Harvest moon wedding part 2

Simply put, this night was magical.

All photos taken by Annie Gerber Photography

 *my partner in party planning crime was the beautiful Yasmine

xo

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other."

 -Audrey Hepburn

This Always

I've been reading a lot of Sylvia Plath's work lately and I just can't get enough. It's raw, it's real and it's authentic in every way. It's like you can feel her heart, her soul and her every emotion in each word she writes. 

Yes, maybe it's a bit emo, but don't we all have a little emo in us from time to time?

Recently I've been exploring a lot of new avenues of writing and right now Mrs. Plath's work is at the top of my list. 

Picture taken by my friend Kamryn circa 2008

Doing hard things

On October 6, I ran a marathon.

It was painful and it was rewarding.

It was challenging and strengthening at the very same time.

It was good for my body and it was good for my soul.

It was tiring.

It was testing.

It was emotional.

It was worth it.

What I've learned from this experience is this-

I can do hard things.

Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. 

I CAN DO HARD THINGS.

I would not trade this experience for anything.

Harvest moon wedding part 1

A few weeks ago I was privileged to go to Arizona and be apart of something really special.

I'm not sure if ya'll know this but listen to this weird chain of events-

I was first roommates with Connie (Jason's sister) in Provo, UT.

I met Jason through Connie.

We fall in love, etcetera etcetera, and get engaged.

When I move home two months before my wedding, Connie decides she wants to move to the desert. So she moves to Arizona with me.

Alex (my younger brother) has a best friend named Josh.

Josh meets Connie, they fall in love, etcetera etcetera and

GET ENGAGED.

So here we are. 

I married my best friends brother and my brother's best friend married my now sister in law. 

And now we are all family. I love it. 

So.

If you can't tell from the chain of events above, Connie is pretty special to me. I wanted to do something really memorable for her before she got married. 

A few days before the wedding, Yasmine (the gorgeous brunette photographed above...who is dating my brother...more on that later :) and I decided to throw Connie a special dinner before she tied the knot. 

It turned out better than expected. I had envisioned in my mind for a long while what I wanted to do and it turned out EXACTLY how I imagined. How often does that happen? 

The entire evening was so incredible. I am so happy I have such amazing people in my life that I get to experience all these wonderful memories with.

Next up, Connie and Josh's unbelievable wedding.

*These photos were taken with my polaroid camera and then scanned into my computer. I know they are a bit blurry and washed out, but I love them. 

Today, in love

I'm feeling very much in love with my husband today. 

He makes me happy. He makes me whole.

He is the ying to my yang.

He is the head and I am the heart. 

He listens.

He loves.

He makes things right.

We share each others burdens. 

When he stumbles. I stumble. 

When I fall. He falls.

 Yet we are there to pick each other up. 

We forgive.

We accept.

We change.

We love unconditionally.

Because we are one.

He is my partner. My lover. My very best friend.

Our love has evolved into something magnificent.

Something deeper than yesterday, yet not as deep as tomorrow. 

Jason my sweet,

my heart is yours.

Forever.

For Always.

In love. 

picture

The Route of the Hiawatha

 To celebrate Labor Day, Jason and I, along with some of our Spokane friends went and rode bikes down The Route of the Hiawatha. 

Holy Moly. What an experience! 

I've heard from a few different sources that this bike trail is a must if living or visiting the inland northwest. I am so glad we did it! It was hands down, one of the most beautiful places I've seen while living in this region. The trail is 15 miles long and is a gentle down hill ride the whole time. You go through 11 tunnels (one of which is 1.66 miles long!) and over 9 high trestles.
The entire terrain seems like something out of a movie. It was unreal.
Trees beyond trees beyond trees.
All your surrounds are so green!
Gorgeous waterfalls just a few feet off the trail. 

Here's how it works-

You'll need:

 -bikes (road bikes not recommended) 

-A helmet

-A headlamp

-A jacket (some of the long tunnels get pretty chilly!)

*If you don't own any of the above, you can rent it from Lookout pass.

You purchase a trail pass, a bus pass and any needed rental gear from Lookout pass. Then you drive about 5 miles down the highway and park your car at the top of the trail. Next, hop on those bikes and ride leisurely for 2.5 hours or so. Bring a lunch and a camera. I promise you'll be stopping multiple times just to enjoy and take in the scenery. When you get to the bottom you load your bikes up on a bus and it takes you right back up to the top!

Easy peasy.

This experience is right there on the top of my list of  Spokane memories. I can't tell you how glad I am we did this. If you ever come this way for a visit, add this to your to-do list.
It'll definitely be something you'll never forget!

Visit this website for info and reservations.