falling into beginnings.

Fall can often be marked as an ending. An ending of summer. An ending of freedom. An ending of long and warm days. To be honest, I'm typically a little bummed when I have to say goodbye to summer.  But this fall...this fall is full of stunning beginnings. And I have been anticipating it's arrival for a while now.

There is something magical about the first weeks of fall semester. Change is in the air, it's completely tangible. There is nothing but opportunity in front of you. A new semester. A new apartment. A new ward. A new season. New relationships. New everything.

This last week of summer has been perfect. And I think it has set the tone for this coming semester.

When it was rainy the other day. My favorite friend Peter called me on the telephone and declared, "Carl! It's rainin'. Do you know what that means? It means we are going bowling!" So off to Bonwood bowling (on the west side of town) we went for the Tuesday Night Bowling special. I personally hate bowling. But I have to admit...Bonwood Bowling with my favorite people from Skyline high made for a perfect night.

Then this past Friday, we finally made "SWISS DAYS WITH DAN" a reality. Ali and I love Daniel. More than we love a lot of people. He takes our pictures for us. Shops with us at the Grand Bazaar. And always takes care of us in Jerusalem. (Ladies. He will make the PERFECT husband) The second we found out his family had a house in Midway, we decided that we had to take Dan to Swiss Days with us once we were back from Israel. The day finally arrived and we shared a ginormous scone and had the best time being in happy valley together. Dan called it the Grand Bazaar for Mormons, which was stunningly accurate. It was a good time to say the least.

Then TODAY. Today is a day I've been waiting for for 18 long months. My absolute best friend Sarah came home to me. I attribute most of my good attributes to this girl. She is my better half. My ultimate wing-woman. I can't believe I survived Provo while she left me for her mission in Costa Rica. But now she's back, and we haven't skipped a beat. I literally can't explain how excited I am to be glued to her hip again starting this semester. This fall will be full of long runs, football games, canyons, farmers markets, and so much more with this girl. I simply can't stand it.

So here's to change. Here's to beginnings. Here's to good times. Here's to a perfect fall.