Summertime in Bear Lake

In case you forgot what Bear Lake looks like in the summertime...
Here is a little sneak peak. View from James' family's cabin. Love!
We did a lot of hangin out and eating.
Relaxing and having fun with his family.
So you know what they say about the boy you are dating and his dad? If you want to know what he will look like when he is older...just take a look at his dad and you'll know! Tee hee :)
Cute nephew!
I love this shot. "Um yea, I don't really have time for you and your picture. I am fully concentrated on my 4-wheeling." James' brother and nephew.
Coz up city on the boat when you get cold!
We did alot of this. Yikes!
The competition between the tube and the banana was on! James' brother on front dominated! His nephew behind was a close second.
Point proven. Ha!
Even though I wasn't the tubing champ, I did end up with a broken finger. Oh yes. You heard me right. I got shoved off the tube and my finger is cracked and yes, I play the harp for a living. I'm just glad I didn't do it while wake boarding so I can avoid the lecture from my older brother "You are too old to be doing all those tricks. One broken finger and your career is over" Oopsies.
No worries. I am actually still working and just playing with 7 fingers instead of 8 (you don't use your pinkies any ways). I survived and had a great 4th of July weekend which ended with James and I leaving bear lake with this sunset...

We watched random fireworks go off the whole way home. It was beautiful! Happy 4th!

Typical Saturday

Oh you all have heard me talk about my dad and his Saturday morning routine. He gets on his scooter and hits up every garage sale that he can come across. He'll follow those signs "Yard Sale-Left" for miles. He even has his own theory on how to assess if the garage sale is a good one or not. Well, here is a little picture proof action. He was so engulfed in uhhh...the zebra striped lamp urrr....the old trusty wall clock that he had no idea I was snapping pictures of him.

Oh ps, notice the gold watch he is wearing. I bought him a fake (yes fake) Rolex in Dubai and he won't even wear it for fear of looking too uppity. So he chugs along with his Walmart watch while my $40 goes wasted in some Arabic's wallet.

I mean, how can you pass up a garage sale when you are finding gems like these?
The best was hearing my cute nephew Chase describe my dad taking him to a garage sale for his birthday. My dad said (and Chase is quoting him) "Hey look Chase, you can get anything you want! Oh look they have security cameras, bowling balls...." Oh wow...what at thrill!!
You almost can't afford NOT to buy these puppies! My favorite part of this picture is my dad fishing through his shorts to find his "last 2 quarters to his name" or some other rehearsed slogan that he is ready to pull on the poor garage sale owner.

At least he is not the only doctor in the swindling business. So many times he reminds me of Dr. Huxtable from The Cosby Show and especially in this clip. It's worth watching if you have the time (fast forward to 3 min in if you don't). Basically he is trying to swindle a good deal on a car pretending that he is all poor and after 3 min some guy sees him through the window screaming "DOCTOR HUXTABLE!! DOCTOR HUXTABLE!!" Blowing his cover. So funny.

Oh I better not forget to mention that earlier that morning we went golfing for Rob's birthday. Happy birthday Rob!! We had a blast!

When I looked down at his golf shoes I just had to laugh. We found these treasures 2 birthdays ago at the DI for $4. Smartest plan ever and he is still loving them!!
My dad making his long drive shot as usual!

All in all I just want to say that my dad sure loves a good deal. I used to hate it and wished that he would just buy me a new car like all the other Skyline kids seemed to have got on their 16th birthdays. However NOW I just admire him for it as he proudly drives around in his Corolla and whisks away all the Costco Saturday samples as a satisfying lunch. He really has taught me the value of a dollar and the importance of hard work. I love you dad!

Dysfunctional family

I don't think that anyone even noticed that this was going on until James walked in the family room. Angela looked up and said "Oh hi! Welcome to our dysfunctional family!" Ha, maybe this will get us on the next Mac add.

Happy Birthday James

Turning 31 on the "Green Monster"!!

We loved celebrating James' birthday in Boston.
First thing was first. To catch a Boston duck tour!!
I love these girls!
I always love passing by Cheers in Boston. It reminds me of my cat Norman. RIP. He was named by Brian after Norm from Cheers of course!

Lizzy loving her life driving the duck tour bus/boat. This is why the duck tour is so 'cool'...or uncool. After driving around the city the big bus turns into a boat and you float along the river. Love it!

Nothing better to end the night than with a little Fenway Park!!

Lizzy always swindles and sits right on the dugout. Oh she's no dummy!

It's all about the experience. The food, the people, the sports attire, the drinks, the game, the family and the fun.

The family on the famous green monster. Yes, it IS all it is cracked up to be to sit up there!!
We snapped this shot of little Liz on our way home from the game. Zonked totally out.
Towards the end of the game she said "Lizzy is tired and wants to go home. Oh and Lizzy wants some birthday cake!" Ha ha!
She got what she wished for and hopefully so does the birthday boy! 31 candles was quite the task to wipe out. Happy happy birthday to you!

Family fun in NYC

We were so excited that Brian and Angela came and met up with us in NYC. First thing was first: The MET!

I swear James and Brian's favorite part about the art museum was downing the 3 (yes 3!!!) New York Style hot dogs just outside of the MET. Ok James did manage to save me one. Yum:) Kicking it with a random musician in Central Park was a must

LOVE the Plaza hotel every time. Wedding reception price: $100 grand. Yikes. Beautiful flower arraignments are one of my favorite things to admire and swanky hotels. FINALLY we were introduced to Brian and Angela's favorite Japanese hole in the wall restaurant that they eat at every time in NYC. They came here on their honeymoon for the first time. They were right, it was great! The next part was a big treat that I have been dying to do for YEARS! I swear I feel like I am the last person around to see Wicked. I have been coveting tickets for years. I was sooo excited. Even better than that..James was sooo excited for me to see it. He said "I usually just like to go to sporting events, but when I saw this I was blown away!!" James managed to swindle us 4th row tickets. It was an absolute dream. I was surprised by the story line, the cleverness, the humor, music, acting etc etc. LOVED IT!! Love them! It was Brian's first time to see it too! NYC at night! Guess what I loved even more than the Plaza hotel this trip??

The W HOTEL!!!!!

The lobby was insane. The walls behind James and the ceilings are running water, like constant waterfalls. Yea, I know. I was in awe of this room every time I got here. Amazing!! Church on sunday. "I hope they call me on a mission!" Ha ha. James looking like his missionary days. Before we left NYC, James was hinting away about going to this 'Doughnut Planet' place. "Uh Heid, I saw it on the food network. It looks pretty cool. They have a Peanut butter and Jelly filled doughnut! No big deal if we can't go though". ...and then he would repeat that same paragraph about every hour until we ended up there. Ha ha!! James going nuts on the anticipated PB&J doughnut. Ohhh yea!

Now only 4 hours in the car until we get to New Hampshire!