Steve's First Kayak Adventure

This morning Steve and I went to the beach so that he could try out his new kayak! It took a little bit of time to figure out the correct way to inflate the kayak, and how to insert the seat, but we eventually got it all figured out. It was really cute to hear all of the kids yelling, "Look, it's a kayak! Cool!" Although Steve had a rough start (due to large waves from a nearby boat, the kayak flipped while Steve was trying to get in) he quickly got the hang of things and looked like a natural out on the water! We've decided that one of the best ways to start your day is to relax on the beach!

Steve's Birthday

Last week we celebrated Steve's 23rd birthday. Because Steve's parents were in Utah, Andrew decided to come from Indianapolis to help us celebrate!

Saturday we kept ourselves pretty busy:

1. Sleep in because we all stayed up late watching a movie the night before,
2. Go see Battleship, the new movie based on a board game...
3. Drive to Cleveland to eat at a Mongolian Grill (yummy),
4. Drive back to Mentor,
5. Hike to the lighthouse on Lake Erie, watch the sun set, and skip rocks as we hiked back to the car,
5. Steve got to open one of his presents early: an inflatable kayak!

Sunday was also fun:

1. Go to church in the morning,
2. While Steve and Andrew first attempt grilling, Heidi makes her first official birthday cake.,
3. Eat the birthday meal: steak, hotdogs, chips, and cream soda,
4.  Steve opened his other present: Batman Arkham City (video game)
5. Sing the birthday song to Steve and then watch him blow out all of his candles!

It was a really fun weekend, and we were sad to see Andrew leave! Here are some of the pictures we took:

Sleep talking Steve

The other night as I was trying to fall asleep, Steve started sleep talking. It surprised me because he usually has to be exhausted in order to talk while he's sleeping, so he must have been more tired than I thought. I kept trying to record his talking on my phone, but it didn't work very well. Instead, I wrote down some of his sayings in a text to myself. Some of my favorites include:

"Umm yes sir, I can find those shoes... I can do it straighter. Yeah."

"Not astronauts. Firenauts! Mmmhmm..."
 

"...Covers car and a gunter's car and follows suit..."

(This was where he started speaking in English AND German, so it was harder to understand)
 

"Ugh dude." (The very last thing he said to me)

When I talked to Steve the next morning, he told me he didn't remember anything strange happening the previous night, which only made us laugh even harder about the things he'd said!

1,800 Miles

 Before you start to read this post, you should click HERE and listen to the song "Miles" by Christina Perri. This song was stuck in my head for our entire trip, which was surprisingly fitting!

Last week Steve and I undertook the 1,800-mile drive from Lindon, UT to Mentor, OH.  Steve has an internship with a mortgage broker company this summer, and we're lucky enough to spend the summer with his parents in Mentor!  We're really excited to spend more time with them!  The road trip took us 2.5 days, and we were pretty sore by the time we arrived!  Here are the pictures I took of our trip:

Not too happy about packing

Windmills in Utah

Wyoming

Nebraska

Weird street lights in Lincoln, NE

Gloomy weather in Iowa & Illinois

Going crazy from all this driving!

Amish in Michigan

Cleveland, OH

"Dead Man's Curve" - Ohio

Raining again in Ohio

Welcome Home!!

We had a lot of fun on our road trip, but we're excited not to make the journey again until August.  I can't wait to explore Mentor and spend time with the Harris side of the family!  For all of our friends and family back in Utah, we'll miss you!!