Two wonderful years ago we were doing this...

... and since it was our two year anniversary yesterday, we did this...

...while overlooking this...

... and it was perfect.

It was my year to plan our anniversary activities, so I decided to take advantage of the accessibility of nature and head into the mountains -- the classy way, of course. We drove the 10 minutes from Russ's work to Sundance Resort, took a relaxing ride on the chair lift to the top of the mountain, and enjoyed a tasty meal at the Foundry Grill. We took the long way home on the Alpine Loop, oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the aspen trees and jaw-dropping mountain peaks listening to the National's album, High Violets (which came highly recommended, and which I highly recommend). We sure do love music and those mountains.

... oh, and each other of course. I can easily say that it has been the best two years of my life. Life is far from perfect, but everything is a little brighter when you have someone to share it with. We've come a long way even from last year, and I can't wait to see what's in store.

To My Mom

Happy Birthday to the most amazing mother! I am so blessed to be your daughter. I look up to you in so many ways, and am grateful for what you have taught me, and continue to teach me every day. I cherish our friendship and feel so lucky to know I can call you up any time day or night -- just to talk. I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, Mom, but I know we will see each other soon and will party like it's 1999. I hope you have the best day and I love you so very much!!

2 Years Later

I'm playing a little catch-up here... it's not like me to get behind on blog posts! But lately I have just needed to take a step back from blogs, the internet, and technology in general. I felt that I was getting too wrapped up in the lives of other people, you know, the lives that look so perfect from the internet but are really only 10% of what goes on? My life is really good, and sadly, sometimes I need to consciously stop what I'm doing and remind myself of that.

Anywho, as mentioned earlier, my little brother came home from serving a mission for our church in Japan for two years. It's crazy to not see and only write letters to a family member for that long. Jace is the youngest of only three kids and the only son/brother. So just imagine two older, very protective sisters and two loving parents who counted down for two long years. Shouts of joy were exclaimed and happy tears were shed, all in the little Spokane airport.

As you can see, we were all a bit elated to see that big grin come back to America. Quite honestly, I couldn't stop looking at the kid! He's exactly the same, but at the same time so much older... and dare I say wiser!! My "little" goofy brother turned into a man over there in Japan. (hey that rhymes!) But don't worry, he's still goofy. :)

And a trip to Spokane in the summer isn't a trip unless you spend some time on the lake! The water was a bit chilly due to such a cool spring, but that didn't get in the way of another perfect day on the lake. I loved being with my family, and especially that we were all there together. I can't wait till next time!

We Are the Harry Potter Generation

... which explains why the moment the last scene ended and the credits started rolling on Saturday night I started crying, and I mean literally crying. Not just teary eyes or a "little choked up," I mean I had tears streaming down my face. This sudden onslaught of emotion was a little unexpected, but maybe not so much. These amazing books have literally been with me since I was an awkward adolescent little girl (ok, I know I'm still a bit awkward). I've read and re-read the entire series 5 or 6 times, always knowing there was one more coming, or at least there will still be a movie. It hit me so hard on Saturday night that it's over, it's really over... which means maybe it's time to grow up?

Never! I will continue to re-read these amazing stories and share with my children the places a little imagination can take you. Who knows, maybe we'll even go back to Hogsmeade someday to really re-live the magic. I sure would love that.

Anyway, if you can't tell, I absolutely loved everything about HP 7.2. It was fantastic and I can't wait to see it again. What did you guys think? Did it live up to your expectations?

My Thoughts Exactly.

via

Our week on the lake

We've had such a fantastic Fourth of July weekend in the beautiful lake town of McCall, Idaho with Russell's family. Have you ever been? If not, you should really try to make it through sometime. My family has been in the winter for our yearly snowmobiling excursion, but being here in the summer is a whole different experience. Being on the lake is probably one of my most favorite things in the world.

It's been a lazy type of week where we pretty much have done whatever we want (my favorite kinds), yet we are still super sore from water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, morning runs, biking, and more.

I'm not sure if McCall counts as "the northwest," but anytime you bring me near a mass amount of pine trees, lakes, and cool mountain air, I feel like I'm at home. 

Speaking of home,we are actually leaving this lovely cabin on the lake in a few hours to head for Spokane. The day we have all been waiting for is here! My little brother Jace is coming home from Japan where he has been serving his mission for our church tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. Ok, just kidding, I can. These two years have actually gone by really slowly for some reason. But no matter, the day is almost here. I haven't seen this face in way too long.

So this my official goodbye to McCall, and a big hello to my Japanese-speaking brother!

The Abbey Road Show

Last Friday night was the closest I would come to seeing the Abbey Road album played just like the Beatles did in 1969 -- from the rooftop. I was practically giddy all day long in anticipation of this event. Provo has started doing rooftop concerts the first week of the month, put on by C. Jane. Stuart and a few other guys from Fictionist played, as well as some other local musicians. What can be better than listening to some of the best music ever written performed on a roof with family, friends, pizza, perfect summer weather, Chinese lanterns, and my favorite Y Mountain in the background? Not a lot, I say. Not a lot.

I love summer evenings, so much. {Almost as much as I love the Beatles}. So you Utahns out there, try to catch the next one in August. It's sure to be a great time.

Around the House

Confession: I'm scared of commitment. Not in the way you are probably thinking, but I'm totally having commitment issues with where everything should go in our house! It's like hanging a frame is the scariest thing I have done. I have a bajillion inspirational ideas running through my head (thanks to the lovely pinterest), but I can't seem to narrow anything down. I know nothing is permanent, but maybe the thought that this is a brand new house with walls free of nail holes makes it feel like it's such a big deal! Sigh. Tough life, right? So if any of you Utahns have a strong desire to come tell me what colors to paint the walls and where to put things, that would be much appreciated. :)

Without further ado, I decided to appease those people who have asked for pictures of our unsettled house with some areas that have gotten a little set up. Disclaimer: things seem to be changing almost daily over here.

 These wonderful yellow flowers (from World Market) bring a smile to my face, even when I'm doing dishes. And that beautiful white vase? That was given to me for my birthday by Megan, one of my best friends from Texas. There's actually a funny story behind it.

 Now isn't that sign just the truth?? Also, have you ever heard of Voluspa candles? Mmmm they are my favorite. And they are just so darn pretty. 

If I were looking at this picture I'd say to myself "man, she's got a lot of green apples!" And it's true.  I'm making my favorite Caramel Apple Crisp this weekend. Yum. (Please ignore the bruised apple. I just noticed it and am too lazy to take another picture).

See that beauty of a bookshelf in the background? I scored that bookshelf (with a matching shorter shelf) for cheap using the lovely KSL Classifieds. Within a few weeks I will be painting it, using this lovely cupboard as my inspiration:

Pretty right?

And now to the outside. This wreath might look a bit familiar, no?

And let's talk about another score from the classifieds. I found these two porch chairs for a whopping total of $40. I was one happy chica! Now I just need to give them a little TLC, and the mister and I can spend some lovely summer evenings rocking on our porch. Just give me some strawberry lemonade and we'll call it good!

And last, but not least, the largest and sadly the least exciting project we have done thus far, our garage. We painted the walls and sealed the floor. And by we, I mean mostly me. :) I guess that's what happens when I don't have a job and Russ does. It went from this:

... to this!

That's it for the Lewis home tour... for now! I hope you enjoyed the ride!

{And before you call me completely lazy, let me just share my exciting news! I did get a job! It will be doing accounting functions (plus other miscellaneous tasks) for about 30 hours a week. I can't explain how excited I am to have a little flexibility. I don't start for a few weeks, so I must take advantage of the few weeks of freedom I have ahead of me!}