Valley of the Temples

I liked this part of Kevin's visit.
We saw a giant gold Buddha,
Chased peacocks,
Invented a new language: Gong.
And we rung it 3x each.
We carved our names in a tree.
And had a sword fight.
We played baseball with rocks and bamboo,
Fed the Koi fish.
And held hands everywhere.
And that was the best part of all.

p.s. click here if you want to see what i did this thanksgiving.

All day I've been sitting on trains

Jumping out of planes.
It happened so fast, it felt like cold, soft cement on my face.
When we went through a cloud it was freezing.
And we fell for what seemed like forever before he pulled the parachute.
We looked down at Hawaii and saw all of the beautiful beaches,
But all I could think about was how nauseous I was.
When we landed I was so sick I could barely walk.
Does it sound like fun? :)

It was beautiful, But I will never do it again.
It also made me laugh because we had to sign our lives away.
And before I jumped out I thought that (maybe) I might die.
But I'm alive and breathing friends, and have so many more pictures to share.

(and I miss Kev-friend already)

You Are

My favorite person to play with.

Three hand hugs.
Kitty licks.
Squirrel kiss.
(we're just a little weird)

This Thanksgiving,
I'm grateful for you in my life.
Can you stay in it for awhile?
xoxo

M.I.A

I will be away from the world of blogging this week because He decided to visit me Here for Thanksgiving. Already we have done so many fun things. Like jumping out of planes.

More of that to come.

Happy Thanksgiving friends!
I hope your holidays are lovely.

Secrets

Do not repeat this to anyone.
I dream about flying.
I sing Classical music.
I cheat at cards.
I am afraid of alligators.
I live in paradise,
And spend most of my time in the library.
I would choose clothes over food.
Fishing is unethical.
Blogging is still fun,
Even if no one reads my thoughts.
I believe in peace.
I think I'm in love.
Poetry is more beautiful than anything,
Except for maybe people,
Like my sisters and my mom.

I sometimes feel a little too big,
For such a small world.

p.s. most beautiful post ever i promise.

I Can't Wait

To read my kids Roald Dahl books.
I think he is the reason I am an English major.
I used to wish I could be Matilda and escape with Miss Honey,
And deliver dreams with the BFG,
And trick all of those evil Witches.

I remember crying at the beauty of Danny Champion of the World
at a very young age.
Not knowing that for the rest of my life,
I would feel that same thing.
That beautiful, cathartic, spiritual moment when literature says what you can't.

And I can't wait for my children to feel that way too.
And I won't even tell them to go to bed,
when I see them reading under the covers with a flashlight
(like I used to do).
Instead, I think it will make my heart float like helium.

And I will smile at their saggy eyelids across the breakfast table,
Knowing that they have a major piece of me.

The Peace of Wild Things

This tree sits outside my front door.
I feel pretty lucky, because she is a lovely tree.
And I have a strange little feeling,
that maybe this tree is in love with me.
And she watches me leave for work
and come home tired and lonely.

But she thinks I am pretty,
Even when I never wash my hair
(And should be more tan than I am since I do live in Hawaii)

And when I sit outside beneath her,
She hugs me through the wind.
And her leaves sparkle,
sprinkling pixie dust.
To make me fly.

p.s. Ashley is my bosom friend too.
and she is even nicer than this tree.

Lauren the Bride

Friends, you must meet Lauren.

She is an old friend of mine, who is getting married next Friday.

Isn't her dress beautiful? She designed it herself.

And even though I have never met her fiance Devin, I know he must be cool if he is marrying Lauren.

Because she is just kind of like that.

Really cool.

She tells their story here. 

I promise, such a delightful read.

And I am so happy that God invented love.

Sometime

Sometime it would be neat to live in the same space.
We could wake up in the morning and eat lucky charms in our t-shirts.
You could teach me to play chess and I could teach you the major and minor scales.
I guess we could play croquet on Sundays. I would get two strokes and you get one of course.
You might let me follow you around with my latest novel, and let me read you the parts that make me smile.
Fridays we could make pizza with our sisters.
Double pepperoni on your half.
I could watch you play basketball and hug your sweaty shirt when you win.
And I could make you Chemistry flashcards, and test you all weekend.
We could even share the same shampoo and toothpaste.
And secrets.
But don't get too excited.
I just like you.
A little bit.
Or a lot.
Fine.
A lot.

Listen Up

Guess who went surfing at Castles today and got up four times?!

It starts with an M and it ends with a Y.
Yeah... just a little excited.

Please Look

I really wish I had an excuse to wear this dress.
Any ideas?
I think it might be...
The most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time.

Making Wishes

I have been making some wishes lately...
I haven't really wished for world peace.
Or a new President.
Or even lower gas prices.

But I have been wishing for more patience.
And courage.
And the ability to love others despite their flaws.

I have been wishing for a bigger heart.
A heart so big that I can love everyone I meet.
(Including myself)

But mostly I wish that Christmas will come soon.
I miss my people.

p.s. I totally want to win this giveaway.

{photo via}

Once Upon a Time...

I had an idea of what love was.
and that idea was all wrong.
because now I think I know what love is.
(or at least what it is to me)

And it is crying when he is sick and you can't be there to make him feel better,
when you can't get him a glass of water or a cool washcloth for his fever.

It is the pain you feel when you weren't there to watch him make 5 interceptions and 3 touchdowns at his intramural football game.

It is eating a strawberry ice-cream cone and thinking it would taste better if he was there eating it with you.

And it is failing a test and wishing that you could sob into his hoodie.

That's what love is to me.
What is it to you?