Patriotism is alive and well in Provo

Monday morning, we sat out by the road with our good friends the Poppletons and watched the America's Freedom Festival Grand Parade go by. If we counted correctly, there were 12 high school marching bands, plus 2 bagpipe groups and 2 groups (plus a couple pianists) that played music from floats. Here are some visual highlights! If you're interested, we have A LOT more pictures...

(Our neighbors wanted their time in the spotlight)

("This concludes the Pre-Parade... Stand by for the GRAND PARADE!")

(Old-time fire truck)

(Smokey the Bear!)

(John Curtis - Provo City Mayor)

(Gary Herbert - Utah Governor)

(There were a LOT of military personnel/family that were in the parade - I was so proud and impressed at the positive reception from the crowd! We saw veterans, family members of servicemen who were killed in action, ...)

(Orrin Hatch - Senator)

(Wells Fargo coach)

(Blue Angels fly-by)

("Classical 89: Fifty is the new forte" - local Classical radio station celebrating 50 years - PS, there are girls playing pianos on this float!!)

(Cosmo the Cougar - BYU mascot)

(When we saw the signs that said "Military vehicle courtesy of [private owner's name]" we imagined this thing just sitting in someone's garage... I mean... what else does that statement mean?!)

("Utah Old Time Fiddlers' Association" - brought back memories of when I was playing my fiddle on a float in a parade... Thomas said I should join with these guys! I think it'd be a blast!)

("Berg Undertaking" - a hearse pulled by horses)

("God Bless Our Troops!! Thank you for your sacrifice and service!")

(A cousin of Clifford?)

("Moon Light Serenaders Dance Band" - this is the one Thomas wants to join)

(Provo mission missionaries)

(Our stake's float - cool, huh?)

(a real balloon animal - check out this pig! Thomas says the balloons make it look like he's a series of sausages)

(this kid is riding one of about a dozen llamas that were in the parade)

("Family & Temple" - I loved this float! That looks exactly like the Provo temple)

(I can't remember... is it King George? Curious Kong? oh, that's right, Curious George...)

(no, no, it says "Bank of American FORK"....)

("God is Love, Jesus is Lord")

After the parade, we hit up the bazaar on Center Street:

(and so did EVERYONE else!)

(we decided to skip on these... what does this even MEAN?!)

(I impersonated Uncle Sam at the Democratic Party's table. They even let me take home a voter registration card.)

(We wrote letters to soldiers at a special booth.)

(I couldn't resist the Cinnamon Almonds & Pecans... so we brought some home. We'll be experimenting with recipes for them on our Bistro page soon!)

After a short rest at home, and some yummy Peruvian food for lunch, we headed over to Colonial Days. We began with a tour of the Crandall Historical Printing Museum, where we learned first-hand why the linotype machine is called that (it literally produces a Line-o'-type!), understood why we say "uppercase" and "lowercase," saw a working replica of the Gutenberg Press and the 2-volume Gutenberg Bible, and caught a glimpse of this thing:

(the beginning page of the first illuminated version of the Book of Mormon)

Outside, we saw Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and some regular colonial people. There were some ladies spinning wool into yarn and this kid was trying on armor...

Before heading home, we sat and listened to this cute little family band, CrosStrung. They played and sang old folk songs. The lady who is second from the left is the mother of the other three band members. She mostly played guitar. The youngest, on the left, played the bass. The other girl (on the right) played fiddle (and made me want to play my fiddle). The son/brother is playing guitar in the picture, but played the banjo for most of their show. 

 oxox

Merry Fourth To You All: Freedom's Blue, Red, and White

Things have been rather busy since last post. I guess last week should have been an indicator of things to come in terms of festivities and such, but let's just say it's nice to  have reached the weekend (and to have a long one).

The mundanities of the week were simply work from Monday to Friday for both of us. Due to some bargains we found, we were able to buy 32 (cheap) hot dogs for just over $1, so Thomas decided to spark a little work party which coincidentally coincided with Independence Day weekend, which went marvelously.

On Thursday, we were met with an interesting development. Apparently here in Provo they block off about two blocks of Center Street on each side of University Avenue (see ironic photo below). Center Street is essentially main street, but they set up rides and booths IN THE ROAD for America's Freedom Festival, which sponsors a weekend of patriotic events for the 4th of July, including the annual and undermentioned Stadium of Fire, one of the largest Independence Day celebrations in the United States (and, of course, the world). We then learned that we can't even park on the roads today or tomorrow because we'll have the parade going right past our front door.

Friday night we made it to the Draper temple again. The sunset wasn't quite as breathtaking as last week's, but we did remember our camera this time. That evening Thomas randomly won a $10 Dairy Queen card as well.

On Saturday, we were invited up to Thomas' brother's inlaws' home, where we enjoyed the company of family and friends.

 (an interesting gift from Robert & Camille... "Slug Butter" - don't worry, there are no slugs inside...so we think)

We ate good food...

...went swimming...

(Robert was up to some mischief, so....)

(...naturally, Thomas had to step in...)

...and had homemade ice cream...

...whilst playing with kids young and old.

We then headed home, arriving in Provo just in time to duck into an undisclosed (and quiet) parking lot almost directly under the fireworks by the stadium. We then headed home after a long and satisfying day.

(Lisa on the hood of the car watching fireworks)

Today, being Sunday (and fast Sunday), we taught a lesson on the Psalms then went on a nice walk, enjoying the cooler (hence bearable) temperatures.

 (red, white, & blue!)

(a teepee in someone's yard)

 (our ward building)

All-American weekend

After a fun-filled week of shopping for curtains, doing laundry, and visiting teaching, I was grateful to spend Thursday night at home with Thomas. We had a quiet evening here and watched the new Alice in Wonderland. It's different, huh?

Friday night, we made our way north to the Draper temple to attend an endowment session. The Draper temple is this lovely, very square building. I find it magnificent. When we came out of the temple, the weather was so nice. It had cooled down a lot. The sun was setting and the sky was beautiful! We brought the camera along and were looking forward to taking a few photos for you, only to discover that the battery needed to be charged. We hope you enjoy these photos of the temple.

Saturday, not long after we woke, we heard many loud sirens somewhere nearby. I rushed to the front window at a couple different times to see what was going on, but couldn't catch a glimpse. About 15 minutes into this ruckus, the various sounds characteristic of a marching band met our ears. This time, when we (both) looked outside, the sight of the Freedom Festival's Children's Parade graced our eyes.

In the afternoon, we went grocery shopping. Thomas' coupon-clipping really is growing on me; it's awesome to combine coupons and price-matching at Walmart and watch the final price drop drastically at the end of a shopping trip. I highly recommend it. It takes a little bit of work (and sometimes a bit of restraint - you only really save if you're saving on stuff you'd normally buy!), but it's totally worth it. Yesterday we cut over $16 off of our total (combining totals at Walmart & WinCo). 28-cent cans of tuna make it a lot easier to begin our own food storage!

Yesterday evening, we joined our friends Katey and Ashton for a Salt Lake Bees game! We had great seats, just off of 3rd base. Not long after we were seated, the sun went down enough that we were in the shade. It was a close game; the Bees won 6-5 against Reno in the final inning! We got to see the team mascot up close and because the Bees scored over 5, everyone got a Subway coupon. (We even got out of the stadium quickly enough that we were able to grab a free loaf of bread just outside).

We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Independence Day!

oxox

Happy Fathers' Day! And We've Had a Busy Week.

Thomas and I have not only been blessed with wonderful Moms; we both have pretty cool Dads, too! Our fathers have worked hard to provide for our families. Along the way, they've helped us learn to love nature, prize knowledge, and appreciate the world around us. Their influence has helped to shape and mold us into independent adults! We wouldn't be who we are now without Kenneth Paulson and Jeffrey Bradshaw.

Dads, thank you for your patience, your counsel, and your encouragement! We love you both very much.

(Lisa & Ken at the beach 1997)

(Thomas & Jeff hiking 1998)

I got to visit with my former roommates last Sunday. It's fun to chat with these lovely ladies! Beth just got back from a "study abroad" trip in France. Megan is getting married at the end of the month. Dara lives just a couple blocks away. It's not often enough that we all get together!

(Dara, Beth, Megan, Lisa)

We worked hard to get our thank you cards out this week. I fashioned a stamp from linoleum (like we used for our invitations) and stamped the many cards. If you don't get one soon, please let us know. We most likely received your gift, but it could've been attributed to someone else, or it might be one of our "mystery" gifts. Some things were left without cards/labels but we did our best to try to match everything up.

(the stamp I designed & carved)

(the stamping process)

(lotsa lotsaoxen cards!)

We also made another trip to Ikea to purchase another bookcase! We have a thing for books, and have managed to nearly fill this second bookcase. Thomas mostly assembled it and we're grateful to have it in our living room, replacing the boxes of books!

(my handyman)

We planted some flower seeds and two tomato plants in our little "garden" area. Hopefully they will grow and produce :o)

Friday night, we attended the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. It was our second time attending that temple, but interestingly enough, the last time we went was around Mothers' Day!

To finish out our week, we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Thomas' brother Robert and his family. We took a walk, made a yummy meal together (recipes at the Bradshaw Bistro), and had fun with their twin daughters. We feel so blessed to have had so many opportunities to see family lately.

(Lydia)

(Ruby)

And finally, just for fun:

(we're big on dairy products...)

(this dandelion stands about 4 feet tall; the diameter of the puff is about 5 inches! and it's just outside our apartment.)

oxox

Saving Through Scavenging

Lisa has been tried and tested with her husband's incessant freebie-seeking and deal-hunting habits. However, we both agree that it's worth it. As an example, yesterday we went shopping at Walmart and WinCo. Through a variety of ads in the mail and coupons collected, we were able to redeem quite a haul, at just under $13 of real savings with nine (9) coupons and three (3) price matches. Below are the free things we got in one "fowl" swoop (like our neighbors the turkey vultures):

In other news, we got sick for free these last few weeks (not pictured). However, despite it all, we were able to enjoy the company of Lisa's mother and sister for several days:

And a few pictures showing one facet of Lisa's creative side:

Oh, and check out Lisa's sister's blog here. She's a talented GIMPer.

...oh, and by the way, THANK YOU!

Dear readers,

 We just wanted to let you know how big you made our month of May. We track the number of visits etc. to our websites (www.lotsaoxen.com, blog.lotsaoxen.com, www.lotsaoxen.com/wedding, and bistro.lotsaoxen.com). In the month of May, we hit some neat milestones!

 On May 10, 2010, we reached 2,000 visits.

 As of May 19, 2010, our pages have been viewed in 20 countries, including Denmark, the Philippines, and Brazil. We've reached every continent (except for Antarctica...).

 And, as of May 14, 2010, our pages have been viewed in 200 cities. Hooray for multiples of 20...?

 Today, we're up to 2,249 visits from 212 cities in 23 countries.

 Of course, not all of our visits are from people we know. We also get to look at search engine queries that brought up our page (that searchers then clicked on), like:

• whatever happened to dristan cold medicine 
• stuff for thomas and lisa to do tonight 
• sacramento car oxens
• emergency kits for temporal and spiritual preparedness 
• layered pasta dishes  
• oxens sick february 2010

  Anyway, we just thought we'd share! Feel free to drop by the Bradshaw Bistro for a new recipe. And here's a couple photos for you to enjoy:

(Thomas & Lisa at the Provo temple in May 2010)

(at Lisa's parents' house)

oxox