finally

Isn't it amazing how fast 16 days can fly by? And it seems like an eternity while it is happening?

I have been meaning to document so many things like eating at the absolute best BBQ place in the universe and Clark and Kate's Utah reception just to name a few but I had a huge hangup. I lost my camera. I know. Devastated.

Luckily for me I have someone I can steal pictures from and so I am now coming back into the blogging world and pray every second that my camera will show up. Because really, I just returned home from a huge baseball tournament in Grand Junction, CO that Nick played in (another post coming soon!) that I had to use a disposable camera to document with. Not ideal but thank goodness that it was there in a pinch. But, I did miss my zoom and the digital-ness of my old one. Not to mention that I had not finished downloading the pictures onto my computer so I lost some pretty fun pictures that I am mourning. I need to stop thinking about it because I am getting depressed.

I am a carnivore. Love the meat. Ribs, steak, hamburgers...bring it on. But when someone suggests going to a barbeque joint for dinner I am a bit hesitant. I don't love the sauce, it always is so fatty tasting, and I feel gross and bloated for a few days afterwards. This was a serious connundrum since I do love a good hunk of pig and Justin loves him a good barbeque dinner.

The best of both worlds has been realized in two simple words. Pat's barbeque. This place is off the hook. And their baked beans...holy cow. Or I guess I should say holy pig. Pat's was featured on Diner's Drive-in's and Dives on the Food Network so you know it has to be freaking amazing.

On Friday night, May 21, my family and Kate's parents and brother went out to dinner to this wonderful dive in the middle of South Salt Lake. My family consisted of my little family, Andrea and her family, Erika, Clark and Kate, my Uncle Scott, my Aunt Joan, Hope, Melissa, my aunt Kathleen and Uncle Robert, my cute grandmother, and my parent's closest friends. It was a huge group.




And you know what? The service was impeccable. Our server was so courteous and handled our hugemungous group like an old pro. Like he was excited to refill a drink only to come back to another request for the same thing about 50 times. I loved it.

I also loved the fun time that we had to spend with family. Here are the first of many pictures that are courtesy of my cute sister:









The next night was the Utah reception. It turned out awesome. The unpredictable Utah weather required the guests to be inside the house instead of the garden reception in the backyard that was originally planned but with a little tweaking it turned out perfectly.



I think this is absolutely one of my most favorite pictures. Ever. One of the main reasons is not only does everyone look scrumptious but Nick is actually smiling. He is going through some weird pre-teen stage where he just does a grin and doesn't show his teeth. He says he doesn't like his smile but don't you think he needs to flash it more often?


Can I also just say that I love Kate. She is absolutely perfect for my brother. She is laid back, funny, sweet, grounded, plays hide and go seek and legos with the boys and she doesn't even complain, and she is beautiful. She really is a wonderful, wonderful person and I am so happy she is officially now a Winegar.

On May 27th the boys were out for Memorial Day and the weather was finally agreeable and I sacrificed sleep to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. The boys and I (with a friend of Nick's) met up with my mom and Andrea, Adam, Caroline and baby O to hike to Bridal Veil Falls and have a picnic. Andrew had just gone on a field trip there a few days before and when I asked what they wanted to do he said: "Mom, I have the most PERFECT idea. Let's go to Bridal Veil Falls!" and how do you say no to such enthusiasm? The hike was a bit anticlimactic for me--you seriously just walk like five minutes and you are there but the waterfall is breathtaking and it was so very nice to be in the fresh air.







My absolute favorite thing about this day was the fact that we were not in a hurry. We wandered up the path, enjoyed the sunshine, had a picnic, and the most interesting activity of the day for the boys was throwing rocks in the river. It made me so happy that such a simple activity kept them busy for a long, long time. I always feel like I am so busy and cannot seem to slow down enough to enjoy the simple pleasures and I am afraid that I am stealing away some of the boys' childhood with all the running around that we do. It was nice to have a day dedicated to just doing nothing.