Lake Powell 2009

Ben and I just returned from the annual Oviatt family vacation to the lake. It is always wonderful to be on the water and to be with the family, but this year, it was extra wonderful... as our sleeping arrangements changed a bit. Instead of a 1 bed 1 bath (26 people) situation, we upgraded to a 6 bed 3 bath situation. And the only way I can describe it is... glorious! A bigger boat had it's pros and cons...

Con: you could go to a different deck of the boat and see no one for a few hours (ala, "where are all my friends?")

Pro: you could go to a different deck on the boat and see no one for a few hours (ala, "ahhh - I'm so relaxed!") You get the picture.



We enjoyed having everyone there, especially our 'out-of-town' family, Meghan and Cody. They are so much fun to be around! Cody had no shortage of new games he'd make up, including but not limited to "tight-rope walking" and "jet ski football" (The thrower is on the third level of the boat while the catcher is going full blast on a jetski out into the lake. The thrower tries to get the ball out far enough to meet up with the jetski, and the jetski-er tries to make blind-over-the-shoulder catches). I took a few throws myself, but was mostly relegated to camera girl. see here:

The weather was perfect with exception of a few beautiful/ turbulent desert storms, luckily short-lived. We had such a great time visiting with the family and playing almost hourly games of "Time's Up" and push rummy. We also did some jetskiing, tubing, wakeboarding and other fun water sports. Thanks Jed and Kathy for organizing yet another fun and successful Lake Powell trip -

Good old Uncle Ben took the little kids wakeboarding... they were lining up afterwards for yet another spin around the bay - brave kids and brave Ben!!

I don't know why this picture cracks me up... my sister-in-law sent it to me - she'd taken it on their way out on a boatride. A boatride where all the cool people were and I was... not. That explains my pose. Maybe you had to be there.

One Crazy Week: the Saturday & Sunday before

Saturday

Taryn and Reese flew in to cater & co-host a shower for Tara. We had it here in Park City and everything ended up looking and tasting great! We had a full day of last-minute errands, picking up food, flowers, etc., and squeezing in a lunch with Halle & McCall. (Halle & Reese are long-distance buddies).

Taryn prepared so many yummy dishes, including some fabulous meringues and cupcakes with homemade butter cream frosting (so much for my 'no sugar' plan). She also made a delicious couscous salad and a shredded chicken sandwich with capers and roasted red peppers. I tried to help in preparation although was not really needed. I basically played with Reese while we sampled Taryn's food. I was also made acutely aware of the ways my kitchen lacks appropriate cookware and other gadgets... I asked Taryn to make me a list of the things 'people who actually cook' use, that way next time I'll be able to disguise my total ignorance!

I love to host parties - I welcome any excuse to buy flowers and light votives all around the house (including a small vase & candles in the powder room, my favorite hosting touch). I hung large ivory drapes from the archway on the front porch - fun to do more dramatic things for parties that otherwise would seem a little... too much.

The guests arrived and the party turned out fabulously! Everyone loved the food and had a great time visiting. It was fun for me to catch up with Jessie & Missy from our neighbor days at Old Academy. Many of the girls Taryn and Tara went to London with came also. Tara's sister Niki did a great job with the games and gifts and the whole evening was a success. Tara told me she was more relaxed tonight than she'd been in a while - which definitely makes it all worth it! Wedding planning is so overwhelming; I'm so happy she enjoyed the shower.


Sunday

Today Ben and I went to a birthday brunch at Sundance to celebrate Devin's 30th birthday. Anything with Devin & Diane is always a blast, and we wouldn't have missed it. What a treat to get over to Sundance, this time of year is so beautiful with the blooming wildflowers and the stream running through the resort. The food at the Foundry Grill is so delicious - thanks to Diane for inviting us, it was great to meet some of your other friends.

birthday boy and Diane - expecting a baby girl this fall!

We were slightly overdressed for brunch, but we had another appointment to make afterwards. My boss Ruth & her husband gave their farewell talks today in Bountiful. (talk about out for a Sunday drive... pc - Provo canyon - Bountiful - pc) They are headed to Brazil at the end of the month and will be serving in Sao Paolo for the next year and a half. I was so happy we went to their meeting - their talks were inspiring. They both are so giving and friendly, I know they'll be wonderful missionaries.

One Crazy Week: Tuesday

Today was darling Tara's wedding day! She and Jared were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple and Taryn said it was a great ceremony. Ben and I met up with the party for the reception that evening at La Caille. The storm held off all day until the pre-reception photos began. The grounds at La Caille are so beautiful - I wish we'd had more time to walk around. (Ben and I got engaged there and we hadn't been back since.)


The reception was held in the grand pavillion and it was so dreamy. The linens, the flowers, the favors and the candlelight, it was so lovely and all so... Tara! She was a stunning bride and Jared was beaming the whole evening being next to her. We sat with Lacey & Ashton, Lindsey, Jessie & Marty, and Taryn. Great to see so many people there to celebrate with Tara and Jared and everything turned out so beautifully - what a magical setting for a party. The icing on the cake? Ben took me out for a spin on the dance floor.

send off!

One Crazy Week: Wednesday

This morning I went to KSL to shoot a segment for Studio 5. My spot was on "Quick Tips for a Fresh Summer Bed". It was a tremendous experience. Brooke, Darrin and the producers were very welcoming to me and I attribute being comfortable on set to their composure. The segment went really well I thought. (What I mean is that I didn't go completely blank, and I didn't trip across the set. My expectations for my own performance were very low!)

I've always had a lingering interest in a tv career, but not necessarily in the news although I've tried. (my causes aren't as noble as my sister Lindsey - she is both v. talented and v. informed) Doing a segment on design was great for me. I loved all of it - writing the talking points, sourcing all the bedding and narrowing down the final design for the two beds. It was a bit of work but well worth it. I'd be thrilled to go back anytime they'd have me. Thanks Maeve for connecting me with the right people and thanks Linds for the tv tips.

One Crazy Week: Thursday

Today we had a farewell lunch for my boss Ruth, who is leaving the country to serve a mission in Brazil with her husband. She is an exceptional person and a large part of the success of the firm. I will miss her kind heart and the way she knew so much about everything in the business. I have a feeling the 18 months will fly by. I wish her all the best and know she will be loved by the people of Sao Paolo.

Tomorrow Taryn and Reese leave so they can get the fun started in Montana. So sad to see them go! Having them stay with us for a week spoiled me so much - luckily I can look forward to seeing them again in a few weeks. Tonight we stayed in to watch SYTYCD and Real Housewives: Last Supper. Fantastic television.

Before Reese went to bed, I wanted to try something new with her hair - it's finally long enough to try pig tails. She didn't like it one bit - but all the wriggling was worth it, look at the little dear! Transformed from a baby into a little girl!


a little crooked - but it was all I could do.

One Crazy Week: Friday & Saturday

Friday we went to a surprise farewell party for now President and Sister Baughman, planned and executed perfectly by Maeve and the Baughman boys. How fun it was to see the whole family and be a part of their send off to Budapest. The Hungarian food was yummy (who'd have thought?) and the live Hungarian band's music was truly a new experience. Great job Maeve with the party - I wish I had taken a few pictures, but you'll probably post on it soon. Good luck to Gary and Marilyn! They will be extraordinary mission presidents.

Saturday we woke up early to clean for an open house... and then it poured rain... so probably no one showed up. Nice. I spent the day at Granny's and Ben golfed. We decided to go to Year One to relax and see a funny movie. It's been a long time since I've walked out of a movie, years probably, but this was just sacreligious and uncomfortable. Too bad because I liked the preview (gave no indication of the biblical storyline) and I like Michael Cera. Save yourself the trouble.

We have two days and then it's off to Lake Powell - now if I could just get everything settled down so I can be comfortable leaving.

Hamptons showhouse

In this month's issue of Traditional Home, I saw a little teaser in the advertisement section for the Hampton Designer Showhouse. How dreamy! Why was the teaser so small???? Where is the feature? I am hoping that some design mag will publish a spread on the home. There are over 20 designers and artists who've collaborated on it's design and architecture.

I have always wanted to visit the Hamptons. The weather, the coast, the shingle-style homes (my favorite style), the hydrangeas, etc... could this showhouse present a 'professional' reason to go back east? Can I write off the expenses?

The dates of the open house are July 26 through September 6. Not nearly long enough! Ben, I know your birthday is in September, but, maybe possibly you would enjoy celebrating your birthday at the showhouse??

Today's View

Before I left this morning Ben pointed out how pretty it was outside. Usually we have this blinding sun that comes over the hill and threatens to fade everything in the house, but not today.

Here's what it looked like today -

I wanted to stay - turn the chair toward the windows and watch the fog roll by. Everything is so green (finally!) and I'm finding happiness in simple things lately.

Dreams of Lounging

I am currently obsessed with Trina Turk - I saw this ad in a design mag this spring and have been toting it around ever since. Her new line for Schumacher is so beautiful - the prints and color combinations are fabulous. She has single-handedly inspired my summer daydreams.

I'm always seeing clothing and thinking, "I'd love to have pillows in this!" (or insert upholstery of choice) Thank you Trina for this indulgence! If you can't wear the strapless cocktail dress - you can have a pillow made and acheive the same effect. Or sort of. (!?)

This dress reminds me of a fish-scale bathing suit I had when I was 8... one of the best suits of all time! I'll try to dig up the picture and do a side-by-side, it would be hilarious. *photo courtesy of trinaturk.com

I'm also coveting this bathing suit - isn't it so glam? It's also on sale and I really want it. It does count as a one-piece, right? Can I have it? Will it create certain wardrobe malfunctions? (note: no kids to chase around at present)

Visitors!

Because our work extended over the weekend - we took the liberty of inviting Matt and McCall up to Montana for a few days and to our delight they accepted! Although it was still fairly chilly for mid-May, I think they had a good time. We dragged them all around the valley and tried to get them to all the must-see spots. Here was our checklist: Burgertown, Frugal's, Norm's News, Glacier Park, Lake Blaine, Bigfork village, Sun Mtn. Pizza, to name a few. It felt like the weekend of the burger - and I'm still recovering!

Our day trip to Glacier - we stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge for a photo op

Dean had two double-headers in town this weekend. What a treat to see him in action - he played great at 2nd base and short stop and had some really great hits (and rbi's!). I love baseball games and I love the Mush... he is the ultimate mush in my life. Oh, and we had 'Laker burgers' at the field, more meat.

oh Dean, I love you!

The boys played golf every day... I think they may have had a standing secret tee time for 7pm each night. They are lucky to have such open schedules, and more importantly, wives that are so generous to allow them so much play time. :) Mom and I planted her summer pots and are crossing our fingers that the weather only gets warmer.

Halle was the star of the show I have to admit! She is such a sweet baby and my family loved playing with her. She is very curious and loves to play hide n' seek and many other games. When the house was quiet I was missing Halle - she is so fun to have around.

Thanks to the parents being such wonderful hosts, and our being able to do a little sub-hosting of our own, it turned out to be a wonderful business trip - thanks Mom and Dad - we'll be back before you know it.

Ben and I are completely obsessed with the organic sparkling lemonade at Costco... $10 for 6 bottles... more expensive than my diet coke addiction, but, oh so yummy. We took a bottle from the folks' for the long haul home.

Work trip

Ben and I are both away on business this week. If all business trips are like this than we love business trips!

Yesterday we drove up to my parent's house in Montana. Ben is shadowing my dad in his surgeries this week and I am doing work for a few clients up here. It's so nice to travel together and best of all, to spend the evenings with my parents and Dean.

This afternoon Mom and I went by this gift shop in Kalispell and what did we find? ? This most fabulous cookbook, The Gathering of Friends, Abby and her mom's cookbook. The shop owners were so complimentary of the book and said it has been flying off the shelves - they'd sold out of their original order and had just sent in another. Abby is a star - and pretty soon she'll add yet another 'accolade' (?) ... a husband! Congrats on your engagement Abby.

Miami VI

Yesterday was our last day at the beach. It was sad to be without out ringleader, but we finally forced ourselves to go out and sunbathe. We had a lovely day lounging and visiting. We got ready for an early dinner and walked down the boardwalk to the Oasis Cafe. All the tables were outside. Each table and its benches were mounted on a huge swing with a canopy top. It was so funny. We rocked back and forth through the whole meal -the highlight being the quesadillas and the giant diet cokes!

When we got back to the suite to put Reese to bed, we once again resumed our positions on the giant bed to watch hours of endless tv. :) Oh, and we had a little 'craft hour' making sparkly binkies, Taryn and Lindsey were quick learners. We started cleaning up, packing, etc., and I swear it took me four hours to round up all my stuff. (In preparation for the trip, I think I got everything packed in 30 minutes and was out the door... checklist: phone, wallet, keys, bikini) I was so worried that one of us was going to forget something that I just wandered around from room to room moving things from one pile to the next. Plus, I was trying to keep my sisters up for an all-nighter but it didn't work.

We woke up incredibly early on Sunday morning to get to the airport for our various flights. Linds and I were lucky to be on the same first leg to Houston. She took a very incriminating picture of me sleeping with my mouth agape (the two other people on my row were dozing too, same as me!). Okay, it was sorta funny. As long as it doesn't end up on her blog. We had a lovely breakfast layover in Houston and cracked up. She is a hoot.

I listened to John Mayer all the way home - it was the only way to ease into the reality of the trip being over with. It was such a wonderful vacation - most of all because I LOVE the women in my family and couldn't imagine life without each of them. With our various geographic situations and our similar-yet-different personalities, we fit together like the 'funnest' perfect little puzzle. I can't wait to see them all again over the 4th of July. Okay, and the boys can come this time.