Another Michigan Trip!

I went to Michigan again this past weekend. I flew out on Thursday morning and came back to SLC on Sunday night. I even got to enjoy the Northwest World Club when I arrived on Thursday. My brother can get in, so I tagged along. Our flights came in at the same time in Detroit. =) I went out to Michigan for my niece Samara's 1st birthday celebration =) Samara is sooo precious and beautiful. She is such a sweet baby. I'm glad I got to spend a lot of time with her. I even changed her diaper! First one ever! =P I put it on backwards though, ooops.

It was a great mini vacation. It was really nice to see my family and friends and getting to spend some time with them. Especially with my news from last weekend, it was nice to chit-chat with my girl friends about it all, in person.

I hung out a lot with my family, of course. I got to check out the new outdoor mall Patridge Creek in Clinton Twp. It's a really nice mall, I like it a lot. I also hung out on Friday in Ann Arbor with Kat and Carla. It was pretty sweet to see Ann Arbor again, a week after Timmy proposed there. I didn't think I would see Ann Arbor so soon. hehe

Saturday was the party and it was definitely a party. My brother & sister-in-law went all out with a bounce-house Disney castle, a clown, and a cotton candy maker! The kids at the party were cute. The food was tasty as usual. And the weather was perfect. The forecast was supposed to be a rainy night but the rain didn't come until the party ended. Great timing!
I was really glad I bought a direct flight ticket. I was pretty tired throughout the whole 4 day weekend and my flight times were perfect.

But yeah, definitely a great weekend.

Engaged!

We're Engaged!

Tim & I got engaged this past Friday. We went to Michigan for our friend's wedding, but I didn't know Tim had extra plans for the trip. Tim & I drove to Ann Arbor to just walk around campus. We love Ann Arbor (now even more so!). We got bubble tea at Bubble Island. Yummy. Got cute sticker pictures taken at Pinball Pete's. Walked to the UgLi (Undergrad Library) where we first met years ago. We took pictures throughout our stroll because I'm a picture hound. Walked to the central part of campus, to the Diag and took more pictures with the M. Tim wanted to sit on the grass and just chill. We did, after me fussing about the dirt. They just aerated the soil and so I couldn't tell if it was dirt or something else. You know what I mean? =P heh Anyway, after sitting there and chatting for a bit - we started to get up and walk away... Then Tim said he couldn't find his phone and it probably slipped out of his pocket while we were sitting on the grass. We walked back to the spot and looked for his "lost phone" .. as I was looking down at the ground, I turned around and there was Tim on one knee. =)

We are so happy and excited about our engagement. Tim is my best friend and I'm so excited to spend our lives together.

Dinner Party at Grace's

After living in Utah for a little over a year and a half.. I finally decided to have an official dinner party at my apartment. I had seven friends come over for dinner on Saturday. I felt pretty excited .. because this was my first time really making everything and getting ready all on my own and for a good amount of people. I cleaned up the apartment as much I could.. and tried to make the food not too early but not too late either. I give my mother a lot of credit! She's very good at timing what she makes and getting things ready for a get-together.

I made pansit (Filipino noodle dish), green bean casserole ('cause it's easy), crab rangoons (imitation of couse! hehe), and this chicken wrapped in bacon dish from Harmon's(a nice grocery store nearby) that I just had to bake. I also served caesar salad, chips & dip, fruits with fruit dip, and some bread from Great Harvest Bread Company. I made some sweet tea and cucumber water too. Yum yum. I was pretty excited with how the food, that I actually cooked, turned out. I've never made pansit before, so I was worried in how it would taste. I'm far from a cook! But it's exciting to try.. sometimes. ; )

The picture turned out more reddish.. 'cause of my wall... anyway, that's some of the stuff I served

After dinner, Neil set up his RockBand. I love that game, more and more. It was nice of him to bring it over for entertainment. We all played that for awhile. It was fun =) I played the guitar mostly. My arms hurt now =P It was really nice to have people over at my place. It was kind of cute to play the official hostess. heh

We were really concentrating!

Posing for a girls group shot before Mel & Stephanie left

Park City Kimball Arts Festival

I had a full day of art and music yesterday. I went with Mike and Tom and their family to Park City to enjoy some art at the Park City Kimball Arts Festival! We walked around Main Street all day. I forgot where we ate for lunch though, it was pretty yummy though =P It was a brewery restaurant. I'll think of the name later.

I like Park City a lot. It's such a pretty area. The weather is a lot cooler there than in the Valley, so it feels really nice to walk around over there. I didn't get anything from any of the displays, but I ended up buying some onesies and a dress for my nieces and still-in-the-tummy nephew. =)

I liked a lot of the stuff I saw but here are some favorites:

I really liked those Japanese kanji sculptures. I liked the blue wall piece or the stand alone pieces that he had throughout his exhibit. Very cool stuff. I liked the pop art paintings. There were some really nice travel photography at the art festival. Made me want to travel to different places..

There were some figurines made of nuts & bolts. The artist made all sorts of people. Trombone players, golfers, knitters, snowboarders, etc. It was really nice. I took a picture of the trombone player for Tim, of course.

After a full day of the art festival, we headed to Deer Valley for a Utah Symphony performance. It was really cool. It was an outdoor performance and you just sit in the grass to watch them. We brought blankets, a cooler full of food and drinks. They sold food there too and it was really yummy. Many people brought picnic baskets and wine. You can tell people are really prepared for the night. It was nice. I saw a lot of people have these little metal swirl thing that you stick in the ground and it'll hold your wine glass. Very clever! I will definitely have to get some of those if I ever see them at a store. They're very handy for picnics out on the grass. =) The performance was all about Broadway music. They had some singers and a chorus that performed too. It was a beautiful night. The weather was perfect and the music was good. So relaxing. And the scenery of being amongst the mountains can't be beat either.