every title i can think of for this brooklyn post is stupid.

the sunday of new canaan weekend was just going to be spent driving back to boston so instead i drove back to new york with john!

his work gives him a ridiculous amount of money each weekend for traveling expenses so we had this nice car service man pick us up. my favorite part of our time with him was when i offered him a pop-tart and he really took it! i thought for sure he would have said no but it made me so happy he didn't. 

i don't know whose genius idea it was to arrive in brooklyn at 8:30 in the morning (john's) but we sure did. he thought we could get into his hotel room early but they were definitely still full so we just sat in a chair in the lobby and ate sandwiches i had made for lunch because we were starving. i think that combined with my snowflake blanket made john a little embarrassed but i assured him his marriott friends wouldn't even recognize him if he just closed his eyes every time they walked by.

after that fun time we walked down to grace and dave's house (bnotd = they live five blocks away from where john stays!) and went to church with them and baby alta. the walk was so painfully hot/humid but we were sure happy to see the poulsen's again!

old yellow house friends nate and annelisa are in their ward so we got to see them too! we also saw a mormon blogger celeb who i don't particularly love - but grace told her i did - and that was awkward. 

maybe we only got a few hours of sleep in new canaan and we were dying during sacrament so we pulled the weareonvacationkindof justification and went to take a nap. upon arrival i saw this little treasure, who knew you can find a book of mormon in ever single room at every single marriott? i actually think i might have known that at one time but definitely forgot about it so it was a fun surprise.

we went back to grace and dave's house for lunch and brooklyn has turned her into a healthy little cooker!  i miss them living in boston and being so close so getting to spend time with them this day was such a treat. 

we then went on a little stroll around the streets and john let me bring my camera

(which is always kind considering when i have it i forget to interact with others around me and just go into picture mode -  way annoying i'm sure)

it was fun to see the other side of the city and the most random pool placement ever

best place for a table and chairs

i really enjoyed the photography projects that lined the sidewalk 

i wanted to be a part of this wedding so badly

carousel!

i think it is safe to say that i really like brooklyn. i liked how it was more quiet than the other parts of the city i've seen and it just seemed so quaint and nice. i was loving our walk but sadly it got cut short because we needed to head back to their house so they could take me to the airport.

but theeeen my flight was cancelled because a crazy rainstorm was going to hit! which it did, as you can see above. 

so then we got in some extra bonus time with the poulsen's and with nate and annelisa. 

(and i feel like i should say we had just come in from the rain in the picture above, that is definitely not sweat haha)

annelisa made some bomb butternut squash lasagna which we ate as we watched a little of the olympics and had nice conversations. then we said goodbye to our friends and went to bed early (not together - separately) and i thoroughly enjoyed being in a place with central air and waking up because it was time to get up rather than because i was sweating to death. 

and so bright and early i headed to the business men shuttle to catch a 6 am flight to boston and by 7:45 i was at work (thanks to natalie for being a champ and picking me up from the airport!) and ready to head our monthly staff meeting.
(and yes of course i just wore the same clothes i wore all day sunday because i had sent everything home with natalie the day before thinking i wouldn't need any haha)

in conclusion i say yes to having a random day trip to brooklyn and yes to john's firm for funding it! 

(i'm glad there is at least one perk to having Deloitte decide to work him in a different state for six months)

new canaanites

have i mentioned how awesome the east coast is? if not, let me say it now. the east coast is AWESOME. day and weekend trips can just happen in other states like it aint no thang. 

this particular weekend we went to new canaan, connecticut to stay at friend natalie's house. 

(which i was pumped about since i can now cross connecticut off my east coast bucket list!)

the drive was green and gorgeous and slightly claustrophobic since you can't ever see anything but trees. 

made it! nat's house in the flesh everyone

3 hours later we had arrived at our destination and then went with natalie's brother and mom to see a community theatre rendition of joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat. 

it was outside under this cute little tent 

and was actually done really well! it took a lot of self control to not sing every song the whole time so i compromised and only sang along about half of the time (when my desire became too overwhelming). 

can you see in our faces how much we loved joseph?! we are all so doe-eyed in this photo it kills me.

 (that was obviously taken before i looked down and noticed how awkward my scarf was being.)

when we got home a few more people had arrived so we all sat down and watched the olympics. i never understand the olympics and wonder why it is always on gymnastics or swimming. we got to see michael swim in his last race and receive his last gold medal which was cool but made me sleepy. i'll be better at caring/watching the olympics next time they are happening, promise! 

the next morning we woke up bright and early to head to candlewood lake where we would be spending the day. everyone wanted to get there early so they could ski on glassy water...i went so i could have good picture lighting. 

and let me tell you the light was the best. it was super humid and foggy so the light came through the trees in the perfect amount. i was dying the entire ride because it just felt too beautiful to be reeeeal. 

greeeeeeeeen

(and this part looked just like taiwan to me and it felt like taiwan too since it was so crazy humid) 

dreamy sun shadow trees in the back were my favorite in this portion of the ride

and really if we hadn't been moving so fast these pictures would be ten times better but you kind of get the idea. 

upon arriving we came to the knowledge that nat's family actually had a lake house there which was way convenient for storing one million life jackets, kayaks, tubes, wake boards, and skis. 

i'm not used to lakes on the east with all of the trees and fog so i just died over and over again at how beautiful it all was. the fog was really so cool. 

we had a real nice time (obviously) on our first run and i water ski'ed for the first time in my life! i've always been partial to wake boarding but i decided there would be no harm in trying to ski so nat's dad kindly taught me some lessons on form and then i gave it a try. i started on two and it didn't seem all that difficult so i was excited to try just one but spoiler : the water became too choppy so that never happened. wah waaah

the later group came and brought with them cutest baby stephen. every time i'm around a baby it makes me realize just how much i miss my own little nieces and nephews and that makes me sad. you all need to move out here so i can see them more!

we spent time hanging out on the dock 

and kayaking 

and then having a great idea for chelsea to pull me since she was going to be paddling anyway

and then we went out again for some tubing 

(i liked the picture of the people watching tubing rather than the picture i took of the tubers so just deal)

j man doing his thing (and me doing mine)

i don't think i ever even talked to this kid but i liked taking a picture of him laughing i guess.

love this nat friend of mine 

and this gem of a human being. these pictures don't do his stance/pirate flag justice

and look at gem #2.

 so glad he offered to wear my shirt so i could wear his long sleeved one because the sun was making my skin sad and my head hurt 

(maybe i was getting a heat stroke? who knows)

it was just a really fun and relaxing lake time that i think all of us native utahn's really appreciated. the quinn's fulfilled so many summer needs that had been long neglected! 

this picture isn't the best but it displays pretty well my favorite thing. i LOVE how certain homes are set back and have this short mossy grass with tall skinny trees in front of their house. i think it looks so nice (especially this time of day with those shadows!) and i just want to live somewhere like that so bad!

we came back from swimming to have a backyard bbq, play football (of course i didn't), and enjoy their beautifully landscaped park i mean backyard. the quinn's were just so nice to let us come in and eat all of their food and play with all of their things! they really were the best hosts.

(and yes! those sweet quinn's have a pond in their backyard)

afterwards was a much anticipated moment that i like to call going to the world's largest dairy store :

which i clearly had not prepared myself for. 

it was like a mix between ikea, trader joes, a farm, it's a small world ride, and chuck e. cheese. 

so many out of control animatronics singing about dairy and vegetables and fruits. cows that moo'ed at you. a petting zoo. it was everything you ever wanted the world's largest dairy store to be really. 

we (and by we i mean john) bought their well known chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies and then on our way out grabbed some of their ice cream. i would like to tell stew that pistachio with coconut was such a great twist combo and i look forward to returning some day for more. 

i think the other 20 or so people who were lame/stayed home to watch the olympics/do whatever it is they did really missed out on the best part of the trip and i'm so glad i found three people willing to humour me and go because i honestly loved every second of it. 

even the few seconds after i got there when i lost it and was laughing so hard i started crying and when i tried to stop crying i just cried even harder (all while john was stroking my head and saying "i know. i know. it was just all too much too soon" hahaha)

and for journaling purposes i'm going to go ahead and say how much i thoroughly enjoyed that couple who went with us (curt and anne marie) and would like anne marie to always be around me so i can laugh at all the funny things she says because that girl has some great one liners that just catch you so off guard. 

also for journaling purposes i would like to say that new canaan was so dreamy and i'm excited to somehow get myself there on christmas eve so i can see everyone gather in the town square and have a sing-a-long and then go to every single community play they put on next summer and then secretly move into the quinn's pool house without them knowing because i loved it so much. and steal baby stephen. and eat pistachio coconut swirl ice cream every day. and go to candlewood lake. and the end.