Chincoteague with littles.

Kids might as well be a rubik's cube to me between ages 5-12. I have no idea what they want. Too big to throw around, too young to have adult conversations. I surrender. Maybe that's why I teach middle school and not elementary? But kids UNDER 5 and OVER 12? Hilarious. Comical genius. Three of my four nieces are under 5 that live in Maryland right now. They are so cute and funny. Now, don't get me wrong out there Mom's...I know you've got it rough...there was a moment on this trip when I was stranded at a play ground with the oldest and youngest ones sobbing simultaneously, I had no idea how to fix it. No idea how to turn it off. I had lost the will to live.

Buuuut, then there are other times that make you forget about how you were drowning in the park an hour earlier. Like when they say really funny things like, "Come on in guys, the water's great!". Or, "Sometimes at night the humans are in their houses watching tv or eating".

What on earth?

And if you're lucky enough to be an Auntie they'll fight over who gets to sit next to you or in your lap, and then at the end of a full week of that, you might hear a little voice in the back seat say, "Who are you?"

..."Well kid, I'm you Auntie Carisse. I've been with you every minute for the last week and I was here at Christmas too. No? Don't remember? No recollection? ...It's cool."

All this to say I love my nieces and nephew and I love being an Aunt. I love cuddles and piggy back rides and having my hair brushed and I love giving your kids back to you when they freak out. 

On a boat looking for ponies!



and dolphins!

I'm doing my best to dive into this photography dream that I've had for about 10 years now. FINALLY, taking classes. FINALLY opening my wallet to some equipment. FINALLY getting up the gumption to ask my friends if I can shoot them knowing full well that they probably won't turn out that great. But if I don't practice, I'll never learn right? You can't learn to make a free-throw by reading books. Gotta get out there.

I've had the pleasure of following around TWO gorgeous photographers in the last week. Shaina Sheaff and Melissa Glynn. I learned so much from observing and asking questions. It's really nerve racking, shooting people...and I can't explain why. I guess I just want so badly for them to see the same image I see with my eyeballs, and most of the time I have difficulty converting that image on to the screen.

My brother let me photograph his family on vacation. It was really good practice, but a lot of pressure. Under 5yr old's have less attention spans than gnats, and we might as well have been beating them with sticks after 15 minutes of "sit here and smile". So it was good to shoot a family and I already feel more prepared for next time. Here's what came out...



Precious!



We got to go to a pony show!



The girls weren't scared of the ponies at all! They couldn't wait to touch them.



My brother and sister in law are excellent with the girls. I can't imagine the stress of three littles without cancer, let alone WITH cancer. They've done everything possible to keep life "normal" and they've done a great job. The girls loved the ponies, loved swimming, loved vacation. K would say, "I wish we could stay a little longer". I just love that family so much. Wish there was a way I could be near enough to drop in once in a while and still get to live here in Austin. Now that I'm older, I'm realizing how much I took my oldest niece and nephew for granted when they were little. Maggie and Carson were born when I was in college. And when I got out, I don't think family and hanging out with little kids were at the front of my mind. I was planning my next adventure, hanging out downtown, and trying to get dates all the time. I remember keeping Maggie with mom when I was home on spring break, and I had sleep overs with her a few times in my apartment. I took carson out to dinner and a movie that scared him once(Rango). I remember helping mom keep him when he was a baby. I'm sure I played with them on holidays and I remember when maggie would "Run like the wind" in her bee costume. But somewhere in there, they just grew up! And now Maggie is about to be in MIDDLE SCHOOL. My lands. On the one hand its like, AWESOME, I KNOW middle schoolers. And on the other hand its like, NOOOOOOOOOOOO where did that little girl go? Getting older makes me a lot more emotional, a lot more sentimental, and especially with all that's happened in the last year, I'm feeling more than ever the need to really love on my family while I've been given the opportunity to do so.

HTB and the KS, MO, NE roadtrip

The summer tradition of adding on an unplanned trip did not stop in 2013. I left Terry at the Myrtle Beach airport with tears in my eyes because I had no idea when I would get to see him again, and I knew he already had plans for his July and August time off. So, you can imagine my glee when he called me the next day in L.A., and asked me to fly to Kansas for his Grandma's 100th birthday party. A week surrounded by older people and Terry? Yes please :)

So after a flight delay and a second meltdown on my part, I spent 15hours in the Chicago airport waiting for my flight to Wichita, KS. Screw you windy city. Screw you. I got to meet his sweet parents, have dinner, and look for snakes. His Mom is afraid of snakes too, which somehow calms me down and makes me braver than normal.

The next day we drove to Table Rock Lake in MO to spend the 4th of July with Terry's friends he met in Africa. They were so fun! In related news, I've decided that a lake house is my dream house. When we got there we rode jetskis to dinner, set fireworks off of the doc, and went night swimming!

This is my new best friend Chester. I love his mustache a whole lot.

July 4th, 2013 goes down in history as the best 4th of July I've ever had. Now, I've had some pretty fun 4th of July's, and even seen better firework displays, but that day was wonderful from start to finish.

In the morning we went wakeboarding, rode some jet ski's to lunch, got caught in the rain together, jumped off a small cliff, switched jetskis in which I discovered Terry had been riding on a cloud all day whilst I was rough riding a water bronco, watched fireworks from a boat surrounded by the lights of all other boats, saw asian lanterns lift off, and finished with a little dancing in the living room! I loved that day and hope I can remember it forever.

Terry doesn't like dogs the way I do. So when I finished taking this picture he says, "This is your fantasy isn't it...?" Yep :) Sue and her fiance and their dog Sasha were so warm and welcoming.

We then went to Red Cloud, NE for Grandma's 100th birthday party! Let me tell you something, this lady is still sharp. She's a far better SkipBo player than I'll ever be, and gets around up and down steps with a walker. Amazing.

After church and lunch we left Nebraska. As soon as we rounded the corner Terry asked me to be his girlfriend. OF COURSE ARE YOU KIDDING. I've never met anyone like this guy, someone I have so much in common with and yet still challenges me regularly. In February, I was first drawn to his voice one dark night at the top of a high rise building under construction on a picnic with mutual friends. The next morning he showed up at church (he's a Christian?? that's like finding a unicorn these days) and I noticed he had brown eyes...my kryptonite. At lunch we discovered we had been to Costa Rica, Lao, Haiti, Alaska, Hawaii, and lived in Australia around similar times. INTERESTING. A few days later he helped me make cupcakes for Ginny's birthday party and I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed that hard. Doubled over. Crying laughing. A few days after that he kissed me on the dance floor at the Whitehorse, WHILE I HAD BRACES, and the rest is history. We've kept in touch and got to know each other better ever since.

I like him.

When I say that, I mean I like who he is. I like the person he is. I like learning about him. I like hearing his stories. I like listening to his voice. I like that he loves and serves God most of all. I like the freckles in his brown eyes and his big arms. I like how easy it is to spend time with him. I like that he marches to the beat of his own drum and doesn't apologise for it. I like his integrity, and his honesty allows me to trust him. I like that he challenges me without pressuring me. I like that my friends and my parents like him. I like that he travels. I like that he knows his Bible. I like that he's adventurous. I like that he's athletic. I like his work ethic. I like that he's responsible. I like that he's fluent in Spanish. I like how smart he is, that he researches and strategizes, and reads books. I like how funny and witty he is. I like that he knows lyrics to rap songs. I like how thoughtful he is, that he notices other's feelings. I like that he's polite and sweet to everyone. I like that he's affectionate. I like that he's easy going, spontaneous, and positive.

I'm choosing not to waste time worrying that things may be a little too good to be true and there has just got to be something about to hit the fan. Because I'm enjoying this ride. I'm enjoying and soaking up all of my moments with him. I'm enjoying our adventures together, and that's what I know.

We left Nebraska and stayed the night in Manhattan, KS with Shaster and Nick. I miss her. Australia to this day is still such a part of my daily life, which means Shasta is too.

Blindfold Mom! Not sure if you want to see this, but this is from the hitchrace about halfway down Rainbow Falls. I'm kissing a boy AND wearing a bikini...which can only mean one thing...I'm a hussy.

And now that I've finished this blog, I just realized that chronologically I have left out the entire week with my brothers family in June! No hard feelings. More to come. Just missing Terry today :)