Wonderful things to come.

Yesterday work was dreadfully long in every way. 14hours of not awesomeness. SO I decided to think about the things I am excited for :)

August 1st: My brother Sam and His cute wife Audi move to Arizona! Like 10 states closer to me, I'm thrilled! and in 1 month Audi will give me another niece!

August 12th: Matisyahu is coming to Salt Lake and I am so giddy i really cant wait for this!

August 24th: Mockingjay and Katy Perry's new CD Teenage Dream come out!!!

The Hunger Games series is Amazing if you haven't read them DO IT! They are so fun and I am dieing to know what happens next!!! I have never been one to do things on opening night because of the crazy crowds but this time, count me in! I will be that crazy girl going at midnight!

August 25th: Spencer will live in Utah again!!! This of course is my absolute favorite part of August!

August 26th: She & Him will be in Salt Lake at the Twilight Concert Series and WE will see them for Free. I Love free and Zooey Deschanel is my idol.

August 27th: Going the Distance come out in theaters:

These lovely things got me through the Day! What do you look forward to in the coming month!?

Twilight.

Better than the books. Salt Lake has a lot of cool things going on and one of my favorites is the Twilight Concert Series. It's put on every summer free of charge by the Salt Lake City Arts Council. Last year I had a magical experience seeing Bon Iver. This year I know will not disappoint either.

They had to move the party over to Pioneer Park this year though since it’s getting to be such a big deal. (This place is commonly known as the bum park downtown… kinda sketch place but holds a lot more people.)

Spencer and I attempted to go to the first show last week but man waaay too many people to enjoy. SO we peaced out of that place and hit up the mall and movie instead. : )

Tonight was a different experience. I think since it was soo crowded and chaotic last week it kept a lot of people home! Girl Talk played tonight and it was so much fun. Dance Party, that’s what it was. This guy does crazy remixes with every style of music and brings so much energy into it. This was not like any other show that I’ve been to!

Other bands of note: Avi Buffalo. They already played but I highly recommend giving them a listen. I can’t wait to see Matisyahu… I have been waiting for this day to come for years! And August 26, Well I’m just excited to see both of these bands and Spencer will be back to come with me too!

• July 8: Modest Mouse w/AviBuffalo
• July 15: Girl Talk w/Memory Tapes
• July 22: Beirut w/Twin Sisters
• July 29: The New Pornographers w/ the Dodos
• August 5: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings w/ Jamie Lidell
• August 12: Matisyahu w/Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
• August 19: Big Boi w/Chromeo
• August 26: She & Him w/ Dum Dum Girls

Betty Crocker Beware!

Spencer came to visit last weekend, we have so much fun together! We made a lot of really delicious food, had a few adventures in Salt Lake including our favorite record stores, resturants, a hike up to donut falls, the Farmers Market and visiting good friends.

He makes me happy.

At the Farmers Market we found some cool ladies who were selling Indian Spices. I LOVE Indian food but haven't ever made it. So we got the Korma Masala Spice. Thats my favorite dish in the resturants and we gave it a try! To top it off I want to learn to make the Naan bread to go with it next time.

Dessert: Coconut Sweet rice w/Mango

Back in March Spencer and I went Washington to visit my Fam and His sister Wendy. While there she made us this super dilicious Thai noodle dish that we just can't get enough of:

Dessert: CAT BERRY PIE

Independence Day.

For the 4th of July this year I went up to Idaho. I got to see some of my favorite people and two of them recently had babies. Welcome to the work Lenna Rue Schaat and Miles Wesley Wheeldon!

Being back in Rexberg is always fun and very nostalgic. I had a good couple years up there. Its fun to visit and make a Horkley’s run too!

I stayed the weekend at the Schaat’s home out in Menan which is always such a treat! We spent lots of time reminiscing of our good times back in Longview and sharing new stories. Their home is always filled with so much laughter and love. Their home is really like no other. Gavin and Rauland also made us some of the best burgers I have ever had. It was relaxing to be out in farmland again… well except for the farm style wake up call from Les early in the morning! : )

The whole Buel Family was in town staying at KC’s so I went out there to play with them and see Amber!!! She just got home from her mission in Colorado and I am so happy she is home! It was so fun to catch up and now we are still counting down the days for Heather and Jen to get back too!

Me and Miles... Yeah we're tight like that already. NBD

LOVE.

Amber. KC. Me.

Les showing off the amazing cheesecake Gavin made

GLEE!

Last night was fabulous! In celebration of the finale my new friend Racheal threw a great party here are a few pics!

Gleeks!

Cheerios!

Quinn and PuckMs. Pillsburry (cleaning off her popcorn)Sue, Brittany, and Santana-They have some work to do... "Hot Cheerios have been proven to raise endorphins and make happy kids, and I can't have that"

Playin' in the South

Well this has just turned into a travel blog!

Last week I went on a little trip to visit my brother Spencer, His awesome wife Bonnie, and their super cute kids Audrey and Ian! I took a week off work and headed out to Atlanta! We spent some time hanging out together in the ATL then headed down to Florida to spend the weekend at Disney World! We had a great time! We met Princesses, ate lunch with Winnie the Pooh and Friends, rode lots of rides, saw some great parades and awesome fireworks! And Spencer and I got the Turkey Legs we had been drooling for!

This trip once again made me realize how much my family means to me. Spencer has always been an amazing example to me. He has always worked so hard at everything he does in life and really put those things that matter most in life first, no matter what. We had a great time reminiscing about life growing up in the Brien Home. It's always so interesting to me how in the same family life was much different for each child and in our fam definetley a big difference between us. He being the oldest and Me the youngest. We always learn so much from each other. I have been so blessed with such a great family. I kind of love them A LOT. I can't wait for my brothers to move back west like they always say they will!!! Hurry up boys!

WARNING: Picture Explosion Below!

This is Audrey showing off her "Sad Broken TuTu"

She is 3!

Ian!

Spencer and Bonnie!

Together We Have Fun
Snack time!Lunch at the Crystal PalaceHappiest Baby I knowSometimes if you make a wish...It WILL Come TRUE!!!

Mmmm GOOD!

Next Stop: LA to visit this Boy and I can't wait!

Don't Mess with Texas.

This post is a little late oops! But I am finally catching up with life and ready to recap this adventure!

Spencer is from Katy, Texas and he went home for couple weeks after this semester ended at BYU. So I took a day off work and went down to visit for a weekend.

This was a wonderfully fun adventure. We went down to Galveston with his parents one day to the beach and walked around the shops in town. We had a little unexpected rain just when we were about to leave the beach, we got soaked. But that didn’t stop us! Fortunately it was hot out so we dried fast. I found a cool new purse at the Army surplus store. Mom would definitely approve! We also went to the Houston Aquarium which was really fun! We got to touch sharks! I think I would like one for a pet now. (Note to Parents: Amanda would STILL like a pony this Christmas and a little baby shark would be just fine for me.)

Now one of the most anticipated activities of the weekend came on Saturday: Houston Astros vs Pittsburg Pirates. This was not just any ole baseball game. It was “Bobble Head Day” at Minute Maid Park! Spencer’s dad had been collecting bobble heads for over 30 years! So it was kind of a BIG DEAL and awesome to see his excitement of getting that Jose Cruz bobble head! And the Astros won the game!

Now I will admit I was very naïve, Texas was not at all what I expected. Spencer tried to warn me of this but maybe it was all those cartoons and episodes of Walker Texas Ranger that really made me think I was going to see something completely different! I saw no cactus, no cowboys, no desert. What I did see was green, and beautiful, and very nice people. I loved it! I always thought the one and only time I would go to Texas it was going to be to see the South by Southwest Music Festival. Hopfully I will go in the future. Texas isn’t such a bad place : )

PS) Sorry for the lack of pictures turns out I need to be a lot better about using that camera I always carry!