somersaults

Yesterday afternoon Kristian and his bestest friends Dave and Rene came over to Chateau Corbett Parent's for an afternoon/evening/early morning full of adventure, friends, fun, laughter and love. We toasted to our epic Sunday on the deck and swung on the world's best front porch swing before setting out in the snow to break trail up Two Pine. We scampered up playing all the while. We broke free of trail etiquette on the way down and bounded like wild animals, howling like 4 year olds, through knee deep snow. We came to the cut line about half way to home and were playing with reckless abandon. Four 'adults' somersaulted their way down the hill eventually arriving back home and feeling fully deserving of our favourite new signature drink, gatorade and grey goose. Somewhere between the top and bottom of that stiff glass I realized that my beloved iPhone was no longer in my pocket. Thank goodness that the Mac guy upsold me and convinced me to buy Mobile Me, the selling feature was most certainly the fact that I could track my phone. Well that $60 just paid for itself as we pulled up the location of my phone - EXACTLY where we were doing somersaults!! We took this as another opportunity to adventure and suited up in our warmest gear and trekked out in the dark. What night hike doesn't turn out to be wondrous, especially full of yummy vodkarade and wonderful company? More hilarity ensued and sure enough we found my phone no problem. Thank you Mobile Me for adding to an unforgettable evening, and next time I'll try to remember to zip up my pockets when I somersault down a mountain.

techy

Marley is finding places to stay warm during the blizzard, and trying to get someone's attention by any means possible.

Hawaiian Colour

Sunset on February 17th, 2011. Kristian and I were sipping Vodka and Gatorade, what a perfect way to hydrate while you dehydrate! I was writing a paper(!), he was working(!) and we were enjoying this view from our deck. Lovely Hawaii.

Moments in Time.

Dudes... Hawaii is pretty much the best place ever, ever, ever. I have to send out a massively massive shout out to my parents for bringing me to paradise, I can't believe I've never been here and I will most certainly be back. Sapphire blue waves crash endlessly into the shore, every shade of green you could possibly conceive of is in grasp, everywhere I look there is the lushest of lush vegetation. There is the brilliantly mastermindedness of mother nature combining heat, humidity and wind. There are whales, oh yes, there is no shortage of the majestic presence here (even less so when we head out whale watching at sunrise in a few short hours). There is wild laughter, there is peace, there is love, there is wonder, there IS adventure.. There is much more to be explored and discovered in the next week, I am sure of that.

Really, this is all thanks to my amazing M&D but this post will, for now, focus on the other two lovebirds here. Most of these shots were taken yesterday, February 14th, 2011 (2OLL...????!) There will be many millions more to come, there will be magnificent quality shots that will be mounted and hung in various sacred spots, but for now, here are a few from my not so bad if I do say so myself iPhone 4.

K2 drove the road to Hana yesterday, a 55ish mile drive that is supposed to take 3 hours (I did it in 1 when we came back in the dark, when all the sensible people were already at home, wildly winding the perfectly paved road while blasting some wickedly perfect techno beats). This drive is breathtaking and if you haven't done it, it really must be experienced to be understood. There are countless stops along the way to choose from and we set out at 5:30a.m. with no sure plan except to soak up every precious moment. What transpired was nothing short of something resembling magnetized perfection created by two. Here are a few of our memories:

Early morning shot on the road to Hana, triple espressos and pumping tunes makes these two road trippers bright-eyed and bushy tailed.

This place really has to be seen to believed but basically, there's an infinity pool to my right and a 200 foot drop overlooking the great Pacific to my left all the while surrounded by electric greens. The state of Hawaii has agreed to give me the small parcel of land to inhabit (thank you kind folks). This is my new job, I watch the gear, yah baby, I watch it good, while Kristian got distracted by a King Kong sized lens and a dragon fly. BTW I am not sleeping just a meditation of sorts lying down soaking up excesses of that sweet stuff called Vitamin D and other sweet stuff that can only be felt and not written.

Further on this epic of epicness hike we came to a baboo forest. The trail lasted for about a kilometre and when you looked into the thick of it darkness took over before you could spot the end. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. On our way back down, as the sun had set, it was like a tale out of Alice in Wonderland.

Final destination: 400 foot high waterfall cascading down on none other but Kristian and my teeny little bodies. We can't believe this was our first Valentine's Day experience. The water pounded down "like meteorites". It was such a beautifully surreal experience to share. The best part was that we were there pretty late in the day and all the people had left, other than one girl who took some pics of us frolicking under the falls for a few minutes, then promptly departed, it was just me, Kristian and mother nature at her absolute finest.

Post waterfall. Look at those happily enlightened eyes. That was some magical water. If you can't feel it, I can't describe it!

And to prove that we are in fact spending hours upon hours near the wilds of the Pacific here is a shot from the day before when my M&D took us on our family Valentine's Day outing which was spectacular and will deserve a post of its own once I get home and organized.

And, finally, here we are, two nights before Valentine's Day lighting up the dance floor at one of Maui's hot spots. Yes, there is tequila in hand, and yes, after the bar closed down there was a short period of time that was spent passed out on a random piece of beach. All in all, an EPIC, EPIC, hilariously fantastic night full of Hawaiian sugary drinks, patrone and NON-STOP groovin'. SO FREAKIN' FUN!!! The next day, however, was not. After a repeat performance of a hangover morning comparable to mine and Lindsay's last morning on the Amalfi Coast I pulled myself together by throwing up, drinking coffee and Gatorade and getting on with another day in paradise. Only in Hawaii can a hangover go from 10-0 in a matter of hours.

Surreal. So real. Soul real.

Christian the Lion

If you haven't seen this you really need to.. It is one of my most favourite things ever. For the first year, every time I watched it I'd tear up.. Now I know it so well I've become desensitized, but it still gives me that ear to ear smile. Who can't love that feeling?!?!

words to live by

Have you ever had a conversation with a friend about life's issues and all of a sudden one sentence they say might as well be blinding you like the lights of times square? I love that. I live by so many one liners that encourage and motivate me to be a better me. Those few short words are easy to remember and recall during moments of distress... or delight. It's like a little mantra to repeat in your mind and remember what's important. I definitely have had many of those mantras spoken to me by wise friends and family members but I've also found them else where, waiting for me to unwrap them just like a present. When I go to my tea drawer, more often than not, I grab the Yogi tea for 2 reasons: first, it really is delicious tea and secondly, about 1/3 of the way through my cup I check the words of wisdom attached to the tea bag and do a little reflecting of where I am in that moment and how those words pertain to me. A few weeks ago my sister left me her Yogi teas words of wisdom which, resonated with me at the time and which, I yesterday, repeated to a friend and let the words resonate with her. It's an uplifting treat to look forward to and just seems to make sense when you give your body something as refreshing and cleansing as a cup of tea that you get a little refreshment and cleanse for the mind too.

intro

Big events in my life are always included in my blog (obvi :p). Sometimes I use my blog as a means of random chatter directed at whoever may need a mild dose of procrastination, but mostly I use it as a means to remember some special moments throughout my years. I'd like to turn it into a public journal of sorts, filled with photos and stories of my adventures. I admit I haven't been as diligent as I'd like to be, but I'm working on it. Maybe I'll make it a new year's resolution next year Krissy :)

Anyways, point being.. Special moments have been bursting through the seams as of late and it's time to make an introduction of that special someone 1/4 responsible for that. The other 1/4 being me and the other 1/2 being this universe to which we have no control over. Enter Mr. Kristian Bogner. Human being extraordinairre, there is nothing ordinary about this man nor our rapidly expanding relationship. Get ready for upcoming gush people.. And some great photos :) K2 (as we like to refer to ourselves) are off to Hawaii in a few short days to experience and photograph some ridiculous adventures and beauty that this world has offered to us.

Side note: guess who just won Alberta's photographer of the year? click to be impressed
Oh, and p.s. keeping clicking, as big things are happening in the world of KB.

white rabbits

February 1st. Wow, could it REALLY be February 1st already? I hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about new years. It just gets crazier and crazier how quickly time passes. I remember when I was so little running around the backyard, naked as I came, thinking how far away tomorrow was. Actually, I probably wasn't thinking that at all, the concept of tomorrow isn't even in a child's conscious, unless of course, tomorrow is Christmas. Then it seems like a completely realistic and conceivable million days away. The point of those last sentences is to cherish every moment. Live in this second cause they go fast, again, unless it's something as awesome as Christmas then maybe it's okay to live for the presents that are yet to come....!

My Grandma on my Dad's side taught me about white rabbits. It is something I do now every. single. first of the month. The point is to say "white rabbits" as soon on the first as possible and I guess that means you'll have a good month.. I always try to say it as soon as I can and last night I said it at 12:04. Woo hoo that means that February might even be better than January... I am by no means superstitious. I don't wish at 11:11, I don't wish on the first star, I don't pick up pennies on the street, etc., etc., etc. Though, come to think of it, I do avoid walking under ladders. Odd (and a random fact). So, I guess I just say white rabbits on the first to honour my Grandma and I feel like she helps me have good months. Thanks Grandma :)