dunkball.

kimball and friends gathered together on this blessed labor day morning to partake in some dunkball. you don't know what dunkball is!? it's okay, neither does the rest of the world. but to these boys..i'm sorry, men, dunkball is not only a sport, its a way of life. (that may be a bit too dramatic.) let me explain, or try to.. there is a mental health hospital near byu (comforting, right?) with a court with hoops that adjust in height. i'm not positive when they figured this out but they did and someone came to the conclusion that if they lowered it enough they could dunk on it just like the crazy 7 foot 3 inch men in the NBA. kimball not only attends and dunks but he continues with the theme and dresses the part (as seen in the pictures). i think the basketball shorts and utah jersey (hahahaha) accompanied by the do rag(i know that is probably spelled wrong, don't patronize me), chains, watch, sweat bands and baller hat truly help him with his skillz. as you can tell I am not so much a thug with my jean hat, vans and all-american get up but he loves me just the same. there really is no point to this post except to show all of you how legit kimball is and brag about how blessed i am. of course, thats sort of what my blog is about :)

us making a valiant effort at being "thug" and failing miserably. (i should speak for myself)

kimball looking thug while not even trying.

thug love.

the final count down..

kimball and i have officially been away from each other for eleven days. leaving us with two days to go..the countdown begins. (as if the countdown hasn't been going from the moment we were away from each other) the first three days he was in virginia his phone was dead and he had no charger. we went primitive with his house phone at night until he got a hold of a charger that fit his phone. oh blesses technology, how lost we would be without you. so basically he stays up super late (he is 2 hours ahead of utah time and 3 ahead of az time!!) so he doesn't ruin any of my plans at night (which without him are usually really lame) and then we talk, on average, for 2 to 3 hours. yes, we still find things to talk about. quite easily actually :) and as grateful as i am for phones to talk on i just really want him back. the first few days it was like can't wait to see you! but now it's just annoying. i find myself literally saying "please just come home" almost every night. i sound like a sob story and so overdramatic and i agree that i am a bit over the top but for those of you who know me i am not a dramatic person. i'm kind of just ready (really ready) for him to come back so we can do everything together again. we never realized how much we loved doing even the mundane things together until we weren't there to do them together. kimball makes everything better just by being there. i feel a disclaimer coming on; i looooved being home! i always love being home! i am so glad i had time with my family and kat. between sewing and sister outings and lunch with various friends i was loving arizona but i am very happy to be back in p-town. tomorrow will be oh so fun as i carry boxes that are way too heavy for my weak little arms out of kimballs apartment and into my new apartment in the quad (i'm sad to be leaving the street..) but after getting settled in it will only be a matter of hours until kimball is back! and then we can continue in the fun, i feel a dance party will erupt soon after his arrival. thats generally how we roll (see corresponding picture). so happy to have someone that makes me so happy :) because i am blessed.

Finals are over!! To celebrate Kimball, being the sweetest guy ever, planned the rest of the weekend :) of course my camera came everywhere we went....

kimball found out i had never been to cabelas and was determined to "fix" that :) we thought about getting this one but settled for a old school one costing around 25 grand..just kidding.

bees game!! kimball and i both LOVE baseball and luckily there was one more home game we were able to grab tickets for. it was, obviously, really fun despite the bees loss :( but it was okay because they played nola (the new orleans team) which is my nick name! p.s. notice the alternating black and white..i may have also had a yellow cardigan with me :)

so last winter i took a bowling class..yes a bowling class. you'd think this would make me amazing, right!? wrong. i got worse! since then kimball and i have gone a few times and i taught him a couple things i learned. of course it works for him; he demolishes me EVERY TIME. so much for a semester of practice!

my favorite :) there was a meteor shower lasting all last week that was supposed to be amaaazing. we drove up to vivian park and soon found many others had the same idea (oh college towns) so we set up our blankets among the other awed students and watched as the sky fell down. it was just cool enough for jackets and blankets; i can't believe i'm about to admit this but i'm excited for fall and winter. i've had a wonderful summer but i know how much kimball loves his winters so i suppose it's his turn. plus, i love fall clothes :) so, back to this night.. i, being me, wanted to take a picture..in the dark..in the middle of a bunch of other people trying to watch stars. kimball laughed (as he should have) but flattered me and took one..it turned out HORRIBLE. so we tried again, sending a huge flash, yet again, out over the masses. again, the picture was no bueno. third times a charm? hahah i was praying! we were laughing so hard as we snapped this third picture and decided it was cute enough to stop there :) such a beautiful night full of wish making.

so grateful for such a beautiful person in my life who takes such good care of me and never fails to make me smile.

because i am blessed.

prancing through fields of flowers..sort of.

on the way to the manti pageant a few weekends ago we passed by mona, ut where we saw a sign displaying a 5K that would occur on the 10th of july for the Young Living Lavender essential oils. sarah, jasmine and i automatically knew we wanted to participate. a few weeks later the race popped into my head and we looked into it further. making a dream a reality we all registered (but did no prior running in the week hah) and got our race packet all picked up the night before. waking up at 5 30 am we got dressed, stretched and made our way to mona. the race started at about 7 and we were off RUNNING THROUGH LAVENDER FIELDS. glorious? i would say so. there were over a thousand people and the spirit of the race and the smell of lavender surrounded us. upon finishing we devoured the most delicious blueberry cinnamon muffins (i will be googling that recipe). the left picture is me looking like a mom with my capri spandex and jacket tied around my waist before the race. to the right is during the race with the beautiful sun coming to say hello (of course i took pictures while we ran) the top photo is right before the start of the race, just getting excited(and trying to fully wake up) and the bottom is right after we finished; feelin' good and strong :) it was an awesome experience and felt so good to be up early and out in nature with two people whom i love so very dearly. i've made it a goal to participate in more of these kinds of things and dare i post this, i want to do a 10K and ultimately a half marathon. that is my limit i am afraid and even a half i'm not sure is doable with my old woman knees. but we will see :) i feel so blessed to have modern medicine that enables me to participate in experiences like these. because i am blessed.

patriotic people.

so i look extremely vain by posting these pictures BUT i just had to and laugh because here in provo july 4th was ALL weekend. saturday, sunday AND monday were a holiday here. hence the three different outfits. for a girl who doesn't own much red i did fairly well. (i had to rock the old navy overalls at the parade; it's like a sin to not wear old navy around the 4th!) saturday was the stadium of fire, sunday people camped out (picture above) on university to get good spots for the parade (and just because it's a fun adventure to do so) and then monday was the parade. the whole weekend with my roommates and friends was exactly what i needed. so grateful for them and for the caliber of people who surround me. because i am blessed.

first friday art stroll.

so my buddy nathan told me of this art stroll thats going on all year long down center street. different businesses get involved and every first friday of the month they open their doors to artists and pedestrians who wanna come check it out! it was extremely interesting and there were so many different, amazing pieces. i love that i live in an area where things like this happen all the time and have friends who are artsy fartsy like me :) because i am blessed.

berry sweet.

blackberries and raspberries. two berries that never get enough credit. one hears of strawberries and blueberries galore; they've stolen the spotlight for years. i, myself, have been blind to the beauty that this picture encompasses my entire life. that is, until my cousin, gregs, homecoming. aunt roxanne, not a discriminator of berries, introduced me to the delicious, decadent, delectable things you see above. as my tongue pressed down and the juice filled my mouth i knew i was a goner. from that moment on i had to get my fix. blackberries became a common occupant of my refrigerator at home. when i returned to school i knew my love affair would dwindle. as a "poor college student" it was a harsh but true reality that i would not always be able to stock my fridge with my blackish blue little friends. BUT as i visited a corner market down my street one day i found the most beautiful thing; cartons of blackberries for ninety nine cents. yes; 99 cents. i got two. and a carton of raspberries (at full price). i indulged myself in these berries thinking as soon as they were completely depleted i would return and get some more. well, the time came and i returned to this corner market to find that prices HAD RETURNED TO NORMAL. normal meaning out of a students price range (well, at least out of our budget if we all went through them as fast as i did). Feeling the need to express my misery i logged onto facebook and, like most other lame college student, went to work creating a status conveying my distress and promptly forgetting i had done so. sunday rolls around and at church a friend swaggers up to me and informs me that blackberries are on sale at smiths. completely confused i stare at him in awe. for the next two hours i rack my mind trying to figure out how this individual would know of my love for blackberries. after church i promptly fall asleep (it had been a long night the night before). when i awoke i was famished and made my way to the kitchen to grab a bite before choir and what do i find? blackberries. i am later told that a friend in my ward had dropped them by for me when i was asleep. more confused than ever i am determined to find the source from which this information was given. that night at ward prayer i approach the quad of my apartment complex with a handful of my black buddies and confront the man who had dropped them by. cutting to the chase i demanded he tell me how he knew. after playing around and watching me struggle for a while he finally admitted that he had seen it on facebook. obviously it hit me after that that i had, in fact, posted that status. this is the second time in a week that my facebook status has gotten me something i needed/wanted. i am beginning to realize how influential facebook is. i will make sure and be careful what i post next so my friends don't think i am trying to take advantage of them. but for now i feel very blessed to have friends who love me enough to help a girl out. what a blessing it is to live somewhere where i am constantly being watched over. oh, how i love my ward family.