back to the ole days

July 2009:

Phil and Kaylee hang out as just the two of them for the first time ever.

They went to the Jon Schmidt concert at the Sandy Amphitheater.

Kaylee introduced Phil to some yummy American treats and by the end of the night, Phil had grabbed Kaylee's hand.

Fast forward to July 2010:

Phil and Kaylee are married and on holiday in America.

Kaylee tells Phil that they need to go pick up her cousin for a family dinner.

Instead of picking up her cousin, Kaylee drives right to the Sandy Amphitheater and guess what's on tonight?...

Jon Schmidt!

SURPRISE!

I totally got him.  He didn't even expect it.
Of course, I had a lot of help from my family...white lies, all for a good cause of course!
Because I arrived in America before Phil, I was able to buy the exact snacks we had had on our first date without him knowing.
It was a teeny bit difficult though because I wanted to remember the exact food we had on our first date.  I ended up having to be sneaky and asking Phil to watch a movie from our first date that he had back in Oz.
I figured it out and was able to re-create our first date just like the good ole days...

See any similarity to our first date movie?

To make things even more "romantic" (haha), I even brought along our wedding cake my mom had saved for us.  It was nice to be able to enjoy our cake without the wedding day rush.

Mmmmm. (thanks Jamie!)

It was the perfect night and it just brought back memories of our first date.

Love you Phil!

Happy dating anniversary!

~July 17, 2010~

Also during our trip to the states we were able to catch up with our friends Marc and Isy.

Isy is Phil's friend for Sydney in his teen years and she has been attending BYU for a couple years now.  Marc is from SLC and attends BYU as well.  They were dating when Phil and I started dating and welcomed me right into the gang!

Now they're married!

It was fun to see them in April when they got married in Sydney.  We felt special to be a part of their day.

Because Marc and Isy have a similar situation to us, a lovely bi-continental relationship, they have a special place in our hearts.

We had them over for FHE with my family and made s'mores in our backyard.

Mmmmmmm! S'mores!

It was little Phil's first time ever making s'mores over a fire.

Oh I just love a fire and s'mores on a summer night with good friends and the fam.

Mmmmmm!

~July 20, 2010~

Yellowstone 2010

What you're about to see may be painful.

Just bear with me as I put you through picture vomit.

Once you go to Yellowstone, you'll understand.

This is us.  Yours truly, the Perucca clan.

At Yellostone.

Minus the two big brutes, Nicholas and B-ray.

Oh Yellowstone was soooo grand.  It was candy, or should I say "lollies" to the eye.

See what I mean?

But our vay-cay to Wyoming started in a much more quaint place.

1960's?  CHECK.

In the middle of nowhere? CHECK.

Perfect for our family vay-cay? CHECK.

My great aunt and uncle's cabin was definitely an adventure.  It felt like we'd stepped back in time.

Even a friendly 1961 Friend magazine welcomed us.

We stayed there for three days and loved every minute of it.

Now on with the picture vomit!

Mars?...nope!  Just Yellowstone!

BUFFALOOOOOOOO!
Want to touch them?  No problem, just not highly recommended.
But they were definitely close enough.
Such beaut isn't he?

Poor fella.  Looks like somebody hacked his haircut.

The water was so blue!

This place was just magical.

Here's Jocey at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
It certainly was grand!

These are our bubbling buddies.  I could just watch and giggle each time they went "blumb!".  Kinda wish it didn't smell like sulfur though!

Hello, would you like a photo here?

...or perhaps here?

...or here?

...ooooorrrr here?

Come on! All the cool kids are doing it!

This is probably one of my favoritest moments.  I smile when I look at this photo.

Ever heard of Old Faithful?

We have!

Here we wait for the old geyser to give way...

...apparently we're not the only ones.

BLAST OFF!

Contrary to picture viewing belief, the geyser was really big and it didn't come out of Phil's head.

mmmmmmm

Bear print off the side of the trail.

Philly boy has a love for small fluffy rodents.  

See?

He's very intent on finding a little chipmunk.

  

Once Phil found one of his buddies, he'd follow it all around.

Cute!

The girlies!

This is our elk-friend-guy.  Such a nice ole chap just eating the day away.

Can you believe that we saw much more wildlife that I could snap a photo of?
Spoiled little explorers we are!
But do not fret, I've left the best for last.
A GRIZZLY BEAR!
They're rarely seen at Yellowstone and bless our hearts, we saw a momma bear and her two cubs!
They were so cute and cuddly...but we didn't cuddle of course.

See the cubs! Awe! I want a baby bear!

and THAT my friends, was our trip to Yellowstone.

Whew you made it through my picture vomit- commentary and all!

Thanks folks!

~July 14-16, 2010~

ps...watch out for giant flies in Wyoming!