Just a picture for now.

I like this picture. The sign I'm writing says "Free Hugs"...

I think the human body is one of the most beautiful things in the universe.

There Is Love...

Weddings are amazing. This weekend was absolutely fantastic. It was so beautiful, the entire wedding and everything about it. I'll post some pictures, and try not to go overboard ;-)


Getting ready! Me, Parker, Allegra, Alycia,
Kim, and Jaden the flower girl.


In the boathouse, 10 minutes til Aisle Walk!


Suzi with bridesmaids and Geoffrey, her
man of honor =)


Speech at the reception =)


Me and Elliott.. I love this man =)


Dancin' the night away

Em's artistic skills at work!

The night ended with fireworks that were

setoff over the lake... and then I got hit by

an explodingbox of fireworks, but I'm okay

because I'm tough :D

Since I was in the wedding, I don't really have many pictures of the actual ceremony, but you can trust me when I say that it was absolutely gorgeous... we were right on the lake! These pictures I took while on the ferry from Burlington to Port Kent:


And that's about it for now... let me know what you think :)

Love, crying at weddings, awesome bridesmaids gifts, seeing Sydney for the first time in 4 days, and watching 2 of your best friends say "I do"...

Kristen

I thought for awhile about what I wanted to post today. And then I remembered a paper that I wrote my freshman year of college, in English 101...

[I deleted out the boring parts, about what we did that day when we got home from school...]


We thought we looked so cool, sitting in that cherry red convertible with the top down and the sun shining on our hair. We were only fourteen, with the exception of my twelve year old sister, Kelsey. We had gotten off school early and we all walked home together from the high school that was just around the block from our houses. Things were unusually quiet in our middle-class neighborhood, and we were looking for something to do. We decided to pose in my next door neighbor, and friend, Laura’s beautiful convertible for a few pictures. Amber sat in the driver’s seat, while Kelsey and I squeezed together in the passenger seat. Mariah climbed in behind Amber, and Laura sat behind Kelsey and I. We smiled in numerous poses, giddy to be in a convertible and having ourselves photographed. After the photo shoot, we started a game of touch football in my backyard. We played for hours, not thinking about anything except for passes, interceptions, and touch downs on our makeshift end-line. When the sun began to go down, we went our separate ways for dinner.
Famous photographer Ansel Adams once said, “A photograph is usually looked at, but seldom looked into.” Looking into this photograph, I realize now that there is a certain sadness in my eyes. Although the five of us are all smiling happily in the picture, it is obvious that something is not right. Or is that just my guilt talking? Is it that I want us to have been upset and unable to smile?
When I pick up that photograph from my picture box, I hold with one thumb over the bottom right corner. I cannot bear to look at the date, for it breaks my heart and fills it with guilt and sadness. However, when I do remove my thumb from overtop of the tiny orange numbers, a universally recognized date appears: 9/11/01.
I woke up that morning and walked with my friends to our high school. It was only my third day, and I was still trying to adjust to being in such a big school with so many students. I can clearly remember walking from my history class and hearing talk in the hallways about some sort of attack on New York City. When I reached keyboarding class, my teacher had already turned on the televisions. I walked into the computer lab and immediately noticed everyone gathered in front of the television. The first image that I remember of the September 11th attacks was of an African American woman on her cell phone screaming at the top of her lungs, blood running from her head. The camera then panned the horizon and the World Trade Center buildings came into view. Thick clouds of grey smoke poured from the steel buildings, and I read the bottom of the screen: “PLANES HIT WORLD TRADE CENTER”. Moments after I walked into the classroom, we watched on live television the first building crumble to the ground.
In the days after September 11th, I found myself immersed in the articles published in magazines and newspapers. I listened to more of the news broadcasts of what had happened. I was informed about the attacks on the Pentagon, and the plane that had crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I also learned the death toll and who was behind the terrorism. When I look back now, I can easily remember the pain and suffering that I felt in my heart for the months after the September 11th attacks. However, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at this photograph.
Four years later, I can barely look at the picture without my heart wrenching. I still cannot believe that at fourteen years old, I dismissed the fact that thousands of people had lost their lives in an awful display of terrorism. I played touch football with my friends that afternoon and smiled into the camera for silly pictures while people in the thousands were praying and sobbing at the sights on the TV. While my friends and I were having fun and glad that we had been awarded a half of day off school, the rest of the world was weeping.

The Loneliest Road

The Loneliest Road campaign began today. 5 fathers of kids with Neuroblastoma are biking from Sacramento, California to Washington, DC. I'm pretty impressed with the campaign to raise money and awareness. If you'd like to read more or check it out, click here.


I love this picture of Christi Thomas and her
mom, Angela. That child truly was a gift.

Lots to take care of before practice tonight... keep those 5 fathers in your thoughts/prayers as they battle possible harsh weather conditions and extreme exhaustion. Along with the fathers, keep the kids, ALL of them, in your hearts as well. They are the strongest people I know.

Love everywhere,
Kristen

So Rise and Shine

Stunning. Hot Springs at Yellowstone
National Park- June, 2007.

I'm still recovering from the fact that I accidentally deleted every single one of the pictures off of my camera from Yellowstone/Idaho/Oregon/Wyoming, and from the entire summer at camp. I'm so incredibly thankful that I printed out about 50 photos at Walgreens before I left for camp ... so I scanned a few of them in.

Just some thoughts recently-

1. Lately I've been getting very angry, very easily. It's not like me to get so angry that I am basically blowing steam out of my ears, but it's a more recent development. Hormones? Maybe.. but it's bothering me. Things that I used to be able to brush off and just let roll over my back now make me BOILING MAD. I've gotten to the point where I don't care about being incredibly polite or nice in all situations, which I don't like either. Just something else to work on I guess.

2. I really miss when things were easier. Just.. life in general I guess. Every year it gets harder and harder. Being a freshman in college meant that I could show up to rugby practice and not worry about any of the politics involved. It meant I could show up to class and fall asleep or doodle because it was some random General Education requirement like "Drama Appreciation" or "Nutrition". I miss the days of things being easy, and I'm not complaining - getting older brings awesome and new experiences - I just kind of wish I could go back every once in awhile to not having to be so incredibly responsible for myself.

3. I really truly miss my friends from Wilmington. As much as I've distanced myself - it hasn't really been on purpose, but has been entirely because of me. I moved so far away, and I never come home... when I am home, either no one else is, or I don't really call people because I'm usually exhausted from the drive, or because I'm only going to be there for like 2 hours. But I really miss it, and I know that things have changed there, things are always changing - some people don't want to admit that, but time and experience always brings change. I miss having friends from home. I can't believe no one has seen my mom's new apartment, and she's been living there for 6 months! I need to keep better contact with my friends before they think I'm not their friend anymore ;-)

4. "If you judge people, you have no time to love them" -Mother Teresa

That's about all for now. Leave me a comment and say hello, because I have no idea who's still reading this!

Love everywhere,
Kris

Life After Camp.

In all my camp glory... cooking breakfast

in Hickory Hill on a buddy burner (basically,

an upside down coffee can with a can of

sterno underneath.)

Life after camp is hard. I've adjusted back into the "real world" well. However, I won't lie - it was hard. I got very used to listening to the crickets at night before falling asleep, and now the silence is strange. I got used to eating at the same time everyday, and now at 12:30 my stomach tells me LUNCH NOW. I miss the lake, and the docks... and the fun in the staff room. I even miss climbing waterfront hill twice a day (sometimes THREE). I got really used to my friends being just two units away, or sometimes even just on the bunk above me or across from me. I miss twin days and surprises like all staff "LSR procedures" and showing the girls how to make a spiral for their tie dye. Life after camp seems very boring. I was so excited to come back to NC, and so ready to- after 8 weeks in the woods of NJ. And now that I'm here...I'm happy, it's just that I'm not as active. There are no little kids who say the FUNNIEST things and they have no idea what they're saying...

Life is good though, because I am taking awesome classes, I have a good schedule, and I'm babysitting for the same family again- who I LOOVE. Sydney is happy here, we take her to the bark park almost every other day. She misses all of the attention though, definitely.

Doing a trust fall from a 5 foot high platform.

I walked up to the group saying to Kelly,

"I'd never be able to do that!" And ten minutes

later, I found myself falling into their arms =)

Love everywhere,

Kristen