SUMMER'S END

Contrary to popular belief (or maybe just one person's belief, Katy) , I am not dead. So here is my post. Dan and I just got back to Charlottesville yesterday after spending 2 weeks with various branches of my family in various parts of the country. Here's the rough breakdown:

First, I spent a few days staying w/ my sister in Provo before Dan could fly out. This way, I could have girl time with my old roomies without feeling like I was neglecting Dan. It was a blast! I got to see three of my old roommates. We went to dinner, went swimming, and just hung out. I wish I could have seen them more! My stay there was entirely too short. They are the best!

While I was still husband-less, I also got to walk around BYU's campus (and south of campus) and take some pictures of places and things that mean something special to me and Dan. The empty lot used to be an elementary school where Dan and I had our first kiss (awww...). Sorry to all of the kids that were at recess when that happened... I think I saw a few lose their lunches. Just kidding! It was after school hours. The second is of our first apartment. So exciting. The third is of my fav type of flowers at the Terraced Garden at the south end of campus where we would often go walking. I love you, Dan!

This shot has no significance to me or Dan, but I've always liked it so I thought I'd take a close-up of it. The first person who can guess what it is wins. You don't win anything, but you win knowing that you won. So deep. After all of that, Dan came in to town so what did we do? We got donuts from Sugar 'n' Spice. They are so good. So much better than nasty Krispy Kremes. We also happened upon a sign from the Quill and the Sword club at BYU. Some of you may not know this, but Dan was the president of the Quill and the Sword club for four years in a row. He changed his major 3 times in order to keep his dictatorship, I mean presidency, going. He always wore a helmet so that people wouldn't know his true identity. And all members of the club had to refer to him as "Dungeon Master." So needless to say, he was very excited to see a poster about the Q&tS (that's what insiders call it) and felt the need to strike an all-too-familiar pose. Get it, Dungeon Master, get it. If any of you who went to BYU had ever seen those guys dressed in head-to-toe red fighting with wooden swords outside of the Wilk on a Saturday morning, you've probably seen Dan. He'd be the last one standing. But back to our adventures...
Those other two are of the spot where Dan proposed to me. He was probably looking something like that. And I was probably looking something like that.

After all of this, my family had its annual reunion at a cabin in Heber, Utah. It was so great to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We hung out the first day, went to a lake for two days, and went to Park City the last day. Dan had never been jetskiing before and he loved it. I am so grateful for such a wonderful family. My dad, his sister, and three brothers were all separately adopted by my grandparents. They've raised them all in the gospel and it's awesome to see how that act of love has had such an amazing impact on so many lives! They are all so fun and loving and kind. As all of the cousins get older, I don't know how often everyone will get to be together so it was really nice. I love them so much!

Well, that sums up the first half of the trip. Sorry this is so long! Maybe I'll save the second half of the adventure for Dan to post. But here's one last picture for good measure.
This was the bandit we saw on our way from Utah to California.