Gelukkig Voortrekker Dag!

To celebrate Pioneer Day I am officially not going anywhere. The parade route has blocked off all possible routes of escape for Salt Lake City. While sleeping on the curb and exposing one’s self to extreme heat and dehydration in order to get a glimpse at a caravan of odd vehicles and odder people may be a slightly more fitting way to commemorate the Pioneers grand entrance into our lovely valley, I'll stay put and post some pictures to illustrate how our summer has been going so far while Kate celebrates by working.

Visiting the Utah Arts Festival (earlier this summer) has become an annual tradition of ours.





Treasure Island at the Vegas with Pirates of the carribian mode Orlando Bloom and crew.





Mtn. Biking at Deer Valley with Stephen when Lindsey and him visited Utah





Ultimate frisbe with the family.







Practicing my famous one-arm-drive


Random shot of this incredibly gorgeous woman I spotted at "Utah's Beach."


Kayaking on the Yakima River




Here are a couple shots of fishing in The Sound with Stephen, Lindsey, Daniel, and Scott.

A Shout Out to Fellow Bloggers

Krissy, Jenica, Leisle, Camille, Heidi, Lindsey, Amie, SueAnne and Julie, I LOVE YOUR BLOGS! You are the women I love, but see too little of. I love visiting your blogs and seeing your lives in action. Keep up the bloggin, because it makes minimum, one person happy.

So here's what's new at the van Rij residence. Softball is in full swing (no pun intended) I have bruises all over my legs to prove it. I am the catcher, and sometimes my mit is ill placed. Last game went into over time twice, we got done after 11PM and I was exhausted at work the next day. I have really enjoyed spending time with Jenica and Doug before they move to Spokane (little do they know I plan on hiding in their trunk when they leave).

I went back to school this summer, so that is what takes up the rest of my time. I am taking a few graduate business classes. I have really enjoyed them so far. The most exciting part is that I have been able to use skills from the classes the next day at work, which is very rewarding. I hope the whole program is as fun as the entry level classes.

Josh and I have been BBQn' Josh loves making stuff on the grill. Nothing says summer like a BBQ. We also have been going on bike rides a lot, we try to go to the grocery store or run errands on them. We wish SLC had cool neighborhood bike trails like St. George, thanks SueAnne for showing us around St. George, that was a blast!

This entry reads more like a letter, still getting the hang of blogging I guess. I decided to try to write more, since all my blogs have been heavily picture based. You know what they say, a pictures worth 1,000 words!