Yay for July!

The summer continues on in a most magnificent manner.  What fun we have had!

One Sunday, Bailey's sister Whitney and her family joined us for a afternoon at Cascade Springs.  The weather was sunny and beautiful... until we got there.  We got to the trailhead and it started pouring like crazy!  We tried waiting out the storm, but eventually just gave in and ran through the trail in the rain.  It was cold and wet, but gorgeous!

Chanel's birthday was this month!  On her birthday, she, Sami, and I went to the Ashton Gardens and enjoyed walking around.  We also enjoyed a delicious Thai lunch afterwards!

Obon practice is always a good thing!  We only made it once this year, but enjoyed the time spent together practicing the dances and eating tasty food.

My work party was an excellent one indeed - it was at the Living Planet Aquarium!  That place is expensive, so it was awesome to be able to go there for free with my Bailey.  We had so much fun - our favorite animals were the sloths and jellyfish!  We also enjoyed touching the anemone that tried hugging Bailey's fingers.

Mochi time!  Making mochi is one of my favorite family activities.  The whole family joined in on the fun, which resulted in some tasty mochi treats!

We have been trying to hike quite regularly.  It has been fun to bring people along with us.  Let's just say we were SO excited when we got the entire family together for a hike.  This has never been done before!  All seven of us hiking together... I was in heaven!

How could a month go by without any delightful Yuki pictures?  This little fluffball brings us so much joy.

Stewart Falls is always an excellent choice for a hike.  Not too hard, beautiful the whole way, and with a great reward at the end!  Bailey and I went just alone together and had lots of fun.

Kylie and I had a hair day where she henna-d my hair and then dyed her hair PINK!  I wish I had an after picture because her hair looked awesome.  It came out pretty quickly but it was fun while it lasted.  As for me and my hair, it now has that red sheen that I so enjoy!

Note about baking using coconut oil: don't do it in a cold house.  Wace keeps the house at a cool 65 degrees, which made my muffin batter freeze up.  I had to employ Bailey to sit outside and stir the batter until it melted again in the warm sun!

Warden hosted a party after his baby blessing, which was awesome!  There was lots of good food and good company.  I so love that little guy!  Also, he has FOURTEEN living grandparents which I think is insane.  Unfortunately only 11 made it to the blessing, but that is still pretty notable in my opinion.

My parents are on puppy duty and I am so excited!  Boo and Sully are my cousin's dogs, and they are the cutest, snuggliest little guys.  I have had so much fun hanging out with them while their humans are in Japan!

Obon 2018

We had high hopes for this year's Obon as last year's was ruined with some serious rain.  Tonight's festival did not disappoint!

The evening started with dinner at grandma's, after which she dressed us all in our traditional clothes.  Thank goodness for grandma!  We then got some pictures taken.

Grandma got Warden a little present.  How precious is this baby yukata?! Warden rocked it, and was so cute matching his mom!

This year Bailey designed his own happi coat, which I then made for him.  It was super easy and fun to make, I want to make more!  The only thing that took a lot of time was stitching the "Shiba" kanji.  It was so worth it though - I love how it all turned out!  I wore a different kimono than usual, in order to match my cute Bailey.

 

We got to the festival with just enough time to quickly say hello to Bailey's grandma and mom, then it was time to dance!  All of us ladies danced while the men sat and enjoyed the festival.

It wasn't too crowded this year, and the weather was perfect!  Warden enjoyed the music and was a happy little guy, and I didn't see any cosplayers.  All in all, the night was a success!

Check out the adorable little taiko drummer!

Intermission is always fun, and Bailey took the time to feed me inari.  He also bought us some cool shirts from Lumbini's Garden, the little shop next to the temple.  The break was nice, but soon enough it was time to dance again!

At the very end, the crowd joins in for the last two songs.  Bailey is basically a pro at those two songs by now!  This year his grandma joined in on the fun.  She was pretty good!

Kylie calls this one "Warden & his Posse"

Obon is always lots of fun, and so beautiful with all of the colors and lanterns.  The purpose of the festival is to honor our loved ones who have passed on.  I think that dancing and spending time with family and friends on a beautiful summer night is the perfect way to do so!

The First Week of July

We are only a week into July and we have already done so much!  I love summer and the beautiful sunny days we get to enjoy without worrying about school.

On the first day of this month, Bailey and I hit a short hike that we've always been curious about.  It is called Battle Creek Falls.  The hike was not the prettiest, also it was very steep and hot.  But the falls we reached at the end were magnificent!

Kylie, Warden, and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the gardens.  Warden, out of the three of us, found it the most relaxing!

Bailey and I went back to the gardens that night to enjoy the Utah Symphony.  I got free tickets from my work, which I thought was quite nice!  We had a great evening just hanging out on our blanket and listening to music.

My mom went on an Alaskan cruise with my grandparents and some other family members.  Sounds like they had a lot of fun!  They brought us back an ulu and a train whistle.  The ulu is surprisingly super useful!

Of course, the 4th of July was great!  I worked most of the day but got off just in time to enjoy a barbecue at Bailey's sister's house.

Being able to go to all of the Thanksgiving Point venues for free is an awesome benefit of my job.  Bailey and I stopped by the Museum of Ancient Life the other day to check out their newest dinosaur, Ruth, and to just explore!

We spent today in Huntington, Utah, fishing with Lana and Grandpa Bud.  It is always a good time with those two, and eventually I will remember to get a picture with them!