Into the Great Wide Open, Under a Sky So Blue

What a glorious weekend! Gorgeous sunny weather and a short rain on Saturday- perfect summer weather. I thoroughly enjoy Tennessee summers! Seriously, they are good to the last drop. Living in Mississippi for four years awakened me to what "hot & humid" really can mean, and I am thankful that I no longer experience it. Visiting NYC in August a couple years ago reminded me of what I do and do not want out of summer (cliff note: do want lots of lakes, rooftop pools, clean cool rivers, and secluded swimming holes to play in/ do not want crowded, dirty environment).

Anywho, this weekend was all kinds of perfect and here's a bit of why: a last minute triathlon entry to the Old Hickory Tri!

Pay no attention to my face; I don't know what it's doing. SO, running. It was split into two run segments. The order of events went like this: swim, run, bike, run. The last run was the hardest segment for me.
Look ma- no goggles! I 'm down with some open water swimming. Love it, actually.

Thunder Cat the fixie and I went up against some fancy, awesome road bikes and I'm not gonna lie- we held our own. I was happily surprised when the bike route led us by the Hancock House, where Jon and I had our rehearsal dinner! It also wound through the rolling hills of Hendersonville, surrounded by green fields, lake views, and right past Johnny Cash's estate. Pretty cool.

All in all a way to start the day, and the last weekend in June. What a great feeling, having friends cheer you on across a finish line (thank you, Christy M and B!)! Above, are two buddies (Cary & Matt) that raced with/ way ahead of me. They kicked a#%!! Really, they did. I tried. Or rather, I tri.

One Woman Wolf Pack

On June 3, 2010 mi amor asked me to marry him again. He completely surprised me, asking if I would renew our vows in celebration of our 10th anniversary during our traditional "Annibirthday Bash" house party (Jon's birthday and our anniversary are on the same day). I said I would think about it-hahaha. I said "YES!!!".

The person who originally married us, Pastor Bob, was sick so my father -in- law filled in. It was beautiful having so many people who are dear to us witness the moment: my in-laws, friends we've known for years (and were in our original wedding), and new friends who have begun to share their lives with me (6 a.m. running buddy, I'm looking at you).

I made this so long ago, so many, many moves ago. Still got it! In some regards the time Jon and I have been together seems to span so much, the changes and events in life so big, but never does it feel "old". We still make each other laugh. He's still hot. The thought of the next ten years together is something I look forward to-not that everyday is perfect. Everyday we love each other though, and that is powerful.

However, if the hotness fades after this decade, I might reconsider.

Oh, I KID.

So, I guess this is what you look like when you've had the happiest day you never imagined you'd have. At least- for me it is.

I cried - and I'm not a crier, even at our wedding ten years ago! I'm lost for words that will really do justice to what it meant to me. Asking me to marry him all over again, planning it to surprise me, and being as excited about it as he was 10 years ago- it just carried a meaningful weight that wasn't there, couldn't have been there the first time.

As someone who thought they'd always run in a one woman wolf pack, I'd like to close with a little speech. I wasn't prepared last Thursday night, but I am now. Maybe you'll recognize parts, although I've tailored it to suit the occasion- here goes:

"Hello... how bout that ride in? I guess thats why they call it Sin City haha. You guys might not know this but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one woman wolf pack. But when I met Jon on a mountain in North Carolina, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack, it grew by one. So there... there was two of us in the wolf pack. I was alone first in the pack and Jon joined in later ... two of us wolves, running around the desert together in NashVegas, looking for strippers and cocaine."

Forever,

Sarah

Whirlwinds

The past couple of weeks have felt like a wonderful whirlwind. I 've been enjoying productive weekdays and new routine as I've taken to spending time working in the studio first thing in the mornings. Maybe this makes me a big dork, but I love my mornings. And my morning coffee. Also, I'm taking full advantage of the warm weather and the long daylight hours as I bike around town on my beloved fixie, Thunder Cat. MOST of all though, right now I'm loving sunny Summer days spent with people I love.

Memorial day was such a day. It started out a little gloomy-ominous gray clouds threatened to rain on our holiday parade. We were so thrilled to have the day off and had plans to have a pool party fun with Blake and family- no storms allowed! To my enormous happiness, the sun came through! We 4- wheeled, swam, ate, swam, and floated in the sun and it was perfect.
Luke and Jon- so fun together!

Blake- swimming on his own at 4 years old!
Fearless.