Shan's Birthday in Park City!

Happy Birthday Shannon!! Back in August...haha she turned the big 18!! We celebrated by going up to Park City to redeem some some Zipline tickets that she'd won in High School! First of all, actually getting to Park City was quite the adventure....me, being the expert navigator, succeeded in getting us lost before we even got to Parley's Canyon. That is really pathetic, because, you know, I've lived in Salt Lake for two years now and you'd think that I'd know my way around by now. Think again. It probably took us 30 minutes longer than it should've to actually get up there. But the point is, we got there!! :D The first think we did was wander around the Olympic Musem they have up there! It was really neat - I wish I would've realized in 2002 just how neat it was to have the Olympics here in my own backyard. But I was only in 7th grade, so I really didn't care much. Oh well, what can ya do. Anyway, at the museum we had fun exploring all the hands on things they had there, like the bobsled, the face cutout posters, and the torch mounted on the wall!! Good times :)

After exploring the museum from top to bottom, we headed down to try out the Zipline! On the way, we got distracted by this outdoor pool where people were practicing free-style ski jumping! It was so cool, they'd fly off the jumps and land in the pool! I don't think I could ever do that, it's too scary!! Haha oh wow, I just realized something...I would be willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but too scared to try out ski jumping...there's something wrong with that...

Anyway, on to the Zipline!! It was really long and really fast and really fun!! The picture of Shannon and me is at the bottom of the Zipline, just after we'd gotten off! It was so great! We also had tickets to do the Alpine Slide, so we did that next! Also very fun! I don't know if it was worth what we would've had to pay had we not had the free tickets, but it was still fun!! I would definitely recommend trying it at least once :)

After our adventures at Olympic Park, we headed down to the outlet stores to get some lunch and do some shopping!! We spent most of the time there at our favorite store - Aeropostale - and then we headed back home! We struggled a little bit trying to navigate Salt Lake's "spaghetti bowl" on the way, but we figured it out and made it home in one piece. It was most definitely a fantastic day :)

Pioneer Day!

Pioneer this year was a lot of fun! Well, at least towards the evening it was fun...I actually don't remember doing anything too exciting in the morning...I even think I slept through like half the parade...Shannon had come down to Salt Lake the night before to hang out, and our intentions were to actually GO to the parade to watch it, but that didn't happen. Maybe next year. Anyway, so we came home to Layton and decided that we wanted to make a trip up to Ogden to watch the fun rodeo they have each year! We decided that we'd even try and look the part, so my sisters and I went out on a mission through Layton City to try and find the cheapest cowboy hats we could find...the winning $12, "made of 100% paper" cowboy hats were found at Wal-Mart. Those hats were put to good use, and we're excited to use them next year :) The rodeo was way fun, as usual...my favorite part was the beginning where the skydivers brought the flag into the arena! I want to do that someday, I think it would be so cool! We chose to go on a good night, because that group of singers in the picture is actually the second generation Osmond's! It was fun to hear them sing! What a talented group of young men! Overall, Pioneer Day was a lot of fun and we're looking forward to next year!!

Independence Day Pics

At the firepit!

Me and Amanda waiting for the parade to start! Dang, I look like I just got done running a 5k!! Oh wait....

Independence Day!!!

Okay, so I know this was like 3 months ago, but its still worth telling about :) My family and one of my roommates and I went up to Huntsville like we always do to celebrate the holiday. It was a lot of fun, my parents pulled our trailer up and parked it in my grandma's front yard (best camping spot in Huntsville! :D) while Amanda (my roommate) and I "booked" a room in my grandma's house. On Independence Day Eve, we started a little campfire in my grandma's backyard firepit and roasted some s'mores and had a good time hanging out with the cousins.
The next day, we woke up bright and early so that Shannon, my mom, and I could run in the little 5k race they hold each year. I was able to keep up with them for about 2/3 of the race and then I fell slightly behind...they had been training a lot longer than I had, so I wasn't surprised :). After the race we headed over to the pavilion in the park for the annual 4th of July Breakfast in the Park. It was probably the most delicious breakfast I've ever had! We met up with my Grandpa Green and some of my cousins (Steve, Jordan, and baby Deacon) so it was way fun visiting with them for a minute! After breakfast we went to our spot (right in front of the church...we sit there every year) and watched the po-dunk, small town, wouldn't-be-4th-of-July-without-it parade. It was the same as it was last year, complete with old tractors and everything. I love it though, it's tradition!! Like I said, it wouldn't be the 4th of July unless we went up to Huntsville. After the parade we meandered back to the starting line of the race to hear the results. Turns out Shannon and I were in the same age group, and she took FIRST while I took SECOND!!! We thought that was pretty darn cool! My mom also took first in HER age group (we won't say what that age range was...:D) so we all got medals!! Maybe next year we can talk Bailey into running it with us and then we'll all place again!!
After the parade, of course we had to go over to the park and wander through the little booths they have set up. I had to get my annual dosage of cotton candy!! This year they had an awesome booth selling African Dwarf frogs!! My roommate Amanda immediately fell in love with them, and talked me into buying a couple for our house in Salt Lake!! They are still alive and well - even three months later - in their tank. They now share it though with about 8 fish. Their names are Squeaky and Squishy...I can't remember which one was mine...anyway....
We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at my grandma's house, sleeping and doing homework (I was in summer school at the time...BAD IDEA!! I am never taking summer classes again...I mean, who does that???) We went swimming for awhile over at my aunt and uncle's house, and then decided we were hungry, so Amanda and I headed "downtown" to Ogden for some Jake's Over the Top!! Delish....
After dinner, it was finally time to head back over to the park to stake out our fireworks spot! I absolutely LOVE fireworks, especially when you get to sit directly below them! It's so cool! Shannon (who had originally gone back to Layton earlier in the afternoon with my parents) came back up to Huntsville to enjoy them with us. To add to the excitement of the night, a friend of mine from school surprised me while we were there and watched the fireworks with us! It was so fun!! The fireworks themselves were fantabulous...the perfect ending to a great 4th of July day. :)