes before everyone was supposed to be coming over.

And of course, our classic drinks. We had champagne flukes, wine glasses, and brandy glasses. I think the drinks are my favorite part of this whole thing, other than everyone dressing up. Still, doesn't it look so cool!

And lastly dinner. We had fondu, chicken cordon bleu, croissants, salad and ice cream for dessert. Not counting the Milano cookies and Pirouettes for appetizers. Thankfully, Em and I use plastic plates and silverware, we didn't want to clean up more than we had to.

So we had a great time and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. I will totally have to do more when I'm back home. I expect all my family to want to join in and go all out just like I do. Anyway, I have more to post about Festival of Colors and a Michael Buble concert, but that will just have to wait a little bit. Love you all!