Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

  This post is way late but I caught the blogging bug tonight and have to post this too.  Greg's favorite musical artist is Mason Jennings.  He preformed in Salt Lake back in May but we missed it so to make up for it we drove over 24 hours to see him in San Francisco back in September.  Luckily Kathers Cole and family were there to make the trip even better.  We started driving on Thursday night after work.  We planned to camp out in the middle of Nevada for the first night of our trip.  

Home away from home.

   Neither of us slept every well on the cold hard Nevada soil so we were really glad when morning came and we could continue down the road.  We could hardly wait to get to San Jose because we knew what was waiting there for us: Halle and Ryan!!!!!  We could not have had a better time playing with those two.  We had a tea party, ate candy, played with cars, spun around a ton of time and got really dizzy, and hung out at Kath's new house!!!!

  Mom, Dad, and Megan could not pass up the opportunity to hang out.  We went to the farmer's market and were shocked to see actually produce.  A farmer's market in Utah has 1 stand of produce and 99 craft stands.  It was a refreshing change.  The sisters were so happy to be together!  

   

50% of the Engstrom girls!

Mom and Dad Engstrom with sour dough bread that they forgot  at Kath's house :(

  The concert was in downtown San Francisco.  It was the same night as the BYU vs U of U football game but we don't want to talk about it.  Greg and I were looking up the score during the concert and were unlucky enough to catch the last few minutes of the game after the concert.  Come on Cougs!

  Mason Jennings was amazing.  He was charming and funny as well as being musically talented.  I knew a few of his songs but Greg was the real fan.  The concert was held in this amazing jazz club.  We took a few pictures before the concert but were strictly prohibited from taking pictures during the show.  So if you want to see who Mason Jennings is and what he looks like you will have to do some youtube research.  

  I asked Greg once we got back to Utah if seeing Mason was worth the long drive and the camp out from heck.  Greg didn't hesitate in saying he would do it again just to see Mason.  I guess good music does that to a person.  It made me smile just because it made Greg so happy.  

Happy Halloween

 Happy Halloween family.  Greg and I had such a great holiday mostly because Burton and Brooke live so close to us now.  We went trunk or treating with them on Halloween.  Burton was such a polite boy.  He would say thank you after receiving every piece of candy.  Greg and I decided to dress up as vikings this year.  We decided to be vikings in sacrament meeting so we know it was a heavenly guided decision.  It turned out to be a good choice because we won the costume contest at our ward Halloween party on Friday night.  Our costumes were handmade by us the night before the party.  The white fur on Greg's back is actually a rug I got from IKEA that lays on the end on our bed.  When Brooke saw it she thought it was a pup pup (puppy) and would run up to Greg and pet it.  Greg designed his costume and hand glued every piece of fabric.  I think his turned out way better than mine.  If business school doesn't work out I think Greg should look into fashion school!   

My cute viking

Mr. and Mrs. Livingston

  Greg and I went to Hee Haw farms with our friends, Jared and Mindy, the weekend before Halloween.  We did the corn maze and haunted hay ride, which didn't turn out to be too haunted.  Afterwards we each picked out a pumpkin.  Greg and I carved our pumpkins for FHE on Monday night.  Greg's pumpkin must be British because it has a mustache and a monocle.

      

  The remaining pictures are of the two cutest kids on earth!  Burton dressed up as Buzz Lighter and Brooke was Minnie Mouse.  Brooke wore little pink high heels with pink bows on them.  She was so cute.  She wouldn't let anyone hold her because she wanted to walk in her shoes.

      

To infinite and beyond!

 Happy Halloween everyone.  We hope you all had a fun night!

Brooke is all Grown Up

My Big Fat Greek Weekend

  Greg and I went to the Salt Lake City Greek festival this weekend!!!  It is a four day event that happens every year.  It was our first time attending but wont be the last.  The event was held at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral located downtown.  A massive tent was set up adjacent to the cathedral and was packed with people enjoying Greek culture almost as much as Greg (see photo below).  

  Different groups preformed throughout the night.  These kids were the cutest by far.  During their dances people would throw stacks of dollar bills at them and start cheering.

 
The line to get food was over an hour long.  The line snaked back and forth; it felt like we were at Disneyland.  Greg even made the comment that he wished there was fast passes for the line.   It was well worth the wait though.  It gave me lots of time to people watch.  I found this priest texting on his iphone.  It made me laugh so I snapped a photo.

gyro and Greek stew

gyro and spinach pie

    The food was so good.  It was all homemade.  We ate baklava for dessert.  I love baklava.  I could eat it everyday.  Before we left we took a tour of the cathedral.  Greg said it reminded him of all the churches he would visit in Ukraine.  It was so ornate.  There were so many pictures painted on every wall.  I loved it.  I hope that one day Greg takes me to the Ukraine and shows me all the sites and places he talks so much about.  Maybe if we are already over there we can head down to Greece.  Oompa!!!!!!

Back in DC

  We came back from the Outer banks a day early so that we could spend some time with Mom and Dad Engstrom and Mae Mae Fe.  My family was visiting from California because we got to attend the sealing of my cousin, Jeremy, but not before we were pleasured with a catered breakfast by Chef Emily.     

 
 Megan had baby sitting duty, so after Greg and I got out of the sealing we headed over to the visitor center to find Megan.  We were greeted by the sister missionaries as we walked in.  I asked them if they had seen a girl that kind of looked like me/ Taylor Swift and they knew exactly who I was referring to.  We found Megan and said our good byes but not before talking some jumping pictures outside the DC temple.
  

Mae Mae Fe, Mom, Dad, Me, Greg
Megan seriously looks like T. Swift, I am right?

"Congratulations Jeremy on your wedding!!!!!!!"

   That night we went to a National's game with the Livingston family and David Gerard.  Third Eye Blind was giving a concert after the game.  Greg was never so happy.  He had a bunch of his buddies with him.  Greg knew almost every song and sang along.  He even danced to a few of the songs too.  Some of his dance moves included playing an air guitar/air drum set.  He was so cute!!!!!

The boys!

Third Eye Blind's stage is right behind me!

   Greg was not the only member of the family to sing and dance that night!  We all had such a fun time including the guy in the National's jersey standing behind Papa Jay. I hope he might one day stumble upon my blog to find his picture.
 

 
 The remainder of this blog post is dedicated to Grandma Livingston.  Greg's grandma recently moved to Virginia to be closer to Mama Melissa and Papa Jay.  Her health has not been the greatest lately and it was really important to us but especially to Greg to visit her.  Grandma Livingston has been so sweet to Greg and me.  She came all the way from Washington last year to attend our sealing.  It really meant a lot.  She loves milkshakes and throughout our Grandma Livingston photo shoot she always has her milkshake close by.
      

Daughter in law picture!  This is 3 generations before your very eyes.  

OBX

   Greg and I just returned last week from the Outer Banks, NC.  It was the first time I have ever been there but hopefully not the last.  It was so picturesque.  The entire island was covered with colorful beach houses with huge porches rapping around each level of the house.  We spent the entire week going to the beach and reading by the pool.  We ate great food and had a lot of family bonding time.  My favorite moment of the entire trip was playing Balderdash with the family.  I was laughing so hard.  

  Our first full day was spent going to church and then visiting Kitty Hawk!  Kitty Hawk is where the Wright Brothers had there first successful flight.  We visited a museum built to honor the Wright Brothers.  In the museum was a working replica of the plane the Wright Brothers flew.  Mama Melissa brought a kite for each one of us to fly.  Below is a picture of Greg with his!  

The entire family by the plane replica minus Megan, who couldn't get off work for the trip :(

If you squint your eyes you will see each of us holding our kites.

Mama Melissa with her kite!  Mama Melissa tried so hard all week long to get her kite to fly and finally  on our last day  it did!

   The rest of the week was spent at the beach mostly at the beach.  The family collected sea shells, Emily dug for mole crabs, Greg and Matthew went boogie boarding, we played bocce ball, a sand creature was made, sand castles were built, and we all jumped waves.

  Emily got her hair wrapped and it made her look even cuter than she was before, if that is even possible.

   Greg was really into sea fishing.  He would wake up before the rest of the family and run down to the beach to fish before the beaches became too crowded.  He caught so many fish.  It made up for all the times we have gone fishing in Utah and never caught any thing.  Not only would Greg go fishing in the morning but he would also go night fishing.  He really wanted to caught a shark but never did.  He did catch a crab though!
     

Please notice not only Greg's fish but the shirt he found for $5 at a local shop.  If he can't see it super well, it is a shark riding a surf board.  Greg has always been a classy dresser.!

Night fishing with the fam!  

  It was such a great trip.  Thank you so much Papa Jay and Mama Melissa for making it happen.  It was so much fun to be together with the Livingston family.  I married into the best family.  We only wish Megan could have been with us!

A picture of the sand dunes by the beach!

   On our way home Greg and I stopped in historical Williamsburg.  As most of you know, I LOVE history and was enjoying walking the old streets.  Greg and I visited a church that has been in operation since 1715. The shops all had people dressed in colonial clothing and spoke with accents; I was in heaven.  If anyone has the opportunity to go visit the Outer Banks or Williamsburg, I give it two thumbs up!