I LOVE YOU LIKE THE 4th of JULY //

the fourth of july is seriously one of my favorite holidays.
summer + BBQ + fireworks = gold.

this year we celebrated at home in utah. i seriously love utah for the fourth. so many parades + fireworks + activities. ALL THE ACTIVITIES! ALL THE BBQ! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

on the third, we went to an outdoor concert + carnival on center street in provo. we stayed for like, thirty minutes because my stomach was hurting (story. of. my. life.) but! it was a great thirty minutes. hahah. when we went to bed that night, i told jeff that we had to live it up the next day because we were so lame all day.
(like. seriously. so lame. my sister came over + we thought about organizing my closet then just watched four episodes of pretty little liars instead)

so the fourth! we woke up early to go on a morning walk/jog/...walk + scope out the parade. we ended up staying uncomfortably long just watching the parade participants trying not to die from heat stroke. WHY don't the band kids have a summer uniform? give those kids some shorts! poor tuba maestro.

 

(jeff's new shirt he bought at the carnival, ha!)

i entitle this series : brooke slowly dies from heat stroke / too many pictures / feigned enthusiasm. 

THEN we went home, napped, ate fistfuls of cherries + headed off to the beloved bentley's home. 

jeff went golfing with the guys while the ladies (+ matt) stayed back + chatted. also i chopped some lettuce so, there's that. when they got back we ate the most d e l i s h dinner of homemade potato salad, burgers, hot dogs, homemade salsa + corn. HEAVEN. thank you, kk!

we ended the night with some charades/heads-up, fireworks + ice cream treats. we just sat on the driveway + oogled the neighbor's firework show. 

THAT BEARD THOUGH.

THANKS SO MUCH for having us, bentley family! 

and a happy fifth of july to y'all! 

little snippets // june

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just a little catch up from june :
jeff is currently mostly unemployed + taking online classes + i shoot engagements in the evening/weddings on the weekend so we have had l o t s of time together this summer. we are very aware that our situation right now is totally unrealistic but when else will we get to be bums together? riiiiiiight?
right. sure. who's hiring?
onwards!

we have been living at the spanish fork reservoir this summer. it's this teensy man-made lake? pond? pool? up spanish fork canyon + we have made it there at least twice a week this summer. bonus points : there is a sonic on the way(!!!). 

paige moved here! she is going to byu for summer term then transferring to byu idaho so i am soaking up all the time i can get with her. also my mama came to town + we shopped + ikea'd + had the inaugural hokulia of the summer. extra li hing mui, please! with mama time comes lots of grandma time which is my favorite time. i love that spunky lady! i also love that her apartment is fifteen minutes from the SLC temple so i can pop in on a wedding break + watch hgtv/eat all her food/wear her muumuu/nap. hehehe.

NIKKI WENT THROUGH THE TEMPLE!! it was such an awesome experience. 

i am so proud of this lifelong buddy of mine + am continually impressed by how she just. keeps. progressing. mushy gushy. the end. 

we also got a little more lake time in idaho! if you know me, you know the lake is my happiest place so i was in heaven. also i can't stop buying hats...particularly hats from walmart with dumb sayings. sue me.

bye, june! 

balloon fest with paigey //

yesterday morning we woke up at the wee hour of six a.m. to go watch the balloon launch.

to be perfectly honest, we mostly just went in hopes michelle money would be there. ha. 

she said she was going on her snapchat + alarms were set immediately following.

twins!!!! also that lady remained looking into my camera the. whole. time. 

hi lady! 

anyways, she wasn't there. cody wasn't either. it's fine. we're fine.
balloons were there though! and mcdonalds was right next door. small victories.

utah in the summer is the knees, you guys!
(the knees? i don't know? let's roll with it?)

california (again)!!! //

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this last week, jeff's family flew us out to california to come visit + to celebrate kenna and kevin's impending nuptials with an engagement party! it was such an unexpected + unplanned trip to end our june. what i am trying to say is THANK YOU, stapleton family! we had a lot of family time + a lot of beach time + a lot of food coma-ing. my perfect vacation.

also jeff's mom left diet coke + gluten free bread in the fridge + i cried happy tears.
NOW! THE PHONE DUMP! (scroll, scroll, scroooooooooll) :

because all blogs should have cleavage shots. HEEEEEY! 

I KNOW my beachwear is revolutionary /// i've had those anklets on for almost ten years. which is totally weird, i'm aware. anyways, in the summer the tan line gets insane. like, hi ankles! see you never. 

we went to the harbor one morning + had bagels. S'CUTE, right?! hahahaah. gross.

PSA : my kortni friend makes THE BEST swimsuits. you've probably already heard of her but hi! they're so fun + you feel like you can eat all the bagels you want + play in the sand + flip around in the ocean and nothing is coming out. and by that i mean your boobs are in and your pooch is secure. SCORE. 

i sincerely wish my life could be just one long lunch with olivia. mushy gushy. also more cleavage.

gimme all the cleavage.

jeff + i walked strands sunday night. aren't we cute?! tell me you think we are cute. hahahah. just kidding. half the time i was complaining about a stomach ache + agonizing over the split of ben affleck and jennifer garner. why is life so cruel!?!? 

on monday night, we went to an angel's game with jeff's neighbor friends + family. 

baseball is a long sport. woof. but go angels! hurry up! play faster! mike trout!

on the lats night, jeff + i went to dinner in san juan capistrano. we ate at sundried tomato + jeff's cute friend emily was the hostess there + hooked us up with some butter? toffee? fruity? cake. it was devoured in less than ten seconds + it was sooooo good. then we came home + had a second dinner + played uno with his family. i lost miserably.

till next time, california! 

happy july second // *almost* THREE YEAR OLDS

so, totally not a selfie.

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also can you believe jeff + i are approaching three years? 

i like three-year-old us.

sure, we are dinged-up + chubbier + have been through THE ROUGH PATCH (vol. 1 of 3,203,447, or so i've heard) but hey! three-year-old us has more fun + more depth + less 'what are you thinking about?'-ing. because i freaking hate that question. hahahah. 

round of applause for shotgun weddings everywhere! 

...you are welcome for the most romantic sentiments about marriage + love + other some such things.

you didn't expect much from me, right? 

georgia on my mind // #miyahardingwedding

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HIIIII! it's me. in an effort to remember EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL. of my life, i'm going to play a bit of catch-up from this summer so far. and then i'll probably never post again and play catch up again in october. expectations : LOWERED!

anyways. onwards, upwards : miyaharding wedding.
at the beginning of june, i flew to georgia to celebrate avery getting married to her love, brit. it was a blur of flowers + humidity + $4 diet cokes from the lobby + i am so happy i got to be a small part of it. watching your friend get married is a happy thing + watching your friend get married to a guy you know will treat her like gold forever is even happier. yay! love!

avery + i flew in on tuesday + were welcomed with open arms to a georgia downpour. it was magical. also i got called 'sugar' twice at the airport + so like, what did i care? RAIN! RAIN ALL YOU WANT! the next day, we picked up olivia from the airport + headed to stone mountain.
what is stone mountain you ask?
i am not sure. i slept through the train ride + mildly remember being tied up at a ropes course? STONE MOUNTAIN! i'll include a picture down below so you can sort it out for yourself.

the next day, the rest of the bridesmaids flew in + we went downtown atlanta to eat + see the coke museum + frantically search for nene leakes (to beg her to take her new weave out)(and also to stay on real housewives. WHAT IS LIFE!!!). i successfully tried all 300? 180? soda flavors from all the different countries + felt absolutely dizzy afterwards. sugar rush! we ended the night with face masks + tacos.

the next day was a blur of flowers + hair + makeup + bridals! also chick fil a. we shot bridals on the golf course + watched the sun set + had ice dream + i didn't even notice the army of mosquitos eating my alive because LOVE! ICE CREAM! MINIMAL SLEEP!

the next day was the wedding + it. was. beautiful. avery looked like a queen. we had a luncheon at mary mac's where everyone toasted the happy couple + ate their weight in sweet potatoes and fried chicken (bless you, spanx). it was so awesome to see them both so happy! weddings! love! georgia! the night ended with music + mingling + maybe i lost my phone + maybe lily called the police + maybe it was bizarre but hey, MEMORIES!!! hahahaha.

all the bridesmaids! minus maddy. where were you maddy? 

this was long winded. but! the point! : the south will rise again!!!!! + congratulations to avery + brit!

idaho + me in a cheetah dress (FOR MY POSTERITY) /

that's about it. 

p.s. i leave for georgia tomorrow! praying for a run-in with nene leakes. 

p.p.s. CAITLYN JENNER. blew my mind this morning! i was eating breakfast with jeff + scrolling through instagram, like a truly engaged wife, + my jaw DROPPED. TO. THE. FLOOR. also screen shotted it because i want her hair color. it's fine.