total eclipse of the heart

I’m somewhat obsessed with the happenings of outer space, and it’s totally in that ‘weirdo’ kind of way, but whatever. Since falling under the fascinating spell of Ancient Aliens (it’s true), I’m even more mesmerized with what goes on beyond our atmosphere in this incredible big huge universe that we’re a part of. So last night, we enjoyed ourselves a rare treat. The moon passed in front of the sun creating an annular solar eclipse, and Honey and I saw it all happen through great big telescopes and special glasses. I had been looking forward to it all weekend, in fact, I even revisited those old “Bill Nye the Science Guy” days and created my very own pinhole projector. Science rocks. And that solar eclipse. Well, it was everything I wanted it to be. Astonishing. Really, it was so awesome. A magnificent sight. And watching that dear old sun slowly gobbled up made me realize just how much I love that sun (love you too, moon. don’t worry). But I do. I really love that majestic ball of fire. So, hallelujah Summertime! And thanks for the show, Sun and Moon. There’d be no life without you. Haha… no really… there wouldn’t.

xo,

Kait

over the river and through the woods

    
Reasons I Love Utah #354: Hiking. There’s virtually a hike awaiting you around every corner in this place. And now that the sun is beginning to make more of an appearance, I’m itchin’ to feel my thighs burn and view the world from up top more often. Last weekend, Honey, Little Bro and I turned our backs on downtown for a moment and trekked up to Ensign Peak, which by the way is not nearly as treacherous as I had remembered and didn’t exactly call for 6 water bottles, a bag of fruit and 4 Clif Bars, but hey, we were prepared. We got to the top in 15 minutes flat, and enjoyed looking upon that lovely little city of ours. Then we skipped back down and went and got ourselves the best burgers in town. Awesome day if I don’t say so myself. I’m hoping to find some time this weekend to march my buns up another one of those great mountain trails. And while I’m thinking about it, there is supposed to be a rare solar eclipse this Sunday. Ooooohhhhh… check your solar calendars (or the www.) Happy Friday!

xo,

Kait

mother lover

I often ponder and daydream about motherhood. What my children will be like, or whether or not I’ll let them wear cartoon character t-shirts and sneakers that light up. Will they inherit my quick wit and humor? Ha. And holy diapers! Which ones don’t cause chaffing?!  Will they look like me? Oh no! Will I think they’re beautiful?! Perhaps Honey will be kind enough to let them have his bright baby blues because let’s face it, they’d pair quite nicely with my olive skin tone and dark brown locks. Folks, this is serious. These are real questions that I occasionally lose sleep over.

HOWEVER… even though I don’t know much about my future as a mother, there is one thing I know for sure. I will make a good Mama. I will. You know why? Because I have a good Mama.

I have a Mama who loves being a mother. She cherishes her role and treasures her children, and she makes sure that we know it. I have a playful Mama, one who has been known to organize a few food fights in her day, and one who isn’t afraid to roll around in the grass and get her knees dirty. I have a Mama who laughs. All. Day. Long. And even though we tease her for it, her laugh will always rank among my most favorite sounds in the whole wide universe. I have a happy Mama. One who shines so brightly and shares her light everywhere she goes. I have a kind Mama. A Mama who sees beauty in everyone even when no one else sees it. I have a determined Mama. A Mama who sets goals and aspires to greatness, and then achieves it. I have a beautiful Mama. A Mama that cares for herself and inspires others. The kind of Mama that is so worthy of imitation. The kind of Mama that makes me have to pinch myself every once in a while. The kind of Mama that I hope to be just like one of these days.

So thank you Mama, for being you, the most incredible mother, friend and example. I love you forever and ever.

xo,

Kaitlyn Marie

it’s friday i'm in love

Happy Friday! It’s like, THE most beautiful day outside which means this post is going to be really short because it’d be a shame if I don’t get out there and soak up a little bit of that dear sweet sunshine. I’m lacing up my running shoes as I type, the ones I haven’t laced up in, oh I don’t know, a year or so. Yeah, THOSE ones. This girl’s gotta do it. Blog posts about what a miserable runner I am to come soon. So staaaay tuned.

Honey and I are going to enjoy ourselves a lovely dinner (by yours truly) and cuddle up to re-runs of, The O.C. tonight (his idea, my happiness). Then the rest of the weekend will be spent doing some serious mother loving. I’m a mother lover, are you a mother lover? Let’s all be mother lovers and have fun loving our mothers this weekend!

xo,

Kait

education matters

This weekend was chock-full of proud big sister moments, one of those awesome weekends that you just never want to end. My sister, Lyndsey, second oldest in command, graduated from the University of Utah on Friday. You see, Lyndsey loves parties, events, surprises and gifts. Oh boy, does that girl LOVE herself some gifts, but the weeks leading up to her graduation she was told that dear little (but really huge) brother would not be able to fly home to celebrate her achievements. Having been denied the best gift of all, all of her siblings back together again, she was left brokenhearted. She tried and cried and begged, but to no avail, he just wasn’t coming. This resulted in Lyndsey feeling like “no one in our family actually cared about her”. She can be pretty dramatic sometimes. Once or twice I even had to pull the big sister card and tell her to suck it up and get over it, it didn’t mean he didn’t love her.
Anyway, the big day came, and here’s what actually happened…

(BIG thanks to the ‘baby sister bear’, Shelby, for making such an awesome vid!)

…and all this time she thought we weren’t any good at gift giving. Joke’s on you, Lynds. Joke’s on you. Phew, never thought we’d pull that one off.

The rest of the weekend played out just as you’d imagine. With lots of laughs, praises, hugs, food, teasing and a few petty arguments over clothes *sigh*… sisters. And even today, Monday, I’m still just so darn proud of that sister of mine. For being an amazing teacher, for having so much passion and for chasing after her big dreams. Get ‘em girl!

xo,

Kait

And now, for the pictures, because this is a blog, and that’s what blogs are for!