Georgia

Georgia was great... the drive out was not. We drive it overnight so that Jake can sleep. We even gave him benadryl. He did not sleep at all on the drive out there. He was more miserable than ... the most miserable thing ever. "Daddy I need out RIGHT NOW" "LET ME OUT NOW!" Also, every time he cries, I cry. I would give him anything he wanted to make it stop. I can never have children. We sold kettle corn, sat in the hot tub, sat on the porch, went to a flea market... it was great and relaxing. Here's the pictoral proof:

the first time he cried and got me going...


selling kettle corn at the festival



yum! hot dog and lemonade!
he's a fan of hot dogs!



and baths...




a bumble bee on the porch..

a hummingbird that took forever to get pictures of...




the provo bridal veil wildfire

jenn and i keeping warm watching the fire. haha.

glad i'm not a guy...

so we went to a rope swing down in Mona, UT the other night and Austin made the mistake of putting the rope between his legs and then trying to do a double off it... the rope got caught, he got racked... we laughed but it surely hurt like hell. i've decided rope swings are way way WAY better than bridge jumping. you've got something to hold on to. it was a beautiful evening though, and we went to some little burger stand (the only food place in this little town) and it was all around fun.

i leave wednesday for TEXAS!!! finally... it's been almost 6 months since i've been home and i can't wait to see my little brother and also my sister who's been in china since february. and then we leave thursday to drive to Georgia, my next favorite place. so laid back, beautiful, quiet, lots of chips and cards, hot tubbing and front porch sitting... perfect. i love the south...
where things start to go wrong for austin:

where his men start to hurt:

his ungraceful reentry into the water...

terence

jake

moon!

jenn and me and jake's sexy rubi...

things i love as much as you

i think reflection on things you are grateful for is a good thing. rich lloyd reminded me this yesterday as i listened to his message thing in the car yesterday while i drove down to st. george with a friend (ended up being a good 8 hours in the car total... 4 of which were alone). a lot of these things are probably pretty stupid, but every time i'm faced with even a 'trivial' one, i smile big and goofy and feel warm tingles in my heart. the end... or the beginning. of a really long list...

1. podcasts of my morning show from home- the Bobby Bones Show. hilarious and keeps me connected to Austin and my peek-a-boo Texas accent
2. cooking. preferably with another person (preferably a boy, i won't lie). there's something so fun and great about cooking together and then eating great food.
3. dr. pepper. this is something i'd love to give up, but a fresh fountain dr. pepper makes me so happy- the perfect amount of carbonation is even better- unexpected place with best fountain dr. pepper??? the honda dealership where i get my car serviced. who knew.
4. my camera. yes, i want an upgrade already (d300 anybody? yes!!! now where can i find $2000???), but i love this d40, it's the perfect size for my hands, and i love having it with me even if i don't use it, cause you just never know. i love that when i'm bored i go take pictures instead of shopping or internet-ing (ok, well i'm working on that more)
5. driving in the car with somebody and singing real loud... or not loud. singing with a boy and getting do sing 2 parts... you know, it's way better when the person you are singing with isn't a world-class good singer. yesterday i rapped with terence and it was way better than listening to your partner sing all good and stuff... uh, not that terence wasn't good, it was just better. does this make sense? i don't know. whatevs.
6. my baby brother- he talks now. kinda ("tell tara 'i'm just calling you back'" "'no calling you back tara'" "'tell tara i love you!" "no love you tara!")... his favorite word seems to be no. but his little voice is so cute and i know he doesn't mean it so i don't care.
7. sundresses. i only have a couple and i wear them every chance i get.
8. summer drinks... ok so giving up sweet tea is not easy for me. but lemonade??? virgin mint mojitos? yes please!
9. MIKA's "grace kelly", Jason Mraz' "i'm yours" and the old school country i've been into lately. screams summer
10. long drives with the right person
11. pineapple brushed in honey and brown sugar and grilled. life cannot get any better.
12. the smell of hawaiian tropic sun lotion- i wear it even at night and when i'm not in the sun cause it just smells like summer.
13. chapstick (and the kind that smells like lifesavers! ha)
14. target. a heavenly institution on earth.
15. my hammock. the best 40 bucks i've spent in a long time.
16. the baby owls that live in the tree above above mentioned hammock. they are precious and they dance.
17. crying at a movie
18. chills from church
19. the pool and my dollar floatie that makes it even better.
20. missing someone for a few minutes or hours or days and then getting to see them.
21. my queen sized bed, even though i sleep on about 1/3rd of it and don't move the whole night, and nobody's ever been on the other side.... knowing that i have something that's kinda adult makes me proud.
22. austin baird... because he's from texas and he says y'all and calls everyone darlin' and sweetheart and never wears a shirt and is the best real life cook i've ever known and he lives off energy drinks and he thinks i can do things better than i really can (my hair, take pictures, be a good person...) and he kisses me on the cheek when he goes and he lets me sometimes come cry on his bed and he makes it all ok, and the way he walks into our house at random times and if i run into a room and say 'hang on!' he sounds really excited and calls "are you naked!?!?!', and how he loves to get people together and make everyone feel so happy. and because he takes pictures like this
23. thunderstorms. though we barely get any here.

a little bit o' luv

summer is going great, work is great (though scary and frustrating at times) and life is just great. i had to work on the 4th of july from 3-11... so i didn't even see any fireworks, but that's ok. i got to be home for the parade that goes on our street (cause we live on the main street in provo) and i helped austin cook and prepare for his big bbq, which smelled yummy. and at work we let the girls all watch a movie- even the ones on probations... so that we could just chill all day. so it wasn't too horrid. here are a couple of pics from the 4th and such... cooking with austin, the parade campers on our lawn (it was soooo loud alllll night long!) the trees along the alpine loop and a corvette club that was there too, and the hot air balloon fest that went on the morning of the 4rd that i got up at 5:30 a.m. to take picture of...
(austin with a shirt on? wow!)












and in other fun-ness, i get to go home and to georgia in 9 days!!! i can't wait to see jake and kristi, who i haven't seen since march and february. holy crap. and i love going to georgia (though the drive with a 2 year old won't be fun) because it's the most beautiful relaxing chill place ever and i get to sit on the porch and wear my sundresses and drink lemonade and read. my goal for this years trip is to finish 1776 and The Sound and the Fury and to read another something special. wooohooo!

HOLY COWWWWW!

Brandi!!! thanks so much for the recipe, the spaghetti and meatballs was AMAZing. i love that stuff, we even had a little bit leftover, and i'm hiding it in the back of the fridge cause i don't wanna share! You saved me!