new york

Last week I went with my mom and my sister Jenni to NYC to see my sister Sarah Jane and her family. After several years of living in the city, the Bowens are moving to California this summer so we jumped at the chance to visit them there one last time. Here are some highlights from the trip.

I got to hang out with this cute kid a bunch (my niece Norah).

Did a little a shopping with the girls. Little meaning a lot I guess.

One of my favorite things about New York is the abundance of yummy food, like the classic Shake Shack. It's the only time I get excited about Hamburgers which says a lot.

I got to hang out with these cool people. Our friends the Wheelers live in Harlem and are always a delight (more pictures with them to come).

Went to the Manhattan Stake's block party (which was actually just around the corner from my sister's apartment). They had a tag sale/ BBQ to raise money for their youth groups.

I watched my sisters run the Brooklyn Half Marathon.

Spent some quality time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

There are few places that I enjoy spending time more than museums, but that wasn't always the case. This is a picture of me at the Met on my first trip to New York. I don't want to tell you how old I was because you wouldn't believe me.

Here's me now in front of the same painting. I think I enjoyed it more this time.

Bret unfortunatley didn’t come on this trip, he spent the weekend in Spokane with his family and helping his dad paint their house. I also want to give a shout out to my sister Amy who missed out on the sister weekend. To both of them, we missed you.

i've lost my street cred

Those of you who watched So You Think You Can Dance last Thursday night know what I'm talking about. No, I wasn't on it, they just made the Seattle tryouts look really bad in general. Let me just say that you shouldn't believe everything you see or hear on Reality T.V., ok? At least there has yet to be anything as bad as this.

recent outdoor adventures

Hike to the stone "Living Room" in SLC.


Bret has been golfing all over the place lately and thanks to my work's corporate pass to Fox Hollow, he's gotten me hooked too. We went with Brig the other day.

Bret and I spent Memorial weekend in St. George and Zions.

Double Arch Alcove in Kolob Canyon.

St. George Scout Caves

Special thanks to Bret's parents for letting us stay at their St. George home and to the Flight of the Concords Season 1 for making the drive go by faster.

I KNEW IT!

I want everyone to know that it was approximately three years ago that I puchased my first wild life t-shirt. However, the intention of this blog post isn't to brag about my trendsetting skills. I have something much more special to share with you.
This beautiful 3 MAJESTIC WOLVES HOWLING AT MOON T-SHIRT can be found on amazon here. People are going wild for it! Do yourself a favor and take 5 minutes to read the reviews of this T-shirt - these reviews are without a doubt the greatest things I've read in some time.

strange things

While I was at the University of Utah I took a photojournalism class. My professor encouraged us to keep some kind of camera with us at all times in case something happened worth photographing. Since then I've made it a goal to have my little point and shoot with me at all times just in case. Here's a small sample of some strange things I've seen lately.

A "W" with a car hanging between it.
Two ducks hanging out at a busy gas station
Emos watching emus at the Seattle Zoo
While watching conference last month I looked over at my friend Megan sitting on this chair. I was thinking how hairy and masculine her feet were when I realized they weren't Megan's legs but Matt's. It was silly.Two of my sisters and their girls and I went up to the Oulets one day while Sarah was in town. I got to ride in the back with the kids which was great, partly because I got to watch The Great Muppet Caper on the DVD player, but also because I got to see Isabelle and Lily holding hands like this. I guess this is more cute than strange but I was glad to have my camera with me nonetheless.
Speaking of strange, this is us riding a hippo.

(half) marathon man

I've been meaning to post this but I couldn't find the cord to upload pictures to our computer until today. Anyway, Bret ran the Salt Lake half marathon last month and I think it deserves some recognition. He's ran a marathon and a couple halfs before but still, he hardly trained for this one at all; less than two weeks notice I think. Bret is one of the best goal-setters I know. He's constantly making and writing down goals and, unlike myself, he accomplishes them. This is just another perfect example. Bravo Bret.

Starting Line Finish Line

In between (yes this is proof)

sweet afton

A good friend of mine from work is super creative. She is also called Laura, only we pronounce our names differently (much to the annoyance of our office). She has a great blog called Lucy-isms and she just opened her Etsy shop, Sweet Afton. I did her a favor and modeled some of her creations, despite looking very gross that day (I look slightly possessed in a couple of the pictures). She has great taste so I think you should check it out; I definitely have my eyes on those reversible Paris earrings.

so you think you can wait

Last month Bret and I went up to Seattle. Shortly before we left I found out that So You Think You Can Dance tryouts happened to be there that weekend. I talked to a friend of mine (who actually is a professional dancer) that tried out last year and asked her if I should do it for fun, preferably without making a fool of myself. She emphatically suggested that I go, saying it was highly entertaining. So, what the heck? I did it.


Let me first say that I didn't make it. I knew all along that I wouldn't but according to my friend, trying out would be well worth it regardless of what happened. How right she was.

Yes, there was a lot of waiting involved. Two hours outside in the rain (Bret was sweet and waited with me until I got in the theater which he was not allowed to enter) and then another seven hours sitting in a seat in the theater auditorium waiting for my turn-- I must have heard Poker Face and Flo Rida's Right Round at least a million times. It was actually pretty awesome though cause I got to watch everyone in front of me try out on stage, which was well over half the people there. It was basically seven hours of quality entertainment with some of the most incredible (and in some cases, weird) dancing I'd ever seen. I kept wishing Bret had pretended to try out so he at least could have watched it all with me.

Here are some highlights:
- seeing the host, past dancers, judges and choreographers from the show.
- one girl fell on her face while trying out, knocking out a tooth. sad, but true.
- there was this girl who tried out that didn't have developed limbs, so basically she only had arms to her elbows and legs to her knees but she was honestly an incredible dancer. You'll have to watch for her.
- making friends with the edgy dancer-types (or at least pretending to fit in).
- for those of you who have watched past tryout episodes from this show, 'Sex' and his mom were there. He was behind me in line though so I unfortunately didn't get to see him try out. For those of you who don't watch the show, this picture may help.

I didn't take this picture, unfortunately cameras and phones were strictly forbidden, otherwise I would probably have taken some doozies. I did take this video while in line outside which should give you just a small taste of what my day was like, complete with obnoxious pink guy in the background. I was lucky enough to have him sit behind me all day. (please notice the falling on the face)

Although Bret doesn't believe me, I have no memory whatsoever of what I did during my 30 seconds of fame (/shame) except that it was quite the high being up there... and then suddenly I was shown the back alley door. All in all though it was an experience to remember.

I see it this way: one day I'll be playing that game "have you ever" with a group of people and someone will say "I've never tried out for a reality show"? At that point I can say, "Why yes, I have."