Last Thursday was our ward closing social. We met at our bishop's house and had dinner made by the first counselor in our bishopric-- he's a Dutch oven competition cook, always wins, and his stuff is delicious! We jumped on the trampoline and swung on the swings and played a few games. When it got dark, they showed Tangled on a projector in the backyard. It was so much fun to spend time with everyone and have one last hurrah before the semester ends in a couple weeks.
Me and Taylor eating dinner
Me and Evan in the background...
except you can't see his face because he put his foot up
And our good friend Erika making the silly face :)
Last Friday night, Evan took me to the Provo Cemetery to just walk around and talk. I love cemeteries for some unexplainable reason (I discovered this love for cemeteries when I went to Arlington National Cemetery a few summers ago), so he took me because he thought I'd enjoy it, and I did! We looked at all the cool gravestones, looking for the oldest one we could find. I think the oldest one we found was one from the 1850s (Provo was founded in 1849). Crazy! They have little plaques on all the original pioneers' graves, which were also cool to see. I think I like cemeteries because they are so peaceful and give you opportunity to think about life. I had a few moments where I got close to tears when we were walking through the area they have dedicated to infant graves. I just felt the overwhelming grief of the parents at losing their babies, mostly because of the sweet messages left on their gravestones. We also got barked at by the cemetery caretaker's dogs. It was really an unusual date, but a great one nonetheless. :)
Monday night, Evan invited me to go with him to a family get-together. They own some land up in the mountains in Eagle Mountain (they call it West Canyon) and every once in a while they go up there and have dinner together. I got to meet his parents, grandparents, and all of his siblings and their spouses and kids. I really had a great time and enjoyed their company. The food was great: Dutch oven chicken, ribs, and cobbler made by his mom, broccoli salad, potato salad, and homemade rolls. Evan took me for a ride on their four-wheeler and teased me by almost driving straight through a mud puddle. Then they got a fire going and we all sat around it and they played guitars and sang campfire songs. It was awesome! Evan and I got a little bit of teasing for cuddling next to the fire, but they're not half as bad at the teasing as our friends are.
Tuesday night, we doubled with my friend Taylor who is dating Evan's roommate Jordan. We went to American Fork for dinner at Chick-fil-a and then went to the dinosaur museum up at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. We only had about 40 minutes in the museum, but it was lots of fun anyway, and we got some fun pictures. After they kicked us out, we ended up going to a nearby park to swing on the swings and talk, then laid in the soft grass looking at the stars. It was a nice, low-pressure, fun date, and I had a really good time!
Me, Evan, Taylor and Jordan
Me and Evan.
(The dinosaur in the back makes me think of Night at the Museum lol)
Me standing under a huge dinosaur
Can you imagine being around one of these things when it was alive??
Thursday night, we got a bunch of friends together for a bonfire before Taylor leaves for BYU-Idaho. We got a great group of friends together and went to Evan's grandparents' house in Lehi where they have a bonfire pit in their backyard. Evan got a great fire going almost immediately and we roasted hot dogs, marshmallows and Starburst (yes, Starburst... so good!), and made s'mores. We stayed there for a couple hours, laughing and talking and having a great time with good friends. I'm going to miss these guys when they all leave in the fall!
Evan's fire-building skills
Lincoln longs anyone?
Tay and Jordan not looking
Making faces
Jason trying to keep the mosquitoes away by standing in the smoke
