RIP "the rey" (my car)

I was driving to Park City Tuesday with my music turned up almost as loud as it could go (first bad idea) when I noticed my 1990 Toyota Corolla was having some trouble getting up the hills.  I started to get a little worried when I was flooring it and it was barely going 50 mph and I became very worried when the speedometer started dropping below 40, so worried that I turned my music completely off.  And then I heard this funny noise and I had a feeling my car was not going to make it up the hill, so I pulled over and it died on the shoulder of Highway 40 right next to Jordanelle Reservoir, which by the way is not the same thing as Deer Creek.  I'm sure that's why the tow truck (and Danielle) had such a hard time finding me.

My car apparently ran out of oil which caused the engine to cease, which basically means no more car.  And the best part about it is that I can't even tell you how many times my dad has told me to check the oil, but I promise that despite his frequent reminders, checking my oil never even crossed my mind.  After waiting an hour on the side of the highway, I guarantee I will probably be so paranoid I won't be needing any reminders.

Well, it's time to move on, but it was a good car.  Rest in peace "The Rey."

our new baby

We made our first big purchase and we're loving it.  We decided to buy a 27'' iMac desktop with our tax return mainly because we figure Tanner needs it for school/work/internship/the future/etc.  But I'm not going to lie, it makes looking at my blog a lot more fun, too.  Apparently I'm behind on the times because when we were getting everything out of the box and setting it up, I asked, "Wait, where is the actual computer part?"  Tanner informed me that the screen IS the computer.  This is so futuristic.  

a midwest summer

It is officially summer break for a good 2 months for me and officially a mini summer break for Tanner for another couple of weeks.  It is so nice for us both of us to have a break from our chaotic schedules at the same time...and what better way to spend (part of) our break than take a vacation to Iowa?  I mean, isn't Iowa the obvious choice for anyone's summer vacation? That's what I always thought anyway.  Well let me tell you, in case you don't believe me, it is hard to beat a midwest summer, and even harder to beat a vacation that involves spending time with family that you haven't seen in six months.

We had so much fun in Iowa.  We went to the new pool everyday, went on bike rides, watched storms roll in every night, witnessed my basement flood (again), almost witnessed the river overflow and flood the town, visited my little sister at her first real job at Tropical Sno, marveled at how tall my little brother is (and how deep his voice is), ate at almost all of my favorite restaurants (and ate home-cooked meals from my mom), went to my cousin's lemonade stand, and watched Glee every night until 2AM.  Overall, I would say the whole thing was refreshing.

Refreshing to be away from school, refreshing to be away from work, and refreshing to be in a place where most people really don't care about the superficial things of life.  I think that is why Iowa is so great to me - when you're there, you don't feel any pressure to be something you're not.  Some might say Iowa is just three years behind, but I think it has somehow preserved a mentality that has been lost by many, one that focuses on the simple things of life.

I didn't take a ton of pictures while I was there for some reason but here are a few we took the morning we left.

(hunter had already gone to scout camp and shea is in italy)

love. by the way, we have almost been married for one whole year! can you believe it? I expect all of you to be planning your next vacation to Iowa, just make sure it's in the summer.  Hope to see you soon, Iowa!