Utah Arts Festival

Yesterday the whole family geared up, covered ourselves in sunscreen, and braved the crowds to go to the Utah Arts Festival. It was so much fun. We go every year, but we absolutely HAD to go this year because I heard that Robert Hall was going to be there. He's a photographer who specializes in lithography who is my favorite artist and has been a huge inspiration to me since I started my journey in the world of photography. I met him at a gallery opening in January and he's been in my thoughts ever since. He works strictly with film (a brave thing to do in the age of digital and post-production editing capabilities) and not only did he REMEMBER me from the gallery opening, he told me to get a few more classes under my belt at school, and then to come talk to him and he said we'd see what we could work out in terms of a mentorship! SQUEEEE! To have someone you respect and admire and who inspires you offer to work with you on such an intimate level...I almost started crying right then and there. It was wonderful. And of course I couldn't leave without buying three of his prints.

Me and Robert Hall


Ok I'll stop gushing now

We also saw Justin Hillgrove, who's art is called Imps and Monsters. We considered buying a bunch of his art when we were thinking of doing Evie's room in a monsters theme. His monsters are quite cute. But lately he's been branching into more commercial-themed things, which happened to include some studio Ghibli characters, so we picked up this adorable print for Evie's room (Which, you may recall, is Totoro-themed).

I also found an artist whose use of colors just drew me in...so rich and vibrant. I found a piece called "Baile!" and it's a Flamenco dancer. It really appealed to be because I'm a quarter Spanish. It made me think not of the person I am, but of the person I want to be: confident, beautiful, powerful, passionate.

All in all I'd say it was a wonderful day. :)

Walking on Sunshine

Lately my mom, Evelyn and I have been going for walks during the day. There are a couple motives here; to get Evelyn tired out so she naps better (it's working) to build her confidence in walking, and to get her used to the idea of holding my hand when we're out someplace. She's doing great! We have been walking to the end of the block and back without her showing signs of getting tired and she holds my hand the whole time. She's such a good girl. I love her so much.

Memorial Day and Father's Day

Memorial Day was a lot of fun. My sister's family joined us at the Miller's so it was one huge get-together! Well, not huge by Utah standards, but huge for me. There about 12 of us there, which for me is a lot of people! Lana really enjoyed having kids around so she could get some grandmothering out of her system, and my sister enjoyed letting her kids get some energy out of theirs! Evelyn wore an adorable little patriotic romper that I got on sale at The Children's Place and as usual I was just overwhelmed by how beautiful she is. I just can't get over how blessed I am to be her mother.

Father's Day was wonderful. I got Spencer his gifts early so he could enjoy them: a fencing mask and gorget he can use in SCA. We're going up to Idaho in July and now that he has his own gear he can get registered and actually participate in the tournament. I'm excited for a road trip. It will be fun to go camping for a couple days. Anyway, that's kind of off topic. The friday before Father's Day was my dad's birthday, and he had a BBQ to celebrate both, so Spence, Evie and I went over to his place to celebrate with him and his girlfriend. We had a great time and a great meal and really enjoyed the company. Evelyn was very well behaved...until we gave her a cupcake. Even though she had a bath earlier in the day she insisted on rubbing frosting in her hair (what toddlers do) and had to have another bath before we could take her home. She even wore the cupcake wrapper on her head like a hat for awhile. Silly girl. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate my father, who has sacrificed so much for me, and my husband, who works so hard to give our daughter the life we feel she deserves.