Summer // THREE

A U G U S T

I wrote this whole post and then it got lost somehow? Or maybe I dreamed that I wrote it, but really didn't.. Really not sure. And I fully realize how weird that sounds! haha 

Either way, I don't really feel like typing it all up again so this post is going to be light on the text. 

Quick recap: 

We went to a Bee's baseball game (my first!)

We drove down to Moab, went to Arches national park and river rafted on the Green River

We enjoyed the summer sunshine in SLC with some hiking, some climbing, and even some camping! 

Then we said goodbye to Pelle and Simon (who went back to school), said hello to Lotti (our german friend who came to visit for a month), and we all started our new school years! 

whew! 

With our big trip to Guatemala at the beginning of the month and school starting on the 24th of August, the month went by in the blink of an eye and hardly felt like "summer" at all. 

spotted the Blue Sky windmills at the mouth of the canyon in Spanish Fork! 

The M.O.A.B. (Mother of All Burritos) 

^^ seriously though, the best melons in the world come from Virgin River, Utah

xx Jess 

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 

A Star Spangled Weekend

I LOVE the 4th of July.

I don't know what it is, but this year especially I just couldn't stop smiling about how much I love this holiday!

I have even come to the official conclusion that it is my 2nd favorite holiday! (after Christmas, naturally)

I love getting dressed up in red, white, and blue!
I love the warm summer sun!
I love hanging out with family and friends!
And I especially love the f i r e w o r k s !

We kept it low key this year and kind of just made up our weekend plans as we went along. 

On Friday some of us went on a little hike in the mountains. It was the perfect hiking temperature and its so pretty up there! 

We really are so lucky in Salt Lake to have such beautiful mountains so close to the city center! 

fam bam, thank you ma'am 

I ate some patriotic toast for breakfast 

and apple pie for lunch. 

#murica 

On the 4th I had to work at a festival for a few hours :/ 

But I met a new friend there, so that was a plus! 

Around 6pm I started doing some smoke bombs with the sibs and we quickly realized that we were going to need some more supplies. So we all hopped on our bikes and biked over to the nearest firework tent to stock up! 

We had way too much fun biking over there in our pack while singing the national anthem together!

When we got home I tried to take a pinterest-perfect photo of me holding the smoke bomb, but the sparks quickly started burning my hand, so I freaked out and we got it all on camera.. haha 

Shoutout to my bff Andre for even capturing the whole incident in slow-mo.. 

you have to check it out, its hilarious! Just click HERE to see it on my instagram (@jessicaoglesby)

^^ hamming it up for the camera 

After our failed smoke bomb photo shoot, we made a bonfire in our backyard and roasted some s'mores (and starbursts!!) Which was definitely not a failure!

Then of course we capped off the night by watching the sugarhouse fireworks! Seriously, these are the best in town! They are insanely huge and the show literally went on for 24min. I wanted to cry it was so pretty! My family kept making fun of me for gasping and awing so much during the show! 

If you're a SLC local, you've gotta check them out! 

Totally worth braving the crowds, they are THAT good! 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST GOD DAMN COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE WORLD"  ;)

xx Jess