Happy Birthday Michelle

Today was my little sister's Birthday. Way to go Michelle. She may just be a 22 year old but with her being the only married kid in the family she sure seems to be all grown up. It was fun spending part of the afternoon with her and my brother Bradley. Having family around will never get old... especially after living on an island for almost 7 years. PS If you ever get a chance to eat at Goumandise The Bakery, in Salt Lake City... I recommend getting an Almond Horn. Just do it.

The Cathederal of the Madeleine

Had a chance to visit The Cathedral of the Madeleine in downtown Salt Lake to see the Utah Children's Choir perform some Christmas music. There was a pretty big group of friends who showed up... probably around 30 of us. It was a great way to kick off the holidays.

The Christmas Tree Lot

As a house we went and got a tree. In the first pic you can see Sam acting as protector of the tree after we finally all decided on the same one but had to get assistance since there was no price tag on it. Sam spotted it. She gets all the credit. The second picture is us showing off our fine prospect. We even got a deal and stayed within budget. Success.

View From The Kitchen

I like being able to walk through the door of my house and hear rock n roll music being played. This is what you get when you have three friends, from three different bands start randomly jamming in the dining room. Regal Beast, Jacket Weather, and Shark Speed. You take all of them together and come up with a totally new band called Beast Speed Weather.

El Ten Eleven

Saw these guys live and it blew my mind. They loop everything and build each song live before your eyes and ears. Nothing is pre recorded. Not even the drum beats. It was incredible. Get into these guys.

Library Card

I walked to the library in Salt Lake and got myself a card finally. I've been meaning to do it for quite some time now (I live two blocks south, so their is no excuse not to) but it feels good to have it in my possession. I snapped this blurry picture on my way home while still on the library grounds. PS The library in Salt Lake is one of the most unique and architecturally stunning buildings in Utah. Maybe instead of a blurry picture I'll post one of the building instead next time.

Leaves Joke

I raked all the leaves in the front yard the other day. It took me 3 hours but in the end I decided to pile them up in the middle of the walkway and create a barrier that made it a little more difficult to pass. I actually enjoyed raking. I've missed yardwork.

Antelope Island

Took a day trip to Antelope Island on The Great Salt Lake. It was memorable. I probably got a bit too close to that buffalo in the last picture. He was cool with it. Everything was under control.

It Snowed

I live in an attic. It snowed. Here is how it looked with the view out my windows.

Leftover Pictures From This Month

Some sunset pictures, a window view, and some new boots.

Best Studio Apartment Ever

My buddy Tanner has done a great job filling his Studio apartment. I wish I had more pictures to show you but this one will do. Him and Anna just recently got married, (congratulations you two) and the place is spacious enough to accomodate the welcomed addition of another human being. If I ever move from my current home I hope there would be an opening in Tanner's building. The space lends itself to a lot of possibilities.

Halloween

In honor of the holiday, a group of us got together at Willi and Emily's place to carve pumpkins. Here is the evidence and the outcome. Since I've been back from Canada we've been watching horror flicks in the attic on the projector.

My roommates started the tradition before I moved in and we've kept it going and its been fun.

Lord Huron

I hurried through Montana and Idaho so I could see Lord Huron at Kilby Court in Salt Lake. I made it with about 10 minutes to spare. I didn't get to see the opening bands but oh well, I got what I wanted. I've been following this band for a couple years now (they were one of my first posts in November of 2010) and haven't seen them so it was good to get that done. I met up with a few friends at the show and had a great time. Even got to hang out with the band afterwards while eating a burrito at Alberto's. It was a damn good night.

Farewell For Now

Spending the last couple months in Alberta had a lot of ups and downs. I'm glad I was able to head up and help my Dad with his company, and that I was able to take such an extended amount of time off from my regular job in Salt Lake but overall it will be nice to get back to regular life. Its been great hiking and doing some fun things in between measuring and estimating roofs, working with insurance adjusters, and dealing with so many people needing their roof repaired after the hail storm, but I'm glad its over for now. Here is a picture of my office. I took over the kitchen table (thanks Mom). I had about 60 proposals I was working on at the height of things. Crazy. The second picture is of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Boulder Valley, Montana that I took on the drive back down to Salt Lake. 

Never thought I would say this but I think the time away from SLC made me like it more. Crazy.

July 24th- Pioneer Day

This may be a bit late but I don't care, I'm going to still put these pictures up. Utah does this thing where they celebrate when the Pioneers came into the Salt Lake Valley back in 1847. To sum it up in basic terms: If you live in Utah during the month of July, you get to celebrate two 4th of Julys. Its pretty cool. I'm way into it. Since I got way into fireworks for the 4th, you better bet your bottom dollar I got way into them for the 24th too. So much so.... that I ended up getting busted by the cops for riding my bike downtown while shooting off roman candles. I don't feel bad about it either. I was being relatively safe. Was it a bit awkward being a grown man and having to explain myself to a bike cop plus a few more who showed up in a patrol car and tell them I'm sorry?... Yeah. A bit. But it was worth it. If you can be in the interesting and enjoyable state of Utah for Pioneer Day, do it. You will be pleased.

The bottom picture is of our group on bikes riding around downtown Salt Lake on the parade rout the night before. People over here camp out and get real serious about their position during the parade. Fanatical even. I just get fanatical about the use of fireworks.

Granary District

A little while back Greg, Robin, Jordan, and I decided we wanted to get some food. It was a friday night and we were hungry so we started driving and lo and behold we found this block party happening just down the street from where I live on 700 south and decided to take part. We got some food, watched some live music, and learned about the revitalization taking place in this part of town. For more info on the Granary District click here.

Camping in the Uintas

A few weeks ago I had the chance to go camping in the Uinta Mountains with some friends. I had never been so I jumped at the opportunity. We were planning on camping at Mirror Lake but ended up just heading down the road a couple miles to Butterfly Lake. The group was great. I mostly went with friends I knew but there happened to be some people I got to know for the first time there. Overall it was a great little trip. I plan on heading back there soon. It's nice that there are such majestic mountains only an hour or so away from Salt Lake. While on the drive there my buddy Bob coined the term, "easy vista". We used it throughout the remainder of the trip. I liked it so much I just keep using it. Whenever you see a spectacular view or "vista" and it happens to be "easy" on the eyes... go ahead and use it. It's perfect.

My 4th of July

We went to a reservoir to cool off. We went to Paula's house for dinner. We decided to have our own fireworks show after Sugarhouse Park had theirs. Ours was better because we had illegal fireworks from a neighboring state. I've never lit off more mortars in my life. I felt like a kid again. The 4th was one to remember.

Happy Sandlot Birthday
This gal just had a birthday. It had a Sandlot theme. It was rad. Happy Birthday Heather! I was squints and she was Ya ya. SO GOOD!

Helicopters

These helicopters came roaring through downtown a few weeks ago. Luckily I was able
to snap a pic between some trees.