the drive out west || sedona to palo alto (part 2)

so where were we? is everyone bored yet? no? good, we've got more road to cover. literally!

after waving goodbye to new mexico, i journeyed onto arizona. like new mexico, i had never been to arizona. it is hot there. too hot. over 110 degrees hot. i'm not sure i can go back. unless i can go to sedona. which is where this story starts!

less than a week before my trip, i was texting my precious and dear friend mary. i met her freshman year at school waiting in line for FNL. at least that is my first memory of her. i thought she was a couple years ahead of me, why, i do not know. we lived in the same building sophomore year and had a class together. it was a memorable class for me since i started SOBBING on the first day when a friends of ours asked me how my break was. (break was fine. but i'd just said goodbye to the bff 5 minutes earlier.)  the only thing i can remember about junior year is that we went to rebash together. but senior year? boy that was our year. i was weirdly excited to see her at the beginning of the year, not really sure why exactly because we weren't close friends. and then we got scheduled together for a weekly shift at mcconn. we'd always leave the shift together and go get stir fry. it was the best. i loved that semester. i even got to stay late to see her graduate. 

i am not sure why i am telling you all of this except to say that i love this girl with all of my whole heart. she has the best hair AND the best heart. the perfect combo if you ask me. 

so, we figured out when we were texting that she was going to be in sedona when i was driving through. being the good and flexible friend that i am, i changed my plans around so i could see her. best decision ever. thank you Jesus for arranging this. we know you did it, you are the man.

mar was on vacation with her whole family. they come to this magical place in sedona every year. i think i am going to try and join them every year because it is beautiful and relaxing and perfect and her family is incredible. 

mary showed me around the place they were staying and we got to spend time in the creek, see the private orchards, walk over the bridge that is apparently always closed and very bouncy, swing on the biggest rope swing, talk and talk and talk and of course spend time with her family. it was so so good. i miss my friends from school a lot, so to be able to spend time with a school friend, and one of my favorites at that, was just so good. 

 

i mean just look at that family! i felt so lucky to be able to spend time with them. and how cute are mary's nephews? 

after saying another stupid goodbye, i drove south to phoenix. the temperature rose at least 30 degrees. #blessed. i stopped to see my friends dick and donna who i worked with in alaska 3 years ago. unfortunately, donna had gotten back from the hospital after a knee surgery just an hour before i got there. talk about bad timing! so i only stayed to chat with them for a bit. annnnnd i didn't get a picture which is a real bummer.

next, i drove all the way across phoenix to see my friend KC. we met at the influence conference 2 years ago. pretty much all i remember about that entire weekend is spending time with KC and 3 other seriously lovely ladies. it was kind of the best. i had suuuch a good time with them. this past march, i got to see all 4 of them together again at hope spoken. it was great. they're all great. anyway, KC is moving from seattle to texas. talk. about. a. weather. change. so she was visiting her parents in phoenix in the middle of her crazy month long move. her parents, who were so sweet, let me stay with them for a night even though they were already hosting KC's family too. 

as soon as i got there, i changed into something acceptable for a luau and headed to their country club for hawaiian night! i got to meet her parents, husband and adorable kids. but mostly we ignored them and chatted with each other the whole time. it was fabulous. 

KC is so easy to talk to. i want to say that she "just gets me" but that will make me feel cheesy. but come on! she gets me! she is so fun and sweet and kind and tan. so many qualities i aspire to have! i love that our paths were literally crossing on this trip. please Jesus let them cross again soon.

her children all begged me not to go, but i had to leave right after breakfast so i could drive allllll the way to the LA area. but first, i made a pit stop at a mormon temple. i read a few mormon blogs and find it all very interesting, so i thought i may as well stop and see a temple since there are so many in arizona to be seen. i am a tad bit disappointed that i didn't drive a little bit further out of my way so i could see the bigger temple in gilbert, but i guess i'll have to see that one next time. i am contemplating flying to indiana next year when they open a new temple so i can see the inside before they consecrate it. i'm not mormon, but i think that they have a few really good values that would be great for anyone to learn from. i don't think it has ever hurt someone to learn from people who are a little different than them, just like it has never hurt anyone to eat salt water taffy in bed at midnight. ahem. 

WHY AM I SO STRANGE? i don't know guys. i took a selfie with the temple. i sent it to my sister. pretend its all very normal. maybe i will visit all the temples all over the world and take selfies with them. i won't do that, but its fun to dream.

once i finally got on the road (after being told by a gas station attendant "that we don't have a public bathroom" what is this? nyc?) i pinky promised myself that i would not miss the california state line sign. i missed lit.tra.lee. every other state sign and was pretty desperate to get a picture with the california one. for instagram, obviously. it was about twelve thousand degrees where i took that picture as i am pretty sure i was standing on the actual sun. why do they keep it so hot there? why was no one passing out bottled water and sunblock? i will never know.  

pretend like this next picture is somewhere in california. in reality it could be from anywhere. i just don't know.

once i made it through the boring part of southern california where i was blessed to see approximately 300 million windmills, i got just outside of LA and nearly died. california traffic. oh em gee. where is everyone going and why are they driving so fast. until this point my drive had been great. relaxing even. the relaxing part was long gone and i was gripping the steering wheel like my life depended on it. because apparently, it did. miraculously, i made it to kara's house. 

kara is one of the people who i can without a doubt say i met on instagram. what is the 21st century. we meet people on the internet. i commented on someone else's picture saying i liked her (kara's) sweater. we've been friends ever since. we met IRL (in real life) at hope spoken, but didn't actually get to hang much. kara was nice enough to leave her cute kids at home for the night and take me to newport beach. we laid by the water, walked on the pier, ate delicious mexican food and got matching tank tops. i'd say that makes up for not hanging out at hope spoken.

you should probably go stay at her house as soon as you can because she will make you the cutest little treat basket. i already burned the entire candle she gave me and bought another just like it. 

after breakfast, i left kara's, got starbucks (duh) and started out on my last leg of the trip. it was uneventful and i was so (not) glad to save the most boring part of the entire drive for the last day. a glorious 5 hours on the 5.  b o r i n g. 

however, all of that quickly faded into my memory as soon as i pulled up to the house. i actually couldn't find it at first, which was funny. but the palm tree and the pool and the hot tub made the long drive worth it. and the cute kids of course. now it all seems like so long ago, probably because it took me three weeks to get this up.

i don't know an exciting way to end a post like this, so i will end it with this picture proving that at some point i drove on route 66. i don't know what state i was in. i don't know what day it was. all i know is i drove for a whole mile on the famous rode just to get sonic. 

God bless america.

ko.

the drive out west || kansas to albuquerque (part 1)

so, i was going to just do this in one post, but its way too many pictures for just one. so two it is. i also know that most people may not be interested in reading a long stop by stop account of my trip, but i had such a good time on this adventure and don't want to forget one single thing about it. plus my mom wants to read it. 

i left kansas on july 6th and headed to um, kansas. it was only a little over 2 hours to jess's house, which made it a perfect stop for lunch. i've been reading jess's blog for over 3 years, and i was able to finally meet her in person at hope spoken, but boy was i still nervous pulling up to her house. 

obviously, i had nothing to worry about. jess is so sweet and meeting her family was so fun. it is funny to read about people on a blog for several years and then meet them. especially when its not the person writing the blog. but her husband and two (now three!) boys were the sweetest. the even took me to the farm and levi gave me the grand tour. he told me the name of every single tractor. silly me thought they were all just called tractors, but it turns out they each have a name. jess had her baby less than 2 weeks after i stopped by, but i'm sure i'll get to meet the sweet guy when i drive home. a girl can dream can't she?

excuse this really low quality picture of me and the boys. i took a screenshot from jess's instagram. not the best way to do it. :)

next i headed to tulsa, which is in fact the opposite direction of west. originally i was going to go straight to texas from jess's house, but who can resist a stop at lesley's house? lesley and her family had just gotten home from a big roadtrip to montana, but they were still willing to have me for dinner. lesley is quite the cook and her husband is a pretty great griller. so obviously dinner was delicious. and they had a whole plate of homegrown tomatoes from their yard. i thought i had died and gone to heaven. their two little girls are about the cutest things ever. i asked the older one what her favorite food was and she said bacon. i wish i could agree with her. 

lesley is such a nice lady. and so funny too! i was so grateful to get to meet her at hope spoken after following her on instagram and her blog for a year or two. she is full of spunk and knows how to dream big dreams. also she has chickens. so fun.

lesley sent me on my way to ft worth with a bag of the most delicious cookies i've ever had. i rationed them all the way to arizona. i ended up driving past midnight to ft worth, so i enjoyed quite a few of those cookies on the way. at one point i was so sleepy that i had to pull into mcdonalds and get an ice cream cone. i'd never done that to keep myself awake before, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it won't be the last time. 

when i finally got to ft worth, i didn't think i could possibly be any happier to see my bed. that was, of course, until i saw this little package waiting for me. 

kimber has a super cute etsy shop and was sweet enough to gift me a few prints. she also wrote me a sweet card AND stayed up waiting for me. she's a keeper, that one.

kimber knows how to make a girl feel welcome. the next morning, we had cinnamon rolls with her cutie patootie daughter, then went to shipley's and had the best donut i had eaten in months. after lunch at panera (all we did was eat) we met up with anna, and i got to meet her family. i met both of these girls at hope spoken and am so very glad that i did. we probably only got to talk for an hour over the course of the weekend, but we clicked and we're rooming together next year! visiting these girls felt like visiting old friends i've known forever. we get along so well and all enjoy similar things. including shopping and food. which is what our day revolved around. anthropologie, because duh. anna even made her first anthro clothing purchase.

they took me to velvet taco, where i proceeded to eat one of the best tacos i have ever had. i mean really, it was incredible. i am still thinking about it and would like 5 more please.

you could say it was taco heaven. 

then we went home and watched american blogger because what else would you do with friends you met at a blogging conference. kimber's husband joined us too. i think he paid the most attention to it since kimber and i couldn't stop chatting.

i was really sad to leave ft worth. these two are sweet friends and i'm counting down the days til i get to see them again. but it was off to the next place! a fews hours west landed me in midland to see wynne. i also met her at hope spoken (are you sensing a theme?) and she is about the cutest texan you'll ever meet. i've never seen her in an outfit i didn't like and she got the prettiest hair. but more than that she has a heart of gold and never stops adventuring. she's been to africa 8 or 9 times in the last three years and is such an advocator of those in need. after hearing her story at hope spoken, hanging out in her home and meeting her sweet kids was so fun. she was also kind enough to have me for lunch even though she had just returned from a 19 day road trip out east, 12 of which it was just her and the kids. she was home for 3 days before she headed rwanda for 10 days. this girl has got a love for travel. i love that about her.

after i said goodbye to wynne and found a much needed ipod charger, i waved goodbye to beloved texas and started off towards new mexico. i've never been to new mexico, so i was excited to see a new state, but i was also excited to see the two cute little girls that were waiting for me.

this stretch, despite being over 6 hours, was actually my favorite part of the whole entire drive. i probably saw less than 10 cars going the same direction as me. it was so green and beautiful. i seriously did not want it to end. buuuut the babies were calling my name.  boy was it good to finally see their faces. (and their mom and dad of course.)

after a good night of sleep with all twelve thousand of annika's stuffed animals, we spent the day at the botanical gardens, the aquarium, and well, shopping of course. 46 pictures for your viewing pleasure.

the gardens were sort of magical but also sort of really stinking hot if you weren't in the shade. although in kansas it is just hot everywhere. shade or not you're sweating your buns off. but it was worth the heat to spend time with these cutie pies. i taught isabella how to do this trick with her tongue when she was literally just hours old. i'm sure it was just a reflex or something, but i made this face at her and she made it right back. also i would like to take a moment to talk about how she is going to be in 5TH GRADE this year. stop the time people. its all happening to fast.

jocilyn bought me a sweater at anthro. bless her heart. and annika gave me some stuffed animal company while i tried things on. that girl loves her stuffed animals.

after some delicious pizza, a viewing of frozen and a full nights sleep, i had to say goodbye. but i didn't have far to go. just a quick drive across town for an impromptu stop at ruth's house. i commented on her instagram the day before saying i was driving through and wished i could see her. well what do you know, she was free the next morning and was sweet enough to let me bring her some coffee. i obviously loved all of my stops, but this one was such a fun surprise. i met her 6 boys, who were some of the most polite little boys i have ever met, and got to see her cute house. best of all, i just got to sit and chat with her for an hour. we met at hope spoken, but probably only talked for 5 minutes. so to spend a bit longer with her was a treat. she is such a gracious and wise woman and is an incredible mom. i took lots of mental notes while i was there. her boys are lucky to have such a great mom. she is speaking at hope spoken this year, and i am s t o k e d to hear her share.

part 2 coming sooooooon. scout's honor. for now i leave you with this picture from somewhere in america. your guess is as good as mine. 

ko.

i went coastal.

i'm here! i finally arrived in california 2 days ago after a week long drive across the country. i am going to write all about my trip here soon, but figured i should at least update the blog to say that i'm here.

i have gotten so out of the habit with blogging lately, and since this is sure to be such a wild time in california, i really want to get back into it. so i'm making myself blog even though it really bothers me to not write about things sequentially. someone give me a medal for using the word sequentially. is sequentially even a word. now i am unsure.

moving on.

i have been to california to visit my mom's family a bunch of times, but this is obviously the first time i will have lived in california. which means it is also the first time i have driven in california and done normal things like go to the grocery store. despite only being here for a few days, i feel like i'm already noticing things that are different from kansas or the midwest in general. i'm sure this list is only going to get longer (i'm literally keeping a list on my phone), but i thought i'd post some now.

DRIVING.
y'all. the speed limit in california is merely a suggestion. i am sure of it. this was also true of arizona. i used to be a speeder, but then i got pulled over on the way to school one year for going 10 over (oh hey mom, never told you about that...) and changed my ways. i didn't even get a ticket, just a verbal warning, but i decided that it wasn't really worth it and you don't even get there that much faster unless you're really hauling. but here, that is not an option. going 10 over is barely keeping up with the flow of traffic. everyone is angry at you. people do not let you over. people laugh at you when you are about to ram into a median because they will not let you over. everyone is a hurry to get somewhere. and you have to take the freeway everywhere. BUT NO ONE USES CRUISE CONTROL. this may be the end of me. i use cruise control in the city sometimes. because hello, why should i have to be in charge of remembering not to speed. and you can't talk on your phone here. what do you want from me california. why are you doing this to me.

GOING OUT.
you're probably thinking, wow, she's been in california for 2 days and she is already going out? oh no, do not be confused. i am not going out to parties or fancy dinners. no, i am just going to the grocery store and to target and ikea. did you know that in california you may as well call a trip to the grocery store "going out" because you must in fact dress up as if you were "going out." i've gone to stores on 2 different days and both times i just felt so out of place. i felt like everyone was staring at me. this was unusual because i so do not care what strangers think. but suddenly on the second day, it finally occurred to me: no one else is wearing nike shorts, a baggy tshirt and chacos. everyone has nice clothes on. even the children. leaving your house is an occasion to put real clothes on for. waking up, in fact, might be a occasion to put real clothes on for. who knew!

GO GREEN.
the recycling bins that everyone puts at the end of their driveway is twice as big as the trash can. there are no stores that will give you plastic bags. everyone brings their own bags unless you want to pay 10 cents for every paper bag you use. i kind of like this because sometimes i'm sad about how mean we are to the earth, but also who in the world can remember to take reusable bags to target?? i don't even have any reusable bags.

BLUETOOTH.
so many people here talk to themselves. at least it looks that way until you realize they are actually just having loud conversations in the aisles of safeway with their bluetooth. because you have to be handsfree with your devices while driving, i guess most people here are just used to talking on a bluetooth, so they just take them into the grocery store. i hate talking on headsets, but you know, when in rome.... on second thought, think of how easy it would be to shop with two hands!

thats all i've noticed so far. there will be more i'm sure. i can't wait to tell you all about the house we're staying in and how close the beach is and how many amazing stores there are everywhere. and of course about my trip here. it was a good one.

until then.
ko.

#kimberlygoescoastal

i am pretty sure most people know by now, but i thought i might as well put it on the blog too. so, if you didn't already know, i'm moving to california!

i'll be in the palo alto area for 6 months to nanny for the cutest family from my church. i'm still not exactly sure how this happened, but i'm really excited. i'm going to be close extended family, the beach, and in-n-out burger. i never ever thought i'd live in california, even for a minute, but i'm excited to experience it for 6 months.

i'm also pretty excited because several friends will be moving out to california at the end of the summer. most of them are going to be 4-5 hours away, one will even be all the way south in san diego, but 5 hours is at least a lot closer than kansas or indiana. 

since i'm not really sure what my time in california is going to look like, right now i'm most excited for my drive out there. instead of driving an efficient route through colorado and utah and nevada to get to california, i've decided to go the long and out of the way way to see old and new friends. i sort of feel like i'm going on tour. i also feel like i never want to go on an actual tour because packing this many stops and people into one trip is going to be a lot. but it will be worth it to see jess, kimber, anna, wynne, my sister and her family, dick and donna, and kara. 

i leave in 25 days and considering i still haven't unpacked from school or alaska, i have a loooooot to do. i'm also squeezing in a week long visit to the lake house with my main squeeze amanada.

here's to the next 3 weeks!
ko