see ya, summer: day two.

On day two of our tribute to summer, we met up with the Jenkins family in downtown Provo for some family pictures. Emily Jenkins is my best friend, and we've known each other since Kindergarten. That's about 18 years, folks. We met through our dads, who are business partners. So I know the Jenkins family pretty well.

They were a blast to work with, and so hilarious. Especially Lee's poses. :) And have you ever seen a family with so much style and class? I was genuinely impressed.

Zac was there, too, carrying my camera bag and helping me out. I love having him come with me on photoshoots, although I'm sure he doesn't like it too much. But he's a sport for helping me out without complaining. What a catch I found!

After the photoshoot, we went home and ate the rest of the leftover potato salad in the fridge, and fell asleep in our clothes. I guess we were tired.

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meet two of my nephews.

A little while ago, my sister-in-law, Sadee, asked us to take pictures of our two nephews, Lincoln and Mason. So we met up at the park one day played in the grass, on the swings, on the slide, and fed the ducks! Lincoln was hilarious, making faces and getting excited over the littlest things. And Mason was just being a cute one-year-old. Meet my nephews! They're goofballs and we love them!

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the road trip: day two.

On the second day of this little road trip, we slept in until about 10:00 in the morning, and it was lovely. We ate Cheerios for breakfast (our favorite), and got ready in our own time.

When we finally made it out the door, we headed straight for the Red Cliffs that overlook the valley. We walked around, stopped to take pictures, and walked some more. We scouted out our spot for watching the solar eclipse that would take place that night. Zac even convinced me to climb up an incredibly steep rock (that had a drop down of about 20 feet right next to you) to find the perfect spot. And even though heights scare the bejeebers out of me, I did it! We stood there on the red rock, looking over the entire valley--the temple, trees, houses, buildings, streets, and cars--and it was worth the scary hike up!

When we climbed down, we drove on over to Cafe Rio for some lunch. We found out that the Cafe Rio in St. George is our least favorite, because they don't give you as much rice, beans, and meat than the ones in Utah Valley do. Also, they didn't have knives. But whatever. We managed.

Since it was Sunday, we headed to the temple, just a few blocks away. We were in everyday clothes, which made me feel a little weird, but the temple grounds were just beautiful. Ever since my Grandpa Earl died, I've felt so much peace everytime I go to the temple grounds. My Grandpa used to serve at the Jordan River temple, and he would talk to the gardeners there, ask them their gardening secrets, and even score a few seeds if he was lucky. My Grandpa loved the temple, and so do I.

In the evening, we quickly drove up to the Red Cliffs again and found our spot on the rock overlooking the valley. It was time for the solar eclipse! There were quite a few people on the rock with us, and a group of men offered us some solar eclipse glasses (because we didn't bring any, whoops), and told us to come hang out with them. Their names were Cory, Andrew, Tom, and Shane, and they told us about all their trips to different countries to see the solar eclipses. These guys were solar eclipse chasers, and that's what I want to be! It was so much fun talking to them and hearing all their stories.

It took about an hour or so for the solar eclipse to turn into a complete ring of fire, and in the meantime, we stood watching it slowly make its way through our 3D-looking glasses. When the moon was perfectly center with the sun, the entire crowd on the rock cheered and cheered! It was a celebration! We had seen a solar eclipse. (And no, we didn't get any pictures, mostly because you couldn't see the eclipse with the naked eye... or the naked lens. Sorry!)

We spent the rest of the night in our motel, and at McDonalds, for a quick dinner (smoothie for me, burger and fries for Zac). We decided we'd take it easy since it was Sunday. And yes, we watched a couple more episodes of Lie to Me. How did you know?

See day one of our road trip here.

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the road trip: day one.

We're home! And boy, did we have so much fun on this little road trip of ours. I've never had such fun being stuck in the car for four hours at a time. What with all the snacks, music, and company (I kind of like being with my husband, a lot), it sure made for an enjoyable time.

We started our road trip right when we got off work last Friday evening. With the couple of pit stops and dinner, we made it into St. George a little after 10:00 pm. The little motel we stayed in was just darling and cozy, just what I wanted.

The next morning, we got up early and walked the few blocks to the Farmer's Market at Ancestor Square. It was gorgeous and lively, with lots of great things to see, taste, hear, and buy! We left there with a loaf of sun-dried tomato and cheese bread, and a jar of homemade salsa.

For lunch, we stopped by 25 Main, a local cafe and cupcake shop, and my oh my! I would eat there everyday for the rest of my life if I could! I would easily say it's the best place in town. I recommend the Penne Primavera and the Chocolate Raspberry cupcake! What a treat!

We also spent time walking through the city for an hour or two, where we came upon old Brother Brigham taking a rest on a bench, so we stopped to say hi. We also explored a little antique shop, where I bought a pretty, gold necklace to wear that day.

Dinner was quite fantastic, as well. We ate at Pier 49, where we ordered a whole pizza to share (and we almost ate all of it, until we stopped at 3 pieces each, because it was just too much). On our way out the door, we saw Appa, in car form! We spent the rest of the night at the motel, watching our current favorite show, Lie to Me. It was a long day spent mostly on our feet and taking too many pictures, but it was good to us.

See day two and three of our road trip here and here.

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