Tuesday, October 30, 2012


A Latin experience: How the past is remembered

Every four years the Latino community in Utah comes together to remember their roots through an event called Luz de Las Americas (Lights of America).

This is the biggest Latin cultural event in the United States, with more than 500 performers representing many nations and more than 40,000 spectators.

It was my privilege to participate and contribute this weekend as I represented my country, Paraguay, and the meaning of my heritage.

In preparation for this event, we rehearsed for over 5 months and strived to reconnect at a deeper level with our purpose. In addition, to the through planning required for this event, all attire was specifically imported from the countries that were to be represented.

Annya Becerra, who represents Guatemala, said, "It's given us the opportunity to be transmitted internationally. So really, it's an outreach that we're going to do worldwide. So, that's exciting."

"Every country has its flavor, its color and life," said Costume Director Carla Montesino. "I just hope that through the designs we can really express what these cultures are really about and how wonderful their music and their culture really is."

Through this experience I was able to portray what it means to be Latino and be edified from the enthusiasm and dedication of the people I was able to rub shoulders with as we worked together to transmit the very essence of our kind and tender culture. It was even more rewarding for to see that despite language and cultural barriers that might exist, those of other backgrounds were touched and able to feel the warmth of our culture.








Source: www.ksl.com (LDS Latino community shares culture, faith with performance)

Monday, October 22, 2012

Hampton Inn & Red Rock Brewing

Last weekend was Utah Valley University fall break. Since my husband and I both work full time and go to school full time we try to "get away" and spend time just us. This fall we were not able to go to Vegas or too far away like we normally do. This time we decided to stay close to home and do weekend fun in Salt Lake City.

We got a stellar deal at the Hampton Inn at Downtown Salt Lake City. We stayed in the 1 King Bed Suite with Whirlpool for only $80! This is an amazing deal considering the whirlpool tub is right in your room and you can watch tv while soaking! Currently the Hampton gives you discounted rates if you pre-pay for their room. So instead of spending lots of money and going to Anniversary Inn or going out of town we were able to do this for the night.Click here to check this out!

This picture is from the Hampton Inn website. But this is what the room looks like!

A couple of blocks away from the Hampton Inn is this brew pub/restaurant called RedRock Brewery. Talk about amazing food!!!! We ordered fried halibut and German bratwurst and potatoes  Extremely delicious! What amazed me about this place the most was their home made root beer! I am usually not a fan of rootbeer but after having theirs I wanted to buy all that I could! To check out their website click here!


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sundance Resort

Sundance Resort...

I might as well call this my winter home. I love this place; the scenery, the people, the food, the snow. It's all amazing and I can not wait for winter to come!

Located about 20-25 minutes from the freeway in Orem and nestled behind the majestic Mt. Timpanogos, this little treasure is sure to grow on you and welcome you to its family as it did me.

The exciting news about Sundance recently is the addition of a new ski lift which will provide access to parts of the ski area in about half the time as the previous "ski commute." This makes the powder hounds' mouths water as it creates quicker possibilities to dive into the famous Utah powder.

The skiing and snowboarding are not the only draws to this charming village in the mountains. There are world class accommodations, restaurants, spas and exceptional customer service. Winter activities also include cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, and a livelier atmosphere in this busy season. The Owl Bar is Sundance's perfect apre-ski/snowboard destination with fantastic bands playing frequently, good drinks, and better people.

If you are searching for a cozy, friendly, welcoming place to get your ski or snowboard fix in, or just to get away from the doldrums of ordinary life, make serious considerations in visiting Sundance Resort. Bring your camera and high expectations for a great vacation. See you on the snow beginning December 7th!

See also: www.sundanceresort.com







Thursday, October 18, 2012

Pass of all Passes














  Hey again! Today I wanted to share about Utah's pass of all passess!!It's a great card to have for people of all ages! You pay for it one time and then you get limitless activities!!! I have had mine for three years and LOVE it! I can go on free dates all the time. It is definitely a boredom reducer. Each year they keep adding on more and more activities as well! Here's a list of everything that you can do with your pass:
  • Seven Peaks water park Provo/Salt Lake City
  • Trafalgo Lehi/Orem/Sandy
  • Orem Owlz
  • Utah Blaze (Indoor Football)
  • BYU Hockey/Soccer
  • Salt Lake Real Soccer
  • Ogden Raptors Baseball
  • Peaks Ice Arena
  • Rocky Mountain Raceway
  • Salt Lake Bees
  • Tracy Aviary
  • University of Utah Games
  • Utah Grizzlies
  • Utah Valley University Games
@Men-Best dating tool ever!! You buy one pass and for a full year you will never have to pay for another date again! Especially if she already has one!! ha

My advice to people who are interested in purchasing one is to wait for it to go on SALE. This year they had booths at some of the local malls with great deals on them. If you were to buy one online it was about $80...but at the mall it was only $30!! Then, two weeks later they dropped the price even more and it was going for only $20. So pretty cheap for a year worth of entertainment.

My FAVORITE activities is Seven Peaks water park provo. They have some great slides such as the boomerang and free falling. They just barely got this new mat slide and you can now take the mats on the body slides...it is way more intense on the mats because you get to go head first down the slide!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Cornbelly's

This past weekend we went to Cornbelly's. If you are looking for a place to take your family this would be it! Below are some of the pictures from our visit. Unfortunately we only had time to try a few things so I highly recommend making this a day trip. To check out pricing and all the activities they have planned check out their website here

The first activity we did was the hay stack. They even had tunnels going under neath the stack that kids could go through.

The next thing we did was the "ball" pen. This reminds me a lot of Volleyball but with a BIG ball and hay as a net.



Of course the trip is not complete without riding a mechanical bull!


Like Fried food? This is the place to eat! The fried snickers is pretty Delicious!! 

And of course you can't leave without a picture!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Hiking the Y

As you know I have been here for about 5 years. People that live or are from the Provo/Orem area knows that one of the basic hikes you must do when you get here is to Hike the Y!!!. The Y is very popular, especially with college students, because it represents the Brigham Young University. Every summer my friends and I would plan to hike the Y, but we never ended up going. Most people said that most of the time too much planing ended up in nothing, in our case that was a fact! So yesterday for the first time, I hiked the Y!

Yesterday, my friend Josh suggested that we should go to hike the Y. He asked Lily, Marie, and I if we have hiked it before. We looked each other and started to laugh because we knew none of us had gone yet. Josh could not believe that we have been here for so long and never hiked the most popular and basic hike. Right away he said we should change clothes so that we could hike it. I was not prepared at all to go hiking, and that included clothes!

Luckily my roommates came to my rescue and let me borrow some of their clothes. However, there was one problem. My roommates and I did not wear the same size of shoes. I was about to stay and let them go, but they would not me. So I decided just to take my ballerina shoes that was so flat that you could feel you were almost without shoes.

At the begging the hike was not very difficult. My feet were okay and we kept pushing forward. But almost toward the end of the hike they were hurting me. The hike was actually pretty fun and easy. When we got to the Y we could not believe we did not do it our first year. We staid up there for a while talking, laughing, and just enjoying each others company. It was a different bounding experience with my friends.

I will say the most difficult part was coming down. The one thing we regret is not having water. By the time we started back we were so thirsty! If you ever go...bring water! The overall experience was just great! We joked about how we planned this hike for a long time but we never actually did it. When we finally did it we were not prepare at all!

Hiking the Y made me realize that I sometimes need to spend less time planning and more time actually doing. Sometimes we just need to take the risk and enjoy the Journey.

So if you are in Utah for a visiting or just moved it do not forget to go and hike the Y (don't forget the water too!). Take your friends and enjoy the moment :)





The Beginning 

Half way 


On the Top 



Coming down 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Paiute Trail 2012

The coolest thing i did this summer, hands down, was ride the Paiute Trail with a couple buddies over the span of three days. i usually do a lot of fun things in the summer, but this year was lacking except for this trip which we all try to do every summer. it worked out great because we used it as an extended bachelor party for the big guy. basically, this trail is a network of one trail with hundreds of side trails that wraps around central Utah and goes from desert to mountain tops. our trip lasts three days and covers over 250 miles of dirt, mud, gravel, and some small portions of paved roads.

Day 1. we start in a town called Aurora in central Utah about 30 miles east of Scipio. we load up our quads with our gear, some food, and plenty of fluids and hit the trail. we ride for about seven hours til we get to the Big Rock Candy Mountain motel and restaurant. Apparently there is a country song about this place... i'll find it and add a link. we enjoy a fantastic dinner at the restaurant, take showers, and pretty much go to bed. after a long day of bouncing, vibrating, and teeth chattering trail riding, one's body is done for!

Day 2. we wake up as soon as our bodies will let us and with a few ibuprofen and some gas station snacks for breakfast, we're on the trail again. this day goes from the lower elevation desert to mountain tops of about 11,000 feet in less than two hours. switchbacks and climbing mountains fill the day. dropping into little towns with only one gas station or not even a stop light or a population smaller than my high school graduating class is a real good time to get a feel for small town living. my favorite town is Koosharem. tiny and full of character. a gas station, a post office, and a general store (all in one building) lie at the town's center. you can still pump the gas first, then you have to go inside and tell them how much you pumped. i always stop at the Koosharem Cafe for some great home cooking.

Day 3. after camping out the night before on the edge of a gorgeous lake, its time to hit the trail again. today's ride is only about six hours but filled with just as much bridge jumping, river rinsing, dirt eating, and white-knuckling as the other two. by the time we get back to the car, our bodies are pretty much useless. soreness creeps in making us realize we had muscles we never knew about before.

four wheeler rentals: $600
food and lodging: $250+
sun block: $25
memories with amazing friends to last a lifetime: PRICELESS

See you on the trail next year!!

p.s. couldnt get the link to the song, but you can find it on youtube. just type in big rock candy mountain!