July so far

So finally we get to July, wherein I guess Andrew got back, but we didn't see him or call him or anything and we knew their family was leaving for their trip to Nauvoo. We were, instead, preparing for celebrating the 4th with my family and then celebrating our anniversary on the 5th.

The 3rd we walked down to the arts booths and things at the Provo courthouse. We first stopped at the old colonial village behind the crandal printing museum. I decided I'm glad and sad that men don't wear lace anymore. We ate a great meal there of cottage pie and johnny cakes. The johnnycake was really nummy. Like really good cornbread, but breadier. We contemplated getting our picture in 3d from the BYU something or other department, but even if we had, it would just be on a cd and you'd need a screen for displaying it, so I felt it wasn't a good deal for us in the end. Pretty neat looking, though. We then went to the vendor booths and stuff. Nothing too exciting there, except some framed butterflies, but they cost an arm and a leg, so it was look but don't buy for us. I bought a 5 dollar magnet, but a fake butterfly might have been more beautiful. There were a ton of sunflower hair thingys. There was a guy that had a sample of easy recipe bread that he said was really easy, but it didn't taste very well. I guess if you didn't have anything else...
Nathan and I each got 10 minute massages for 5 dollars each. Then we bought a rice bag with nice smelling stuff in it. Yahoo.
Then we walked home because it was HOT and we were both tired. Then we walked back down to my family's store to try and hang out with my nephews who were saving the family's spot. But it was just my older nephews and not a party at all. so we walked back home. Then we thought about going to the race the next morning, but it didn't work out. And then we went to bed. We got up the next morning fairly early to go watch the parade, but again it was just the nephews. After a while, my sis-in-law and my brother and his family came and then we watched the parade. There seemed to be less people there and it must have been because of the rain. nathan and I had no idea it even rained. I thought I remembered there always being a fly over of jets at the beginning of the parade, but there weren't this year, if there were. After the parade, Nathan and I went to the vendor booths and tried a deep-fried twinkie. it was ok, but there really was no need for the twinkie to be there. Then we headed home when I realized i'd left my camera in my family's store. so we walked back and my brother's wife and nephews had already left and so we walked home, cameraless. Then we relaxed at home for a while until my family called and invited us to go to the bbq at my brother's house. So we went, even though we were late. We didn't get to swim, but we got the candy from France that my nephew who had just returned from France for a month had brought back. Then we watched my nieces and nephews play guitar hero or whatever and then watched fireworks on my brother's front lawn. Then we went to Walmart to get a camera and bought a 10 dollar camera and then we went home and cleaned up so we could leave the next day.

Our Anniversary: The First

We went to sacrament meeting and then hurried home to finish packing and then left for Jordanelle Reservoir. I had called and reserved a spot on Friday. I was worried for some reason that the reservation would cancel after 3 or something like that. I checked out the 10 dollar camera we had bought, and it was highway robbery as far as the quality of the pictures goes, so we stopped on our way out and got gas and a disposable camera. Then we were on our way. We arrived about 4 and so we started a fire to start cooking the tin foil dinners; but we decided, since it was a fast sunday, that we were really hungry, so we started making hot dogs instead. It's really hard to fast while camping. We had bought and brought firewood, but we didn't get enough, so we had to go the marina store and buy some more, and it was even cheaper than the wood we had already bought. But we then had plenty of fire for the night, which was thankfully all we needed. It took paper and not paper towels and I got the fire started. I think I got it started too well, which is why we had to get more firewood, but we soon had coals to set the tin foil dinners on and a fire to roast hotdogs over. Nathan did the roasting. He is an excellent hot dog roaster if that is needed by anyone in the future. Then we shared two heart cakes I'd found and bubbly apple juice. It was sort of meant to recreate our honeymoon, because being so close to the water and camping and stuff was what I had wanted to do on our honeymoon, but then didn't because it was monday before we could have. We roasted songs and sang hymns and then went to bed. Our neighbors didn't like us, I don't think, but it was kinda crazy because they played Mexican music all day and while I can stand mexican music, I can't stand it all day. The next day was a little more dramatic.
We woke up and while it didn't rain, it was windy. We tried going for a walk, but soon found that Nathan REALLY suffered from allergies from it, so he went back to the tent. I collected some flowers and took a picture (that's all we had left) and then also headed back. Then I went swimming. It was cold, but that actually felt good. then I came back and tried to get Nathan to try and go swimming. It was really windy by then, and we decided to try and go to a beach area, but that was the windiest spot of all. Nathan was a trooper and went up to his calves and then dunked his head in. He found the water to be WAY too cold for his liking. The skinny kid...j/k Well, anyway, so then we headed back to the camp to start packing up, and the wind kicked up the sand they had in the tent area, and it got in my eyes and I was really miserable. Nathan still was suffering a little bit at this time as well. We left just in time and headed home, which took a little while since my eyes were bugging me. We got home and both were really tired. We figured it was heat exhaustion.

The rest of July

On July 19th (or 18th, the Saturday) our ward held a bbq in a park. There was food, of course, and I made enough macaroni to feed an army, but it was bland and boring because it was the first time I'd ever made it, and it was so hot and late when I'd finished it the night before, I didn't even have the energy to try it. So Nathan and I ate the salad all the next week, of course. Live and learn. Then the ward played a water balloon version of Keep the Flag, which cooled people down, especially the people who ran fast enough. It is amazing how hard it is to actually hit a moving target. I missed when Nathan was standing in front of me, not even moving. That was the extent of my involvement, but then everybody had to help clean up the water balloons. I thought it would have been a welcome improvement, adding more color to the park, but it made things festive seeing the clumps of water balloon guts in all the wild party colors.

This past Sunday, the 26th, we attended Andrew's mission homecoming talk and luncheon. Andrew talked about how people sacrificed so much for this religion and that the Spirit is what makes that happen. If this is wrong, let me know, I guess, but that is what I got out of it, anyway. He told about various people on his mission. He told an interesting story that he'd started teaching a lady and then she moved or he moved or something and she was never contacted again, and he ran into her on his last day in Brazil. At Alison's we had bbq sandwiches and various macaroni and vegetable and fruit salads. And then lot of cookies for dessert. Plus there was plenty candy on hand. Andrew's friends from high school hung out with them and they shared mission experiences together, one from Argentina and another from Southern Cal. At another point in the evening while listening to a conversation of Andrew's aunt on his father's side, she told about how a mission president when she had been serving in Brazil had just decided to do what they had been commanded to do and help feed the missionaries, even though he barely had enough to feed his own family, and then he told everyone he had done so and found that he always had leftovers at the end of the month. Pretty faith helping.

I could have said this at the beginning of the post, but I'll put it here. Work really really slowed down this month. It was pretty slow for June, but really slow for July. I don't know if there'll be more work until school starts. This, the same time as Nathan went to the dentist twice. But, as they say, it's a good thing being poor is horrible, because it makes you not want to be poor.

That, in a nutshell, is how I have felt all month. I am looking forward to August, come what may.