Hiking Mt. Timpanogos

My birthday happens to fall on Pioneer Day, July 24th. I decided I wanted to hike to the caves for my birthday. Once we started hiking and got high up enough, Kevin took a picture of our lovely view.













The sign should also warn, "If you are out of shape..."










Kevin and I decided this was Pride Rock. He is pretending to be Simba here. As I thought about it more, however, I think it looks much more like when the Little Mermaid is on her rock. Rock on Kevin, rock on.



















Kevin and I are looking so dapper in the early morning.







I haven't actually been to the caves since elementary school. Kevin had never been. It is really cold and damp in the cave, which is why you get to see stalagmites, stalagtites, and helectites (sideways ones). You are not allowed to touch anything because of the fragile nature of the cave's contents.





















The biggest of them all: the heart of Timpanogos caves. They have a red light behind it that they turn on so it actually looks red.




















These formations look slimier and more caramel-colored. Because the caves are on a fault line, there have been occurrences of earthquakes and mud slides. Mud slides have happened here.



















Many of the parts of the cave look like you should be under water. These walls looks like sea coral.









I thought this was a pretty picture. It looks like there is a little seahorse peaking its head out. I would love to go again, it was a pretty good little workout. We were both sore the next day. That concludes the cave pictures...



















After we went hiking, we got lunch and then went tubing down the Provo river with Andrew Veenstra and Sara Burroughs. We didn't take the camera so this is not us in the picture, but you get the idea of what went on. We rented tubes from a company that drives you up to the top. Once we got on the river, it was about an hour and a half ride. We all tried to stay together and did a pretty good job, except when Andrew decided to be heroic and help unite people with their groups. The water was only a couple of feet deep in most parts, but none of us wanted to get in the water. When we strayed too close to the sides, we all struggled to get ourselves away rather than just getting out and moving. This resulted in some tubes almost popping, Sara getting flipped over, etc. My hair almost got ripped out. And the water was only two feet deep.

Moving

Kevin and I were surprised to find ourselves back in
Utah so quickly after moving to NY last October. Kevin
had been auditioning while simultaneously preparing for
the LSATs. It came as a shock to both of us when we
realized that "the crazy actor" life wasn't in harmony
with what we wanted. We began saving money, knowing
we would have to move eventually . Quite randomly, a
good job opportunity arose for Kevin, and we both
strongly felt that we had to seize the opportunity. So, it
was with mixed feelings and trepidation that we
commenced our sojourn to Utah. We rented a Ford
Explorer and packed all of our precious possessions inside
(Luckily, we sold the big furniture pieces). 33 hours later,
we arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. It was neat to be
reminded of the beautiful country we live in (excluding
Nebraska).

Oh look, it's Iowa, nothing but corn.

Still Iowa, but getting close to Nebraska. Some wind action going on.

Oh, and Iowa also has some KILLER rainbow sherbet.

Project for Mom

My mom has developed some patterns
for really cute aprons. She needed some
pictures (marketing purposes) so Kevin
took some shots next door at Gardner's
Village (which, coincidentally, has an
amazing quilt shop that is going to get me
in lots of trouble!)

Here we are at Kevin's glorious birthday dinner at
Porterhouse. We had a fabulous dinner with friends,
saw our friend Tony Bennet, and even tried some tasty
bone marrow.

Despite our best efforts, the Jewish guy kept upstaging us
in the picture.

Kevin and I enjoying the Staten Island ferry on a windy
evening. We decided to be tourists for once and see the
statue of liberty.

Dumbo

Kevin and I had been saying forever that must go see the Brooklyn Bridge since, after all, we DO live in Brooklyn. But the truth remains, we have always been really terrible at the whole New York sight-seeing thing.
Well, we finally had a good excuse to go! One of our friends was shooting for her online photography class and needed some really cool, photogenic people for subjects. (Naturally, we came to mind.) When she said where we were shooting, we were both really excited!


The Brooklyn Bridge is in a part of Brooklyn called Dumbo. As it turns out, Dumbo also has some pretty impressive graffiti art! This was one of our favorite art pieces! I think we will have to take another trip out--Kevin had to be to work later that afternoon so we couldn't stay around to do much exploring!

Sharylann's Wedding Day

We took a short trip to Utah in February for Kevin's sister's wedding. Sharylann married George Smith on February 21st in the Mt. Timpanogas temple. It was a beautiful day and we were overjoyed to witness such a lovely ceremony in such a special place.

Kevin spent much of the morning poised behind his camera and caught several stunning shots of the bride and groom. I realized how much I had missed those snowy mountain peaks. They provided such a beautiful background to everything!













The reception was at the Harmon building on BYU campus. Sharylann's chosen colors were red, black, and white. So, Kevin decided to wear pink.

Life in Brooklyn

Well, we finally made it! Kevin and I have been living in NYC since late October 2008 (following some SERIOUS deliberation!) It took us a couple of days living in Las Vegas before we realized that NY was where we needed to be. We were sad to have to say goodbye to Tom, Carly, and Jace so soon!

We moved to Brooklyn in a predominantly Latin area and are surrounded by many young families. Our apartment is on the main floor of a brownstone building. It is a great price for a 2-bedroom apartment with a new bathroom and kitchen. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have landed housing the day we arrived, especially considering that neither of us had jobs yet (and most landlords require a credit check and employment verification, etc.).

It took us about a week to get settled (including a day at IKEA) but I finally began my quest for a job utilizing the internet at the nearest Starbucks. I applied for over a dozen personal banker positions for Chase Bank--and was delighted when I received a telephone call that same afternoon, inviting me in for an interview.

I first interviewed with one of the managers and it went really well! In fact, that interview was followed by an interview with the area president, which was followed by a meeting with the HR rep--who offered me the position on the spot. I didn't start for a few weeks pending drug test results, background checks, etc.

Finally, I started the job, but I wasn't in my branch for the first two months. (Chase requires all the personal bankers to be licensed to sell certain variable products.) So instead, I spent all of November and December in the basement of Chase in their enormous study hall dungeon (located in the financial district). I studied literally ALL DAY, and then more studying at home. Finally, two months later, I am happy to have completed my series 6, 63, and life insurance exam. It was tiring (my brain is still mush), but I definitely consider myself lucky for the opportunity to be paid to study and have all test expenses paid for.

I started in my branch just over a week ago, but I still have intermittent training courses dispersed over the next couple of months. My branch is in Hell's Kitchen, and I am relishing the chic restaurants and quaint little shops in the neighborhood. I can't wait until all my training is done!

Kevin got a job waiting tables at the ESPN Zone in Times Square. He started at the best time--busy holiday season! Kevin isn't too fond of waiting tables, but its flexibility allows him to audition in the daytime and take headshots as well. We hope waiting tables is the means to a fantastic end! The restaurant has slowed a little since the holiday season ended but it is fairly easy for Kevin to pick up extra shifts if he needs to.

It probably wasn't the best time to move to NY--15 shows have closed (to date) and the prospect of new ones opening has been grim. Still, it has been a little busier in January and Kevin is starting to get a lot more opportunities than the previous months.

Kevin has discovered a lot of good places to eat. My favorites include Max Brenner (the chocolate restaurant), Lucali's in Brooklyn (the best pizza I had ever had), and a bar in Brooklyn Heights--whose name eludes me (but has the best fish and chips). Kevin seems to crave most the hearty cookies from Lavaine Bakery and the pizza from Spumoni Gardens.

We have really missed all of our friends and family members and look forward to an upcoming trip to Utah for Sharylann's wedding!