we have an understanding

this is my friend nikki. we are kindred spirits for lots of reasons, mostly because we both have a constant travel itch. one day we'll trek around the world together, but until then we've become the best of pick-me-up-from-the-airport buddies. nikki and i are jet-setting quite often, and we just have an understanding - when i return from a trip, nikki picks me up, and vis versa.

i always love our drives home, catching up and scheming for the future. she's one of my favourite people.

i'm hoping there will be many more needed pick-ups ahead. what's next? she'll pick me up from a trip to san diego and i'll go get her after her adventures in cambodia! who's going to come collect us when we travel together???

also in utah

last weekend i also:

 

-coordinated another awesome power of moms retreat with saren and april:
 
-ran errands and took a walk in the aves with julie

-went to the bees game - perfect weather and sparkly fireworks:
 
-went on a double date with my parents

-had sunday dinner with some of my favourites:

 

there are pretty few things i enjoy more than driving around in salt lake. memories are in the corners and i'm smiling. it's a refresher on how good my life has been and is.

love and celebration

it took young love at first sight, a heartrending breakup, some other serious relationships and six years, but finally the destined, beautiful inevitable happened and sara and matt tied the knot. huzzah!!!

the sealing was divine. somehow teetering on the brink of heaven? i swear, it felt like heaven.

they kissed: (ha! don't you love michael and his future wife in that photo)

we hugged: (i adore these girls more than most anything)

and then we all celebrated:

dani made the cake and bouquet (and let me help a tiny!)

i loved seeing dear friends (including elise who accidentally came dressed as a bridesmaid!)

we are soulmates (dani and i told matt to get ready to travel the world with us & our future husbands)

and off they went: (to hawaii, then colorado and arizona, and finally home to oklahoma…)

may 20 was an outstanding celebration of the miracle of love.

{photos by dani}

sara’s last night with her girlfriends

most of us single girls have mused about some marvelous details for our future weddings, right? we fantasize and chat about our little visions. the only thing i recall sara talking about during these inevitable conversations was something actually disconnected from the wedding day: an epic bachelorette party – as sara dubbed it, a “last night with her girlfriends.” the girl had a dream.

many months ago i hugged a then heartbroken sara after a pretty brutal break-up. she looked up at me with teary, glistening eyes and said, utterly distressed, “i’m not going to have my last night with my girlfriends! (sob, sob)” forget about all else – the most important thing in jeopardy here was sara’s farewell-to-singlehood dream!

i decided then to make that “last night with her girlfriends” happen, no matter what. when sara got engaged a few months ago, i started making plans with dani, and last wednesday night it all became a reality! it was so fun to get together sara’s best girls and honor the incredible friend and example she has been to us through the years.

we started with dinner at a yummy thai food (sara’s fave) restaurant downtown:

we made sure to get some tom ka gui (a food that actually made sara cry from deliciousness when we were in thailand) and to make her pose in that awesome cut-out.

then we went to my parents’ house in park city, had a little dance party, snacked on sara’s favorite treats, watched a slide-show of pictures that dani made, talked about things we love about the bride, and got all bundled up to go outside to the firepit for sparklers and toasts:

we shared favorite/funny memories with our sara and “cheers”ed with martinellis. as we waved our sparklers dani played the ukulele and it was so magical!

we changed into our pajamas and set up spa – sara got pampered from every end!

then we took roughly 15 self-timer pictures. apparently it was pretty funny:

in the morning dani made crepes and we made sara put a huge tissue paper flower on her head (naturally):

it had snowed all night (yes, on may 19 - crazy). it was a sparkly morning. we sure do love our sara. her matt came to pick her up and just like that we were down one single lady. that boy can never quite know what a ginormous blessing his new wife has been in the lives of so many, most especially the group of us.

ahoy! i sailed!

all my wildest san francisco dreams came true last saturday when i set sail with pals to celebrate our wonderful steph’s birthday aboard this boat:

the birthday girl (in the middle below) invited 30 friends to take a sunset sail aboard “ruby” and we all very happily obliged. it really has been my dream since i moved here to sail in the bay, and i was so excited all week, and the actual event (gasp!) exceeded my expectations by a long shot!

here’s how i felt about the adventure:

i quickly ran to the front of the ship, stepped over the protective chain and stood myself right on the pointy bow, ebullient and effervescent.

we sped right into the little bay that surrounds at&t park, and the giants were playing that very night. it was so exciting.

then we headed straight under the bay bridge, which i feel like lives in the shadow of the golden gate bridge, but that night i developed a major crush on it. the bay bridge is so magical.

cupid’s arrow – he already got me long ago, but i felt even more enamored with the city than ever during our sail. indeed, i’ll always leave my heart in san francisco.

after soaking in all those great views zipping along, our captain turned off the engine and put up the sails and we soared around alcatraz.

the night got even more and more magical as the sun went down and the city started to sparkle.

back under the bridge and past the ball park – i never wanted it to end! it was so cold and i felt so alive. everything about life in that slice of time was perfect. it was a little tumultuous and beautiful and my heart was so calm and glad.

wildest san fran dream come true. thanks for such an incredibly fantastic night, steph!!!

{photos by kelsey and nikki}