UTAH ARTS FEST, CHALK ART, AND ART HIGH

utah arts festival

^^^the salt lake city arts events are in full swing...and we're loving it! this weekend we saw performances from musicians, poets, kids, and of course acrobats- it's all happening at the utah arts festival.^^^

^^^the children's art section might have stolen the show this year. everyone got to paint giant paper mache farm animals.^^^

making friends.

^^^jared painting a cow.^^^

^^^^australian acrobats, "strange fruit"^^^

^^^dancing on swaying sticks. um yeah, pretty sure i would fall and break my neck. no, never mind. i'd never make it to the top of the pole.^^^

chalk art festival

^^^a couple weeks ago we went to the annual chalk art festival at the gateway. proceeds went to utah foster care, so all of the art was inspired by children's "wishes"^^^

^^^this was my favorite.^^^

^^^and this was jared's favorite. no surprise here.^^^

art high school

jake and laurie invited us to check out the old granite high school for some interactive art. some local artists had transformed the building, which has been sitting vacant for years, into a series of installation art pieces. we wandered through the old hallways, and walked across the warped floor boards into dozens of unique rooms.

^^^jake and jared enjoying some art.^^^

^^^jared starting up the ol' time machine^^^

^^^getting excited about learning...well, sort of^^^

thanks for the party, jake and laurie!

SUMMER SOLSTICE 2014: CAMPING AT THE SPIRAL JETTY

^^^i had no idea it would be this beautiful. ^^^

^^^i love utah.^^^

^^^we decided to spend the summer solstice in a new spot this year- the spiral jetty. it was a work day, plus we'd managed to plan a quick family dinner with jared's folks that night as well, so we didn't get out to the great salt lake until the sun was setting. as we came around the bend on the bumpy dirt road, we were both honestly surprised by how striking it was in person.^^^

^^^jared in the early morning- at our amazingly cool campsite...^^

^^^our hillside lookout^^^

^^^loved waking up to this.^^^

fyi: this massive sculpture was created in 1970, during a drought, and just a few years after it was built, spent the next three decades below water. over the last 10 years, the jetty has fluctuated between visibility and submersion...kinda hard to plan a visit. when i heard it was exposed, we thought it would be a great place to experience one of our favorite astronomical events- summer solstice.

^^^watching the seagulls over the jetty, waiting for sunrise^^

^^^our sunrise stroll^^^

^^^we're in love with the jetty... and our amazing little blue dot in the universe.^^^

^^^greeting the dawn^^^

^^^and a happy summer solstice to you!^^^

-sharry and jared

COSTA RICA

  

^^^last summer, we spent a few weeks traveling through costa rica. our first stop? monteverde cloud forest^^^

^^^jared, in monteverde at night^^^

^^^the two of us signed up for forest night hike- looking for giant spiders, lime green poisonous snakes, rare monkeys, and tree cutting ants. and we found them...especially the giant spiders. lots of giant spiders.^^^  

^^^getting drenched to the bone...because, well, it rains a lot in costa rica^^^

^^^spotting an amazing blue questzal in the forest^^^

^^^stop two? costa rica's gold coast.... and of course the famous playa tamarindo^^^

^^^our beach-shack hotel in playa tamarindo^^^

^^^pura vida^^^

^^^after playa tamarindo, we cruised up the coast to brasilito - one of our favorite places^^^

^^^brasilito^^^

^^^i loved this little church we passed on the road to arenal. isn't everyday life just beautiful?^^^

^^^our final destination- la fortuna. and here's jared below the town's active volcano- arenal. and yes, we did see lava flowing down the hillside.^^^

^^^swimming in arenal's natural hot springs^^^

This time last year... we were hiking through a cloud forest, sleeping with geckos, swimming in a warm ocean, eating at "sodas" (ma and pa Tican restaurants), and bathing in volcanic hot springs. This year, we're missing Costa Rica and the good life... but I am grateful for all of the amazing memories we have together- and how lucky we are to have had these adventures. Love ya lots.

DESERT LOVE: THE PETROGLYPHS

^^^the end of may, beginning of june is one of the best times of year. it's the start of the summer season which means outdoor cookouts, summer sunshine, and, for us, heading to the wilderness. even though the same pressures of work, budgets, and stress still apply- the long days, warm nights, and the great outdoors just help make the world a little brighter.^^^

^^^brad's new hair-do^^

^^^hauling rocks...for "fun"^^^

^^^the kangaroo pouch^^^

^^^the little roo^^^

^^^the overlook^^^

^^^the hike back down was a little less exciting. too tired to carry rocks anymore...^^^