It felt like summer sort of came to an end this weekend, (even if it technically lasts a few more days) so we unofficially kissed our summer goodbye; we did nothing that exciting, really, it just felt sort of final with all the rain and the leaves beginning to change colors.

I'll miss our summer months, all our free time for outdoor movies, temple trips, and the few bike rides we went on, (Max doesn't seem to share the same sort of affinity towards beach cruisers that I do, unfortunately,) but I'll mostly miss our long, summer afternoons. It was all so perfect, and it all went by too fast; but truth be told, I'm welcoming the new season with open arms. Fall is great. So we bought pumpkin(and the like)-scented candles this weekend, only because Max insisted, and it seemed sort of deserving... Official and all.

ode to summer.

An Ode to Summer from Kinfolk on Vimeo.

I remember in an English class a few years ago, we each had to use one word to describe one thing. Out of the thousands of words he could have chosen from, the boy to my left used the word "magic" to describe summer.

Kinfolk magazine is becoming a fast favorite; beautiful and refreshing... Kind of like this time of year, which always goes by so fast.

So long, summer. I'll be missing you.

the ponds.

Apparently I've been camping here before, but I sure do not remember having this much fun. The Burraston Ponds all the way down in the teeny tiny town of Mona was quite the evening adventure. Everything from  eating at the only burger joint in town, to watching Austin nearly drown his dog... (onlysortofkidding) it was actually a ton of fun. Made me just a tiny bit sad to think that summer comes to an end so soon.

wallowa lake.

Growing up, summers always meant Wallowa Lake. The long drive, the cinnamon bears ice cream stop, the final stretch of the trip, finally getting to see the most beautiful lake in all the world! I love it. And after the last few days (Thursday in the ER, Friday in bed, and Saturday still recovering...) nothing sounds better. Nothing at all.

This year is extra special though, since Max will be a part of it, and I get to spend my 23rd birthday with the entire Walch fam. Wallowa Lake is my home away from home; that place just grabs my heart.

an american.

Ralph Waldo Emerson has said, "America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race."

I've always liked that, and I've always, always believed that.

The Fourth was simply a lot of fireworks, burgers, swimsuits, and a lot of jokes from old friends about how I used to think President George Bush (Jr.) was cute; but it was really big in a lot of ways too. I felt pride and gratitude. I stood with others as the Star Spangled Banner was sung by the choir. I echoed the words, God Bless America. And I loved the flag, my flag.

I am glad to be an American.

summer.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

{f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby}

“Come with me,' Mom says.
To the library.
Books and summertime
go together.” {Lisa Schroeder}

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

{Henry James}

--
all images via

it's about time for summer.

All I need when the weather is warm

is a good playlist
and the windows rolled down.

new kids on the block had a bunch of hits.

The start of a Summer to-do list:
Buy a swimsuit
Plan a cruise
See the coast
Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (again)
Move to Salt Lake
and get a tan

Already started working on my summer to-do list after church today. One down, a few more to go... I can hardly wait.

as is tradition...

Summer 2011. from Kelsie Christensen on Vimeo.

Another summer documentary.
Here's to: thelma and eleanor, (their new bff luna!), wesley's timeless advice - naturally shared at cafe west, utah lake, the river bank, ray charles, fireworks, emails, penpals, and sunshine.

--

And I'll miss it. Just like I do every single time school starts again.

how to beat the back-to-school blues.

My last week of summer included a lot of last minute crossing off lists.

List for: Before School Starts, I Need To...
List for: Before Sunday Night, I Need To...
List for: Before Summer Ends, I Must...

The end of summer list included sidewalk chalk summer murals, newspaper boat river races, and of course, riding our bikes. Saturday night we took one last bike ride down to the river banks and watched the lightning and played with our sparklers (i think the words wingardium leviosa were used a few times too). Even though I think I sometimes sound like I'm 7 years old when I write about what I love, it was such a perfect way to end such a perfect summer.

But then it all abruptly ended this morning the moment my alarm clock went off. (My alarm clock is my radio, and I'm pretty sure that every song I wake up to I end up hating forever. This morning? Still Fighting It by Ben Folds.)
But I got ready, grabbed my backpack and books, and ran out the door ready to go. And even though driving on University Avenue isn't the most pleasant activity in the world, I learned on my drive over that you only need three small and simple things to help beat the back-to-school blues:

1. Christmas music. Yep, I listened to Mariah Carey sing Oh Come All Ye Faithful on my drive over to campus.

2. 1.25 liter of Diet Coke for 98 cents.

And 3. Finding out that Beyonce is with child. Fact: If I could be anybody in this world, it would be Beyonce. When my sister found out this morning, she told me she'd name her firstborn whatever Beyonce names hers. She really will, too.

And by that point I had found a parking spot. As I got out of the car and began my walk across campus, I realized that not only was I ready for it all to begin, I was maybe even a little bit excited for it too.

So thank you summer for being so great,
But thank you Christmas, Diet Coke, and Beyonce for making the end of it all pretty good too.

i could die happy here.

I've mentioned Dear Lizzie before, but today was especially special. Chocolate cupcakes, recounting our Fourth of July events, drinking dizzy fizzy lizzies (or something like that?), eating turkey and cheese, and forcing ourselves to memorize this song (almost got it!) - we spent most of our time admiring the food and our surroundings rather than eating our lunches.

And speaking of the fourth...
Kylie and I were able to cross off several more items on our "summer to-do list" - but that deserves it's own post, and I plan on saving that for three special people next time.

happy 4th

I've mentioned John Adams letters to his wife Abigail before, but I especially loved this letter, too. Dated July 3, 1776, future president John Adams predicted the fourth of July to be something like this:

"...I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction."

I've been especially patriotic in some ways since the eighth grade, (and yes - I thought former President Bush was super cute) but reading that part of his letter earlier this morning made me feel so especially grateful that John Adams was exactly right.

Happy 4th of July!

for-ev-er. for-ev-er.

I have never been to a Bees game before, but going to a baseball game was on our summer to-do list so it had to be done. Even though my summer vacation will resume in New Zealand next weekend, I have almost felt like I only have a few days left to cross off everything I want to do this summer.
(and plus it's winter in the southern hemisphere, so it's almost like a winter break?)

Although I haven't followed baseball much before, (and by that I mean never) - it was still so much fun. The weather was perfect and the combination of cracker jacks, coca cola's and snowies seemed as all-American as the sport. To top it off, we'll be going to see The Sandlot tonight (who else had a ginormous crush on Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez twelve years ago??) and best of all - it's an outdoor movie/at the SL Capitol/for free/over the 4th of July weekend. Twenty four hours after that, we'll be sitting on a boat watching the fireworks from Utah Lake. Watching fireworks in a swimsuit? Gosh I'm so excited.

--

and this is just a small secret (and maybe it's not so secret) - but to be completely honest, i'm probably going to miss all this more than i should - even if it's only for five weeks.

i love cake batter frozen yogurt, yes i do.

Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way.
Stephen Chbosky

-- except it was more like 2,880 minutes.

My dad was my date, Sara my twin, the Reed's a second family, and I the chauffeur for Kenken and Jess. It was a nearly perfect summer weekend, combining cake batter, boating, bonfires and s'mores.
Now if only I had gotten up while water skiing (goshdangit, why is it so hard for me?!) I would honestly have to say that I just had the best weekend of the summer. The weekend where we all felt young because everything was sunny and carefree - all in the most memorable and best kind of way.

thelma and eleanor and kindred spirits.

The good and the bad results of yesterday evening:

Kylie's shattered Cocoa-Cola bottle; shards of glass flying everywhere. Nobody was hurt though, and our picnic (with homemade bread and real strawberry shortcake (instead of just the cupcake kind) was, needless to say, perfect with the setting sun and pink clouds scattering the sky.
Except Thelma lost two of her screws, so the whole ride home she was kind of rickety.
And the bottle of salsa exploded in Eleanor's wicker basket.
However, we did find a new bicycle path with Grandmother Willow-ish trees (like the one in Pocahontas who speaks words of wisdom) and that always counts for something.

We ended the night by finding Thelma and Eleanor's kindred spirits (so many cute beach cruisers all at once!) and we sat in a baseball dugout drinking our Mickey D diet cokes before splitting.

You can't help but like life a lot in the summertime.

--

(yep - that photo is from my phone. nope - not an iphone (obviously). still one of those phones dated back like 5th century BC. one day that will change.)

lilac bushes make me happy, as does the lion king.

I've lost everything: my job, my future, everything people think is important, but I don't care - because even if I have to dig ditches for the rest of my life, I shall be a ditch-digger who once had a wonderful day.-Hello, Dolly!

Is everyone else getting as sick of me talking about my bike as I am? It's why I included another quote. It makes up for my repetitiveness.

But lets be honest for just a minute: People have their blogs to talk about their happy spouses, their darling children, and even their Vogue-worthy wardrobe.

Unfortunately, I own none of the above.

But I do have a bike named Thelma.
I have a best friend named Kylie.
And I have a whole summer ahead of me.*

--

*this summer including, but not limited to: finding the ice cream man, racing newspaper boats down the river, trying every soda at Blickenstaff's, sliding down the blue slide (the biggest one!) at 7 Peaks, performing The Circle of Life at Muse Cafe, crashing Heaston's wedding (...kidding), and going to a baseball game.


That's all I ask for now. Well, that and lilacs, and I only say lilacs because it compliments the pictures above, and because there are no such things as forget-me-not bushes.

three truths and a lie.

i like my bike.
i like the color yellow.
i like shorts almost more than skirts.
and i like you.

these are all actually true, but i'll keep the title anyway.

ps.
you can't tell, but my shirt says: bicycles are for lovers.
holy smokes, that was my best ever summer t-shirt find here.

summer plans.

So as I mentioned a little while ago, life is short and that means it's probably worth an adventure or two. Or three or four or five.

Once I was accepted in my newly chosen major, I decided that to speed up the graduation cycle, I would stay for spring semester at the Y... which, so far, I've come to two conclusions about spring semester classes:

1. There is something completely wrong with summer and school combined. It may be just me, but waking up at 7 for a class when it feels like summer outside? It's like fighting against mother nature from within. There's just something inside of me that doesn't let those two things easily combine.

2. Parking is actually possible though, (bad parking and BYU go hand in hand just like marriage does) --but knowing there will always be a spot for me in the Y lot? I'm a happy, sleepy, happy camper.

Annnyyywaay. Spring semester will be ending soon, (another pro of summer classes: 6 weeks fly by!) And once that is over, my parents will be making another trip to their native land of America and will be in town for the fourth of July (so excited for family and a holiday to combine this year!) And then... my friends, I leave.
July 8th to be exact.
So my summer in New Zealand will end up being more like 6 weeks of vacationing, but six weeks beats two, and New Zealand beats a lot of other places, and being with two parents who are about as cool as me, well - that beats all of them combined. Bon voyage!


photos via my dads fb page.

rather: summer reading and such.

Summer means a lot of things, like t-shirts and shorts and ice cream, but the other part of it would probably be reading.

And because my New Zealand getaway is coming up (more on that next time most likely!) I not only have the lemonade park, Barnes & Noble, and my comfy, cozy bed (where I spend late nights buried under the covers just so I can find out what happens next) But I also have a 13 hour plane ride, six week getaway, no school/no work (talk about heaven) on the beach, on the balcony, or again, buried under my bed covers 7,000 miles away - where I will probably make even more time for reading.

Last summer, when I asked my main"go-to" reading kindred spirit (my darling boss Elin) which book I should read next, she suggested The Book Thief. Has anyone read it? Snap I loved it. I cried the last fifteen pages with a roll of toilet paper next to me because I couldn't find tissues. And today as I browsed online over some "to read this summer" book titles, The Book Thief was on one of the lists, with the following critique:

"If you want a fast read, this book is not for you. If you only like happy endings [then] this book is not for you... [But] if you love to read, and if you love to care about the characters you read about, and if you love to eat words like they're ice cream, and if you love to have your heart broken and mended on the same page, this book is for you."

That's all I really have to say about that. I love it like ice cream.

But the real reason I'm writing about all of this, is because it's time to go to all of you --
What books would you recommend? Anything and everything.It's starting to feel a tiny bit like summer, and that means a lot of things, (like t-shirts and shorts and ice cream) but most especially reading.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah is the most frustrating word to spell in the English language if you ask me.
That and restaurant and cinnamon.

But onto more important things:

After one heck of a long week (and it's only Wednesday), surrounded by notebooks, textbooks, and multicolored study guides sprawled across my bed, I was finally able to walk out of the testing center and ask myself, "Is this semester really over?"
My response made me want to faint with joy.
After a semester of Hemingway, stats (just typing that raises my blood pressure), acceptance letters, kissing assignments, and a considerable amount of credits completed, I can finally hear the hallelujah chorus singing.

And now that I am one semester closer to completing this thing called higher education, I will celebrate in the only way I know how:
Shorts and a t-shirt and ice cream... even though the temperature will probably be somewhere around 58 degrees, and the rain seems to be sticking around too. But just to pretend "school is out for the summer," I will wear my summertime attire and get a kong cone perhaps, just like we used to when we were 16.

Can I start my weekend on a Thursday?

photo