a poem

scavenge your brains out

Jace set up the most fantastic treasure hunt ever for me to find my Christmas present! We went all over town following cryptic clues like, "Orange and blue will show you the next clue. Don't smudge the glass." Or, my personal favorite, "42.752872 N 84.479627 W. Look to the north for your fave." Jace would always give super helpful hints to help me decifer the clues like, "Huh, looks like co-ordinates..." or "I dunno" while rolling his eyes away from my gaze so he wouldn't give anything away. Adorable. The chase eventually lead me to the middle of a wooded area in a park where I found a hemp cord that I had to follow through the snow, around fallen tree trunks, branches and did I mention snow? My final gift was wrapped in a plastic grocery bag and packing tape to protect it from the elements. My boyfriend is so wise. Inside the long awaited package was an photo empty photo album with a card reading, "I  can't say that we'll fill this book, but let's try," and a matching journal with a to do list on the first page that said,

What shall we do today?

• build a fort 
• tip a cow 
• go skiing 
• make Henna art 
• get lost on a crazy adventure
  

There was also a henna art book and kit which I may or may not already own slash was also given for Christmas this year slash is the greatest henna kit ever. Just maybe.

After the grand adventure we went to AI Fusion, a sushi place, where we had a late lunch with his friends Kyle, Bruce, and Meesh (short for Michelle). Meesh enlightened Jace about the bump application and they proceeded to bump for a while while we waited for Bruce to show up and, yes, I know how that sounds. (One of the bump features is that it provides a map so you have a history of where you've bumped people. Really?) We had a great time just chatting, laughing, and eating delicious raw fish. It was probably my favorite Michigan day so far.

don't lose your snow sticks on the lift thing

Today Jace and I went skiing with his mom Lisa, brother Gage, and brother's friend Tucker. It was just a little ski place but it was so much fun! I felt super skilled because I tried the ski moguls and went through some trees—on purpose! Though I did take some fantastic spills on both of those adventures. My personal favorite was when I was trying to ski the moguls—which were totally weird, by the way, in that they were all clumped together in a grid basically instead of spread out along the run. It was probably my third time in that area attempting to conquer at least one or two of the powdery mounds and somehow I completely lost control and ended up belly down in the middle of the grid with my feet splayed out to either side, skis still on, feet pointing in completely opposite directions, unable to move, but able to feel my hip joints slowly being pulled from their sockets. After several failed attempts to get up or take my skis off, I finally managed to free myself and walk over to the side of the moguls, skis in hand, to start over and make my way down the rest of the run. Meanwhile the rest of the crew is at the bottom all looking up at me, helpless, just waiting for me to figure it out. It probably took just as long to get my skis back on as it did to free myself from the mess in the first place. A total wipe out in every respect.

But that is hardly the point. What is the point, you ask? To have fun! And I did. I got to chat with Jace's mom a bit and she is a first class lady. A real stand up gal. I like Jace's family a lot, tell you what. I also got to face some of my skiing fears, like wooded runs. It was quite possibly the most fun I've had skiing ever. Ever!

Jace and I took this picture on the ski lift at the beginning of the day. Note our fantastic headwear provided from the suitcase of Cassi. We are models of beauty and health in this picture, as always.

fort face

Jace and I built a fort in his dad's basement.

We left the ceiling partially open so that we could use the "natural" basement light to read with. Jace played with a wooden block puzzle I brought him that I'd gotten for Christmas but couldn't get back together (he figured it out no problem) and I read him Young Adult Novel by Daniel Pinkwater until my arms got too tired from holding it up and we had to take a break.

 During the day time the light from the side glass doors shone in through the quilt and trampoline to light up the place.

It was probably the biggest fort I've ever built. Also possibly the coldest. But we were, after all, in Michigan.

michiganders, michiginians, michi... people from michigan

I am in Michigan with Jace. He makes me happy. So does his mustachioed mode of transportation.