Collegiate nostalgia

A couple of weeks ago Derek and I went with my brother, Brian, and his wife, Leslie Ann, to one of the homecoming events at my alma matter, Southern Utah University.

Hard to believe its been 10 years since I was a student there! Walking into the party made me feel like I'd stepped back in time. I couldn't believe how fantastic it was to be part of this quintessential college event.

From the live entertainment (featuring Peter Breinholt — an SUU staple at events when I was a student — Kurt Bestor and the Joe Muscolino (sp?) band) to the throngs of students, faculty and alumni, not to mention the fireworks and the insane amount of fantastic food and and ice sculpture to boot, I was feeling pretty good about showing off my school to Derek.
He and I have a bit of an SUU vs. Dixie State thing going at times but he admitted to being quite impressed.


I found myself spending the evening reveling in the past. I'm far from being the person who can't move on from her college glory days, but it was really fun for one evening to reminisce on an era of my life that can never be recreated.

It made me miss my college roommates. Seriously — girls from The Ave and The View, my heart smiles just thinking of you.
I could even picture where we would have been if we'd all been there together. Right in the thick of the crowd near the stage, singing our hearts out to the cover tunes.

I'm completely content in my life today, in fact I was thrilled to be at the concert with my husband instead of spending half the evening trying to be the eyeline of the right group of guys. But there is something about looking back on the college years that makes it easy to see why so many people later in life refer to them as "the good old days."

Belated anniversary and happy birthday to me

I live in a beautiful place!

Sadly, our summer got away from us and with it went our intentions to, you know, actually celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary in May. The actual anniversary was spent at my brother's wedding open house, so we wanted to follow up with a getaway of our own and, finally, over Labor Day, we did.

The trip also coincided with my birthday, so it worked out perfectly.

Thanks to my parents, Derek and I were able to get away without Lydia and enjoy two nights at Ruby's Inn in Bryce Canyon. It was so great! I love spending time with Derek and although I adore Lydia, it's nice to occasionally go back to the memories of when it was just the two of us and our conversations included full uninterrupted sentences at dinner ;)

Hot tub, sleeping in, great food, hiking,
talking, reading, shopping.

What's not to love?

The weekend ended with birthday dinner at my parent's house and reuniting with this little girl.

My mom made me this fantastic running shoe cake!

It totally went with my parents' theme gift of all things to pamper my feet (pedicure, slippers, movie to watch with my feet up etc.) So cute. It made me want to be someone who is worthy of a running shoe cake — meaning it encouraged me to recommit myself to being more regular with my running... and to work off a weekend (read: month long) celebration of food.

Such a great weekend!

Time for a change

After two years of being the person laying on the changing table, Lydia decided she wanted to have a turn being in charge of the diaper change.

She orchestrated this entire thing with no suggestions from me or Derek. I was just lucky enough to grab my camera in time.

Fortunately, Winnie the Pooh (aptly named in this instance) was willing to comply.

Apparently it was a stinky one.

I tell you, this girl is hilarious!

"Cah" and the Grady clan

We were so excited to have my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Leslie, and their adorable son, Colin, here for a visit last month. Lydia had SO much fun with her cousin! She couldn't get enough of "Cah" and was more than willing to dispense her hugs and kisses on him.
She still asks about him all the time.

Aunt Leslie's shoes are even more fun to wear than Mom's!

So fun to see my brother in the role of Dad.

The week flew by way too fast, but we managed to pack in plenty of eating, talking and game playing, along with some of the classic St. George tourist sites including the Town Square splash pad, Tuacahn and the Painted Pony.

Enjoying a delicious meal at Painted Pony.
If you want to see how beautiful the food was, click here

"The Little Mermaid" at Tuacahn was spectacular!

Since we were all amused by King Triton's costume (namely his pants) Leslie and I opted for a photo with him. Sadly, the pants aren't shown well enough below. Oh well, at least we thought it was funny.

And since we were being silly we insisted the boys join us as well. We had them pose for pictures with half of the Flotsam and Jetsem duo.

Can't wait for the Texas Gradys to come back again!