Skateboarding Life Lessons

So I watched the Jensen twins at a Skate Park all afternoon. They were AMAZING. I had seen a video of them but when I actually went and saw what they did I was thoroughly IMPRESSED! It was SO steep and they were SO crazy fast! Here are two pictures Sam took yesterday.

(Jason)


(Jackson)


I had an epiphany as I sat there watching these boys. I am HORRIBLE at skateboarding, but I realized even on the bike I am not that great. And I figured out why as I sat there watching them. I need control! Board sports take a little trust. You do control the skateboard and bike but at one point you have to let go and trust it to do what it is supposed to do. Hence why I don't like to skateboard and stick to running. It takes a lot of trust as you ride down the side of a pool. I think I can work on my trust issues but I don't think I will ever be a great skateboarder or professional bike rider. It was interesting to see your issues before your eyes at a random skate park in the middle of Florida.

I think I will stick to doing this at a skate park....smiling and loving my boyfriend....

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

Sometimes a picture just captures LOVE...

"I Left My Wallet In El Segundo"

So sometimes I wonder if my life is a movie or a book, but two days ago I seriously wondered if my life was a music video.

I wake up Tuesday morning excited to leave for Florida and hang out with Sam's family there...but as I get ready I get a good morning text from Sam...but something just didn't feel right when he asked "do you know where my wallet is?" I let him know where I thought it was and then drove to pick him up. Well...no such luck in where I thought the wallet might be.

It was a pretty tense morning, no time to get to the airport, the LAX experience also doesn't lend itself to peaceful enjoyment and then just sitting, thinking about the fact that we have lost his wallet and are flying across the country. I had to laugh as we sat at our gate. Really?! I have two choices at this point....break down crying or realize that later this will just add to the story of who we are. I started to get teary then pictured myself years later telling the story and laughed a little.

Sam made a joke as we walked on to the plane so I knew that the mood would lighten soon :) I shook my head as I walked on to the plane as well thinking "life just doesn't go as planned." I am learning over and over the trick to enjoying life to the fullest is living in the moment realizing there is something in it.

We arrived in Florida and have had a great time so far. We are getting to spend lot of time with his family and I have learned so much! I have even learned a few trivia facts while here in Jacksonville which they lovingly refer to as "Jagsonville" (their football team is the Jaguars). I forgot what a southern accent sounded like and forgot what living in this part of the country was all about...sports, family, drinking and fun. A world that has been SO fun to visit. Aunt his Auntie and Uncle and Mama has taken REALLY good care of us. They even stocked the fridge with Diet Coke for me :)

This weekend we are heading to the Lake with his Auntie and Uncle...the weather is BEAUTIFUL! 85 degrees and sunny...what more could you ask for? The only bummer is I left my swimsuit at home :( SO gutted! I have to go buy another one! And we don't have a car most days, so today I have to go to Target, go swimsuit shopping (which really? What girl looks forward to that) while his Auntie and him wait for me....we will see how this turns out :)

Here are some pictures from the first few days!

The tricked out garage that his Auntie and Uncle hang out in all the time...)


(Notice the Pepsi cooler in the far left....just like in a store/gas station...)


(I know....our pictures look all the same, but we LOVE the beach!)




(Sam and his Mama....she is SO wonderful!)

New Zealand's Best Sturgeon Fisherman

While I went to spend the day with Kerri and the boys, Sam took off at 4AM with my dad to go Sturgeon fishing. Really, 4AM? Sam hates mornings, so I wondered how this would go...but as you can see he LOVED his time!

This is the second fish he caught!






The first fish he caught was 73 inches and over 100 pounds! It was too big to keep, they had to throw it back! He said the 100 pounder was like wrestling a gator to get it in the boat...that made me smile to picture, Uncle Neville would be proud. If this was an initiation by my dad (which it wasn't....my dad loves hanging out with Sam) I think he PASSED with FLYING COLORS. What more could my dad want for his girl than a guy that can catch a HUGE sturgeon. Those are the important things to my dad :)

(For a little perspective...the boat is 80 inches wide so the fish almost fills the boat!)




(Sam wrestling the "gator")

I got a call in the afternoon from my man, and if you can hear a smile I heard one! I think that when I saw my dad and Sam that night they had smiled for hours at their great catches!

So while they were doing guy things I went to Lincoln to visit one of my best friends, Kerri! It was such a good day, we talked, and talked, and talked, and talked some more....and it was Micah's Playgroup Birthday party, so I jumped into that and then just hung out with boys. Jacob was VERY excited to show me his wore his RPM New Zealand shirt I had sent him last year when I lived in NZ. He was most excited to show me the flag on the sleeve!









There is just nothing like and old friend that knows you well and seen you in SO many seasons of life. The last week I have got to see all those old friends and it just does something to you to know you don't have to explain yourself, and you can relax and be fully you. I didn't get to see Stacie yet, but I did get to have a couple heart to hearts with her on the phone and even that was so refreshing. Funny how for me in an unpredictable, not stable season that seeing stable friends is all I need. I guess at the end of the day no circumstance can really give you stability or security or take it away. I like to think that....but I think in my heart deep down I know that circumstances never can fully make you feel settled or stable if you really aren't in your heart. While I was in Redding I realized that my adventurous life, that seems to not be heading towards a routine as fast as like, might not be over any time soon. So I decided, instead of waiting for the things I think will give me routine and help me feel settled, I would just embrace where I was at. I am living a life I never dreamed of living, and yeah, I don't have a place to call my own and haven't had a bed for quite some time...(though, thank you Danielle and Elli for giving me your beds!), I am getting to live this life that most people would never get to live. And beyond that I am living a kind of life I hoped I lived. I want perfection but really, do I? If I had my life perfect like I think I do there would be NO GREAT STORIES like I seem to have each week...

Life is what it is and I can choose to enjoy what is in front of me and take everything I can out of each moment or miss it and wondered at 60 why I never fully lived my life because I was wanting something else the whole time.

How High Was The Sign?

Just in case you know me well and know how much I exaggerate and add drama to every story I tell, I thought I would show you just how high that silly sign is.

Now to give you a little perspective:


I am SO impressed with my man!! Really do you see how high that sign is? And he touched the middle of it!


Now a little preview of what the next blog will be about:


My dad is taking Sam sturgeon fishing and while he was making sure Sam had the right clothes and stayed dry I just HAD to snap a picture...look at my redneck boyfriend!