July 19, 2009

Back to My Utah Roots

I apologize right now for the length of this post. It isn't that I enjoy verbosity. It's just that it was a very busy and full week and I don't want to forget anything.

Living in DC doesn't afford trips back to Utah very often, so I truly enjoy any opportunities I get. Since I knew the twin girls would be born in the summer, I scheduled some time off from work and bought a plane ticket. Turns out the girls were impatient to see us all, so they were born a bit early, and I consequently was extra-excited to get to Utah and see my family.

I flew out of DCA on Saturday and my parents picked me up at the SLC airport in the late evening. It was late, so we talked during the drive and went to bed pretty soon after getting home. Church was in the morning and then we celebrated my dad's birthday in the afternoon, followed by a little family picture time. Happy birthday, Dad!Stanley and I have a way of fortuitously being in Utah at the same time, and this trip was no exception. We met up on Monday for some lunch and then did some shopping since Stanley had store credit that he wanted to use while he was around. I'm always happy to see Stanley, because we're basically brothers at this point. We've been friends so long and know each other so well, and I wouldn't have it any other way.The Gallivan Center does outdoor movies on Monday nights, so I joined Pete, Jordyn, Dave, and Megan in watching "Dial M for Murder". I was quite impressed with the writing and suspense in this film, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.On Tuesday, I picked up Megan and her friend from work and we all went to see the newest Harry Potter movie. Though I haven't read the books, I've liked the movies and I think they're getting better as they go. Maybe it's because the actors are growing up, or the writing is growing up. Either way, I like it.Later that evening, I met up with my friend Carly (who I've known since freshman year of college) and we went to MacCool's Pub for some conversation and tasty Irish food. Normally I reserve my Irish food for St. Patrick's Day, but I'm glad we went for it. Those lads and lasses really know their stuff.Gunner and I had playtime for a good chunk of Thursday, and it was lots of fun as usual.I met up with Amber (another friend since freshman year of college) for lunch, and we enjoyed our PF Chang's.After a little relaxing at home, I headed down to Orem and went to dinner with Shonni's family. This was an interesting meeting, since Shonni wasn't there to introduce us all. They were great and we all got along really well, so it was no problem. We actually had lots of fun talking and getting to know each other.Friday is fun day, right? Well, this whole trip has been fun days. I picked up Megan from work and we did lunch at Five Guys, which was quite tasty, if also quite greasy.Then I went golfing with the boys at Stonebridge. We only had time for 9 holes, but I think that was about the right amount for me, since I haven't played in a while and my short game was very messy. Guess I need to hit the practice greens and driving range more...Lots of people take advantage of Saturdays by sleeping in. We did not do that. We packed up our guns and headed out at about 6:30 AM to drive down to some mountain-side shooting ranges on the west side of Utah Lake. We had Oksana's husband and son along, and they loved shooting the guns. Did you know that very few Russians shoot guns? Knife wounds are much more common, because their gun laws are extremely strict.We cleaned the guns (and ourselves) when we got home, and I drove down to have frozen yogurt with Carly at Red Mango.Following that, I went to Scott's for a friend BBQ. It's great to get together with everyone, and I can't believe how big their kids are getting already! To top off the BBQ, we went for sno-cones after. Gotta get the cream on top. Soooo goooood.

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