I'm all shook up

The summer is officially over, and the fiance has gone back to being that guy I see for the holidays. Consequently, I've transformed back into an 80-year-old woman trapped in a 24-year-old's body, going to bed early, spending the day reading & doing crafty DIY things to pass the time.

However, in light of this week's events, I decided I deserved to have some fun before I had to "hunker" down and prepare for the hurricane that is the next 9 months of my life; full-time school, full-time work/internship, part-time wedding planning.

Thus, no 5.8 earthquake or some swirly thing named Irene could keep me from getting myself dizzy and off balance...at a theme park!

Thanks to the earthquake & impeding doom from Irene, there was hardly anyone at the park. My friend & I were able to ride all the rides without any lines. Huzzah!

I thought twice about riding this, as I recalled the ground shaking and shifting 3 days prior. Turned out to be the best ride all day.

I felt bad going to KD without the fiance, but then I recalled our trip to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure where he felt like this after every ride:

That's when I realized I'll be the fun parent whenever we go to a theme park!

(With our relationship being long distance, I'm beginning to think that this blog may be as much about our separate-ness as our together-ness. At least for the next 9 months.)

Me & Mine

Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Truckeroo

Last week, the fiance and I met up with good friends M&K for a food truck festival.

Clockwise L-R: empanada, bulgogi tacos, wonky dog, spicy-guac grilled cheese

As you can see, we ate ourselves silly.

Our friends M&K

We are so blessed to have M&K in our lives, and we are sad that they're moving to California. But we're excited for them and this great ministry opportunity! Next time we see these folks will be at our wedding!

South of the Border

Since moving to the south for school and work, and now that the fiance lives down there, I have driven past this tourist-trap countless times. This time, we decided we would stop. And oh boy were we glad we did!

It looks deserted...because it was.

Our 5-year-old selves joined us.

Why wouldn't you stop at a place where a giant asian man holds a sign that reads "South of the Border"?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. it was funny, yet sketchy. But it wasn't a total flop. We found many things to laugh over. Like the ethnic Jesus statue for "people of color", or the chicken hat (pictured above) that we may or may not have purchased.

Thanks for the laughs South of the Border!

Love Story

A man and his wings

Deep Creek

Deep Creek, NC is a special place in the Great Smoky Mountains where the going is easy and the life is breezy. Deep Creek is also the place that the fiance and I have been every year that we've known each other (except for last summer).

Summer 2008

Our first time was in 2008, when we were church youth interns. All I remember about this trip was that I had a lot of fun and rafted for the 2nd time in my life in a month. I didn't realize it until this trip, but I suddenly remembered that that was the year my fiance spit game on the van ride home. I woke up from taking a nap and he was holding my hand.

Summer 2009

The next year, we suddenly found ourselves no longer interns but instead the ones in charge. This was our last trip of the summer, and I hated the fiance. We were not "a thing", and definitely not united in love when this trip was going on. There was a serious transmission problem, a flat tire on a trailer on the side of a major highway in the mountains, lots (and lots and lots and lots) of rain, an almost-drowning, and bad attitudes on my part.

My absence from Deep Creek in 2010 was probably the saddest time of my/the fiance's life.

Summer 2011

This time, the fiance and I are very much in love (insert gagging noises) and had a wonderful time spending time and living life with these kids. They are a great bunch of young adults, and it has been our pleasure knowing them and watching them grow these last few (four!) years. 

Kind of crazy to think that this time next year, the fiance and I will be coming back from our first Deep Creek trip as a wed couple. We will be purpling in the same tent and it will be awesome.

(but not as awesome as this picture)