martha and her vineyard

once upon a time i had a dream of attending "illumination night" in martha's vineyard. 

there is a cute town called oak bluffs that is full of the best looking cottages and once a year they pull out paper lanterns (some are even 100 years old!) and light them all up at once. they keep them on for a magical few hours and then turn them off and put them away for another year. 

guys. this is a big deal. 

lanterns. cottages. once a year. magic. 

so this was pretty much number one on my summer bucket list and i looked forward to it for months. sadly even up to the day before i didn't think i was going to be able to go because no one could get off work and you have to drive two hours to get to the ferry (which would have been difficult since i'm a public transportation girl) BUT at the last second maren pulled through and got off work so she could embark on this magical day with me.  

wednesday morning (i would like to interject here and say that i think the locals really like to keep this to themselves because who does something like this on a wednesday?) we woke up bright and early (then went back to sleep for an hour because it wasn't all that bright but really was much too early) and drove the two hours down south to the ferry. well. to the parking lot of the shuttle that takes you to the ferry. and thennn we were off!

 the forecast was a little worrisome but we tried to look at the scary clouds as photo opp rather than freak out about them. (maren is a little photog too! so if you see me in a picture it probably came from her camera)

 i thought this scene was so inspiring. not only did it look awesome but it felt so symbolic to me of coming out of a hard time (whatever it may be) and just turning away from darkness and heading towards light. definitely not trying to get all sister missionary on ya'll but i just loved it and felt like sharing in the case that you might find it inspiring too.

then i looked over and i think i caught maren having lots of thoughts too

and then i had to put the camera away because it started raining REALLY hard and the wind was crazy and kept ruining my umbrella. i really wish i had pictures of maren and i out there by ourselves - even the captain man commented on how funny it was to see just the two of us in the storm while everyone else went inside. the storm was so awesome and i didn't even care that half my body was soaked by the time we got to the island. 

 about thirty minutes after we arrived the rain stopped and the sun came back out and it was like it never happened! 

so we tucked our umbrellas away and walked across this pretty beach/harbor with the best sand, perfect temperature water, and great houses. 

 then we went to martha's bike shop so i could rent a bike from the nicest man in the world and then were off on our adventure!! 

 i felt SO happy to be biking on an island again. the humid air, bike basket, pretty everything, and a companion/girl biking alongside me felt all too familiar. i just kept having mission/taiwan memories flood my mind all day and it was wonderful.

 after taking the scenic route to oak bluffs (thanks for that tip nicest bike shop man) we finally arrived and died over every last house in that place. 

it was just all so cute and i was beyond thrilled that my bucket list dream was coming true! 

 as we biked around we made the nicest friends 

(since this is real life and everyone was just sitting on their porches chatting the entire day)

this woman was just biking all day and i loved her

and then if the houses weren't cute enough the lanterns started to come out!!!

 and we got to witness this random wedding in the park 

(with the dog as the ring bearer)

(and i almost wrote pallbearer and then thought better of it - too bad brother in law scott doesn't read this or he could add that to his list of moon-isms!)

 are you dying yet? did you even know such a place existed? 

this cutest lady stood in front of one of the houses for hours and drew the entire thing. 

this is where everyone comes for the community sing-a-long before the lanterns are lit

(if that isn't the cutest thing you've ever heard i don't know what is)

and of course they had a little lemonade stand 

(just sipping lemonade with that bride and groom!)

there are like five hundred more pictures of those houses on my computer if you are interested in seeing more. they are seriously the best. 

since there were still a few hours before the festivities began we decided to take some self-timed photos and rest at this quaint oceanside park for a bit

and we were way happy when we realized we were on ocean avenue. 

who doesn't love some yellowcard lyrics and high school flashbacks on the vineyard?!

next up we decided to go exploring and found this great little bike trail.

 and found all the best sites with the greatest greens on our right and the nicest blue ocean (not pictured) on our left. i stared at the scene above for so long. for some reason everything about it reminded me so much of taiwan and i just felt so homesick for that place.

after exploring we ate dinner and then got ice cream at this cute place

and then we rushed on over to the festivities and felt really confused when all the lanterns that had been put up earlier were taken down. we kept biking and looking around and just didn't understand what was going on. we ran into one of our porch friends and it turns out they decided to postpone everything till the next day because they were worried it might start raining again like it had that morning. 

guys. I WAS DEVASTATED. they even said it hadn't been postponed in like 100 years - don't really know if that was supposed to make me feel better but it definitely made it worse. i felt so so sad because now that i was there and had a small taste of it i KNEW it was going to be the best thing probably ever. 

after biking through the small little roads of this town in disbelief we saw some lights in the distance and found ourselves at this cottage. bless these sweet people's hearts they kept theirs up and turned them on for a little bit. tons of people just like myself (who wouldn't be able to stay to see it the next day) stood outside and thanked them for turning them on because for us - this was all we were going to see. isn't it beautiful?

sigh. 

i still feel so sad but i'm grateful we went early and got to see people putting them up and got a small glimpse of what the illumination night would be like. i felt sad for the people who showed up right at seven and didn't get to see anything but this house. 

we decided we might as well get on an earlier ferry back so we didn't get back to boston too late so we biked the few miles back to where the ferry would be leaving from in silence. as i looked around i had even more flashbacks of my mission and again, it felt all too familiar - the late night bike ride back with my companion, defeated after trying so hard to make something happen that day that didn't because it was out of our control. it was a really nice, dramatic moment for me haha. 

we had a few minutes to spare so we went back to walk in that nicest sand/water again and just reflected on what a lovely day we had - despite the reason we came being ruined. 

no one cared to go back on the 8:30 ferry so to make the most of our change of plans we had an iphone pandora dance party with ourselves, enjoyed reenacting titanic along the side, and liked staring at the ocean while discussing how absolutely creepy it is in the dark.  

and basically i just loved spending time with this girl who never once got upset when i would stop and take a picture (heck, she would just take a picture too!), loved/appreciated everything as much as i did, and sacrificed a day off/of work (without pay) to help fulfill my martha's vineyard dream. she just moved back to utah so i'm grateful i got to spend this whole day with her before she left!

 just so you all know - i will definitely be going back and i will see that grand illumination night - i don't know when or how but it will happen!

and on this very special martha's vineyard day the sweetest baby stella jane was born! 

i love her and i'm so excited to meet that little gal 

(and i still need to meet lyndsey, whom i also love, so rob and steph get her out here!)
(and it was also niece mickayla's 18th birthday - so it was kind of a big day for everyone)

and that, my friends, is the wonderful and terrible (bust still wonderful) story of martha and her vineyard.

el fin. 

new canaanites

have i mentioned how awesome the east coast is? if not, let me say it now. the east coast is AWESOME. day and weekend trips can just happen in other states like it aint no thang. 

this particular weekend we went to new canaan, connecticut to stay at friend natalie's house. 

(which i was pumped about since i can now cross connecticut off my east coast bucket list!)

the drive was green and gorgeous and slightly claustrophobic since you can't ever see anything but trees. 

made it! nat's house in the flesh everyone

3 hours later we had arrived at our destination and then went with natalie's brother and mom to see a community theatre rendition of joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat. 

it was outside under this cute little tent 

and was actually done really well! it took a lot of self control to not sing every song the whole time so i compromised and only sang along about half of the time (when my desire became too overwhelming). 

can you see in our faces how much we loved joseph?! we are all so doe-eyed in this photo it kills me.

 (that was obviously taken before i looked down and noticed how awkward my scarf was being.)

when we got home a few more people had arrived so we all sat down and watched the olympics. i never understand the olympics and wonder why it is always on gymnastics or swimming. we got to see michael swim in his last race and receive his last gold medal which was cool but made me sleepy. i'll be better at caring/watching the olympics next time they are happening, promise! 

the next morning we woke up bright and early to head to candlewood lake where we would be spending the day. everyone wanted to get there early so they could ski on glassy water...i went so i could have good picture lighting. 

and let me tell you the light was the best. it was super humid and foggy so the light came through the trees in the perfect amount. i was dying the entire ride because it just felt too beautiful to be reeeeal. 

greeeeeeeeen

(and this part looked just like taiwan to me and it felt like taiwan too since it was so crazy humid) 

dreamy sun shadow trees in the back were my favorite in this portion of the ride

and really if we hadn't been moving so fast these pictures would be ten times better but you kind of get the idea. 

upon arriving we came to the knowledge that nat's family actually had a lake house there which was way convenient for storing one million life jackets, kayaks, tubes, wake boards, and skis. 

i'm not used to lakes on the east with all of the trees and fog so i just died over and over again at how beautiful it all was. the fog was really so cool. 

we had a real nice time (obviously) on our first run and i water ski'ed for the first time in my life! i've always been partial to wake boarding but i decided there would be no harm in trying to ski so nat's dad kindly taught me some lessons on form and then i gave it a try. i started on two and it didn't seem all that difficult so i was excited to try just one but spoiler : the water became too choppy so that never happened. wah waaah

the later group came and brought with them cutest baby stephen. every time i'm around a baby it makes me realize just how much i miss my own little nieces and nephews and that makes me sad. you all need to move out here so i can see them more!

we spent time hanging out on the dock 

and kayaking 

and then having a great idea for chelsea to pull me since she was going to be paddling anyway

and then we went out again for some tubing 

(i liked the picture of the people watching tubing rather than the picture i took of the tubers so just deal)

j man doing his thing (and me doing mine)

i don't think i ever even talked to this kid but i liked taking a picture of him laughing i guess.

love this nat friend of mine 

and this gem of a human being. these pictures don't do his stance/pirate flag justice

and look at gem #2.

 so glad he offered to wear my shirt so i could wear his long sleeved one because the sun was making my skin sad and my head hurt 

(maybe i was getting a heat stroke? who knows)

it was just a really fun and relaxing lake time that i think all of us native utahn's really appreciated. the quinn's fulfilled so many summer needs that had been long neglected! 

this picture isn't the best but it displays pretty well my favorite thing. i LOVE how certain homes are set back and have this short mossy grass with tall skinny trees in front of their house. i think it looks so nice (especially this time of day with those shadows!) and i just want to live somewhere like that so bad!

we came back from swimming to have a backyard bbq, play football (of course i didn't), and enjoy their beautifully landscaped park i mean backyard. the quinn's were just so nice to let us come in and eat all of their food and play with all of their things! they really were the best hosts.

(and yes! those sweet quinn's have a pond in their backyard)

afterwards was a much anticipated moment that i like to call going to the world's largest dairy store :

which i clearly had not prepared myself for. 

it was like a mix between ikea, trader joes, a farm, it's a small world ride, and chuck e. cheese. 

so many out of control animatronics singing about dairy and vegetables and fruits. cows that moo'ed at you. a petting zoo. it was everything you ever wanted the world's largest dairy store to be really. 

we (and by we i mean john) bought their well known chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies and then on our way out grabbed some of their ice cream. i would like to tell stew that pistachio with coconut was such a great twist combo and i look forward to returning some day for more. 

i think the other 20 or so people who were lame/stayed home to watch the olympics/do whatever it is they did really missed out on the best part of the trip and i'm so glad i found three people willing to humour me and go because i honestly loved every second of it. 

even the few seconds after i got there when i lost it and was laughing so hard i started crying and when i tried to stop crying i just cried even harder (all while john was stroking my head and saying "i know. i know. it was just all too much too soon" hahaha)

and for journaling purposes i'm going to go ahead and say how much i thoroughly enjoyed that couple who went with us (curt and anne marie) and would like anne marie to always be around me so i can laugh at all the funny things she says because that girl has some great one liners that just catch you so off guard. 

also for journaling purposes i would like to say that new canaan was so dreamy and i'm excited to somehow get myself there on christmas eve so i can see everyone gather in the town square and have a sing-a-long and then go to every single community play they put on next summer and then secretly move into the quinn's pool house without them knowing because i loved it so much. and steal baby stephen. and eat pistachio coconut swirl ice cream every day. and go to candlewood lake. and the end.