Summer // TWO

Part two of my summer adventures 

J U L Y 

nothing but love for this month

if I had a favorite month, July would probably be it!
(but who has favorite months? That's just a little too much)

This girl LOVES to have her belly scratched, most days she begs for me to carry her around like a baby and scratch her belly for at least 15min. If I stop at 5min she starts groaning and sighing. What a drama queen! 

This summer we signed up to be a part of the Tagge's CSA, and it's been so fun! I look forward to Thursday's just so that I can see what beautiful/fresh produce awaits us in this week's box. If you haven't heard of a CSA, google it and find one near you! For us at least it seems like a really great investment where we get a lot of fresh local fruits and veggies for a more reasonable price. 

This is just a picture of a pretty moon rise, but it reminds me of how throughout June I was obsessed with looking at the moonrise because you could see venus AND jupiter! How crazy is that? Plus, on the last night in June, the two planets appeared to merge in the sky. 

summer noms 

I walked into my sisters room and found that Zoe had tucked herself into bed and was resting her head on the pillow. So now I'm pretty certain that she thinks she's a human. Also, our eyes.

more farmers market goodies ^^ I have a small berry addiction

I spent a weekend in July holed up in my house writing like crazy for this 17pg research paper. I love fresh air and the sound of wind stirring the trees, so I actually wrote most of the paper on the balcony with this view I love so much. It kinda feels to me like being up in a treehouse. 

more CSA goodness 

Some of us kids hiked Ensign Peak at sunset and the views were amazing. I took way too many pictures, but I love them all. 

At the end of July I finished my internship with the sustainability division at the mayor's office. I'll miss working in this beautiful building! I loved my internship, I worked on some great projects and I learned a lot. 

Watching the fireworks from our balcony for the 24th of July 

oh kale yeah

Wildflowers!! Summer up at Alta is almost as beautiful as winter! 

Another classic Zoe pose, we call it meerkat-ing. 

Also, I'm pretty sure that these pictures all fall into one of three categories: Food, Nature, or Zoe.. 

Not a bad July I guess! 

And two more pics from the hike, because BFFs for lyfe.

I don't want it to be august!! 

Summer, please don't ever end!  

xx Jess 

Summer // ONE

Part one of my summer adventures 

J U N E 

I don't know what exactly its is, but I thrive in the summertime! 

Hands down my favorite season. 

[ #notbasic because Fall isn't my favorite ]

I love the warm air, the sultry nights, the cool breezes.. 

splashing in swimming pools

eating all the fresh fruit I can get my hands on 

going for hikes in the mountains

drinking tea on the balcony in the mornings 

watching the sunset at 9pm 

Life is just better in the summer! 

Here are some bits and pieces of the first month of summer:

^^ Wood-fired pizza is easily one of my top 5 food groups right now.

ZOE ZOE ZOE ! 

This is our new dog, her name is Zoe. 

I was adamant that we didn't need a dog (especially a TINY dog!) and that she would be nothing but trouble!

But now I can't imagine coming home and not having her run over to me and lick my toes then roll on her back begging for belly rubs. She's one of the tribe now.

Banbury Cross Donuts !! pro tip: go extra early to make sure you snag the good ones!

Sunday hikes with friends 

farmer's market adventures 

Max: Jess can we buy some Phish Food? 

Me: No max, we've had way too much sugar already this weekend! 

Max: But they're on sale.. 

Me: ... ok we better get at least 4 then! 

Pride Parade with Mormon's Building Bridges because Love is Love 

Also, LOVE WON this summer!! 

Why is the downtown SLC library is so cool and so underrated?

This turquoise ring used to be my grandma's, and I basically haven't taken it off since I got it.

^^ Just a little corner of the prettiest building in Salt Lake, where I also happen to work. I loved my internship with SLC Green at the City & County building this summer. It's given me some great experience and new friends! 

Yeah I'd have to say that June was a-ok in my book! 

Summer, please DONUT ever stop.

June Report

I always have this grand delusion that when I am home from school I will have all the free time in the world to catch up on blogging.. this could not be further from the truth! All summer my days have been jam packed! Mostly with good things though! So I am not complaining.

June started off strong with Brennon's high school graduation and Ilona's middle school graduation! Brennon was a part of East High School's (yes, the High School Musical school) 100th graduating class! Super exciting. I am so proud of him!

^^ we didn't even plan the coordination haha 

Middle school grad Ilona recognized during the graduation as a 4.0 student, plus she gave an awesome speech! We worked on it for a solid two weeks straight beforehand and she did an amazing job!

^^ one super-sunny-almost-everyone family picture (minus Brennon) 

Then we spent a family day at Lagoon, this massive amusement park in Utah. I'm kinda an adrenaline junkie, so I had a great time hitting up all the roller coasters! My favorite ride is Wicked, an open roller coaster that shoots you out of the tunnel at 55 mph in 2.5 seconds. But Re-entry (the ride in this picture) is truly the scariest. In this tiny seat and a slightly loose harness you are slowly carried 200 feet up into the air and allowed to squirm up there just long enough to realize how high up you are and then without warning the ride drops and you plummet towards the earth! TERRIFYING.

Next, we spent a Sunday at the Pride Parade. We walked with a group called Mormons Building Bridges which is all about extending a hand of acceptance and love to everyone. It was an incredible experience and we were received so lovingly by the crowd as we marched by in our church clothes.

Then, my little (not so little anymore) brother Brennon got his mission call! He has chosen to serve a two year mission for our church, but when you sign up you have no idea where they will send you. So opening that letter is a huge family affair! After we packed about 50 people into our living room, he finally opened it and read that he is headed to Orlando, Florida!! .. Portuguese speaking!! I am so happy, it truly is the perfect call for him. He leaves August 20th and I have no idea what I am going to do without him for 2 years.. I'm already dreading that day. But I have lots of friends who are on missions right now and I now that two years goes by quicker than you might imagine.

In other exciting news, WORLD CUP?!! I am devastated at Switzerland's and the US's losses in the round of 16, but I am rooting hard for Germany to win it all! With German family, and the sickest German soccer team ever, how could I not?

Also worth noting, I have been on a major cleansing streak! After a solid week of non-stop work we have deep cleaned and organized most rooms in our house. I love this little house, but we are starting to really push the envelope and we may have some exciting house related news coming up soon...

The other day I went on a 3 hour errand run with my mom and two littlest brothers. Unfortunately, it quickly devolved into a temper tantrum fest so I was stuck trying to coax them out of the car for 45 min while my mom was inside at Costco. We finally made it out, but not before we had our fair share of flailing limbs, tears, and a few laughs. I took some photos to commemorate the occasion. (not pictured: maxwell screaming and crying on the car floor right behind us.)

Other things I've been busy with:  clocking in a fair amount of time at the courthouse and in office for my summer project! More on this topic later. But suffice it for now to say that I am pleased with the way my project is moving forward! 

And last but not least, some summer sun by the pool. 

Life is insanely hectic, but also a blast. July, I'm ready for ya. 

Snow Canyon

Camping with my little sis + twin bro for 3 nights in the desert of southern Utah was the best first weekend home. We climbed up way too many cliffs, hiked for miles, explored secret underground caves and roasted mallows under the stars. 

Hello summer! 

she's 6 years younger than me and we are the same height.. nbd. 

our trusty campsite 

spelunking was quite an adventure. These pictures were at the mouth of the caves where there was still some light. For most of the exploring though we were in the pitch black and had to use our trusty iphone flashlights (we weren't planning on cave exploring) for light. At one point we all crawled on our bellies through a narrow crack to reach a secret room in the cave. 

while spending so many hours roaming the desert we decided that the sage brush is the most perfect shade of green to compliment the red soil. To some this may seem like a barren landscape, but I absolutely love it. I think red rocks are the coolest. 

While hiking with a ranger up a closed canyon she said that she spots a desert tortoise once every few months. So as we were walking I jokingly called "tortoise where are you?" and then immediately my eyes zoned in on a tortoise just a few feet away from us! Pretty comical timing. 

we also did a ton of free climbing. Pelle loves to climb and is definitely the expert of the group. For anyone who has the gear + expertise to harness climb, there are hundreds of bolted routes within Snow Canyon. So check it out! 

our last full day there we decided to go on a 5 mile hike around the rim of the canyon, but in reality it was a 10 mile hike! Someone had mistakenly told us that the distances on the map were round trip, when in reality they were one way. We definitely were hot, sweaty, tired and completely out of water by mile 8. But we made it! And treated ourselves to some ice cream afterwards. 

^^ the best two adventure buddies 

I have made it a goal this summer to be out in nature as much as possible! I love it and am excited for the many camping/hiking/exploring adventures sure to come this summer! 

Hope your memorial day weekend was as lovely as mine!