Leah Gets Engaged!!!

So we knew about the ring at Bombay house…but Jonny wasted no time making it official: CONGRATS LEAH AND JONNY! We love you guys, and we’re crazy excited for all that’s in store.

Bombay House

Tonight we went to Bombay House with Amanda, Leah and Johnny. Only Amanda’s beau, Houston, was missing from the group:

And here’s a shot of the girls, followed by a shot of the boys:

Tonight we got a little pre-celebration on..

SMCUV

Kristie and I went to the inaugural Utah Valley Social Media Club (SMCUV) meeting tonight to start planning and organizing the chapter. Next meeting is Thursday, June 11, 7:00pm, at CoWork Utah in Orem. Everyone is welcome!

Memorial Day Weekend

We headed up to Idaho again for the long weekend. We knew it would probably be the last time we’d see Ang for a while, so we wanted to make it count. This time we got to hitch a ride with Leah and Jonny, which made for a really fun ride, cruising in the Civic.

On Saturday, the Wagstaffs invited us to go boating with them in the afternoon…so all of us packed up and headed to Lake Lowell. We got to try wake surfing, which was an absolute blast. I didn’t get any stills of me, but there’s a great one of Cole below:

That night we also got to go to Kristie’s friend Summer’s reception, where we ran into a bunch of good friends. Amanda surprised us by being there, which made our night. (She actually ended up riding home with us Monday night–a trip that has got to be one of the most enjoyable Boise-to-Provo drives to date.)

On Monday we got up early and headed to a park to play ultimate frisbee with the Wagstaffs and a bunch of others. It was pretty competitive and fast-paced…we had a pretty good group out there.

When we got home we spent the rest of the day BBQ’ing, playing volleyball and enjoying the beautiful weather outdoors. For some, the sun was perhaps a little too much:

The weekend was long and enjoyable, and as always, way too short.

South Fork Camping

We went camping up South Fork canyon with Nathan and Kendra again at our favorite spot. It felt so good to get outdoors…hope the summer is full of this. Well, no need to hope, we’ll make it happen…there’s too much beauty in these mountains to pass it up.

Back to Boise

This weekend we decided to head up to Idaho to capitalize on some fun things going on up there, here are a few highlights:

  • Mom Tanner ran her first-ever road race, the 5k Race for a Cure. She got a special ‘survivor’ medal for having overcome her battle with breast cancer. Ang ran it too, and they both did awesome!

  • Angela, Jeff and their three boys were out visiting from Philly, so we got to see them for the first time in over a year. They’re such a cool family…we really look up to them. With boys this handsome, how couldn’t they impress?

  • While we were there, Lacey went to a prom, which meant that she and Kristie could spend 36 straight hours in the bathroom doing her hair. You looked great, Lace!

  • Benson Tanner had his missionary farewell on Sunday, so we got a chance to catch that too. After church we got to go over to Kenny and Mari’s for a fun family luncheon. Benson is that handsome gentleman to my left.

  • And, as you may have noticed, Cole dyed his hair. Check out this picture…it’s wayyy better than words:

  • I actually ended up getting pretty sick on Sunday, which delayed my return till way-too-early Monday morning. But Kristie stayed for another few days (through Wednesday) to spend some extra time with the family before flying back to SLC (three cheers for Southwest Airlines and their $29 Boise-SLC special fare!) Here are a couple girls night out shots:

  • It was also my official birthday on the 9th…many thanks for the calls, emails, kind gestures and love!

Surprise Birthday Party!

Unbeknownst to me, Kristie had planned ahead (a habit unfamiliar to me) and coordinated with a few friends to come by Alpine for an early, surprise(!) birthday party in honor of yours truly. I was under the impression that we were going to Nathan and Kendra’s for dinner that night, and had no idea. I learned (after the fact) that Kristie spent the better part of the day cooking, prepping and planning with good friends Kendra and Leah to make it all happen…and managed to pull things off without a hitch, despite a few close calls.

When I walked into the clubhouse I was completely surprised, and admittedly confused, by the group smiling and shouting at me. It took a moment to realize that I had suddenly become the center of attention. This was actually my first-ever surprise birthday party, and the fact that it was a genuine surprise made it all the better. It was a blast to catch up with everyone, and we had some really delicious food–kebabs, burgers and hot dogs on the grill, tasty sweet-potato-fries (thanks to Kedra!), and fruit crepes for dessert.

Thanks everyone for coming out, it really meant a lot to see you there…and thanks as well to the ones that wanted to be there and couldn’t make it–I love you guys too.

Later that evening Kristie gave me a few awesome presents. Note my best excited face:

Among them were two new pairs of Old Navy flip flops, because, as you can see, my previous pairs were well beyond their prime. Three out of four had holes in the heels, one had a strap that had just broken, and one looks like Jaws took a piece off the top. May you rest in peace(s), trusty flip flops…we sure had a good run, didn’t we?

Real Salt Lake Game

Thanks to Justin and Jeriann (and Leo the Lion?!), Kristie and I got to go to a Real Salt Lake soccer game at the new Rio Tinto stadium in Sandy tonight. It was a really energetic atmosphere with some die-hard fans…beautiful night to catch a game.

Back from Mexico!

Grandma and Grandpa arrived back safely from serving as employment specialists in Mexico City for the past year and a half. Their return was hastened a bit by the Swine Flu epidemic, but they reported that they loved their mission and love being back home with their family. Great to have you guys back, we love you mucho!

P.S. thanks for the cool souvenirs–I’m glad to hear grandpa can still haggle with the best of ‘em.

Tom’s New Bike

So this morning I bought an awesome, used road/multisport bike from Craigslist. I rarely make purchases like this, s it’s kind of a big deal for me. Nathan, having recently been appointed to my cabinet as ‘department of cycling’, volunteered to come along with me to lend his expert opinion. The bike checked out, so I’m now a very proud owner of a Cannondale Multisport 800. This will allow me to accomplish two big goals this summer:

  1. To bike to work in order to get more exercise and save money on gas, and
  2. To train for, and compete in, a triathlon. At the moment, I’ve got my sights on this one:

Now I just need to decide whether I’ll have enough time to train for the Sprint (swim .5 mile, bike 12 miles, run 3.1 ), or Olympic (swim 1 mile, bike 24.9 miles, run 6.2 miles) version of the race. According to the countdown timer on the ProvoTri website I’ve got 48 days, 16 hours, 46 minutes, 22 seconds and counting till raceday. I guess it’s high-time to get saddle sore and find a pool..