two years

last year we got to take a little trip to park city for our first anniversary, but this year we had to stay local because of work. we decided a night out (meaning after 10 when we got done working) is exactly what we needed. the melting pot was open late and is definitely something we wouldn't normally do and so our plans were made. for anyone who hasn't gone or doesn't know what it is, the melting pot is a restaurant where the courses are served as fondue. there are 4 courses; cheese, salad, meat, and dessert or chocolate.

we got a yummy spinach artichoke cheese dip for our first course

for the main course you cook everything in broth

best for last!

the flambe

WARNING: Sappiness Ahead

it was nice to do something special like this to celebrate being married for two years. i can't believe that it has been that long, it seems like the time has flown by! i feel so very lucky to have been able to spend it with my best friend. he is someone that can always make me laugh and i look forward to every second i get to spend time with him. zack is one of the hardest working people i know and i am so grateful for him every day. happy two years hun!

dark knight rises

we were able to go to a midnight showing of the dark knight rises a little while ago. z said it was the best movie he had ever seen and i am inclined to agree with him. if you haven't had a chance, i would definitely suggest seeing this flick. i had bought the tickets for the show on fandango based on what was closest and cheapest and we got a fun little surprise of a movie theater/restaurant combo. we got extra leg room and a table to put all the treats we had brought on, pretty sweet. we also decided that since we could we would order some milkshakes! this was definitely the coolest theater i have ever been in, minus the fact that it was the quietest midnight showing i've ever been to (and if you know me, you know why this is a negative haha). i hope we can find a theater like this back in utah for some fun date nights!

holiday pt.3

for the last part of our vacation we spent it up in z and i's hood. we went to provo first and while the rest of the family bowled, i went and said hi to some friends. upon my arrival back at the alley i found that z had gotten 2 turkeys in his first game!! yep, my husband can bowl really well sometimes:)

then we made our way up to heber city for the harris family reunion. this includes all of my great-great grandparents descendants, which although not everyone could make it, is somewhere around 550 now if i remember correctly. i remember there used to be a harris family reunion every summer while i was growing up and now they have been every other year. it is always such a special time to be able to see so much family for even just a couple days. i really feel blessed to have such a big family and a family that cares about each other so much. i may not know everybody, or if i know them, i may not remember them, but it is truly a blessing to see the legacy that william and zina harris have left behind.

my favorite part of the reunion was when there were stories told about will and zina. it was so special to hear what life was like for them and their family. one of the stories that stood out was on their wedding day they took train from portage, ut to logan, ut and got married in the logan temple by themselves and then took the train back and had their reception and zina's house with a cake her mom made. i think i might have messed up some of the details, but it was so wonderful to hear these stories that you never knew about your ancestors. and if anyone can remember some of the other ones or fix my telling of this one, please leave them in the comments for me!

our family stayed at a hotel in heber city and drove up to the campground during the day for the reunion. on our way there the first day i spotted this little beauty and we pulled over so i could document. . . only in utah.

why yes, this is an entire fence made up of skis, and a few snowboards on the other gate

Aunt Ullala is actually my great-grandmother. i remember always getting to share a room with her when we visited grandmas' house.

this is william and his four sons

my great-great grandparents william and zina on their wedding day

zina and her four daughters

my great grandma, or granny, and two of her younger siblings. she was the oldest.

the whole family

my cousins jacob and lindsey

my brother brandon and his girlfriend erin

z and my cousin kyle

my aunt kathie and cousin marky

my uncle mark and cousin tyler

my mom and grandma

my aunt jill and cousin tyler

uncle scott and aunt kathie

it was bound to happen. . . 

my aunt jill and cousin tyler

my cousins allie and haylee

saturday after the reunion ended a few of us drove to slc for dinner at hires big h. my dad decided we should take the scenic route, literally. it was really cool to get to the top(ish) of the mountain and look down at the valley. the whole valley looked so peaceful and picturesque.

not everyone was excited about the view

my dad and z

the jug is almost a part of our family now. . . jk

my aunt kathie and cousins nathan and allie

i love all the trees!

after dinner we got to make a stop and zack's brothers house and see our newest nephew, little boston. he is so precious and there is something about newborns (he was only a week old!) that makes my heart melt. i seriously cannot wait for the fall when i get to see this little guy all the time!

lastly we stopped in provo for the night at olivia and braedens, before we drove back to colorado. i met olivia my first year in college (which i realize was not that long ago) and we have been friends ever since. we decided to head over to fat cats for some bowling fun and even though i was kinda tired it turned out to be a great night, i even tried a couple rounds without the bumpers (i know, it got pretty crazy). it was a lot of fun to see some familiar faces after basically being on our own since we moved to colorado. i cannot wait till we move back to provo and get to go on dates with other couples!

just because

zack got me some flowers. . .

just because:)

i sure got lucky when i married that guy!

holiday pt.2

our 4th of July celebrations were a blast! it has been a long-standing tradition that we celebrate Independence Day at my grandparents house in st. george. we always have lots of yummy food and a fireworks show by the cousins. this year was no different, except we had some bigger fireworks that my brother brought down from Provo. and lest you be worried, my grandparents had checked with the fire department to make sure we were allowed to do fireworks this year.

the evening started off just as it was getting dark. my grandma noted that her neighbors across the street had left their garage cracked, which was ironic because a few years ago, during our fireworks show, a firework escaped underneath the crack in their garage. luckily it had burnt out just as it went under and no damage was done! this was an especially fun show with all of the bigger fireworks we had gotten, as a lot of the cousins are older now i.e. more responsible. . . i'll let you be the judge of that though.

our independence day cupcakes! decorated by grandma with help from some of the cousins

sparklers are perhaps one of the funnest things about fireworks, in my opinion

 

we were having lots of fun, until one of brandon's aerial fireworks tipped over. i was priming my camera for some fun shots of the big ones, when i couldn't find them in the sky. i moved the camera down and saw that the firework had tipped over and instead of going up, it was shooting out. a couple people got hit and there were a few other burns, but luckily it was nothing serious. the main thing we were worried about was the shot that escaped under the neighbors' garage and exploded inside it! it didn't look like there was any damage. . . and nothing was on fire, so we decided to call it a night a little bit early this time. and just as we were cleaning up we got a visit from the fire department. . . apparently aerial fireworks are not allowed in washington county, but no harm no foul right?! i guess you could say our night sure ended with a bang!