SUMMER NIGHTS

The Gummows came for their annual summer visit in late July. They arrived on Pioneer Day. Cy went to a cool concert with Catcher and their cousin that was downtown and while they were chillin' at the gig we lit some fireworks over at Euro Treasures. Just some simple baby ones, since even those scare us these days. That night when we got home Vivi was snuggling up to Cy. She loves those boys as much as baby Stella did and it is so cute.

We just hung out the next day July 25th, but we made an effort to go to dinner at Ruth's Diner. I have to say after all these years, I can't remember ever eating anything dinner wise at Ruth's that I liked. But I still keep coming back because I love the patio. We were told it was going to be like an hour for a table, but we waited anyway, and it ended up not being that bad. But once again, dinner was just ok.

THE BEST BACKYARD

Suzy's visits don't usually get a blog post, but I thought it was about time. She comes to Utah every summer for about a month and she is pretty busy. I'm so grateful that she makes time for me when she comes. One of my favorite things to do that I look forward to every year is going over to her mom's house and hanging out in her cozy backyard while the kiddos swim. I love chatting it up with her and her mom. I feel like a get spoiled every time.

This year, we went on July 9th. The kiddos were in the pool for about five hours straight. We got Chic-fil-A and we just hung out. Suzy's mom is a very avid gardener and I was enamored with her beautiful poppies. I wish I could be with Suzy every day. I'm thankful for Marco Polo that helps us keep in touch with her crazy schedule.

FORCED FRIENDSHIPS

On April 29, 2017 Less than a month from being home with Vivi I got a direct message from a girl named Julia. She wanted to pick my brain about Chinese adoption because they had just submitted their papers for adopting and she was also LDS. We messaged back and forth and then she came to Utah that June and wanted to meet up. I liked her right away, she has the kind of personality that all people would most likely "like right away". I was still a bit hesitant to become super close because you just never know, but as time went on I realized she was the real deal. We saw each other again the following summer and then right after she was matched with her daughter in December of 2018 we got together once more.

I got to meet Mila when they came to visit Stella on tour, but obviously the big to do was Vivien and Mila meeting for the first time. Julia and family were in town for a few weeks in the summer and she set aside an afternoon at Wheeler Farm (the same place I met her two years prior) for any friends who wanted to come and meet up.

Vivien was so excited to meet her friend Mila from China. I am not sure Mila had the same comprehension of being able to meet Vivi, but Vivi knew what was up. The sight of the two of them together was just awesome. They played together a little before they both fell into the water of the small stream. It took them a bit to be friends again, but they did.

Vivien has always fallen head over heels for Mila's older brother Cruz. Like, she loves him all the time. Pretty soon those two were inseparable. Cruz would grab Vivi's hand and they would go from place to place and place to place. They played nonstop together for about an hour. If those two got married, I wouldn't be sad about it. I definitely get the appeal of arranged marriages when I see Cruz take care of Vivi. 

We got some ice creams and Vivi and Mila sat together and shared their Creamies and it was pretty adorable. They would cheers each other and then take a lick. We then went on a hay ride and Vivi and Cruz sat together and Vivi totally made the move to put her arm around Cruz. They just sat and chatted and had fun together. Then they rode off into the sunset on the cow barrel ride.

In the end I think I thought we would stay like an hour but we were there for about three. Even though there were other old friends there and that usually turns me off. But me and Vivien we just having a good time so we stayed much longer than I thought we would.

Julia has been a huge blessing in my life. She shared Plexus with me, which makes me feel much better health wise. She is open about her struggles especially with depression and marriage and I find that so wonderful to have a friend I can talk about both of those things with. She is beautiful and thoughtful and truly the real deal of a person. She is flawed and positive and fun and easy to talk to. When I saw these two beautiful girls together I saw the Lord's hand in my life. I saw that He wanted these girls to have a relationship. And I hope it continues to grow for them throughout the years. Also He knew I needed Julia. I don't let people in all that easy anymore, but she wormed her way into my heart pretty fast. I love these pictures she took and got to me (she is also a very talented photographer) so I can remember this day.

STARS ALIGN FOR US OLD KIDS

THIS POST IS OUT OF ORDER, FIX IN BOOK!

June 6th, a day that will forever go down in memory as one of the greatest of all time for sure and no doubt. It was me and  my girl's second time seeing New Kids On The Block at the Mixtape tour and the night was everything. I bought our pretty good seats and then a few months before the show, I upgraded our seats as a surprise to Heidi. We were on the front row and right by the stage and they were magic seats. I didn't tell her about it, even though as the day approached and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to come I was tempted to tell her. She had so much going on that week, but in the end felt like she would be glad she came. So as we were walking to the Vivint Arena, I told her that I got us some much better seats.

We were told before hand that there was no opening act so to be on time. So we were, and of course they had a DJ for an opening act. It was fun and all, but I really wanted to save my energy for the show. Not only were we seeing NKOTB, but Tiffany, Salt n Peppa, Debbie Gibson, and Naughty by Nature were part of the tour. The different groups alternated throughout the show and it made it so fun and exciting.

Finally like magic the New Kids appeared and the fun just didn't stop. We were SO CLOSE to the stage and we had several little looks and winks from Donnie. Which it most likely because he remembers us from the last tour. ;). The New Kids always come out and sing in the audience and all of the sudden Joey was coming down and standing on this box right in front of us and singing. He was right there and we were able to touch him! We were freaking out.

We saw some Debbie and Tiffany and Salt and Peppa and Naughty By Nature and they were all great. Especially Naughty by Nature, who I didn't really even like that much growing up, but I know their songs and they were amazing performers. Tiffany has an amazing voice too. Salt and Peppa were my faves in 9th grade and they looked like they had not aged, and they were so so fun although at times a little risque. ;)

Suddenly a box was being put in front of us again and Heidi and I were freaking out because we were about to get another close encounter with a New Kid. We assumed it would be Jon or Danny because well, we had just gotten an A-lister. But right away I see that it is Jordan coming down the aisle first and I knew then we were getting close to our dreamboat favorite Jordan. Oh my goodness he was RIGHT in front of us. And it was amazing. Also, he was there for a pretty long time and it was divine. I had my phone out the whole time and at one point he got in my phone while it was videoing and I blew me a kiss and then he smiled and winked at me all on video. I could not believe it. Oh my gosh he is so handsome I can't take it. (I screenshot some moments from the video for the sake of the memories.)

So on top of being able to be close and touch four out of five New Kids (so said for Donnie that he didn't get touched by us.) I got a snuggle from Tiffany. Also our seats were so amazing that we got on the big screen behind the stage at least three times that I know of. One of those times was pretty long and my old friend Jenny spotted me on her friends Instastories. So I was able to get a video of Heidi and I singing and having the best time while on the big screen. Seriously?! What are the chances that we could get a video of that?

So this show for sure goes down in history as one of my favorite shows of all time. Our seats could not have been more magical and the company was perfect. We were feeling pretty great so we stopped off at Dee's for dinner and had us some omelettes and they were delicious. We rehashed out all of our magical moments and the thrill that was this show. I don't know if our food was really as tasty as we felt like it was, or if we were simple just high on the rush of feeling like kids. Even though, I wasn't a NKOTB fan until later in my life. But I did see some childhood favorites and the way they had all of the artists intermixed in the show was so fantastic. It is a night forever sealed in my heart, and I am sure Jordan Knight's as well.