Min & Aaron

We spent the last weekend in May in Lewiston, ID. Why, you may wonder, would we drive 12+ hours to spend the weekend in Lewiston? Well, there is one, and only one, reason . . . my best friend got married!

Rod and I tried to break up the drive by staying overnight in Boise on Thursday night. By the time we got to Boise, though, we didn't have time to do anything except sleep. The next morning, we spent some time shopping and exploring Boise. We stopped at one of my favorite stores of all time, the Boise Co-op. It has great food and even better clothes, dishes, gifts, etc. We also stopped at Idaho River Sports to get info on the kayaking situation and to the Sierra Trading Post outlet to get deals on gear.

On the drive up, we stopped at Horseshoe Bend so that Rod could do some kayaking. The location was not especially picturesque and it started raining, but we still had fun. It reminded me of the early days of our courtship, when I would spend hours watching Rod play in his boat.


The drive to Lewiston was beautiful, but slow, long, and without cell phone reception. When we got in, we immediately went to visit Alex, Carley, and the adorable Baby J. I swear J is the cutest baby I've ever seen. When I'm around her, I'm a one-woman paparazzi. I think she liked her belated birthday present.
Carley and Alex directed us to the best Indian food I've ever eaten. Who would have thunk it in Lewiston? Afterwards, we met up with Aaron and Mindy at a gaming place, where I tried (against my better judgment) the bouncy castle. I survived

The next morning, Min and I went for a run. I took advantage of what I knew would be the only time I had alone with her to give her our wedding present and the vows book I had made for her. After our run, she invited us to breakfast. More pics of J.



I love this picture of CarleyAnne and J both chewing on their fingers.




While we were eating, we started talking about what was left to do before the wedding and rehearsal. To save money, Min and Aaron were doing everything themselves. We quickly (at about the time that Rod asked, "Do we have the ingredients for potato salad?" and got the response, "I don't know. What goes in potato salad?") that we had our work cut out for us. Rod soon became the defacto caterer. At one point in the weekend, Aaron's family commented that it was great that Rod got to do what he loves for a living. They thought he was a professional chef! :) We did food prep and created centerpieces until it was time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner, which Min and Aaron were also catering themselves.

For those of you who haven't heard, I've added a new title to my name: Reverend. Min and Aaron asked me to be their officiant so I clicked "Ordain Me" on the Universal Life Church website. :) My favorite moment of the whole weekend was after we had rehearsed the processional and recessional, Min and Aaron dismissed the wedding party and the three of us went over the ceremony. Min started crying and Aaron was getting choked up. It was an incredibly intimate moment, and I was there to share it with them. You could feel the emotions and all of the stress of the day/weekend just melt away.

The rehearsal dinner itself was fun. We had veggie chilli and my new favorite campfire dessert: s'mores made with reeses peanut butter cups. Try it. You will never go back to regular s'mores. Afterwards, we went out with Min, Aaron, our friends from high school, and their friends from NYC. Despite the truly heinous karaoke, I was falling asleep at the table. We called it an early night at around 11 (10 our time).

The next day, the wedding, was another full day of cooking. We started with a cupcake brunch. My candied bacon went fast. In between rounds of bacon, we frosted cupcakes, assembled pies and kebabs, put together centerpieces, and, of course, prepped/cooked the rest of the menu. Min made us cute matching aprons to wear while we baked. We finished just in time to run into town to grab a late lunch at a cute riverside restaurant. We tried to go to the Indian place, but it was closed. :(

By the time I made it back to where Min was staying, Min had locked herself in the bathroom. She let me in and we chatted while she made herself the most bubbly bath I have ever seen. Sorry Min! I just could not help myself. I loved having these few minutes alone with her. CarleyAnne and Alicia showed up shortly thereafter and we all frantically put the finishing touches on our makeup and Min's hair. Min made us really adorable earrings and I bought us all matching hair barretts to match Min's theme. We all looked smoking hot!

The ceremony was beautiful, even if I do say so myself. :) Min and Aaron looked so happy. Rod eventually completed his grilling duties, and I eventually got to sneak in a few dances with him.






Here are some fun pics from the "photo booth".




On Monday, we drove all the way home. The drive was SO excruciating. But we did break it up with lunch with Carl, Alex, Baby J, and Ms. Courtney at an incredibly cool restaurant that was featured on Diners, Dives, and Drive-ins and a stop at the falls in Twin Falls.

By the time we got home from our holiday weekend, we were ready for a holiday. :)

Congrats Min and Aaron!

Three Decades

In . . . one . . . week . . . I will be 30. 3-0.

I remember when my dad turned 30. I thought he was SOOO OLD! At ten, 30 was three times my entire lifetime. He had a mini-mid-life crisis and got his ear pierced. It lasted a week. :) Then, after so many people have said things like "high school are the best years of your life" or "your body just starts to fall apart after 25," I thought I would have a really hard time with 30.

As shocked as I am to say this, I'm not. I'm actually looking forward to it. The last few months have some of the best of my life. I'm happier and more comfortable in my own skin than I've ever been. My body may not be as strong as in my twenties, but last month I ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back and felt like I could conquer the world.

And as much as I loved my self-indulgent twenties (focused on building my career, traveling the world, and just having a good time), I truly believe that the best years are yet to come! 30 . . . BRING IT ON!

P.S. Although I'm not having a mid-life crisis, I am going on a mid-life adventure, starting next weekend with skydiving and ending with three months in Africa. Anyone want to join me?

Mid-May

The second week in May, we had the busiest week. Rod was out of town all week and I had something going on nearly every night (between going to 42nd Street, the last play of the season at PTC, attending photography classes as part of Inkley's photo-education week, and book club on Friday). We were both exhausted! We decided to hibernate for the weekend and spend it just enjoying each other's company.

On Saturday, after eating lunch at a new gelato/panini restaurant in Foothill Village, I convinced Rod to come with me to the final event of the Inkley's Photo Education week: a Nikon off-camera flash class. Here are some of our faves:






After class, we went to Caputos and Whole Foods to stock up on ingredients for our new favorite foods: prosciutto-wrapped melon and marinated olives. Rod cooked while I played with the camera. He kind of spoils me!



The next day, we went for our first mountain bike ride of the season. Allison (Barker) kicked both of our butts up Dry Creek. It was the perfect way to end our no-committments weekend!

The next weekend (the 15th and 16th), we decided to continue with our social hiatus. On Friday, we went to dinner at the Tin Angel. Instead of entrees, we did several courses of tapas! Mmmm . . . . When we got back, we took Rumba to play at the school and then came home to cuddle up and watch a movie.

On Saturday, we had friends over for dinner. Rod grilled, and Mellie and Corey brought over Diva's cupcakes (my favorite!).
On Sunday, we enjoyed a quiet night at home.


It was nice to have two relaxing weekends in a row.

Things amped up again the next week, though, when Kim kicked off her 40th Birthday festivities with Kimmie Palooza. Thursday morning, her actual birthday, we had mimosas and brunch at her place. She introduced me to candied bacon (who knew you could make bacon better?) and german pancakes. Yum!

The next night we met them for drinks at The Bayou.

Saturday night was another birthday bash for one of our best friends, Carrie. Nearly everyone got into Rock Band on the Wii. I even sang! And I hate singing in public. Lily, Lucy, and Avery were the stars of the show, though.



That next Monday, after several weeks of beautiful weather, we woke up to this. It looks like it is going to be another cold, wet spring . . . Weather in Utah has been even more erratic than usual.

Rod is 31!

Although Rod's birthday is in April, we did most of our celebrating in May. On his actual birthday, though, the two of us went to Cucina Toscana, the best italian restaurant in Salt Lake. I have a new found love for prosciutto. The cantaloupe, pear, and prosciutto salad I had for the salad course was one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth.

The next night, we had a party at our house. It was pretty low key. Just 30 or so of our closest friends. They brought their adorable children, and I, of course, followed them around like the papparazzi.

Our menu was also low-key, but high brow: Cucumer and goat cheese, crustless finger sandwiches, strawberries romanoff (strawberry + sour cream + brown sugar = YUM!), and ice cream sandwiches with homemade cookies.

For his gift, I got him something he has wanted for a very long time . . . ceiling fans. :)