{the tew family}

Friday, August 15, 2008

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Last week for our anniversary we headed over to a local restaurant we have both been wanting to try: The Red Iguana. I was thinking, "Oh good, it's a Wednesday night--probably won't be too busy and we won't have to wait." Boy was I wrong! We had to wait for over an hour! It was a lovely summer's eve so we patiently waited outside. We ran into a friend of mine, Maggie Willis, who is a delightful human being, and whose wonderful little oil painting hangs in my kitchen and makes me happy every time I look at it.

Maggie is part of SLC's art council and every summer they have a Twilight Concert Series where they offer free concerts every Thursday night at the Gallivan Center. She was at the Red Iguana waiting for the band Nada Surf to arrive. She and her co-workers often take the musicians out to dinner/drinks before their show the next day. Nate and I were trying to remember one of their songs and it finally came to me...."POPULAR!" I think when I was 12 I used to watch this video at least 5 times a day on MTV. Check it out here.

Anyways, we were finally seated and it was definitely worth the wait. The food was incredible, our waitress was awesome (which after being a waitress for several years I never take for granted), the decor was bright and cheery, and I had my favorite person with me--who could ask for more? We told our waitress it was our anniversary and she stuck two candles in our fried ice cream and wished us many happy years to come. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better she brought out our to-go containers. Goodbye styrofoam, hello brown 100% recycled and recyclable containers! Needless to say, I slept like a baby that night.

P.S. Did I mention it's a family owned business that has been around since 1985---and they have vegetarian refried beans... happy day.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Flashback Friday

Holly, Rachel, Kensey, Laura, Jess

Youth Conference

Moab, Utah

1999ish

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Sweet Sixteen

My little sister Kelsey turned 16 years old today--wow! You are so grown up and beautiful---Happy Birthday Kelsey, I Love You!!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Happy Anniversary to Us

Celebrating four amazing years together...

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Congratulations Babe!

I'd like to give a shout out to Nate for passing his final real estate test today--I'm proud of you for working so hard, Good job!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Gilgal Gardens

Last Sunday Nate and I went to check out Salt Lake's Gilgal Gardens. It's nestled between several quaint little houses and I would have never known it existed if a friend hadn't mentioned it to me. I'll get straight to the point: I was fascinated the moment I walked in. Here's a little history-- The historic sculpture garden was created by Thomas B Child, Jr (1888-1963) to give physical form to his deep-felt beliefs. (that sentence was straight off the visitor's pamphlet!)

So you walk in and there are around a dozen interesting sculptures (mostly revolving around LDS beliefs) and over 70 stones engraved with scriptures, poems, and philosophical texts. What is amazing is that this guy was 57 years old when he started creating this garden!

The Joseph Smith Sphinx and Four Stone Books Representing LDS Scriptures.

I was tired just thinking about the time it must have took to engrave so many words into so many stones.

The quote on the rock is from Job 19:23-26.

We sat down on the rock "patio" next to the Captain of the Lord's Host sculpture. In the pamphlet it said that this little stone patio was Child's favorite place for mediation. In my mind's eye I pictured Thomas Child sitting in the exact spot I was on a Sunday afternoon thinking about life and what is really important. It was one of those perfect peaceful moments of clarity for me. "Child shared Gilgal Garden with thousands of visitors during his lifetime. He hoped the garden would inspire viewers to ponder 'the unsolved mysteries of life' and struggle to find their own answers."