INLET....IN-LIT?

Ah, the inlet! Ironically enough, I've never blogged about it. Which is kind of shocking considering I've blogged about everything from broken bones to what I eat for lunch, but somehow a post about the inlet never made the cut.

(Or, I was too lazy to make one. Probably that!)

We normally go at least once a year, and this year was great! Until I got home. Because then I looked in the mirror and remembered that I hadn't worn any sunscreen. 

And I had been in full sun. For eight hours.

 Needless to say, I looked like a tomato for a good week or so and it's not a look I would recommend to anyone.

I can't really put into words how much I treasure this little group of friends. One reason it's probably difficult is because they actually make fun of me, a lot. But once I learned to let it roll off my back and see beyond their rough edges, I actually have so much fun. It's not often you find people who you feel 100% comfortable to be 100% yourself with, but I'm thankful I have. We raced hermit crabs, and talked about life, love and Drake while exploring the surrounding islands. And even though I ended up looking like a tomato, it was worth it.

(ish. It definitely wont be worth it if I end up with skin cancer.)

So we made a human gradient and I happened to be tanner than my CUBAN friend, which is the greatest honor anyone could bestow upon me! Not really sure where this honor will take me in life, but you can bet I'm going to have it on my resume.

And we ended the night with a walk around the island and then talking in the driveway till midnight. 

Summer nights man, they're something else. 

(a lot of christian water analogies)

"Your grace abounds in deepest waters...."

I took living so close to the beach for granted for most of my life. It's a block away, I can hear the waves lapping on the shore from my bed each night. When I'm happy, I go to the beach. When the sun is rising, I go to the beach. When I'm sad and need to run away from the life, the beach is where I go. When it's January and my skin is as white as a sheet...you know where to find me.

I think one reason I love the beach is because it makes me feel very small, and as a result, it reminds me how big God is. He's vast, unsearchable and His love is deeper than we could ever comprehend. And while I think Christians have thoroughly worn out the water references, it's pretty true to some degree. His grace is like an ocean, His love washes over us. And when I'm standing on the shore facing the seemingly endless ocean, I'm met with the goodness of our God and the realization that 

I am so so small compared to His greatness. 

"When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace..."

When to get baptized is different for everyone. And even though I would only say I've known that the Lord was leading me to it for a year or so, the timing never quite worked out. I was either out of town or had a test the next day or was trying new churches and it just didn't work.

Switching churches, which I did a couple months ago, is always a little rough at first. Discouraged by the amount of awkwardness and icy conversation, I hadn't been in a couple weeks. But one Sunday a sweet friend texted me inviting me to come and that was the Sunday I heard about the baptism. 

It was also a week before.

But even still, I knew this was it.

Baptism is a beautiful thing no matter where it takes place, but having the opportunity to be baptized at the beach was such a blessing. I know my days near the beach are numbered and I have been doing my best to soak it up (both literally and figuratively) as much as possible 

( s e c o n d )   f a m i l y   i s   f o r e v e r

"And there I find You in the mystery.
In oceans deep,
My faith will stand."

I may not be able to run to the beach at midnight and cry when life is hard forever. But in doing so, I've learned that His Love is just like the ocean: endless, deep and oh so beautiful. 

LISA COMES HOME

Never mind the fact that her home town is actually in Germany (and that I actually drove through it last summer but didn't have time to stop but alas) LISA FINALLY CAME HOME!  

You may remember Lisa from blog posts past. She came and stayed with mutual friend a couple summers ago and we hung out 24/7. This visit, she stayed with me and it felt SO right having her in our home. Having a car (and more freedoms) this time made it so much more fun, and different. Even though she wasn't here for very long, the house seems so empty without her sweet, curious presence.

Last year I took an unbelievable amount of photos of Lisa (Remember when we got donuts? Or went to the beach? And went to church? Me too.) This time wasn't quite the same, between work and class and general social fiasco's, we didn't have much time for a photoshoot. But the day she left we headed down to the park for 20 minutes and well...it made up for all the lost time ;)

ISNT SHE SO PRETTY!?

Ugh.

IT REALLY WAS A WONDERFUL REUNION.  We hung out with Mary, the OG, and watched movies and stayed up late talking. Oh and the beach! It wouldn't be a proper time with Lisa without a little tanning session (even though 20 minutes in the sun can't make up for a whole semester inside, but we can dream.)

These photos represent a blog post in it of itself but that will come later. For now, know that we almost snuck into a bar at midnight in downtown Orlando. But we opted for cookies instead; a good safe, homeschooler choice it was. 

I also happened to have a white house sugar cookie house kit in my closet (#justgirlythings) so we made the white house Trump themed. Apparently we are prophets because this was months before the election and who would have guessed our joke would have come true. Honestly I'd rather have him in a sugar cookie white house than the actual one but alas. America.

And on a final note, if you've been following along for a while, I have the urge to explain how to pronounce her name. You might have been reading it as "Lisa" with an incredibly stale white bread pronunciation (don't worry, that was me for like 6 months. You're not alone.) Her name is actually pronounced "LEEZA". Now you know! 

I love you Lisa.

Come back!

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SUMMER SIXTEEN

SIXTH SUMMER // SUMMER SIXTEEN from @thegirlkryn on Vimeo.

I have actually been trying to insert this video into a blog post for a solid two months. I know I’m only 18 but man, do I feel out of touch. But anyway, in the process of trying and failing to inset the video, Summer seemed to stretch out a little further, albeit only mentally but still!

This was a steady summer, consistent. Every day wasn't thrilling or downright terrible. It was routine and predictable and that was actually just what I needed. I spent a lot of time on self-care, which I had always thought was selfish in years past but as it turns out, self-care is essential for being strong enough to then help others. And an obscene amount of flower photos were taken but I mean, what else would you expect from me?

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS SONG[in this video]? Because it is was my summer theme song. Every day, all day. And I don’t even like country! I tried about 4 other “cooler” songs for this video, ones with a better bead and more abstract lyrics but no. Only this twangy country love song (literally all my least favorite things) would do. 

YOU MAKE LOVING YOU EASY // Zac Brown Band

(I promise, if you hate country and love songs and banjos...you'll probably love this too.)

You might be wondering about how well I did with my summer list! (See it here.)  You also might not care at all but just in case you’re part of the first group, I’ll briefly touch on it.

And by briefly I mean, you’ll be here till next summer. 

I actually accomplished almost everything on the list. Can you believe I had never driven through a drive through? I mean, relatively speaking I just got my license last week so it makes a little more sense. Obviously the chopping off of my hair was a success and I had acrylic nails for 3 months as expected, all my childhood dreams came true. However, as I child I didn't realize how incredibly difficult it would be to open ANYTHING with acrylic nails so alas, they had to come off. It's pretty bad when you can't even open your makeup, right?

#firstworldproblems

Thanks to the technical difficulties that prolonged the publishing of this post, we all got to soak in a little more sun and squeeze in a couple more beach days. Who are we kidding, we still go to the beach! But now we bring our textbooks ;)

ADIOS SUMMER!

Summer Drizzle

Time has been trickling by, but thank goodness it's summer now! Though I'm not sure it was be a summer that reaches High School Musical 2 standards (basically the epitome of sun-filled, summer bliss) but that's okay too. I've got a lot of growing to do this summer; mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And while in the short term, those don't feel as rewarding as poolside Popsicle's, it'll be worth it in the end.

(Or at least, it better be. If not, I'm demanding a second summer.)

It looks like a nice beach day but LOL. If you've never believed in the magic of the camera, this should convince you cause it was actually so dark and anything but sunny out, a great start to summer because we had plantain chips and I was 5th wheeling.

HAPPY HIGH SCHOOL PEEPS! Saying Sionara to dumb drama forever.

PERFECT NIGHT, PERFECT LIGHT.

After our (self) titled Baptism Bash, the cool kids were playing volleyball (and by cool we just mean in shape and those with coordination.) so we decided to go on a walk. Of course, us being girls and all, we only made it about 8 feet (literally!) before the urge to take photos took over, and we couldn't resist! But in our defense, the light was perfect and the company, oh, so good. So like, why not?

Love these photos. These girls are my favorites!

(1: Lisa. 2: Mary and I. 3: Kelsea and Lisa....you can figure out the rest.)

Hashtag Babe on The Beach

We interrupt this scheduled Italy programming to bring you urgent news! Or actually, just some photos! Sarah and I are really getting the hang of this model/photographer thing. It's so fun having a friend to talk photos/instagram/art with. (and also, one to watch Sponge Bob with! Let's be real.)

On a random note, I just dyed my moms hair for the first time. In a few minutes we shall see how I did (and also If I have a home or not....)

Ps: Everyone! Check out Sarah's blog, Cruising Through Life. (and I won't tell you what my terrible auto correct spelling changed it to, but it did involve @$#!&# that kind of thing...!)

Spring, Sunshine and Sarah.

Spent the day wandering around our perfectly beachy town celebrating my girl Sarah! She clearly needs to reconsider a career in modeling because if my photos make her look this good, imagine what a professional could do!

XOXO- Thanks Sarah for being such a gem!

Magic and beaches and Kennebunkport.

Sometimes you just find yourself in those places. You know, the perfect ones! And let me tell you, Kennebunkport beach is MAGGGIC! Like, I have been to beaches ALL over the US and not ever have I seen one as doggone gorgeous as Kennebunkport.

So if I ever find myself with a million dollars (or two) the first order of business will be moving to Kennebunkport. Then get a netflix subscription! Priorities, people.


This is my last post (tear!) from our trip, regular nonsense will resume shortly.