The 4th of July

Sorry this post will not have any pictures because I forgot I owned a camera for 3 days straight, but thought I'd report on our 4th of July in Blackfoot, ID. Brandon's grandparents live there and 2 Uncles. We had a mini- family reunion which included BBQ, swimming, sitting in the sun and talking, the ultimate fireworks on the driveway (Thanks Jeremy!) and a water balloon fight with the neighbors. Brandon brought his balloon launcher and it was the biggest hit of the weekend. We started a water fight with the neighbors of Brandon's Uncle and it was a blast! He also has this ridiculous but pretty fun game where at night you launch the water balloons straight up into the air, then everyone scatters and closes their eyes and waits to see who gets hit!

Brandon's extended family is amazing and has become a second family to me. They are so warm and loving and we just love spending time with them. His other grandparents are also in Idaho, Ririe....and we had a great time visiting with them as well. Although they tried to teach us Peanuckle and we are officially not a fan of the game!

It was nice to get away from Utah and have fun and laugh and get some sun and be with family. I made a delicious snack up there that I got from my fabulous sister-in-law Lindsey, and it was a hit (as far as snacks go). In case you've never had it.....I must share the love!

Pigeon Mix

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. Butter
2 C. Sugar
2 C. Light Corn Syrup
1 Box Ric or Corn Chex
1 Box Golden Grahams
2 C Shredded coconut
1 C Slivered Almonds

Melt Butter, Sugar and Syrup in Large sauce pan on Medium Head - stir until boiling.

Mix Cereal, Coconut & Almonds in Large mixing bowl. Pour Syrup mixture over cereal mixture. Lay our on Wax/Parchment Paper to cool.

Still on the Calendar of fun things to do this month....a road trip to Grand Junction to see my sister-in-law Kara, a tour of the largest open mines that you can even see from space, practically right in our backyard...Kennecott mines, and a super exciting California road trip and Mexican cruise for our 1 year Anniversary! Wohoo!

We'll be sure to take pictures and keep everyone up to date on our many adventures!

Catch Up...

What's been happening for the Harmons? Time for a 2 month re-cap.

Memories from April are foggy at best, but the main event I distinctly remember was the graduation of my baby sis. She will be headed down to Dallas for grad school this Fall and I will be sad she will be so far away....but I'm excited for her and proud of all her hard work graduating with a double major in Psychology and Photography and on to a Masters I(& possibly PhD) in Theoretical Psychology! - She is amazing!

May was the month of love. It was primarily focused on one very special event - my beautiful older sister's wedding! It was such a magical day, so much fun to have the whole family in town (even all the way from Scotland) and so exciting to be a part of such a special a loving and memorable celebration! Congratulations you guys!

So far for June...

Brandon and I went on a quick trip to Denver where we assisted at 'The Zufelt Experience' which is a weekend retreat held by my dad. A wonderful uplifting, and always life-changing experience...and so great to be there with my husband!

Our friends Kate & Rob left us their 1 year old baby boy Tommy for an over night babysitting adventure. It was our first time playing parent for more than a few hours - and we loved every minute. It was a blast!

Our dear friends Em & Tyler left Utah after 5 wonderful years of friendship and memories, they are moving on to bigger and better things back east. We'll miss you guys!

On a random note, Brandon and I had a date to the dentist this week (which was a first) and found out we both need root canals - on the same tooth! What are the odds? That's how close we are as a couple...we live together, we love together.......

we get root canals together........

And on a final note, we're excited to have a summer in Utah where we can actually play! Last summer we were a little pre-occupied with planning a wedding and so now we have to make up for lost time. We're looking forward to road trips to Idaho, Zions Park, Yellowstone, California - camping, tubing, hiking, biking (once I get a bike!) Not to mention celebrating our 1 year anniversary! It's going to be just great...can't wait!

Lucky Me...

I know that I am the luckiest girl ever to get to know and see every side of my amazing husband Brandon. One side that I know very well, but that many people don't know is that Brandon is hilarious and totally silly. He makes me laugh almost every day, and I feel selfish keeping this side of him all to myself, so I wanted to share some pictures to show a side of Brandon to the world that I alone get to see almost every day.

Also, I have discovered more of his adorable quirks and I wanted to divulge some of them as well.

So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce my wonderful and very funny husband....Brandon!

(a cool picker-upper man gadget thingy) (Trying to capture a beautiful fall walk)

Quirks....

** Sometimes he falls asleep singing the hymns at church

** He thinks he should have a bigger nose than I do.

(He looks like he belongs on the Simpsons in this pic)

** He gets goosebumps when he eats apples (and sometimes grapes)

**He can make his face go 'aerodynamic' - I have yet to capture this phenomena on film!

(my dad got him a robe from Singapore for Christmas, they liked pretending they were ninjas)

**When he has trash or wrappers, he just holds it FOREVER, he doesn't know what to do with it. I usually have to take it from him or point to where he could put it down or throw it away.

** He touches his forehead and eyebrows when he's nervous, and regularly forces a fake yawn when talking about something uncomfortable!

(He LOVES his new shotgun....it still scares me a bit though)

**He likes to squish all of the fruit snacks into one big glob and put the whole thing in his mouth

** He is a man who appreciates his food. He eats it slow and deliberately, and I know I did well if I get him to close his eyes while he chews - savoring the experience! (which luckily isn't too hard since he's easy to please!)

(He didn't even object once when I wanted to wear matching shirts for St. Patrick's Day!)

Now, this next part is not about quirks or how funny my husband is, but a bit of bragging. We got to babysit our favorite baby Thomas last week and Brandon was so good with him. I couldn't help but just brag a little bit about what a great dad he'll be someday. Thomas loved him....

(Isn't he SO cute?! Of course Thomas is adorable too!)

I just love, love, love my man! He is the love of my life and makes me so happy! I'm so glad he picked me!

P.S. - we've been married 8 months this week! wohoo!