the rest of the trip.

From the airplane.

 It was SO BRAVE of me to let her ombre my virgin hair of 8+ years but I caved and I'm so glad I did! I love it and couldn't be happier. It's just the right amount of change with no looming roots to upkeep! Happy hair.

We love our bonfires. Box of wood? Check. Ridiculous amount of gasoline? Check. Lighter? Check.

It's a miracle my Dad walks away with eyebrows intact.

The day after the funeral Mckay returned to Connecticut and got back to work (boo!) but I stayed a while longer.  I drove up to Logan and spent another five days with my family. It's always nice to just relax at my parent's house. We missed Kenna girl (who spent a few weeks with the rich and famous is Saint Tropez) desperately, but were mostly jealous of her.

crazy, sad, beautiful week.

May 2012 at his home in Orem, Utah

Mckay and I were on vacation when I found out that my wonderful Grandpa Craven passed away.  It was quite the unpleasant end to the fun time we were having, but it had a different effect on me than I expected. I was sad and shed a few tears, but it was a peculiar thing to experience such sorrow and joy at the same time. Frank L. Craven lived an incredibly full life, my sadness was only for those he left here to miss him.

We flew to Utah on Tuesday July, 17th and the funeral was the following day.
He received a military burial that brought tears to my eyes. His children ensured that the funeral did not go over 1 hour (his explicit direction) and that it was focused on the Savior and the gospel and not on him. What a thing to be apart of.

He truly was a man nearing perfection. I honestly believe that.  I am thankful that I recognized all the goodness in him while he was still on earth with us.  I'm thankful that Mckay had a chance to meet, know and respect him. I'm thankful for the man that he raised (my Dad) who is so incredibly like him. I'm thankful for his humility, dedication, integrity and happiness that you couldn't help but notice. I'm thankful for the time he spent with me and Rae as little girls, Irish dancing with us and teaching us to ride the lawn mower. I'm grateful for his enthusiasm that had me convinced at 12 years old that Chuck-a-Rama was the best restaurant in which a girl could dine!

Mostly I'm grateful for his unyielding love for the Savior and his family that seeped into our hearts created a solid foundation for his whole family.

My Grandma and her six children: Mark, Kent, Curtis, Diana, (Grandma Lyle Tyler Craven) Phillip & Frank.

 Grandma with her brother in law, my Grandpa's brother, Roulon Craven.

 The Mickey Mouse phone that all the Grandchildren obsessed over.  Also, a fishing pole & picture of his catch one year salmon fishing in the SF bay with us & Uncle Curtis.

Lest this be a sad post, which it truly isn't, I have to share a story.  I spent the few days I had after his funeral reading his life history and page after page it had me giggling at his antics that didn't fade with time.

Paraphrased from his life history: When Grandpa was in high school in Boise, ID the Snake River flooded. The ROTC, which he was a part of, were excused from school to help with the volunteer effort of sandbagging and keeping the town safe. They were instructed to wear their uniforms for identification purposes. So, the next day, Frank & Roulon Craven and two of their friends went to the meeting place to help out.  The National Guard had been called in and was already working.  When the four arrived, they were mistaken for Army personnel and when asked what the orders were, they decided that it was more fun to give them than to receive. They spent the entire day directing the National Guard working in that area instead of sandbagging as was their assignment!  They went back to school the next day and were praised for all of their hard work. (!!!)

What a man, what a life!

Pictures 3-6 via, my talented cousin Lisa.

last weekend

we partied in the city with Kenna girl.

 1. Brunch for 3  -eggs benedict & tangerine/ginger tea at Alice's Tea Cup, a favorite of mine. Mckay was worried that he was the only man in the place. He may have been, were it not for the gay servers. 

2,3,4. Central Park for people watching and sun soaking.

It was a perfect summer day. 

5,6,7,8. Fulfilled Kenna's biggest NYC wish and spent 3 hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was in heaven (being quite the creative genuis that she is) & we loved it too!

 Mckay: "How is this art? All you have to do is make a mess of paint. I could do this." He was quite the modern/contemporary art critic.
Kenna: laughing because she gets it.

 Need this one in my house!

4. Up to the roof top for a breathtaking view and City Cloud sculpture.

reflections.

9. Ended the day with shopping, a candy high from FAO Schwarz &  a yellow taxi cab ride for the girl.

busy, busy bees!

 We got back from CA on a red eye and just six hours later the summer got busy!  Just how we like... Dan & Rachael (college roommate) & their little angel baby, Jude arrived and spent 2 days with us!  They were off touring NYC during the day, which we unfortunately were not able to take part in, due to jobs and studying, but we had them in the evenings and mornings and loved it. Jude was such a trooper baby to traipse around NYC for 12 hours each day.  Mckay was in disbelief, "Rachael is so tough, huh? Will you be tough like her? That is awesome."  He was impressed! Kudos Rachy!

 A few days after D&R left, Krissy & Kara (HS bff & lovely twins) arrived and spent a few days with us! This time, I didn't have work so I got to play all day.  We shopped Greenwich Ave, got our nails done, grocery shopped, made a lovely dinner together & watched a movie to end the girls day off right. It was so fun to have them here! We laughed a lot. Love you girls!

 Later that week our very special summer guest arrived! Kenna decided to move out to NY for the summer & live with the super awesome family I lived with & be their summer nanny. So far she is loving it. She has her own car, own wing of the house, and a cutie 4-year old side kick to hang out with all day. She spends the weekends with us, we're trying to show her a good time so that she moves back after high school. We sure love having her around. Here are my two cutie pies enjoying a fried Oreo in Times Square.

 June happened out of nowhere and brought a lot to us. Mckay took his CFA test on the 2nd and we are so incredibly glad it's over. Now we get to hang out and do fun things on the weekend -as opposed to him studying for 10 hrs every Saturday (barf). I am so happy to have him back.  On June 5th he turned THIRTY!!! Woah. We partied all night in the city with great friends & had a birthday BBQ on Sunday. More on that later, it was a night to remember!

We also have some exciting news...

 After lots & lots of thought & a few prayers answered we've signed up for another 3 years in CT! Mckay applied to NYU's MBA program and was accepted!  In the fall he will start on his part-time MBA while continuing to work full time. It will be busy, but we're excited & grateful for the opportunity he has. I am so very proud of my brainy man! I could just gush & gush over his accomplishments- but mostly, I am just so thankful for his hard work & willingness to support our family now & in the future.

 We finally got a sofa! It was quite a shock to me, when last week a UPS guy knocked on my door with a massive delivery. I am so in love with it! Mckay pulled off a fantastic surprise. What a cutie. He said he wasn't even scared of not consulting me on a pretty major purchase because he knew I'd love it so much. Yup, I love it so much! Good call Mckay!

 Dale & Penny (Mckay's parents) are visiting us this week. We packed a whole lot into our Saturday and have some fun plans for the last few days they are here.

 Mckay's flag football team won the CHAMPIONSHIP!  They had a great season with lots of fun, sweat, battle wounds and an almost-brawl with the opposing team on the last game they played.  Go figure.

Last but not least, Kenna girl is mastering the art of East Coast driving!  No easy feat.  We are doing lots of practicing before sending her out on her own.  Go girl!

That's all we have from this corner of the world.

Love,

 the happy Dunn family (+ Kenna). 

California love.

5.17.12-5.22.12

Ahhh California.

After my week in Utah I flew to CA to spend a few days in the Bay Area with Mckay.  A friend of his was getting married in the Oakland temple & I couldn't resist a trip to my old home. We enjoyed a few days in San Fran (the Golden Gate bridge, Muir woods, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Ghirardelli square, & too much delicious food).  I love that SF is so completely different from NYC.  We had a great time & he was soaking up the reuniting time with his old college buddies.  I can't say anything mean on my blog but  I will say that once we separated from his friends and did stuff with our friends, I enjoyed myself only slightly more. 

 

While there we had dinner with my oldest & dearest friend, Lauren, and her boyfriend.  We met up with them in Berkley at this organic pizzeria Jupiter & had a great night visiting and stuffing our faces and reminiscing. The guys seemed to get along great,  and they were good sports to let us share some of our funny, growing-up stories with them.  She has a heart of gold & comes from a salt-of-the-earth family --I'm lucky to have a best friend who is there for it all no matter how far away we are from each other.  I wish we were closer (in distance), but I guess in its own way it makes reuniting so exciting & joyful!

(note our matching haircuts- Lauren's Mom gave us those one day at my house. we were in love)

 

Sadly, the trip came to an end faster than I would have liked.  We went to church on Sunday in my old ward & saw so many sweet & familiar faces.  It's always so good to go back & it was such a treat to have Mckay with me to meet all the wonderful Concord people I love.  We stayed with our good family friends (Jim + Bonnie) who were an absolute delight to spend time with.  I could do a whole separate post about that, but I didn't get a single picture of them or their charming home.  But Mckay said to me, "I think they are the nicest people I've ever met." & that just perfectly sums it up!

We stayed our last night in Palo Alto with the beautiful Christine & our good friend Barrett, who also happens to live in the area, joined us for the evening.  We toured Stanford & fell in love.  It was so gorgeous... we could easily see ourselves there.  You never can tell...

On our very last day we drove down the beautiful coast & stopped at every beach & vantage point we could.  We stopped in Pescadero for fresh, warm artichoke bread (thanks for that suggestion Christine!) & just tried to soak in as much of the coastal sun & beauty as we could.  It was a breathtaking drive.

It's always sad when vacations end!

But we were happy to return to our little home.  Mckay hit the books for two more weeks of intense study before taking his CFA test & I am catching up on all the stuff I neglected during school.  Which is a long list. 

Summer is just around the corner & I am so ready to enjoy myself & relax some!!!

a pretty, little trip to utah.

 Beautiful Cache Valley. No filter, nothing fancy, just a cell phone picture. It was stunning.

The month of May just makes the world so pretty.

May 10th I took my final (hallelujah!), got ma nails did (favorite), and flew to SLC. My awesome Dad picked me up from the airport at midnight and we drove up to Logan. It was late and I was tired but it was oh so good to have him all to myself during those almost two hours. Just a bunch of catching up and laughing and hanging out like old (pre-marriage, pre-college, pre-move away) days. He is the greatest.

 The family, waiting in line for the Avengers. 5/6 liked it. I was one of the those who enjoyed it (surprisingly). It was awesome. After the movie we had pizza and laughed until we cried. Well, I was crying. How did I get such funny siblings? I don't know. But I wish they lived closer because I would have flat abs from laughing, I'm sure of it.

 Paid a visit to one of the sweetest women I've ever met. Mckay's Grandmother, Delma. I was lucky to have dropped in when Mckay's {favorite, shh} Aunt Laura was also visiting. Delma let me look through a bunch of pictures of her growing up & being the beautiful lady that she was/is. So much happiness came from marrying Mckay, & knowing his family is totally part of it. Especially knowing her! 

 "The boy" as we call him (literally all we called him for the first 2 years of his life) is growing like a weed. I can't get over it. Taller than Mom & Regan and fast approaching me & Kenna. It's awesome. He's a good egg.

 Two angels on earth-

my Dad's parents are amazing. They just emanate goodness. I spent an afternoon with them down in Orem & cried when I left. When I pulled out my camera my Grandma disappeared to her bedroom for almost 10 minutes to do her hair. She's 90 years old, I couldn't get over it. My Grandpa recently had a stroke & words come to him a little slower than they used to, and my Grandma's hearing is deteriorating, so they make quite a pair. I'd ask a question and my Grandpa would slowly and softly start to answer but Grandma wouldn't hear him and so she'd start talking. Grandpa couldn't get a word in edgewise & she wasn't even aware! Good times, this picture warms my heart.

Maybe he needs a grandchild?

Kenna had a school assignment to help her not become a teen Mom (not a waste of time or money at allll.) & the stupid thing wouldn't keep quiet. She was freaking out a smidgen and next thing I know my Dad walks into the kitchen and this is what I see. I believe he said, "You kids used to do this, I know how to handle it." He soothed that ugly, plastic monster baby for at least 15 minutes. What a goof.

The kiddos.

Always good to visit the fam, but I hate when Mckay can't come. Good thing the 2nd half of my trip included him and the Golden State!