Well...

okay, so my blog for some reason, won't let me load pics. So i'm sorry; temporarily use your imaginations.

Fourth of July Weekend

So, as you all know, this weekend was the 4th of July. And we had so much fun! Apparently, Provo goes all-out for 4th of the July. We had gone for a walk on Sunday night (accidentally walked 6 miles!) and came back down University Avenue, and there were people camping out along the street so they could watch the parade! Thanks goodness we only live a couple blocks away. The next morning, our ward had a crepe breakfast before the parade ( yummy!) We enjoyed the parade, played with other people's babies, etc.
It was during this parade that we tried to take pictures with Ryan's mission camera. However, it was not to be. It was broken beyond repair, so we decided to go and get a new camera. We love it! It's a Canon Powershot, so now we can fully document our lives.
There was also a street fair down Center Street, so we meandered that. So good! Tucanos ( a brazilian steakhouse buffet... can any 3 words go together MORE perfectly?) had a booth, and I bought a Brazilian lemonade cuz I was dying. If you have never had one before, I feel so sorry for you. Here's the recipe:

3/4 cup sugar, 1 lime cut into wedges, 1 tsp coconut milk, and 4 cups of water.
You mix the sugar, lime (peel and all), coconut, and 1 cup of the water in the blender. Strain out the lime peels, and then add the last 3 cups of water.
It's like heaven in a glass. But when we were trying to find all the ingredients, we couldn't find coconut milk ANYWHERE... not even the health food store! Finally, we came to our senses, and just bought a coconut. Haha here are some pics of us trying to get the milk out of it. I am willing to bet it is harder than milking a cow. O and by the way, taking a bite out of a coconut is AWFUL. Don't try it. Just shave it into pies and such.

We also stumbled across a "snakes and tails" booth at the fair. It was this guy showing kids all sorts of reptiles. I immediately thought of my mother, who would most likely have passed out cold had she been there. Anyways, to give her a taste, here's a pic of like 1/4 of his biggest snake.
Also... surprise! Raechel and Kenny are here this week! So we are playing with them as much as we can... and they may be moving out here soon we're so excited!!
Finally, today, Ryan and I lost our J-Dawg virginity. I have been here for 3 years, and have not had one. Now, I am not a big hot dog fan, but I loved this dog. It had a "special sauce" which apparently, is a huge mixture of many different flavors, cuz Ryan and I each got something different out of it.
We have a fly in our house. It's driving me up a wall. I think it's attracted to the myriad of products in my hair. And my fly killer tennis racket needs new batteries.
And finally... I have some exciting news! I have lost 10 pounds since the beginning of May. I know that seems like a long time, but it's a big accomplishment for me! I hope to lose 20 pounds before school starts, but we'll see how it goes. I need a jumpstart. As obvious by the J-Dawg excursion described above, my willpower has waned a bit.