I'm going to be an aunt...again!

Josh & Trish called this morning to let me know that Trish is pregnant! We were just joking about it the other day and Trish said they've been talking about it but thought they'd wait till later in the year. Well, guess what?! It is later in the year! Braden (booga-booga) is going to have a sister...or a brother...we'll see! Congratulations Josh & Trish!

"Oh Thank Oz"

I love Chicago! I'm here this week for work, but last night we had some free time to play before the work began today. My boss Wayne took us to dinner at Reza's (http://www.rezasrestaurant.com/home.asp) which is a Middle-Eastern Cuisine restaurant. It's a tradition to eat there each summer when we come here because Wayne loves it so much. I'll be honest, I love it too and I've been craving it for 2 years. Mandy and I shared a plate of Chengeh (Filet Mignon shish kabob) and loved every bite of it. The appetizer is divine--goat cheese, pita bread, vegetable soup with good spices, and radishes! Interesting combination, yes, but so good! So, after dinner we went to the Ford Center for the Performing Arts and watched the Broadway musical "Wicked". It was so amazing!! I have been listening to the soundtrack for over a year and haven't had an opportunity to see the performance. Wayne loves it, so he bought us tickets and they were really good seats. The story is related to "The Wizard of Oz"; in fact, it's almost like a prequel to the movie. The two main characters are Glinda (the good witch) and Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west), and the story tells how they became witches and friends. The music is phenomenal, and the humor is clean. Here are some of my favorite lines from the play:
**Someone is teasing Elphaba: "It seems the artichoke is steamed!"
**"Why can't you teach us history instead of dwelling on the past?" --Glinda (she's a blonde)
**"There's no place like home!" --Elphaba
**"Oh thank Oz!" --Glinda
**Fiyero: "You're so beautiful."
Elphaba: "You don't have to lie."
Fiyero: "It's not lying. It's looking at things in a different way."
Anyway, I absolutely loved the play, if that isn't obvious! I will definitely see it again...hopefully soon!

My Birthday Week

July 8, 1979, 3:30am: I was born on my parents 1st anniversary! July 3-8, 2007: I celebrated my 28th birthday! I have amazing friends who made this birthday a real celebration. We started celebrating on Tuesday and the fun lasted all week until my birthday on Sunday. I loved everything we did and all of the love & attention I got from so many people. Here's a run down of the events of the week.

Tuesday, July 3rd: We went to the West Jordan City Park and watched "October Sky". The movie was shown on a big inflatable screen and we camped out on the grass.

Wednesday, July 4th: Happy Independence Day! I had to work in the morning, but came home around noon and had fun the rest of the day. MJ, Chris, Steph & I played at the pool for several hours and ate lunch. Later, a group of us got together for a barbeque and then went to the West Jordan Rodeo. Ali planned it, knowing I'd never been to a rodeo. I don't know who had more fun: Me at my first rodeo, or Ali watching me and being excited for me! I laughed a lot and made funny faces at things I found to be bizarre. After the rodeo, we watched a spectacular fireworks show and then went to Sonic for a treat. P.S.--I don't like to wear cowboy hats! But don't we all look so cute?

Thursday, July 5th: The girls called the celebration for this day "Crepe-tet". So let me explain: a few months ago, Steph was sending a text inviting Chris to play croquet with us. Her phone doesn't recognize the word croquet, so it spelled 'croptet' instead. We now call croquet 'croptet'. And, while we were in France, we ate crepes and we still love them. So, they combined the two favorites and we had an evening of crepes and croptet!

Friday, July 6th: I didn't think anything was planned for Friday because the girls were going to Idaho for Shellie & Dave's wedding reception. Kendra & I went to lunch at Red Robin and guess who met us there? All of the girls! They all came down to Provo before leaving for Idaho! I was so surprised and so happy to see them before they left, and I loved having my closest friends together for lunch.

Saturday, July 7th: Amy (my roommate) and I went out for breakfast, which is something I love to do but rarely get to do it. I spent part of the day at the pool, and then Brent came up and took me to lunch at Cafe Rio. We enjoyed ice cream at Cold Stone, then came back to my house and looked at pictures from my trip. I think he was bored but I had so much fun sharing with him all of my 800+ pictures!

Sunday, July 8th: Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! Sunday was a relaxing day after 9am church. Ali, Amy & I spent the afternoon relaxing at home and then went to Sandra's house for cake & ice cream. Sandra made a chocolate mayonnaise cake with cream cheese frosting, which is exactly what I wanted to have a bit of home with me. We only had 4 candles, so had to blow them out 7 times! There was a big group of friends there to celebrate and that made the day so wonderful. I got phone calls from my family throughout the day and lots of birthday hugs.

This will always be one of my favorite birthdays. I am normally not a fan of so much attention, especially over such a long period of time, but it was nice to feel so loved. Happy birthday me!

Tuesday night at Lagoon

Sometimes I put myself in situations where teasing is inevitable. One such situation is when I told my friends at work that I got a season passport to Lagoon, just like last summer. Who really wants to go to Lagoon that often? I do! I went last night with Amy, Steph, Chris, and Michael and we had so much fun! It was so hot when we got there, so after a few rides we headed for Rattlesnake Rapids. By the time we actually got on the ride, we were all so hot and 'moist' that we glady accepted the fact that we would get soaked. I think everyone got wet, but I got completely soaked since my side of the raft went right under the waterfall. I was still damp when we got home just before midnight. Lagoon has a new roller coaster this year called "Wicked". We waited in line for almost an hour (I think--it seemed like forever) and I questioned whether or not that wait would be worth it. It was totally worth it! I had so much fun on all of the rides last night, even the rides where I got totally beat up. My left knee has a huge bump and a gross bruise, my right arm is sore, and my back is killing me! And, I'm exhausted. Despite my woes, I'd do it all again--and I probably will soon because I have a season passport!

I loved Europe, but it's great to be home

My trip to Europe was so awesome! I have a million memories and a couple thousand pictures to keep those memories alive. And best of all, Steph & Sandra and I are even better friends than we were before the trip. We started our 10-day tour of France in the South in a city called Nice (Neece) along the French Riviera. We spent 2 days there, then went to Paris for a couple of days. We drove all over France for several days, visiting chateaus (castles) and cathedrals. We went back to Paris for a day, then our tour group went home. Steph, Sandra & I went up to London (saw Les Miserables!) and Scotland for a week and finally arrived back home on Friday night.

The Eiffel Tower was so cool!

Us 3 girls on top of the Eiffel Tower
This trip was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm so grateful I did it! Given the chance, I'd do it again (once my bank account is back to normal)!