The Shakespeare Festival

We have spent the last two days enjoying Cedar City's Shakespeare Festival!

My grandma has always wanted to go to the Shakespeare Festival, and this year her dream came true as we turned it into our annual Ladies Trip.  I wasn't so sure about the idea at first, because tickets are freaking $50 each... but it turned out to be a lot of fun, and I would go again!

Before last night's show we watched the "Green Show" on the grass.  It was surely entertaining!  Quite theatrical and musical... a great way to pass the time before entering the theater for the main act!

Last night we saw Shakespeare in Love.  It was so cute!  I'd never heard of the show before, so it was kind of fun to see something new.  And it was pretty easy to understand because it is more of a modern piece.  The acting was awesome, and it was fun to be in the partially outdoor theater!  We all enjoyed the show and were excited to go back to the theater for tonight's show.

Tonight we saw Romeo and Juliet.  Wow, they did amazing!  I LOVE Romeo and Juliet (especially the version with Leonardo DiCaprio, haha) and it was nice that I was so familiar with the story, because I always knew what was going on.  My younger cousins didn't like it quite as much, and I really think it was because they hadn't read it in school yet.  Anyway, again the acting was great, and one interesting thing they did was portray Romeo and Juliet as the young teenagers they were.  Seriously, that actress looked like the was 14!  (She wasn't though, as she was also the lead in last night's play and looked a little bit older than me)

I was kind of bummed that tonight was our last show, as I wanted to see A Midsummer Night's dream.  This year they decided to do it based in the 20's, wouldn't that be cool to see?!

Anyway, we all had fun watching the shows we saw.  A good Ladies Trip indeed!  Now enjoy some pictures from our performance, when we found an empty, open theater today...

The Rest of July

I can't believe July is nearly over!  We have been home from China for over a month now, and still miss it a ton.  We've gotten used to life here though, and have had a lot of fun these past few weeks!

I've spent lots of time with my mom, Jen, and her kids because they're home all summer.  We love to go out to eat and just hang around with each other!  I LOVE being able to see baby Ayla nearly every day.  She's not much of a baby any more these days, though...

After fixing a flat tire, Bailey decided to spruce up our Elantra by adding some fancy new hubcaps.  Well, they were the cheapest ones the store had, but $30 is more than I would ever spend on hubcaps anyway.  Of course, the first night having hubcaps, I managed to lose one on the way to my mom's house.  So we drove around for maybe a half hour looking for it (IN THE DARK) and then Bailey spent maybe another 40 minutes looking for it after I asked him to drop me off home.  No luck!  He was sad that night and I tried to make him feel better, but honestly I really don't see the point of hubcaps...

Anyway, maybe about 3 days later we were driving around town and lo and behold!  Some nice person had found our hubcap and put it on their fence so that we could see it!  Hopefully they weren't thinking it was their new fence decoration.  But Bailey was sure glad!

Jen had a foreign exchange student for two weeks this month and it was fun to have him around!  I liked to learn about Japan from him (apparently mochi ice cream is not a real Japanese thing).  It was hard to get him to talk because he was so shy, but I think he had a really good time here in America!  He said that his favorite food he tried here was Mexican food (we took him to Costa Vida).  He also got to meet our huge extended family at a barbecue and he thought that was pretty cool!  One night we all went swimming and had so much fun together.  Oh my gosh, you should have seen Ayla splashing around, she LOVES being in the water!

Maybe you noticed this in my post about the debate, but guess who came down to Utah to visit us?!  Spencer and Rachel!  Oh my gosh I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to see them, I have missed them so much!  We picked Spencer up from work and we all ate some five cheese macaroni and cheese that I made.  Then we went to the debate and Rachel met us there!  The evening ended with ice cream.  Even though we only saw them for one evening, I feel so happy that we were able to spend some time together!

Yesterday was a fun day!  Bailey was busy handing out fliers and putting up signs, so us ladies (Kylie, Chanel, Amy, and I) headed down to Spanish Fork for a used book sale!  The books were only $1 each!  It was a super overwhelming place, a somewhat dark warehouse completely full of books.  We could have spent hours there!  It took a while to find books that we wanted, considering that the sorting was not very thorough, but that made it extra fun.  We each left with several books and plans to come again next year!

Last night we went swimming in Kylie's family's community pool.  We had Jen come along because her kids are so fun to play with in the water!  The water was pretty cold, though, so Ayla didn't spend much time swimming.  All Kylie and I wanted to do was get in the hot tub, but we were on Liam and Desmond duty and they didn't love the idea of soaking their feet in the hot tub!  Eventually we convinced Des to give it a thorough try, and he ended up LOVING the hot tub (don't worry, it was only like bath temperature!) Liam preferred the normal pool, though, so Kylie and switched off having to swim with him, haha.

July was an awesome month!  I'm kind of sad that it is over because August means school.  At the same time, though, I am kind of excited for school.  I don't know, I just feel weird about how quickly time is passing!

Radha Krishna Temple

Finding ourselves in Spanish Fork today, I mentioned that I've always wanted to check out the Krishna Temple found there.  Amy, Kylie, and Chanel agreed that maybe we should go check it out.  You know, maybe walk around the grounds and get a picture or two.  So we went... and had no idea what we were getting into!

If you visit the Krishna Temple, you will be greeted by friendly people and asked to take your shoes off.  We checked out their cool gift shop first, before heading upstairs as they told us we could.  A man walked us up to give us the tour, in which some other tourists and their kids joined us for.  Wow!  What a tour!  We got a ton of information, though I couldn't understand most of it.  We got to see some idols, where they worshiped, and a wax figure of their holy leader.  Our tour guide gave us each a blessing and a dot on our forehead.  He also had us drink some holy water!

We were so confused by that point, that when he asked if we'd play some music with him we were like, "why not?"  He sang while we played various instruments.  It was highly entertaining!

We played several songs that all sounded a little bit different, but had the same lyrics.  It would be interesting to know what he was singing about!

So there was our Krishna Temple experience!  An experience to say the least!  I love visiting temples and churches and learning about how other people worship.  We don't get a huge variety here in Utah County, so this temple is really a hidden gem!

We had a ton of fun there, and you really should go check it out if you get a chance.  The tours are free (though we were happy to find a donation box, since our guide was so good!) and they let you see everything.  We also enjoyed exploring around outside, visiting their animals and their pond where they had a speaker playing the Pink Panther theme.

Campaign Update

For the past few weeks our lives have been extra busy with the beginning of Bailey's City Council campaign!

Running a campaign is no simple business, my friend.  We feel like we have quite the uphill battle because only two councilmen will be elected, and two incumbents are running this year.  It is hard to unseat incumbents!  Luckily there are only 5 people running.  Because of that, only one person will be eliminated on the 15th of August for the Primary Elections.  The final elections will be in November.

Anyway, our first step was buying signs.  Bailey ordered larger-than-normal signs which I thought was clever.  They really stand out!  His friend helped him with the design, and I really love the color scheme.  Featured on the top right are our historic Lehi Roller Mills, if you're wondering.

I'm a huge t-shirt fan, and kind of forced the idea on Bailey of producing t-shirts.  Since campaigning is super expensive, we actually turned it into a fundraiser and it went really well!  We sold about 40 shirts!

We owe a huge "thank you" to Bailey's aunt and uncle (Ty and Marlo) for lending us their screen printing equipment.  We made each of the shirts by hand, and it turns out that I really like screen printing!

Tonight our city's newspaper held a debate for the first time ever.  I thought that was a great idea, because what better way to get to know what the candidates stand for?  They did a city council section as well as a mayoral section.  Bailey did SO good.  He looked so professional up there and really knew what he was talking about!  I am seriously so proud of him!

He got a lot of positive comments after the debate, as he was able to walk around and chat with people.  On the Lehi Facebook page someone started a poll where people could vote for who won the debate... and Bailey is at the very top!

We were worried that people would be hesitant to vote for him because of his age.  And yes, he's gotten several "aren't you too young to be running for city council?" comments, but overall we have had an overwhelming amount of support.  We are so grateful!  Personally we believe that his age would be an advantage for the city.  Bailey has recently experienced Lehi as a child, a teenager, a student, an employee, and now we are starting our family here.  Because of those experiences, we feel like he is in the perfect position to represent Lehi citizens from all walks of life.

Anyway, however all of this turns out, I am so proud of my husband for the hard work he has put into his campaign!  He sincerely loves Lehi and wants to serve the community the best that he can.  I'll keep you updated on how things go, but until then, make sure you fill out your ballots and send them in!

*The debate was covered by the Daily Herald newspaper.  You can read the summary or even watch the debate here: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/north/lehi/lehi-candidates-for-mayor-and-council-address-growth-issues/article_716516f5-b1eb-59cb-91b7-2ef93e5ef035.html

Hole N" The Rock

Happy Pioneer Day!  We spent the holiday driving home from Colorado after our super fun trip.  We all had such a good time together!  Not quite ready to finish the fun, we stopped by Hole N" The Rock on our way through Moab.

Haha, I remember the first time we stopped there was when I was 8 and we went to Mesa Verde.  For some reason the place TERRIFIED me and gave me nightmares!  The thought of living in a cave just scared me so much!

Anyway, I've been back several times since and always find it interesting.  Upon learning that Bailey has never stopped there, we decided we had to do the house tour!  Inside, it is seriously frozen in time.  It is very 50's!  I was reminded of why maybe I could have been scared as a kid, because displayed is a collection of porcelain dolls (creepy) and some real large animals that have been stuffed every way you turn.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, though, so you'll just have to go there and see what I'm talking about!

Around the area there are some interesting things to see.  Like the site where the builder and his wife are buried, and a little pet cemetery.  There is a big ox made out of hardware, a petting zoo, a jeep covered in license plates, and all other sorts of quirky things.  It was fun to walk around and explore!

Merlin read Bailey's personality as "loving".  Awh!

The day ended with some ice cream, as all good days do.  We had an awesome weekend trip!

Mesa Verde

I went to Mesa Verde with my family when I was maybe 8 years old.  I remember bringing my American Girl doll and wearing matching braids in our hair and pink ponchos!  I also remember climbing down into a covered kiva.  It was such a cool experience that has stuck with me, so you can imagine how excited I was when I heard we'd be hitting Mesa Verde on this trip!

We got up early this morning to head to the Visitor's Center.  Good thing we left so early in the day - there were already tons of people there and tickets for the entire day were selling out quickly!  Luckily we got tickets for two different tours.  They wouldn't start for a couple of more hours, so we used the time to drive around and explore the area.

There were a couple of trails that led to overlooks, where we could get a faraway look of some of the cliff dwellings.  It really put things in perspective, to see the dwellings from afar, because then you could see just how high off the ground they really were!  Seems super inconvenient to me, I can't even imagine how they would get to their houses.  Like, what if they were hunting and killed a deer, how would they even get it home?!  They must have been a lot stronger and more limber than us, because even the 4 flights of stairs up to our China apartment was about too much for me.

We made some friends along the way.  Cute little lizards!  I like these little lizard guys! Can you see him on that cement square?

There were a couple of places we could stop to see where some pit houses used to be.  The Natives of this area didn't always dwell on cliffs, sometimes they actually lived on top of the "mesa" in their pit houses.  They dug shallow pits then built their houses above them.  They've since disappeared (most of them have burnt down) but we can still see the original floors!

Finally it was time for one of our tours!  We were so excited!  They made a nice little pathway of stairs for us to reach the dwelling.  We also had to climb up this ladder!

Our first tour was of the Balcony House, and it was amazing!  It is one of the only dwellings with a wall along the edge of the cliff.  They think that the wall was there because of their turkeys.  Apparently the Natives raised turkeys!  Honestly I could think of a million reasons why they might have a wall there.  Maybe it was their daycare dwelling and they didn't want little kids falling off the edge!

It was cool to climb around the houses and imagine what they'd be like in their full glory!  Near the back we found some water coming from the rock, explaining why it was a good place for dwelling.

What a neat place it was!

To exit the Balcony House, we had to squeeze through a tiny little hole!  It was a bit freaky, but it was only a short way to crawl.

After our picnic lunch, our next stop was the Cliff Palace!  Now, we thought Balcony House was amazing, but oh my gosh it couldn't compare to the Cliff Palace.  I can't believe how huge the place was!

Our tour guide was awesome and we got to walk around the kivas and look into windows.  This seemed more like a neighborhood to me, and I could almost imagine it as a bustling city.  What a strange place to live!

We had so much fun in Mesa Verde today!  I've seen a lot of ruins in my life, and it was fun to see some close to home.

It is crazy, though, how young these dwellings are compared to ruins I've seen in China.  Also interesting is the fact that there is so much mystery surrounding Mesa Verde, because they didn't really have a written language.  I'm used to going to a place and being able to learn exactly what went on there, because China developed their writing system really early on.  In fact, around the time Mesa Verde was built, China was producing the very first printing press!  Anyway, I hope that someday we can get a little bit more information on Mesa Verde.  It was SO cool to visit though!

Monument Valley & Four Corners

The other day my grandparents asked us if we'd like to join in on a little roadtrip.  It was kind of a last minute decision for us, because we didn't know until a couple of days ago that I would indeed have work off today.  So this morning we got up early and hopped into my grandma's van, not knowing exactly all of the places we'd end up!

I love road trips!  I love the excuse to sit and not have to do anything at all.  I slept a lot, read a little, and snacked the whole way.  Kylie and I both bought gummy bears at one stop and they were a huge hit, we spent about the next hour turning them into crazy creatures...

Soon enough we were nearing our destination!  I didn't actually know it was today's destination!  But apparently Kylie has always wanted to see Monument Valley, and today was finally her day.  I'd never heard of it, but it sure looked pretty from a distance!

We stopped at the little Visitor's Center and gift shop first.  It was full of Chinese tourists and that made me so happy!  I wanted to use my Mandarin on them, but was nervous because I probably wouldn't actually understand what they would say back to me.  Anyway, we shopped around a little bit and learned about the Navajo Code talkers before heading back out into the heat.

From the Visitor's Center, you could see their two most famous rocks, their "Mittens".

We got back into the van for the official drive through Monument Valley.  We stopped sometimes for pictures, but most of the time we just wanted to enjoy the view in the air conditioning!

We did stop and get out at an official overlook.  It was quite the sight!

It is really interesting to see all of the tourists who come across the country or even from different countries for these red rocks that I'm so used to.  I guess people want to see the "Wild West", even though to me, the "Wild West" looks like any of my normal (yet awesome) road trips!

We were then off to our next stop.  The Four Corners Monument!  This place is seriously in the middle of nowhere.  It was kind of a weird little monument, because it was surrounded by a whole bunch of vendor stands... but they were all empty!  I think it would be fun to go when the vendors are there.  Anyway, we still enjoyed it and of course had to get our obligatory picture of where Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado meet!

It was to our hotel after that, and then to a local diner where I got lukewarm chili (I was so hungry that I didn't care!)  It is exhausting being in the car all day, so we didn't watch TLC for too long before we turned in for the night!