In The Midst of It All

I took a walk this morning. The first thing I thought when I woke up was that I needed, desperately, to get outside, touch my feet to the earth and reconnect myself to it, to the circle and to the Creator. I stopped and sat for a minute, just outside the cabin, and prayed. There isn't enough gratitude in my body to fully express the way I feel today. 

Rob slept through the night just fine, with minimal pain. He went to bed with arms and legs fully in tact and functioning. He has no back injuries. Aside from the visible damage on his face, his head is fine. He is damaged, but he will be okay. Most importantly, he is still himself, but now with a heightened sense of awareness to his own vulnerability. 

But he is still here. He is alive, by the grace of a God that I will never fully understand, but praise and thank daily for the blessings - both big and small - that somehow find me, despite my (our) undeserving state. 

I called off work today. Our first task as a group was recovery of all the bikes; we visited two separate places to get Rob's, then Dillon's. 

there she goes... 

TO THE OFFICER WHO TOLD ME YESTERDAY, AT AROUND 2AM ON THE PHONE THAT ROB AND HIS BIKE WERE ESSENTIALLY TOTALED, YOU OUGHT TO BE CAREFULLY RECONSIDERING YOUR OATH TO HONESTY. You do NOT tell someone's family member a course of events that did not happen, your certainty in the matter stamped only by the status of your badge. We were told that Rob's bike was a complete lost cause, and that upon impact, he had flipped off the bike and into the unknown at that point. 

Does this look like the aftermath of a bike abandoned by flight?! 

bikes going to illinois

 No, it doesn't. 

No.... it... doesn't. Urgghhhh

The guys managed to get her up and onto the trailer, with the help of the backyardigans's flatbed. Sidenote: Here in TN, it's very lucrative to own and operate a tow business out of your house. These guys are pros at it, and if I should ever find myself living in this region, you can go ahead and know now what business I'll be pursuing.

We headed back to the cabin to do the final pack-up of our things and get all 3 bikes situated on the truck and trailer, before saying our farewell-for-now's. Dillon, Matt, Courtney & Cadence took off back to Illinois, while Rob and I made our way back here to Knoxville. We stopped at Panera for lunch, and started formulating a plan on what to do for the next couple of days. As it turns out, we'll be stuck here, since on such short notice, we aren't able to get in to any Cincinnati facilities for the surgery he'll need on Wednesday. Womp womp.

Rob found a hotel on Expedia, and long story short, we're here now, checked in and planted here for the next two nights.

The consultation appointment is tomorrow. I'll put this prayer out in the blog world for tonight: for confidence, easy nerves and painless completion of the whole ordeal.

See you in the morning!

xo | cmd

Not The Plan...

It was late last night before my head hit the pillow. It's always a strange sensation adjusting to an empty house; even the dogs weren't entirely sure if making noise and ruckus was the way to go for the evening. They were snoozing long before I climbed into bed for the night, but it wasn't about to stay that way.

I was somewhere in a dream, when the soundtrack of my phone ringing started cutting in. I don't know much about the dream states, but I know I've been there before, doing some random dream activity, and the sound of an alarm clock or a ringtone becomes surround sound, and there I am, in a concert blend of dream and reality.

And then I woke up, to Rob's call that he'd wrecked his bike. It was 1am. I'd been asleep for probably just shy of 2 hours at that point, but I was awake in no time. In the 40 minutes that followed, I gathered what information I could from Rob and Matt on the accident, and was bags packed in my car on the way to Tennessee.

Five hours. Five hours driving, texting and calling Matt with updates. 

Rob is at Leconte Medical Center in Sevierville. Dillon was not involved in the accident and is okay.

Rob will be transferred to the trauma unit at UT Medical Center in Knoxville. 

Rob has been transferred.  Matt texts back. Jesse texts back.

Matt is meeting Courtney halfway between Kentucky & Illinois to get his trailer for the bikes. 

Rob's mom calls. His dad calls. Becky calls. Matt calls. My mom calls. Jesse calls.

Calls. Texts. Driving, driving, driving. I'm relatively good at keeping calm through things like this, and for some reason, I had a strange peace about it all even as I navigated through the mountains in the dark. I was over halfway through the trip when the sun met me to rise, and I pulled into the hospital in the golden light of early morning, into a front row parking spot of the garage just outside the main entrance.

My heart broke when I walked into his room. I've never seen him like this, even though I know he's been in situations of mishap before. I've never experienced it, not until today, and I can boldly say I am not a fan.

:( 

Now, as with every other hospital I've ever been in, when you want or need something, you've gotta speak up. It's not being rude, it's just a fact of life. You're one of many in that place, and they'll get to you quicker if you just ask. That's the part I hate, as I'm horribly nonconfrontational about these things. However after arriving in his room at 9am, the clock turned over to 1:30 pm and I decided it was time to pipe up. My requests were met with polite smiles and promises of attention which were fulfilled within the hour of my asking. I had faith in the UT Med Center staff :)

The trauma surgery team came down to do an assessment. Then the maxillofacial team came down. A doctor explained to us the extent of the damage as shown by x-ray, and their intended steps to correct and mend. He began to suture the gash in Rob's nose, while I opted to wait in the lobby.

I came back to find a semi-mended Rob. His face still held the damage, but at least now it was contained, both aesthetically and on the scale of pain. We began our discharge, and after eating some food, made the walk together out of the hospital.

look at those snazzy socks.. haha

I stopped to fill the prescriptions, then continued onward for the 45ish minute drive to the cabin the guys had rented in Gatlinburg. The prayers I said today were that of gratitude, for safety and for healing. I know the next few days aren't going to be fun, whatever they hold. We're not even sure yet.

Walking into the cabin, we met Dillon, who looked as exhausted as I felt. Within the next half hour, Matt, Courtney and Cadence arrived with the truck and trailer. We made dinner and sat down, each at the end of his and her daily energy supplies.

It certainly wasn't how I'd intended to rendezvous with these friends, but we're here together regardless, and it's a nice spot in a cloud, if that makes sense.

Tomorrow, we'll leave this cabin and decide if the next few days will be spent here in Gatlinburg, or if we'll be heading home. We'll see. We'll see.

For now, gooooood night, world.
And Lord, THANK YOU for all that You are and give to us. We are so, so undeserving of Your mercy.

Amen..

xo | cmd

Holiday Shores On the Water!

Today started off with breakfast at Lenny's with Rob's mom and Don, before we headed back to Jesse's for a nice long bout of laziness. The morning hours crept on past, and by noon we were ready to rendezvous with the rest of the group on the lake for a day in the sun.

We drove up to Dillons' dad's, where we hitched a tow from one of the clan out to the pontoon, and from there, it was the rest of the day at our disposal.

this guy! ♥  

There are few greater things in the world than spending time with either family or friends, or both! Today was an awesome day, filled with sunshine, refreshing lake water, friends and good times.

not sure... not sure.. hahaha

courtney & matt 

Even the ducks were out to play: 

little family! :) 

We floated, we stopped off at some of the lakeside dives, and eventually found ourselves rounding out the night at Gilliganz. We ate a late dinner as we compared our after-sun skintones and laughed about random things, before parting ways in the downpouring rain back to Jesse's. 

It's so nice to have one extra day of leisure time; Sundays for us here are usually spent driving back home, but since we both have tomorrow off, it'll be one more day. 

See ya then! 

xo | cmd

FRIIIDAY!

Phewwwwww, Friday!

So, here's a throwback that has resurfaced from years back. Remember this girl?

nancy. meagan. cori. courtney
express edwardsville - 2012

^^ [Original photo from  THIS May 8, 2012 entry] This was from Meagan's going away party, during my time back at the Edwardsville Express office. It's been about 3 years since I worked with Courtney, but she just recently paired up [such a small world!] with one of Rob's good friends.

Happy Birthday, Courtney! 

lol.. happy birthday, girl! 

At work, we were [still] celebrating Elisa's birthday; she chose The Eagle for her lunch out, and with it being our standard Friday office lunch, it worked out perfectly.

the eagle | otr - cincinnati, oh 

^^ YOU GUYS. If you've not been to this place yet, you need to go. :) This is the first time I've been there for lunch, but it's just as good if not slightly better than dinner. Haha. YUM!

We endulged ourselves with chicken, spoonbread, mac&cheese, grits, fries and succotash before wrapping up and heading out. Well, almost heading out. Despite the bitter sting in the air, we braved the walk down a few blocks to 1215 for some mid-afternoon pick-me-ups:

elisa & i spotted a fun selfie wall...
1215 wine & coffee bar | otr - cincinnati, oh

peppermint mocha = per.....fect! 

Peppermint mochas on Fridays are an incredibly encouraging touch. What's even better though, is when you receive a little something you've been anxiously awaiting for a few weeks. 

That was today, too! It was a random day perusing Etsy when I ran across The Copper Fox, specifically a Latitude & Longitude bracelet stamped with a line I will forever love: The House That Built Me. Anyone who knows me knows the gratitude and love I have for the house my parents built, in which I did grow up: physically and emotionally. That place built me, just as much as my parents built it. So when I saw this item listing, it wasn't a tough decision to fill and empty the little shopping cart icon. 

IT ARRIVED TODAY: 

i am... in love. 

And I... I can't. It's beyond perfect. This girl Sarah who creates these pieces and runs the little Etsy shop will never know how much I truly treasure this little cuff and what it represents to me. Love, love. LOVE. 

I took off at the day's end, en route to get Sydni and thankful for it being Friday. Rob called as I was heading back to the house, and let me know that Jesse had made it town and was at the house with Zeppelin! Syd and I pulled into the driveway at the same time, and spent the next hour or so catching up with our friend... and furry friend :)

yay, weeknd visitors! hi zepplin! 

And then there was the question of dinner: Jesse wanted to try out something local, so we voted again for Buca Di Beppo, where we wound up with enough leftovers to last us probably through the middle of next week. #PIZZA. Haha. 

buca with mini! 

So that's not a bad way to start the weekend!

We're supposed to get some heavy snow overnight tonight folks - be CAREFUL out there if that applies to you, too!

TGIF!
xo | cmd

Christmas & Supercross

Christmas 2014 has crossed over into 2015, continuing on with each of the family stops we're making on this trip back to Illinois. It's not going to be completely done until Syd's back and has torn into all of the gifts she'll have waiting after this trip, but we had our time today with Rob's dad and stepmom. We took the gift that Santa brought us for Ella, and had fun watching her tear into that... I wish Sydni had been here to share in the fun of it all, but we'll be coming back and those two can have their time together ;)

ella! 

We also had the chance to celebrate Kate's birthday, which was the first time up to now that I've been able to share in that with them as a family [many more years of this to come!]. I'm so grateful for her as part of his family, and from here [soon!] on out, part of my extended family as well. Happy birthday, Kate!! ♥

happy birthday, mama kate! 

After the Christmas and birthday celebrations were had, we parted ways until tomorrow morning; our next and final stop for the night was Gilliganz for the Supercross race. Dillon, Matt & Courtney were already there, so we joined in for some dinner & the 450's. Jay and Cindy even made an appearance to say hello!

snapchatting it to ali!

And that's a wrap, folks! Tomorrow, we'll head back to Ohio and wake up on Monday to the grind of work and all the other stuff that marks our lives. And really, I'm kind of looking forward to it!

For now, good night from Illinois!

xo | cmd

ADIOS, 2014!

It's been a long time since I've participated in any real partying for New Year's Eve [as defined in the traditional sense, that is]. I've thoroughly enjoyed and not-at-all regretted the past several years of laid back, under-the-radar celebrations, complete with a small circle of friends and/or family, and calling it a night.

But not this year. I am 30 after all. Why not?!
Rob and I as usual were on the same page with wanting to celebrate New Years in a big way: We are after all engaged, and depending on our settling a date, we might be sharing the same last name come this time 2015. That's still up for debate, but for the moment at hand, it was a matter of ushering in 2015 with great friends in Illinois.

I was off work today, which afforded me just enough time to run some last minute errands, clean the house and get everything packed up for a 5-day trip to IL. Rob worked until noon, and joined me to wrap up, stuff the car to the brim and load up the pups [yes, they came, too!] for the all-too-familiar 5-hour jaunt to Dillon's house.

We arrived with just enough time to unload the car, order a pizza [because classy, that's why....] & doll up to join Matt & Courtney down in STL for the night's festivities to really begin.

So we arrived at the hotel directly across the street from Harry's, where Courtney & Matt were waiting. We finished getting ready and made our final decent into the chaos that was NYE celebration on the other side of the street.

harry's | st. louis, mo 

And that being said,

HERE WE GO!

ready to get this started! 

The plan to do the night to the extreme:

yes, we had a table. [thanks, matt!] 

And there were photos galore...

rob. cori. matt

this guy ♥

matt & courtney [aw♥!]

The clock struck midnight and we officially welcomed in the start of a brand new year! I have zero complaints about the entire experience & am excited to see how 2015 dares top 2014! 

love, love, love you! ♥♥

See you on the other side! 

farewell, '14, & hello, '15! 

I hope you and yours have ushered in the new year safely and joyously! I know that for us, 2015 is going to have to step it up in big, big ways to top 2014, and I'm pretty excited to see where the next year takes us.

Love love & more love to you & yours - HAPPY 2015!!

xo | cmd

HOME!

I'M HOME! 

mtv, ohio!

Welcome to good old Mount Vernon, Ohio (: This is the first and only place that's ever really been home to me, and now that I only live a couple hours away, it's again becoming a more frequent check-in for weekend plans. Sydni and I loaded up this morning and headed off to Nana & Pappy's for a day celebrating Dad's birthday. 

best. roadtrip buddy. ever!

We pulled up to the house, and almost immediately, I felt the stress of a long week and the disappointment of Rob not being able to join us slightly subside. This house will never disappoint me. There's a Miranda Lambert song [House That Built Me] that is beyond appropriate and applicable when it comes to me and this house.. 


home.

"Up those stairs, in that little back bedroom.. is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar... And I bet you didn't know, that under that live oak, my favorite dog is buried in the yard" - Miranda Lambert, 'House That Built Me'

*Sigh. Being home, in this house, is one of the most relaxing things I think I'll ever know in this world. This is the house my parents built, from the ground up. I grew up in this house, and for every line of that Miranda song, I truly do believe this house built me more than I ever built anything around this house. 

i can never get enough of this place! back deck sittin'.... (:

Sydni and I took a nice mid-morning/early afternoon nap before the family started showing up; we spent the afternoon together catching up, playing games and of course celebrating Dad's birthday weekend. To say I love my family is an understatement. 

the little girls - best friends!

seeester ♥

[dutch] sister. [italian] mom. [filipina] me. #ADOPTEDKIDS! haha 

badminton is bloodsport in my family :/ ha

favorite of the night.. all of us!

dad & his favorite birthday present:
hangtime with sydni!♥♥

So uhhh, yeah! We were also supposed to make an appearance at the Dan Emmett festival downtown Mt.V tonight, but we hadn't anticipated the family staying as late as they did. It worked out just as well, because if I'm being honest, I have very little interest in seeing the Osmonds. Sorry. I'm sure it would've been fun with the family and such, but I'll take my family over that any night.

Tomorrow is more of this, before I head home again.
*Yawn..

xo | cmd

Mount Vernon - Remembering Carl & Jena

Today was kind of a hard day to digest.

It's easier now, if you want to put a level of intensity on it all, but definitely not by much. A couple different reasons....

I grew up in a small town. It had every bit of a small town feel to it, especially when it came down to everyone knowing everyone else and nobody having any real sense of privacy. Haha. It wasn't all bad though. We had the chance to grow closer to a smaller group of people and be plugged into things that are oftentimes foreign to the big cities.

clockwise from top left:
martina. emily. courtney. greg. carl. hilari.

A small town can be a blessing and a curse, all wrapped up into one small per capita headcount. By the time I graduated high school, my peers and I had said premature and bitter goodbyes to a handful of our classmates. I know that happens [unfortunately] everywhere, but it doesn't dull the pain when it's your friend, your sibling, classmate.

As it relates specifically to today, I'll just say that 2009 was a rough year.

I'll start with Carl. He was the oldest of six kids in a family everyone in our town knows. The Culbertsons are a staple family back home, and what happened in February rocked all of Mt. Vernon. I graduated with Carl's sister Courtney, and while I didn't know Carl all that well, I knew that his loss would fuel something intense. Carl passed away in February 2009 from an accidental heroin overdose. My mom and sister both worked with their dad, Dave, and so through them and through frequent fb updates, I was able to follow the creation and explosive reach of the Arms of An Angel Foundation, the tribute to Carl's life and educational outreach program.

Today was Carl's birthday. From here back to Ohio, to the Culbertson family: My heart goes out to you as you celebrate his life and everything it meant to you & now means to others (:

*****

As it happens, today will always be a haunting one for the Fogle family back home. This one, for me personally, is severely hard to digest and accept. It's both been "already" and "only" three years all at once and I still fight back that overwhelming emotion every time I think about it.

tribute from 2009

I met Jena in 6th grade, and we made quick with the whole becoming close friends right away. I don't think I need to tell you all the stuff we went through together as friends as we battled the regular teenage angst that comes along with conquering adolescence. Everyone can identify with the fact the each of our friends has something unique that characterizes them; Jena's was her laugh. Her laugh was a stark contrast to her typically quiet demeanor, but good grief was it contagious.

oh, the days | mvhs 1999 | corin. allison. amy. jena

^^ Yeah, I know... I've had issues dressing like a real girl for a long time now.. haha. [Jena used to give me grief about it, too.. well.... at least I'm consistent?] (:

I can't say what the tipping straw was to push Jena to the final breaking point, but it grips me to this day. I talked to Jena on November 12, and had made plans to see her the following weekend. I remember very clearly getting the phone call the very next day that she had been found in her parents' basement after she'd taken her own life. I was at Kim's house when Hilary called and told me it was over. There was no arguing, no negotiating, no begging that could change it. That desperate, paralyzing feeling that hits you in the knees and brings you straight to the floor came over me and I went numb. It was nearly an hour before I could cry, but when I did, I didn't stop for nearly two days. Jena was five months pregnant with little Braylon; my heart still breaks for both of them.

We aren't meant to know the reasons behind why certain things happen. It's heartbreaking to thinking about it sometimes, but I do still find comfort in the absolute rallying power of a small town when things like this happen. I've seen them do it before this and since this, too. 

Jena was fuel for me to join the AFSP: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I began as a field advocate rep for the Greater Cincinnati Area, and still serve remotely in that capacity even from Illinois.  Check it out - it's worth a second, especially if you've been impacted....

Today is for the Culbertson & Fogle families. You have my thoughts, my prayers, and my honest hope that you found PEACE and GOOD memories in today and every day moving forward. 

Carl Culbertson 13Nov1981 - 15Feb2009
Jena Fogle 19Jun1984 - 13Nov2009

:: Gone, but NEVER forgotten. ::

xo | cmd

Here We Go, AGAIN....

DagGONNIT!! This has got to stop.


boooo :(. i don't like that empty chair....



My counter-coworker and co-staffing consultant, Nancy, tendered her 2-week resignation today. I knew it was coming and was completely prepared for it last week even, but that's not the point. The point is, there were, at one point, FIVE of us: Meagan, Christine, Nancy, Courtney and myself. Meagan moved to Missouri [which, by the way, kudos for transferring to that Express office :)..]. Courtney, well.. that's another story for another day.. about which I will only say that it was unfairly handled and executed. Christine left exactly one week ago today, and two weeks from now I will bid adieu to Nancy. She, aside from the owners, is the only one here who's been hanging around here longer than me, by about 2ish months. I am literally the last man standing.

I am not a happy camper as work is concerned. I would call this a valley, for sure. A week ago today, Christine parted ways with us; consequently, Nancy and I ended up going rounds with upper management for a large portion of the day until we all fizzled into what I could only describe as still-disagreement, just sans dissension. What a place to be, eh. Haha. In the defense of the office though, it seems to have been on a mild upswing, but with Nancy now heading off to pursue another avenue, I can only brace myself and say my little prayers that we will all sustain, maintain, and, in some cases, restrain... for the next couple of weeks. :) I know, I know - first world problems of an employed person... I'll stop. I really do count it a blessing to have a job in a nation littered with job-hunters, so make no mistake that I am grateful for that. It's just taxing sometimes. Not impossible, just taxing :).

Aaaaaaaaanyway,
My mood [and my entire day, really] was lightened substantially when I received an unexpected invite to the Gobles' for dinner. I don't really think Jackie had expected it either, which made it that much more fun. I gathered up Sydni and stopped at the house to change and we were off to the Gobles for the evening. In that little whispering way - well, in this case, not so much of a whisper, more of a bold proclamation dressed up as pulled chicken and salad ;) - I was reminded of the simple daily graces I am so often afforded but unfortunately don't always appreciate like I should. My pastor had joked on Sunday that God probably has a good laugh many times at the way we overreact to frivelous speedbumps in our lives before sending us a post-it reminder that He is still in control and that all.... is... OKAY.

So thank you, Lord, for THIS day, for yesterday, and for the ones to come. Thank you for the trials - large and small, and thank you for the courage and endurance to see them through. :)

The week is still young; I'm bent on making the most of it! With a visit to Miss Debbie tomorrow for some bead working [yiieeee!!], a slumber party with Mo on Thursday, and Koinonia on Friday? I thiiiiiink that's a pretty good lineup so far ;)

xo | cmd

One of THOSE Days.

Yeeeesh. :/

I am so ready for Nancy to return. I'm afraid to say it for fear of what tomorrow may yield, but I'm not quite sure what else could possibly fit into one single set of five days.

It's always when one of the core members of an office is in a meeting, on vacation, out sick, or otherwise out of commission that the fires start flaming a little bit higher and everything that seemed stable starts to unravel. It hasn't gotten entirely to that point this week, but Nancy being out on vacation this week has heralded in a whole bunch of hurdles for us to conquer.

Among the smaller ones, today was something of a crushing day. We are now another person short; Courtney, it was an absolute blast working with you and I wish you the very best on whatever your next endeavor may be. It's going to be a huge adjustment for us, and surely quite the shock for Nancy when she gets back... lots of catching up to be done.

silly times .. we'll miss you, courtney! :( :( 

I am absolutely spent. It was a long day spent covering not just two, but now three different roles and trying to keep track of it all. I have two more days of doing that before Nanc returns on Tuesday next week. Boy am I ready for the weekend :).

TGI[almost]F.. My goodness. I'm gonna finish this night on a positive note reveling in the sweetness of Olympic romance [Ricky Berens & Rebecca Soni]. I can't imagine being an Olympic gold medal couple. Haha. GO TEAM USA!!

ricky berens & rebecca soni | olympic gold medalists
... cutest olympic couple ever :p

One more day, then the weeeeeeeeekend!

xo | cmd

RELAY FOR LIFE 2012! [& Office Mini Golf?]

It is finally upon us!
This is definitely post-dated! :)

Hello, Relay for Life!

It was an extended day to start with; I showed up to work a full hour early in hopes of leaving 9 hours later. Today marked our office's 6th birthday, so the bosses decided to celebrate by buying us all lunch. No argument there. We feasted on Applebee's for an hour, until we were challenged by one of our owner's to choose our own pecking order and proceed to follow him out into our office. We were greeted by a homemade, indoor mini golf course, complete with star-shaped post-it tee-offs and Express logo cups serving as the destination holes. Seven holes in all. We weren't sure what to think of it all, but I will say it's been a long time since I've laughed like that.

Here's a taste of what it looked like in the office for about an hour's time:

christine. cori. nancy. courtney.
that's right... office golf, ya'll...

When 4:00 hit, I was out the door in a flurry, headed straight down to Belleville West. The Warrens were already there, with their tent and table set up; I caught them just as they were headed off to the survivor dinner. I was left to my own devices to decorate our space from top to bottom in Italy, for lack of a better term. It wasn't long before the rest of our team came trickling in to lend a hand. Even sooner it seemed from there, we were all rallied together on the track for the opening ceremonies, survivor lap, and then full swing into Relay 2012! 

team towerview!
[thanks, jackie for the awesome painting!]

We had this posted up outside our campsite. Many thanks to Jackie for painting this for the team, and for all the helping hands who came and contributed tents, tables, chairs, and decorations for our site!!

cheerleaders - reminding us how to fight back against cancer

^ Opening ceremonies. It probably doesn't make the most sense just looking at it, having not been there to hear the accompanying narration, so I'll try to paraphrase...

The center shot - encouragement to continue in the FIGHT BACK against cancer. They proceeded to highlight words found within the phrase as elements of available methods to fight back against cancer. 

Cig: Don't smoke. Fat: Eat healthy! Fit: Exercise. Gab: Spread the word! Hat: Protect yourself from sun. Act: DO something today to make a difference for tomorrow! :) 

[just part of ] team towerview!
shirley. jimmy. john. greg. betty. ron. diana. cori. mo. ron.

Our team this year was absolutely incredible. There were many people who were unable to make the actual event, but I wouldn't dare for a split second discount their efforts, contributions, and support. This picture was taken early in the evening and is still just a small taste of everyone that did make an appearance at some point for the night. I am so impressed by the support and action that everyone put into this :) I'm so proud!!

sleepin' in the infamous tire!
becky. cori. mo

Haha. There are so many memorable pictures from this event, but none quite like that of us pretending to sleep in the famous traveling tire. If you were there, you would've heard that strangely enough, none of us hated sitting inside this thing. It's actually pretty comfortable. Is that weird? Haha.. Probably, but either way, if I ever find myself deserted in the midst of abandoned farming equipment, my first choice of refuge is gonna be one of these things. Chyeahh.

This is backdated, durrrrr.. and I'm still exhausted. What an incredible event!! [There will be plenty of pictures to come. Stay posted, darlins...]

xo | cmd