Summer 2017

I know I just blogged about Fall but I wanted to quickly squeeze in a summer post because it was one of my favorite summer trips we have taken. We called it the "Marathon Trip."

The First Leg: Utah County

My favorite Breakfast view

In college, Shaun's college group consisted mostly of girls. I'm so thankful that they welcome me in with open arms every time we visit home. They are all so beautiful inside and out!

Our first month apart was just too hard!
So glad we could meet up with these friends.

Second Leg: 4th of July in Syracuse, Utah
Every time we go home, we try to stop at The Secrist's. Becky was always our third wheel and we always told her that whoever she ended up marrying, he had to be compatible with Shaun (haha). Our dreams came true and she married someone who fits right in with us.

They own a bounce house and had it waiting for us when we arrived

Traditional BFF photoshoot real quick.

Cuddling watching the fireworks

Whenever I stay with Becks, she always makes me her pumpkin pancakes or french toast. 

Leg 3: Bear Lake
Shaun's uncle has a cabin right on Bear Lake and we spent a few days there. It was so fun to be in nature and recharge for a bit.

Famous Bear Lake Raspberry Shakes- the best!

Final Leg: Surprise visit to Sacramento
My Mom and I decided to drive and surprise my grandparents. It was a fun few days full of good conversation, piano sing-along and I even got to accompany my grandma to church. I always leave their house with a better understanding of my family history. They have so many stories and photos.

Before we went back home we stopped by my cousin Ashley's house. It was so good to catch up and see her beautiful home. I had seen that tree swing on Instagram for so long, and was pumped to finally try it out!

Utah Fall

The past few years we have made it out to Utah for Halloween. There is something just so magical about Autumn in Utah. The leaves, the festivities, the crisp air and the list goes on and on. The main reason we flew out was for the Johnson's Pirate house that they put on every year. I'll blog about that next. Thankfully, in between rehearsals (ha), we were able to do some fun fall activities. 

Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point

Niece & Nephew time

Clark was about to come out of school. I wish I would have filmed the look on his face when he saw his Uncle Shaun. He was BEAMING and then came sprinting down the sidewalk into his arms. 

One thing they don't do here in Florida is a Halloween parade at school. I had the best memories growing up doing these.
Thankfully they are still thriving in Utah. Cute little Pirate. 

Frolicked in the trees every chance I got!!

Did a lot of Fall Vignette's with Mom

Met up with one of my Photographer Idols. She is such a rockstar!

Shaun's college friends always go above and beyond with their themed parties. It's usually around Halloween. They are known for their mystery dinners where they dress up into character. Nobody will EVER top their Alice and Wonderland dinner. Their costumes that year still have me in awe. This year was a Haunted Mansion dinner. I kept scrolling through pinterest and saw a lot of options. I kept coming back to one costume though that just had SJ all over it. I knew that if we could pull it off, it would be EPIC.

THE TALKING, SINGING BUSTS!

 Two days of prep, but it paid off!

 It's always very hectic trying to juggle two families in one visit. We don't get to sit and talk as much as we like one-on-one with family members. We always try to make an effort to get together with Shaun's brother and his wife with no distractions. When Shaun is with his brother, it's just a night full of laughs the whole time. 

I just had to document this. After a semester full of feeling like a major failure in my Statistics class, I finally got an A on the final and I was in completely shock. I couldn't say anything. (Thanks Kristine, for being the smarter sister & being my tutor)

Gorgeous walks with Dad

 One last breakfast date with my favorite boys. Following that breakfast, they drove me to a few of my favorite boutiques and let me shop. They are the best! I remember we laughed a lot that morning.