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we were camping in chula vista for the long weekend, and i found this stump. 
i stood atop it and feeling tall, exclaimed this would be OUR campsite.
you know, the one we come to every time we come here. our special spot.
we decided the best way to mark it, would be to carve into the stump.

spencer popped out his knife and got started.
that's when i decided it would be a really good idea if he just let me take over.
i even went on to tell him a long drawn out story of me carving my initials
with my triplet sisters into a tree down in the meadow.
it was at our fly family cabin we grew up visiting every summer.
my dad didn't trust his three daughters with pocket knives,
so he gave us a can opener instead. a CAN OPENER!

we felt sheepish tromping down the meadow with a dull kitchen utensil,
and ended up taking three times the normal rate to scrape away our initials.
we laughed at my dad for not letting us handle knives.
besides, we were teenagers for goodness sakes! not little kids!

after ranting and raving, spencer handed me the knife. he gave me a few tips,
and warned me about cutting myself if i push too hard on the blade (he knows me well).
with a huff of pride, i said, "oh please," and got right to work.

it wasn't long until he heard a loud yelp coming from the stump.
i was perched behind it, with my knees crumpled under my chin
when the knife decided to slip and slit my finger tip.
being me, i thought maybe - just maybe - my finger tip fell off.
it was surprisingly deep, but nothing fatal.

spencer laughed knowingly and gave me that face he always does
when he knows he's right and for once (ha!) i'm wrong.
he proceeded to get me a baby wipe and pine needle
to create our nature-made band-aid. of course, of all our trips where we
never ever forget our first-aid kit, we forgot it. nature is resourceful, too.
touché - father & husband. next time i'll be more careful (dang it).

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full photo set // flickr