Greek Festival

I love the Greek Festival!! I look forward to it every year. If you have never been, you must put it on your calendar for next year. On Thursday, Alina, Lesli, and I went to the opening night of the festival. We got there about an hour after the ribbon opening ceremony and already it was packed!! We had to wait in the food line for over 30 minutes, but it went really fast considering the large number of people that were ahead of us. The festival is always so well organized. Here are a few pictures of us after we've feed our faces.

Me and Alina.

Lesli and Alina.

Me and Alina cracking up over how funny we are when we get together.

Labor Day Vacation

Well, I'd been back at work for two weeks and was in desperate need for a vacation when Labor Day Weekend came along. When I went to work on Friday, I made sure that my bags were all packed. After work, I immediately left and headed for the airport. I jumped on my flight and an hour later I was in Phoenix. Sweet!! My dad and my grandpa picked me up and we went straight to Chase Field to see the Diamondbacks play the Astros. I'm not a huge fan of myself in this picture, but my sweet grandpa looks so great, I had to include it.


On Saturday I headed back to Chase Field, again to see the Diamondbacks play the Astros, but this time my mom came with me and my dad. My mom's not a huge fan of baseball. In fact, by the 7th inning, she's ready to go, and if it goes into extra innings she has a kanipshin. But Saturday she was very excited. Saturday was the 12th annual Hispanic Heritage Day at Chase Field. There were going to be mariachi bands, dancers, and the like throughout the stadium and my mom was excited to see it. But the biggest reason she wanted to go - Miguel Montero bobbleheads. My mom loves Montero. She thinks he has the cutest smile ever and she couldn't wait to own a bobbly-headed version of him. Here's a pic of me and my mom with our free bobbleheads.

Sunday was dedicated to a day poolside, but Monday I was back at Chase Field to see the Diamondbacks play the Giants. I was really excited for this game because I love Giants' catcher Buster Posey. I'd seen him play earlier this year, but really wanted to see him again. This time my cousin, Cody, joined me and my dad.

As soon as the game was over, I had to head to the airport to return back to SLC. Stupid work - it ruins everything.

Baby Amelia

So, I'm officially an aunt. Baby Amelia was born last week on August 30th. I can't believe my brother is a dad. When did we become real adults?! I know we're now in our 30s, but it seems like we've been pretending to be adults up til now. Well, he can't pretend any more. He has to take care of an another person. A little person. A beautiful, little person. A precious, beautiful, little person.

So, when Baby Amelia was born, I bought and sent her a Sock Monkey. I knew Kyle and Megan would love it and believed Amelia would too. She'd have to - it'd be in her genes.

So, Kyle sent this picture to my phone with the following message: "Aunt Mandy, Thanks for the sock monkey. I live it. Love, Millie." (Italics and Bold added for emphasis)

A few minutes later, I got a new message that said, "I mean, I LOVE it. Give me a break. I'm only 4 days old and this texting thing is new to me. Crap, I gotta go - here comes Mom." Hahaha - I loved it!!


So, I haven't met Baby Amelia yet, but I'm going to see her tomorrow!! Yay!! More pictures to come.

Phong Phu Restaurant

Yay!! A new Vietnamese restaurant recently opened near my work. I started back at work three weeks ago and that's when I noticed the big "Now Open" sign on the Phong Phu Restaurant. I was so stoked. So, last week I took Alina there for her birthday. The food and service were excellent. When we sat down, our waitress asked us if we'd like complimentary soda. Of course we said yes. She then brought us the free soda and she brought us free egg drop soup. Later on she also brought us free scones. The food was so great that I got take out from there again tonight. While I was waiting for my order, the hostess brought me another free drink. This will definitely become a once a week place to visit.

The menu has both traditional Chinese food items and Vietnamese items. I haven't ordered any of the Chinese items, but the Vietnamese items are delicious. If you've never had Vietnamese food, now is the time to do it!! The restaurant is located at 7640 S. State Street. It looks like a dive, but the food makes up for it. My recommendations:

• B7: Pho Tai (steak noddle soup) - this is my standard order whenever I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant.
• D6: Bun Chai Gio (egg roll vermicelli) - this is another standard, although the sauce can be a bit spicey.
• J6: Mi Ga (chicken egg noodle soup) - this is the free soup they gave us. Delicious twist on the standard egg drop soup.
• A1: Goi Cuon (fresh spring rolls) - this is a great appetizer. I've had better at other restaurants, but they're not bad. They were made with a lot of mint so if you're not a mint fan, you'll want to pass.

Be brave!! Visit this restaurant soon. I don't want to see it go out of business just to be replaced by another Applebees. If you need someone to go with you to walk you through the Vietnamese dining experience, give me a call. I could always use a good bowl of pho.