cabo san lucas love session // wesley + leslie

almost a year ago, i flew down to lovely cabo san lucas to visit my best friend and spend a few days in her new life. little did i know that during that trip, Travis was picking up an engagement ring and planning our proposal which would take place just a few days after i got home - but that fun memory is for another day! this weekend, is les' birthday weekend, and her sweet husband surprised her with a trip to San Diego, which also included a trip up to the LA area, which means we get to see them tonight! i am so excited to give this girl a real-life birthday hug and spend time with each other and our husbands, which hello, is something our 14-year-old selves always dreamed of doing (we even hoped to be neighbors and share a garden and schedule play dates with our kids, who would love each other and one day grow up and marry each other...we'll see what God still has up his sleeve ;]). either way, thinking of les & wes reminded me of this shoot we took almost a year ago, and i wanted to share a few favorites again...just beacause!

have the BEST weekend, friends! 

good bye

i'm usually not great at saying good-bye. i stay pretty emotionless during the hugs and the 'see you laters.' the reality of the good-bye doesn't typically sink in until days or weeks later.

not tonight.

tonight i am one big blubbering female mess.

for the next six days, T will be on Santa Barbara Island as part of a class trip. not seeing him for 6 days is strange enough, especially since we're used to spending at least a tiny bit of time together every day. but on a little one-square mile island out in the Pacific, there's also no service or source of communication whatsoever. the fact that we won't be in touch at all is absolutely killing me, and i'm not sure why.

maybe it's because i've been psyching myself up for this trip for a few weeks.

maybe it's because i'm afraid something might happen to him, and i won't be there to help.

or maybe it's because i'm absolutely bananas for this guy. 

the tears started on sunday night. it was one of those nights where he was my rock exactly when i needed him to be strong. he was praying over me and encouraging me, and i think it suddenly dawned on me that i would be without that for a while, longer than i have ever been in our last 15 months. 

this afternoon, we spent a few last hours together, and i was dreading the end the entire time. the tears came again when we were laying down, just relaxing and enjoying some quiet moments with each other. i am so stupid in love with him, a love that is deeper than anything i have ever known before. i started picturing the next week without him, and as fun and busy as it will be, it will no doubt be lonely and empty. the stack of cards he handed me will be an absolute lifesaver, and since we always seem to be on the same page, he has a stack of letters from me to read throughout the week too. thank goodness.

i will miss telling him about my day and hearing about his. 

i'll miss his advice when i need it and his perspective on things.

i'll miss his challenges and his encouragement. 

i'll miss his hugs and holding his hand.

i'll miss hearing 'i love you's' every day and laughing my head off.

i'll simply miss being next to him and doing things with him. 

i'll miss my best friend most of all. 

thankfully, we both have God in our hearts, and i am praying for extra portions of His comfort, peace, and strength this week. i'll confess to you that i feel absolutely ridiculous for crying all the way home from san pedro. i thought i was the strong and independent girl. i'm pretty sure now that if anything were ever to happen to T, it would be through God's strength alone that i would survive and carry on. i guess that's what happens when you fall deeply in love with someone.

just two best friends adventuring...

last friday, T and i headed up to ontario to spend a whole day with his wonderful wonderful grandparents. it may sound weird to you, two twenty-something's choosing to spend their day off with 'elderly' people, but really, it turned into such a fun and wonderful day!

i love old people. i love their stories, their experiences, and their wisdom. papa and grandma beth have been married for 65 years, love the Lord with a fiery passion, and are a ball of fun. the most beautiful thing about love is that it opens your world...how could i not have known these two a year ago? they are so precious, and there's no other way travis and i would have wanted to spend our day...well, plus a little adventuring - that made it perfect!

after a delicious, creamy lunch of chalupas, lots of laughing about the 'brethren and the sisteren,' stories of love and the old days, and catching up about school and future plans, the 2 of us headed out to explore a little because 'deb, i don't know if you've looked at a map, but ontario is right next to the mountains' [wink, wink, hint, hint]

so off we went, with no idea where we were actually going, just mountain-direction...and we stumbled upon some awesome stuff.


our driving conversation went a little bit like this:


t: 'i guess we could go east, right? i mean, it might take a few extra minutes but it would be an adventure!'
d: 'sure...it wouldn't hurt to check it out!'
t: 'i mean, that's what we're doing right? exploring a little.'
d: 'let's do it.'
t: 'i love you.'


and that's how we make decisions. it's extremely effective.


on a cheesier note, over the last few days, just one thought has been running through my mind - 'i'm dating my very best friend, and i'm wildly in love with him.' does it really get any better than that? no. definitely not. he makes me laugh every day, he takes me out of my comfort zone, he buys me flowers just because the ones on my table are dying, he lets me drive his car (i LOVE driving the big car), and i know i'm loved every single day. even after a year, i still feel like we just started dating...cue big cheesy smile and happy sigh.

here are a few snapshots of our wonderful day. off-road trails, creeks, and muddy puddles make us smile. he has his car, i have my camera, and we are one happy pair...f'reals.

bridal shower-ing

as i was recapping our week in norcal, i skipped wednesday because well, wednesday was a day of all days. from dress fittings in the morning, to baking cake pops and setting up for the bridal shower, and then hosting all evening, the day was jam-packed from the moment i woke up.

half of me was so excited to plan, organize, and host the shower. my selfish half, however, was a little bummed that this big day fell right in the middle of our very relaxing trip. it was the one day that i was running around all day and would have absolutely no time to spend with T. then again, wednesday made me realize that i am dating the most patient, supportive, and easy-going man on the planet. he made the day a breeze for me, and i could not love him more for that.

i'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but despite a lot of the stress and drama surrounding the shower, it was an honor for me to celebrate my best friend. she will make one beautiful, beautiful bride, and one fantastic wife. today marks the 'one month' date, and i'm starting to get the wedding jitters! everything is becoming extremely real. i'm having wedding nightmares, more like M.O.H. nightmares and writing lists of things i still have to do (hello, speech!). i'm starting to picture her in her dress, walking down the aisle, saying 'i do' and leaving a married woman. i remember dreaming about this day with her years and years ago, when we'd have play dates and watch The Parent Trap together, or when we thought we were total hot stuff as we caked our faces in make-up and sang along to shania twain in our oh so epic music videos. and now here we are, in our twenties, on the verge of the biggest moments in our lives. and, here we are, still best friends after having gone through thick and thin. i'm so grateful that i'll be there, standing next to her, sharing every moment of that special day. and now i'm starting to get weepy...

here are the pictures from the bridal shower! not all of them were taken by me, but i did all of the editing and compiling...what a fun morning it was bringing these photos to life...

the shower was wonderful, but my favorite part of the night? going over to my best friend's house, with some of our best girlfriends and our guys, eating burgers, and laughing the night away...so much has changed, and yet God is taking us onto wonderful new paths...