Two weeks ago-

 My good friend Jacki & her sweet husband (who were living in NJ for the summer) came to CT and visited us!  We had a yummy Sunday dinner together and after we were stuffed to the brim, we took them to the beach to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  It was fun to catch up with them and have an excuse to spend a few hours on the shore. 

 Us at the beach that Sunday afternoon.

 Kenna brought Ariana over a bunch these last few weeks and we've been swimming and having so much fun girly time together. I love this cutie pie. 

 Sister who shop together...

Have too much fun.  Kenna needed some new clothes and so we spent an afternoon at some of my favorite places outfitting her.  No amount of persuasion could convince her to purchase that outfit!  Isn't is so darling?  I should have gotten it for me.

 Mckay folded my napkin into a heart. (Although he wants me to tell everyone it's the batman symbol, which it clearly is not.)

 We are so lucky & live next door to our good friends Dave & Lizzy (and their beyond darling little baby Tillie).  Lizzy's sister came to visit for a weekend and we all had Sunday dinner together.  Couldn't let Sarah go home without first snapping a picture of Lizzy & I with our look-alikes.  What sweet, good girls they both are.

 Mckay agreed to see Hope Springs with me over the weekend.  We were the youngest people in the entire theatre by maybe 20 years.  It was so funny to feel out of place at the movie theater!  The movie made us laugh a lot although there were a few squirmy-awkward sex scenes made worse by the fact that the actors were "old people" & I knew that I was in a theater full of grandparents.

 Took Kenna into New York City for the last time this summer.  We ended the night by seeing a Broadway, Mamma Mia and we all loved it.  A lot.  I've always said Mary Poppins was my favorite (barring Les Mis which is in another category altogether) but now it's definitely a toss up.  This one completely blew my socks off. 

 Dinner at Extra Virgin did not disappoint.  I had the pistachio crusted goat cheese salad, need I say more?  It was beautiful and delicious.

& last but not least...!  We found out that Mckay passed level II of the CFA.  We are relieved and so grateful, and I don't think I've ever seen him happier or more proud of himself.  He is amazing! 

italy love.

It was dreamy and delectable and so inspiringly perfect.
We spent 16 days in Italy this summer. Our itinerary went something like this: 
Rome (3 days)→  Siena (2 days) → Florence (2 days) → Venice (1 day) → Verona (1 day) → Cinque Terre (3 days) → quick stop in Pisa to see the leaning tower → Siena (1 impromptu day because we'd fallen in love) → Amalfi (1 day) → Sorrento (1 day) → Back to Rome for our flight home.

It's over whelming to try and sum up 16 crazy days into one blog post... and I don't have the steam to devote much more time to it. So here are 16 of my most favorite pictures to hopefully give a little idea of what we did!

Climbing up to the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica. The camera is not rotated! It was so disorienting to climb in the slanted parts. It was hot and cramped and exhausting but the view from the top was incredible. We sat up there for a long time enjoying the most spectacular view of Rome.

A favorite of mine, one of the smaller dome's on St. Peter's Basilica.

In front of the 2,000 year old Colosseum. We spent a few hours exploring the interior. It's amazing to think that gladiators and lions fought there and ship battles took place where we were standing!

Duomo di Siena.
Made of dark green (so dark it looks black) and white marble. Siena was my favorite city we visited while in Italy, although all of them were a close second. It's Italy's mid evil city and it feels & looks like you stepped back in time... to the 12th century. We missed the Palio by one day but saw horse hoof prints left in the sand from the race!

Beautiful Tuscany, on our way to our B&B.

Admittedly Florence was not my favorite place. We spent 1.5 days there and after the first day I was ready to be done. A friend of Mckay's did suggest a restaurant for us to try and we had a fantastic dinner that night. Here is Mckay with his Florentine steak, a local delicacy that looked completely unappetizing to me but he seemed to enjoy. I had lobster risotto that was to die for.

Venice, the sinking city. I wish we would have spent more time here. It's crowded and touristy but the ambiance of a city on the water is so incredibly mesmerizing. We loved it! We paid a stupid amount of money to take a gondola ride, but when in Venice, right?

We stopped in to Verona to see an opera (Romeo & Juliet) in the arena that was built in 30 AD. In 1913 it was used for operas and has been used for them ever since (minus during WWI & WWII). In 1913 audience members brought candles to light the stage because there was no electricity. In the 80's the tradition was brought back to represent the significance of each member of the audience being in such a historic & ancient place. It's a neat tradition and fun to see thousands of candles lit through out the arena.
*As amazing as the arena was, seeing an opera in a foreign language gets boring fast.

I never tired of the grapes! They look so pretty & perfect all lined up and so lush & green. I took this picture in Cinque Terre, five brightly colored villages carved into the mountain side right on the Italian Riviera. Right when we arrived we took a boat to Riomaggiore and hiked back up to Monterosso al Mare. It took us 4.5 sweaty, tiring hours but I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful views.

Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre), enjoying the sand, sun & sea.

Vernazza (Cinque Terre)
This was part of our hike, as we were coming down into the village, so picturesque!

After Cinque Terre we made that little detour back to Siena because we couldn't get the town or our B&B out of our heads. It was so perfect and peaceful and serene. The woman we stayed with (Marie) cooked us the most incredible food we've ever had. Ever. I have no words to describe the caliber of her cooking. Or the perfection of the setting.

Then we went South. Here I am early in the morning floating in the Mediterranean ocean in Amalfi town.

This picture makes me want to go back maybe more than any other one... dreamy.

They have lemons growing everywhere! And they are HUGE! I saw some the size of mangoes. They have this icy/lemonade-y thing with shaved ice and whole cubed lemons. You just eat it right up, peels and all. It's tasty & tart, great for the smoldering hot summer days.

Sitting out on the pier at sunset looking back to Amalfi.

Our last day we were in Sorrento and we spent a good portion of it exploring Pompeii. That was fascinating. The mountain behind us is actually Mount Vesuvius which erupted in 79 AD and buried an entire civilization. It is incredibly preserved, down to the "artwork" in the brothel.

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.