this summer according to instagram

This summer was a summer I shall never forget. The season was packed with adventures and filled with fun and, let's not forget, a proposal took place! My faithful iPhone was on hand to capture the memories....here are a few for me to share with you. Happy weekend!

Idaho Potato Half Marathon!

The little sis graduated

All packed up and ready for Sawtooth adventures!

Ketchum Mountain Biking

Redfish Lake - Sawtooths

Roadtrip to Portland MUST include Stumptown Coffee....

....and bike shopping

Great friends in Bellingham showed us a great time in WA!

Birthday dinners and the best dinners

L is for love

sawtooths and summer

Living here in Idaho is a dream - especially in the summer time. Recently the beau and I were talking about how fortunate we feel to be able to live here in boise for the first year or two of our marriage (at least - who knows where we shall venture to after we are finished with school!). The beau looked at me one afternoon as we drove through the mountains and along the river to go get lost in the hills, "you do realize that world class kayakers from all over the world travel to Idaho, Idaho to run our rivers right? We have it all!". And he is so right. This beautiful state has so much richness and rare beauty that our hearts just leap as we look ahead to the next season and the adventures that it brings. Rafting and kayaking in the summer, xc skiing, snow shoeing and snowboarding in the winter and climbing, bouldering, cycling, backpacking and running whenever possible.....wow!

My love for Idaho includes, of course, a love for the Sawtooths. These mountains stole my heart during my first summer living in the USA in 2009. I really don't think there is an excuse for me to not explore them more every year. So far this year I have visited them three times. Over the valentines weekend the beau and I telemark skied into a yurt with friends, at the start of this summer I got to hop onto a relay team last minute to run the 63 mile Sawtooth Relay from Stanley to Ketchum and then later in the summer my job allowed me to lead a trip of 8 freshman students on an extended backpacking trip to a series of mountain lakes. 

The sawtooth relay was a whole new running experience to me. I am new to running as it is - only been at this thing for a few years now - but a relay team was a whole different ball game. My team of five gentleman and myself started running at 3am and completed the race in a very respectable 9hrs and 19minutes! We had originally decided that we would be happy if we came in under 12 hrs....so we were pretty proud of ourselves! The beau was wonderful and spent the day (which was also his birthday - what a guy!) cheering us on and he even cycled my last 5 miles with me. The run was spectacular and my first leg allowed me to watch the sunrise over the mountains.....I will never forget that morning.....I felt so alive and happy.

(Photos curtesy of Austin Rogerson)

meanwhile....life has been happening

life has been happening. in a very full and rich way. the later part of the spring and the entire summer have been plagued with adventures, heart-bursting-with-joy moments and memories have been created that i shall carry through my entire life with me.
all that can be said is: God is good. the beauty of His name is unexplainable by any of the words i have found in any language i have encountered during my travels. i can only guess that there are more words in heaven that i shall learn when i get there that will be able to describe the power and the strength of His love for me, you and all.
the highlight of my summer was without a doubt saying yes to marrying the most outstanding man i have ever known. in early july, the beau proposed under the stars in the hills. he asked me to be his wife in the very same spot he asked me to be his girlfriend last summer. the moment went so fast. i live it over and over again in my heart though.

my heart is so full.

the truth is that since the proposal, i have considered blogging often. i have considered how to share with you all the process of engagement: this is a season of preparation and immense joy and it is an incredible test of our patience - we want to rush forward, but we know there are lessons to learn along the way, in this season, that can not be learned at any other time. we live in every expectation that waiting until marriage to share our all with one another will be worth it all. we are in the midst of combining our lives, figuring out where to live together, how to work finances, and how to align our passions with one another in a way that we can both support the other to step into all that God has for us. we are learning about each other more and more each day on a deeper level than ever before. this time is so very rich. it has finally come time to struggle with words and share with you all that we are learning and are having revealed to us. keep checking back when you can to hear about the new crazinesses in our lives! the countdown is on and the wedding planning is in full swing!

Psalm 73.26.
God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

London, London England

After a wonderful time in the Netherlands I said some very sad goodbyes to some dear friends, packed my backpack and travelled back to the motherland: England. My journey took me about 12 hours and included 2 trains, a bus, a boat, and a couple more trains and a few walks. All through the night. It was quite the adventure and quite a few things went wrong but, those moments provided an opportunity to see my own growth. Whilst other traveler were enraged about delays and French workmen being on strike, I was able to let the stress go and trust that all would be fine. I have learnt that somethings matter in life and are worth worrying about and somethings are not. Taking longer to travel through Belgium or France en route to England was not something I was worried about. Leaving a pair of shoes in The Netherlands is not some thing to worry about, or loosing a Lacrosse ball some where between Belgium and France is also not worth worrying about.

(Side note: I don't always have the great power of discernment, and I regularly stress over things that are not really worth worrying about. In short, I am preaching to myself here).

I arrived in London, ate my breakfast on the steps of the National Gallery as I waited to meet an old University friend. We then took some time to take in some art (The Sir John Soane's Museum is a new favorite of mine), drink some amazing coffee and enjoy the glorious sunshine that has arrived with me. London, I shall always love returning to you.

today, and life lately

Today, my big brother is getting married. Today, my family grows and I gain a new sister and friend for life. It is times like this that my heart is stirred. I believe in a God who always has something more for us: something more to learn, something more to gain freedom in, something more to be healed in, something more to be blessed by and celebrate. Today my heart is stirring over love. Today I am thinking about love - the challenges it brings, and the joy that it brings. Today is a day of celebration and excitement for the beginning of a new season for my family and I.

Also, here is life lately according to Instagram. My brother's wedding marks the almost end to my European adventure (for now!) so here are a few memories caught on the faithful iPhone. Follow along with me on instagram here.

A gift from Mr. Handsome

All set with my beloved Osprey!

My old Dutch University Town

Gotta love Nespresso!

Freshman friends reunited!

A magical day in Bruges, Belgium

London Calling!

Oxford. Always in my heart.

My favorite library in the world

In love

The sunshine followed me everywhere!

Bruges, part 2

My time in Bruges was magical. Fleeting, but magical none the less. Everywhere I looked, the sun shone and lit up spectacular buildings,  winding lanes, and chimneys. I was in full tourist mode and I snapped happily away with my camera for the few hours that I had in this enchanting city.

time changes everything

It has been a really rich and good time thus far for me here in Europe. I have lived in the USA for the best part of three years, on and off a little, and I still have moment of extreme culture shock. Strangely enough the culture shock has been most intense over the past couple of months. Every time it arises, it surprises me and scares me. Just one too many "Oh you are Australian" jokes and one too many, "Do you know the Queen?" comments I was right back there: experiencing culture shock.

Culture shock is something that only people who have experiences living abroad can understand. It allows me to meet a German or Chinese student, also living in the USA, and be able to feel more connected with them for a moment that I feel with any of my American friends that I have seen every day for the past couple of years.

When people ask me to explain culture shock, all I can say is that, "it is awkward". I can be in the middle of a stats class at University, or sipping a coffee at Whole Foods or cycling across downtown and all of a sudden I will feel like I do not belong here; in this moment, I am not from here and I do not fit in. It is a bizarre and very overwhelming feeling.

Returning to The Netherlands was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. However, it also allowed me closure to my fears that I was wrong to move to the USA after just one year of University there. I was able to walk the streets of beautiful Middelburg and know that it is not my home. My heart is not there....it is in Boise.

Time changes everything - it changes friendships and it changes hearts and it changes character. I was able to pick up some Dutch friendships like nothing had changed during the two years that I was away, whilst others just simply were no long there. I am learning that time changes things: it allows healing to take place and it allows love to grow deeper and stronger. I am trying to not fear this, but to just accept that things change and that is ok.