view from the top.

we went to the fair yesterday.

gid goes to check out the farm animals (simultaneously giving me a lesson in 4H culture), 

and also to eat the funnel cake.

I go for the rides and for the people watching. 

(...and obviously the food in general.) 

At the very edge of the grounds there was a tall slide that sloped up and down several times. It looked mostly not scary. But the closer we walked, the more intimidating it felt. You know what I mean? It wasn't scary-- it just felt like it might get scary once you climbed to the top and had to actually slide down it. We went back and forth on whether we should do it a few times; saying things like, "Maybe it's just for kids", and "I'm not sure I even really like slides", or "geez, it's 2 whole dollars"...

There were adults doing it. Also plenty of little kids.
Some were screaming, but most seemed happy (relieved?) when it was over.
We decided if they could handle it, we could too.

The higher we climbed, the more I pretended to not be nervous. Once we got to the top, we realized the view alone was worth the 2 bucks per person it cost.

(you can kiind of see the swirling of the slide at the bottom of the photo.)

You could see everything from here.
Why had it taken us so long to give it a shot?

We sat down on the complimentary potato bags they gave us (to add more slideyness...).
And we slid.

And I took a video while it was happening.

And gid is the cutest thing I've ever slid down a slide with.

We reached the bottom before we'd even realized we'd taken off.
(And the dumb video makes it look even shorter than it felt.)

Not scary at all.

it'll all be okay in the end I think,

sparkle story.

He smiled at me after I'd had a bit of a blue day, and said, 

"Lets go celebrate your last night as a 27 year old." 

 I love him, I love him, I love him. 

So lucky to have a boy who smiles and sneaks kisses in on quiet nights like this.
He's all I need in the whole wide world.

And here's a little movie for you, bloggie buddies.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.
I've felt so loved.

a fourth of july baking story...

We had a sweet and slow forth of july, friends. 

Slept in. Check. 

Snuggled. Check. 

Rolled out of bed, and looked for something to eat in our kitchen. Check. 

We've been out of town a lot this summer, which has resulted in a pretty skinny kitchen. There was cereal, some fruit snacks, and a couple onions in the fridge. (Okay, maybe there were a few more things, but those are the only items I remember...)

So we took a quick run to the market, and grabbed the essentials for a terrific fourth of july treat. It made for a sweet and patriotic afternoon; the perfect thing to do before taking a walk through sugarhouse and enjoying the afternoon activities and evening fireworks. A lovely fourth, though we really missed family- normally we spend this holiday with Gideon's relatives in Salmon.

Wanting to remember our delicious afternoon, we recorded a small video of our holiday fruit tart. Enjoy friends. Keep an eye out for a sparkler video next...

Wishing you all lovely memories from this fourth,

This is what I'm thinking...

That last post left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, 

so now I need to write about some other things on my mind:

I'm thinking twinkle lights and candles.

I'm thinking casual chic.

I'm thinking of picnic blankets, champagne glasses, and a playlist full of billie, frank, and ella.

I'm thinking cake (for the sake of cake).

And maybe even an outside flick to finish the night off.

Just an evening of summer fun with good friends. That's what I'm thinking.

Who's with me? Shall we throw a summer party just for fun?

ps- I had so so many friends send me private sweet messages today.
So lucky to have such great people in my life. Thanks everybody.

lock on a bridge

dear rain, 

We woke up to your dreariness on our last day in paris. And while

the white covers of our warm bed begged us to stay, 

there was just one more thing I really wanted to do before we left the city of lights. 

I knew a thousand other people would be doing the same thing, and that we probably wouldn't be able to get in even one decent picture, but I knew I'd regret it if we didn't at least try. 

Your morning drizzle was hardly noticeable until it transformed into an afternoon downpour as we got on the bus to our destination. I tried to think of you as romantic ("paris in the rain" swoon), but inwardly I scowled, wishing you would have come the day after, when we would be gone. The usually crowded streets emptied- tourists and locals dodging into shops and cafes to avoid you.

When we got off of the bus, you were still determined. It was cold, and so wet. My feet and lower legs were completely drenched; I might as well have been playing in a splash park in february. But after we got off, and began walking the 2 minute journey to the bridge, we realized your downpour had dissolved into a much friendlier sprinkle. 

You had softened, but the normal crowds had completely vanished. 

With the exception of maybe 2 or 3 couples, the bridge was exclusively ours. 

I like to think that you brought yourself just for us, rain. That you intentionally came on our last day in a heavy downpour so that for just a few minutes, we could create memories that would last the rest of our lives with a small amount of privacy.

I know the love lock bridge is a tourist trap, and the notion of a rainy day in paris probably sounds horribly cliche and overly romantic to a lot of people. 

But I'll never forget it as long as I live. 

And I think it was you that made it the perfect day, rain. (Well, you and the fact that we were in paris…) 

So thank you. 

Sorry I ever doubted you. 

ps- here's a link to a short video I made of our time on the bridge friends. xo

dear june,

Oh june, I never thought you'd come. This year has been such a whirlwind already. The last time I wrote was december. December! A lot has happened since. I'll just sum it up, shall I? January- UC Berkeley for a somatic intensive, write and defend IMS thesis. February- Begin writing MFA thesis. March- edit edit edit-meet meet meet- rewrite rewrite rewrite, cry cry cry. April- More writing. More editing. More crying. Until finally, the thesis defense. In May I walked across the graduation stage and had the MFA hood placed over my head. Such a feeling. About a week after graduation my sweetheart and I did some lovely traveling.

Which brings us to this morning, June. I woke up around 4 am, unable to fall back asleep, and just listened to the first morning of your month. Soft breeze, glowing light seeping in gently. The sound of water- sprinklers maybe?

Such a relief to wake up in my own bed, even though so much of our future is still a question mark now that we've both graduated. Please be good to me, June. Last year was not my favorite summer. Of course, last year I still had the most intense two semesters of graduate school in front of me. I still can't believe it's come to an end.

June, I think I'll go sleep some more, ok?

summer checklist

1. Read some books.

(I'm only 1/2 way through Les Mis though; 

finishing it actually might take the entire rest of the summer...)

2. Take some photos.

3. Bake some delicious cookies. 

(Also, eat lots and lots of popsicles.) 

4. Watch Movies! 

(Summer cinema is the most fun, wouldn't you say!)

5. Go to the Beach! 

(We're planning a trip to California set for July. 

Here we come, Sea World!)

6. Begin the plans for a lovely trip next Summer. 

(Can't wait can't wait can't wait....)

7. Tackle that pesky linens closet.

8. Go to a wedding or two.

9. Shopping anyone? 

(more likely than not, it will be window shopping-- you know, the kind without money...)

10. Write in a journal. 

And a blog. 

And maybe some letters every few weeks.

#startingtoday

Wishing you all lovely summer planning as well,

It's Back!

I've decided to start posts on my blog that I'm going to call 20 days of thanks. I want to write a post on different things that we're thankful for in our lives. Summer is one of the best times for me to find things to be grateful for, so I decided to start my 20 days of thanks with a post dedicated to SUMMER!

Summer is usually not one of my favorite seasons, I've always loved fall the best. Something about the leaves falling, and the crispness in the air around Thanksgiving is so refreshing. It's like the start of something new. Makes me want to buy school supplies. The last several summers of my life I've been incredibly busy. I think I associate Summer with hotness (and not in a good way), and with busy craziness. Last summer I was booked with wedding photography, and the insane stress of planning my own wedding by myself. The three summers before that, I was busy going to school full time and trying to balance being on a dance company and keeping up with my photography work.

This summer is totally different. Gid and I are both working full time, but we've been able to plan several weekend getaways that have been super fun. This is the first summer in a while that I'm really looking forward to. I miss school like crazy. Working a 9-10 hour day five days a week gets old really fast, and I often find myself missing homework which is the weirdest thing in the world. When I was in school, I couldn't afford to take off a week from school without it affecting my grades. This summer we're going to be able to take several trips, and all I have to do is find someone to cover me at work. I wish I could've found someone to cover me at class when I was in college. Summer in Texas is hot and miserable; I have these flashbacks of gymnastics practice during the summers, and driving with the ac on high. Summer in Boise is still hot, but I wouldn't go as far as miserable. It's actually been pretty chilly the last few weeks, and just started to warm up. This last weekend was just gorgeous. And the cool thing about boise is that when the weather is nice- the city becomes alive. Everyone is out on the greenbelt running or biking. Tons of people are fishing in little lakes, and rivers. It's the most active place I've ever lived. Nice.

Summer is wonderful for many reasons. These are only a few:

1. the sun is out and feels wonderful on my skin!
2. going running isn't miserable (not that I actually run- but I'm going to start)
3. the days are longer, and the breezy air is refreshing
4. it's swimsuit shopping season
5. family finds eachother during the summer season

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT FEW MONTHS!!