I Got A Piano!

And I'm so stinkin' thrilled about it!

I decided last week that I was finally going to do it.

On Saturday went to a few stores to look at used pianos.

Then decided to see what was on Craigslist on Sunday.

Found one that sounded great.

Called on it.

Saw it an hour later.

Called her another hour later and told her I'd buy it (for $100 less than her asking price, no less).

And Monday found movers who picked it up and dropped it off that afternoon!

I've been playing it nonstop.

It's a lovely Baldwin with a nice, bright sound and pretty nice key action.

I'm in love.

July Fourth Celebrations, Part Two

After the boys got back at 11:45 on the Third, we headed up to Y Mount to hike in the hot, hot heat.

So very, very hot. Even the dogs were dying. Coco, a black little furball, ran from shadow to shadow. It was pretty cute.

Here Alex is, walking a bush. He looks so happy.

Halfway up, where you turn into the canyon, is this lovely huge rock with lots of shade. In the shadow, it was downright cool, with a nice breeze coming out of the canyon. Here is Allison looking all cute and stuff.

Silly, and slightly scary, boys.

Cute puppies!

Mint chocolate chip hiking buddies!

Then we got to the campsite and set up our tents and fire and all that. Normally, we hike to the top in time to watch the fireworks at Stadium of Fire, but Kurt and Alex were so tired from their all-nighter that we just hung out in the meadow for the night. It was still really fun!

The next morning we woke up, hung out by the fire and headed home. Kinda unceremonious, but nice and relaxing.

Good morning!

I look a) nervous b) like I have a double chin and c) really really unpretty.

On the road again.

After that, we went up to my Grandma Hatch's for a family party. The next day we broke the bank shopping at Ikea then headed home with our bounty in a moving truck. It was such a fun trip. Thanks everyone for the fun!

July Fourth Celebrations, Part One

Finally getting caught up on my posts! I haven't been this behind in years. I've just been so busy with finishing my book and school and what not. Seriously haven't been this busy in a long time. But it's been a good busy!
So, for 4th of July weekend, we decided to go up to Utah to hit up Ikea for some kitchen reno supplies. We also decided to do our now traditional Y hike with our besties, the Wilcox's! We arrived at their house on the 2nd and had some fun for a bit. Allison and I laid out while Kurt went to lunch with some other friends and Alex worked. Then, for dinner, we all went to Art City Trolley in Springville.

Then we went to Provo Freedom Festival where:

Kurt got a 5 minute back massage

I got a delicious chocolate covered frozen banana

We ran into Bee Money, the local Provo rapper

We wore silly sunglasses

Kurt and Alex played foosball

We played musical chairs

I battled Allison in paper rock scissors

And took silly pictures.

The boys didn't want to go but we all ended up having a really awesome time!

Then that night, the night before the hike, the boys decided to do an all-night hike up King's Peak, the tallest mountain Utah.

So hopeful.

So crazy.

Next up: the hike!

August Goals

Figured I'd go ahead and do my August goals post now. I've been obsessed with my book, but now the first draft is done and a few people are reading it. Speaking of, final stats of draft one: 57k words, 93 single-spaced pages. I have a lot more filling in to do, so the next draft will actually be bigger, not smaller. Then from there I'll probably start paring things down. My work is only half done. It's going to be a long road. Which segways nicely into my first goal:
-Don't look at, edit, read, etc., my book at all this month. I need a break. I'll probably still do research, but the actual book I can't touch. It's actually relieving.
-Stay on top of school work.
-Finish organizing the office.
-Read scriptures every day, even if it's only one verse.
-Get caught up on my posts. I'm behind by like 3 or 4. Whoopsie.

July Goals Recap

-Read at least two, hopefully three, books for school (and write papers for them). Not check. I was slightly obsessed with finishing my book. But I'm okay.

-Finish my book (this is the month!). Check! Huzzah!

-Organize the office (includes building our new bookshelves and finding a place for the old ones). Kurt and I got started on that last night and I'm glad he's helping me because it's a BIG job!

-Ride my bike to work on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This month I will conquer! There turned out to be NO days I could ride my bike, for one reason or another. I did go on bike rides after work. But that might be on hold, depending on what I find out at the doctor tomorrow. More info on that to come ...
 
I technically only accomplished one of my goals this (last actually) month but I don't care because it was a BIG goal. So I feel good!