hellos + goodbyes

this was my sunset view the other night. the field across the street from the house Husband grew up in. the most gorgeous golden light. the kind that makes you run back into the house for your SLR and mesmerizes you into spending half an hour snapping shots of the same 12 stalks of wheat because each second the light is more and more glorious. the kind of light that means you won't edit photos because nothing you could photoshop could top it. the kind of light that only rolling midwest farmland on a humid summer night can produce.

[someone please cue Tim Allen, because I think I'm breaking out into a Pure Michigan commercial.]

Husband and I left the east coast for the last time this past Sunday. he's been taking an AP Economics prep course all week while I've been running errands and trying to settle in [at least enough to be comfortable for the next 6 weeks.] a small part of me wants to seize up and panic that nearly a week has already slipped by. our days here are numbered and it makes me feel pressured to squeeze every last drop out of each day... but I think we've done well so far.

workouts with Husband, video games with my Dad, running on country roads, grilling dinner, making plans to see long-lost friends, late night movie dates, assembling fire pits for roasting marshmallows, afternoon snuggles with my kittens, and wheat field sunsets...

I've also been trying to go back through all our photos from the last few weeks out east. it feels good to be home, but I do miss our people out there. my hard drive is bursting with photos and memories, so I'm just going to start with the most recent and work in reverse.

both of our farewell barbecues were wonderful. grilled pineapple, gluten-free beer, teacher stories, and a raffling off our knickknacks as door prizes in Philly. the last of our bar cabinet, buffalo chicken dip, GIANT marshmallows, and a sweet husky named Sasha in Jersey. [she only licked my face once - of course while the camera was watching.]

the thing I'll miss most about the east coast? our friends. over the past few years we've had the opportunity to get to know some of the most incredible people. I would love to shout out to all the co-workers, roommates, crossfit-ers, and friends-of-friends turned friends that we met along the way... but I would be here typing for days. just know you are loved and missed, dear east coast friends.

[especially those who enjoy rolling around in the grass for impromptu photo shoots.]