Friday, June 27, 2014

Life Lately

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1,2: Those boys of mine are growing up too fast. // 3: We went on a hunt for Dry Soda after Tyler saw it online. I tried the cucumber, which was strangely tasty. They make a lavender soda, too, but it wasn't in stock.  *Insert weepy face* // 4. I spent alllllll day Tuesday in a training. I had way too much coffee and my brain was still mush by 4:00. // 5. We took Henry on his first car ride since bringing him home, and he actually seemed to love it! We may have a leash kitty on our hands, folks. // 6. Snowcones, always.


I really like doing these little weekly updates, but darn it if sometimes it doesn't make me feel like my life is boring--like, um, this week. I mean, new sodas and a kitty car ride? Not exactly thrilling reading, that. I have always wanted my blog to be an authentic view of my life, though, not a perfectly constructed image--and in my life, days ebb and flow. Sometimes they're exciting, sometimes they're fairly calm; sometimes they're fast and full, and sometimes they're slow and gloriously empty. Two things are always steady though--they're mine and they're meaningful.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Project Life Wedding Album Update

I just realized today that I haven't shared a Project Life update in ages. Since I'm painfully behind on my weekly PL (which will *hopefully* be changing this upcoming weekend), I thought I'd share a little bit of my wedding album progress.

Yes I realize I've been married over two years and it still isn't done. Sorry 'bout it.

THESE THINGS TAKE TIME, OKAY?!

Anyway, it's a little embarrassing how little I've accomplished since I last shared (in December! Eek!), but hey, progress is progress. I also haven't filled out some of the cards I plan to use for journaling, but I realized a couple months ago that I tend to like what I write more when I don't have to photograph it and put it on the internet. So I'll do that later. :)

(If you want to see the first installment, just read this post--just a disclaimer, I have changed/improved some things.)

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** If you're curious about what line/brand anything you see is, just leave a comment below or shoot me an email. I didn't list everything because it would take f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but I can look up some things here and there!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Perfect Companions

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"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet." --Colette

Monday, June 23, 2014

SDC.

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As I mentioned in this post, we had family visit Springfield last week, and on Monday, we went to Silver Dollar City. Oh, Silver Dollar City.  I have grown to love this place over the past year or so (I know, I'm late to the game!). Yes, it's cheesy, hokey, and a little bit ridiculous, but it just embraces that and doesn't take itself too seriously. I've learned to do the same. Honestly, I'm a little annoyed with myself for actively avoiding it during college and not appreciating the corny awesomeness for all it has to offer. I mean, the food alone is worth the visit!

The food is actually the main reason I go. Hashtag Fatty McGoo. I tell Tyler that the food is to me what the coasters are to him. Seriously, though, I am not a rollercoaster person. At all. They terrify me, and the entire time I'm on them, I'm just thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong. Somehow, though (probably because our 11-year-old niece, Emily, rode basically everything and talked me into it), they got me on Wildfire. It took a couple tries--the first time, we were next in line to get on, and I chickened out and went to the observation deck. Since it was a Monday, though, the lines were short, so Tyler, Emily, and our nephew Mason decided to ride again. Thankfully the line that time was so short that I didn't even have time to think about it, and I survived. I screamed the entire time, minus the short bursts where I told Tyler, "I hate you so much for making me do this!" (I'm not exaggerating, either--Ott, our brother in law, took video of the first part of the ride, and I start screaming as soon as we start moving. It's moderately embarrassing.)

We (me included!) ended up riding a lot, since we rode the water rides too. Those are more my speed (annnnnd they helped keep us cool, which was really nice on a summer day in Missouri!). We were there when the park opened, and we left as it closed.

Plus, I got my bacon ranch kettle chips, Dippin Dots, taffy, funnel cake, and a pretzel as big as my face.

#FattyMcGoo

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Friday, June 20, 2014

Life Lately

Just a few snaps from the past week or so. It's been a good one.





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1. It's always a good week when it includes a trip to this little purple building. One honey lavender float, pleaseandthankyou.

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2. This guy has been especially cuddly lately, and I am loving every minute. I wake up at least twice a night to him or Henry (or sometimes both) snuggling up under my chin. A little lost sleep is a small price to pay, I think.

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3. Tyler's sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew came into town last weekend! They are just some of my very favorite people in the world. The first hour or so was consumed with playing with the fluffbutts (which is what I call our cats 90% of the time).

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4. We introduced the fam to the joy of Relics, Pineapple Whip/Sno Biz, and our favorite Chinese buffet. (Relics wasn't even our idea--it was our nephew's! See? Coolest family ever.) It was a GORGEOUS day in Springfield, too. I wish I could rewind. Oh, and we also went to......


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5. SILVER DOLLAR CITY! Tyler and I both took Monday off so we could tag along on their family outing. We had a blast (and going on a weekday is the way to go!). I'll share more later!



6. Snagged this album on the way home from SDC and I have listened to nothing else since. It's perfection.



7. Henry has started trying to block me from leaving in the morning. It's the saddest and sweetest thing ever, and it makes leaving for work next to impossible. Can I just have a job as a cat mom? That's totally a legit job, right?

What have you been up to this week?

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Countdown to Summer

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We're officially two days away from summer--though if we're being honest, it's really felt like summer for quite some time now. I thought I'd put together a little summer playlist to welcome all the warm temps, snowcones, and poolside lounging. Enjoy!


Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Nathan Boone Part II

Just a few more snaps from our Nathan Boone trip. It's a good thing we don't go on *real* vacations, or I'd be posting nothing else for months!

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Monday, June 16, 2014

Father's Day + Float Trips

Father's Day this year wasn't hard. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't hard, either. This year, I wasn't thinking about those last few days in the hospital--the unexpected emergency phone call, the midnight drive to St. Louis, the waiting (God, the waiting), or the decision to take my father off life-support. I still think about all those things and many more on a far-too-regular basis, but not yesterday. Yesterday I pulled out old photographs and drank coffee, laughing at the ridiculous faces we made, and writing down memories before time carries them away from me. Some of my favorites will always be from the river.

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My father wasn't a saint, and as far as I know, he never pretended to be. "He had his demons," as they say. There were times in my life where we went for months without speaking, where our relationship was so strained I thought it might snap into bits with any more tension, but it never did. He loved my brother and I deeply, my father--and we loved him. I suppose that's all that keeps any relationship from shattering, when you think about it. When you're close enough to a person, you'll see them at their worst as well as their best. My father was always at his best on the river.

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We took an overnight float trip every year--my father, my brother, and I. As we got older, we sometimes invited friends, boyfriends or girlfriends along, but I really liked it best when it was just the three of us. We liked to go during the week, because we would have the river mostly to ourselves. The week leading up to the trip, my father was almost giddy with excitement--buying groceries, packing the tent, and checking the air mattress for leaks. When I was in college, I would get at least one phone call a day.

"Do you still have a sleeping bag?"
"You don't have to bring sunscreen; I have sunscreen."
"What time are you coming in? I can make dinner. What do you want for dinner?"
"Do you need river shoes? I think your brother and I are going to look for river shoes."
"Hey, will you stop by and get some of those clove cigarettes?"
"I bought three waterproof disposable cameras; do you think we'll need more?"

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My dad loved the river--we all did, but he especially--and the river seemed to love him back. He would have a fishing pole in one hand, another tucked under his knee, a paddle in the other hand, and still run circles around my brother and I. When we would stop to camp, almost always on the same gravel bar, he would spend the day catching trout while I read and wrote poetry and my brother fished, swam, and skipped rocks. No phones, no GPS, no clocks, no connection to anything but the world around us.

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Nightfall on the river was always my favorite. The fireflies emerged with the stars, and some nights the distant sky would light up with heat lightning. Everything seemed hushed except for the rippling water and the crackle of the fire, and the calm seemed to quiet my dad's soul too. Normally laughing, boisterous, and making (mostly crude) jokes, he changed after dark. He talked about God, Native American history, his childhood, and stories he'd heard about my grandfather's time in the army. We talked about nature, and ethics, and trigonometry. We told ghost stories, discussed whether ghosts exist, and made pacts to try to contact each other after death. We identified animal sounds, tried to replicate them, and felt our hearts race when one would come near. Then, exhausted, we would all crawl into the tent to sleep....only to talk some more.

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We always woke up to mist on the river and dad cooking his "campfire breakfast" in a cast-iron pot over the fire. It seemed like we were always hesitant to leave our little spot, knowing that loading up our canoes brought us one step closer to the end of our little adventure. So we'd linger a bit, dad wading out to fish again, with Ethan usually following.

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Finally, we'd load up our canoes and head downriver, stopping now and then for a really good fishing spot, a well-placed rope swing, or if one of us happened to turn over at the Hall's Bay rapids.

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No matter what, we always stopped at Boze Mill--one of my favorite places in the entire world. The remains of an 1800s mill sits between the river and a beautiful blue spring. It's freezing, but after floating most of the day (and in my case, already suffering a decent sunburn), it was my favorite place to swim (and to dunk my brother).

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Yesterday, these were the things on my mind--floating Whitten to Riverton. My only regret is that I haven't been back since he died. I know it won't be the same, but nothing ever is except the memories. Reliving them--enjoying them--seems to be the best way to keep them alive.

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I'll leave this post with thanks to you, if you made it this far, and this note that my brother posted on Facebook yesterday. He always says things far more eloquently and succinctly than I ever could:

To the best hunter, fisherman, and all around woodsman I've ever known.
To the man with the pioneer spirit. 

To the artist, the carpenter, and expert on all things Native American.
To the man who could do anything, and did.
To the tinkerer, mechanic, the maker of anything.
To the generous, loving, and hilarious soul.
To the man who shared all these things with us.
 To the man I think about every day. We miss you.




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