July...on the fly

Summertime is prime time for Gruber get-togethers. Nothing is better than a Gruber BBQ in the back yard on a warm summer afternoon. Whether family is in town or it is just a Sunday afternoon, there is always a good excuse to fire up the grill.

Oh, how I miss summer!

Capri, Alex, and Mya

Grandma Gruber, me, and baby Elsa

Does July 15, 2011 mean anything to anyone? Is that when the world was to end? For Jason and I, we were afraid it just may have been the end of our lives. What's the big deal? The final movie of the Harry Potter masterpiece officially opened. While Jason and I were beyond excited, we were also feeling a bit of sadness, as we knew this was the final piece of our Harry Potter experience. We didn't want it to end.

Sadly, I've grown too old and lame to stay up for midnight showings. Don't get me wrong, we are definitely devoted fans, but we wanted to be able to actually watch the movie and not have it affect work the next day. So rather than going to the midnight show with all of the other Potter fanatics, we went Friday evening. To show how serious we were, we still dressed up for the occasion. We went as our typical couple: Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Didn't have to think twice about it.

However, perhaps we should have thought twice. Apparently, it is only acceptable to dress up with the other midnight freaks. We were basically the only ones in the entire IMAX 3D theater dressed up that evening for the show! We couldn't believe it! It was still the first day of the movie release, so we thought we would be accompanied by many more. While walking through the theater, Jason turned to me and said, "I've never felt quite like this before..." He said it so sincerely and so softly. I couldn't help but bust up laughing.

Of course, the movie was amazing! We would dress up again any day to go back to that moment!

Now, I realize I should just end the post here...because I can't possibly write about anything of equal importance... but July did go on, and so shall this post!

Jason joined another indoor soccer team. It's always fun being able to watch Jason in his element, doing those things that he loves to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm stressed the whole time in the stands, but, of course, I wouldn't want to miss it! I tried and failed miserably at taking pictures of Jason while playing. In my behalf, I was a ways away and trying to shoot photos through a net. And if I was smart, I would have put the camera on an "action" setting.

Well, this is as good as it's going to get:

...and these were the good shots! You should have seen the bad ones!

Maybe next time I'll have a little more success...

We had some fun times with the Arbons as well in July. They spent a few days at the Cliff Lodge up at Snowbird. Beautiful lodging! We actually had three separate units that could open up and join into one large unit. Jason and I were able to stay one evening and enjoyed lots of pool time, hot tub time, Ligretto, chocolate chip cookies, and movies. Another huge form of entertainment was another of Bryan's brilliant productions. Just outside of the room door, Bryan set up a hidden camera, a quarter in the middle of the hall, and a fart machine. Anytime a guest walked by and went to pick up the quarter, he would cue the fart machine and we would enjoy the show from the TV in the room. On top of that, he had a speaker by the set up, so if he needed to communicate with the victims, he could shout something to them.

Oh, Bryan! May your imagination never diminish. 

Another Arbon gathering was for Pioneer Day. My parents hosted a family BBQ...or should I say Smoker?? My dad brought out the smoker again, and we enjoyed some heavenly meats!

Food...isn't that what life's about?!?