{the adventures of karz and tim and the big fat third wheel}

i've spoken before of a valentine's day four years ago that consisted purely of sitting on a couch beside a happy and engaged young couple, both loving and hating the situation and reeking of eternal singleness. {eternal in the very loosest sense of the word. i met the man i would marry three months later and we were engaged within the year, so.}

but the point is not that.

the point is that that valentine's day wasn't anything new to any of us; for years i had been, like, their little adopted norwegian child. they took me to the rodeo and on what might have been considered dates and on shopping trips and to visit her parents and his family. i crashed through the dating scene like a cow through a field of porcelain grain and, somehow, always found myself alone in the backseat of karlie's car, talking too loud and irritating the crap out of tim while he tried to woo my best friend.

their relationship was steady and beautiful and i had front row seats from day one {we all met each other on the first day of college. it was a little bit like a tv sitcom situation}.

anyways. we're all grown up now {and, like "eternal", i'm using "grown up" in the very loosest sense of the words}. karz and tim got married and moved clear across the country to bc, while i moved here and married barclay. long story short: we thought we'd see each other maybe every other year for the rest of our lives and we were miserable apart from each other. they missed their little adopted viking girl, i think, and i sure missed my valentine's buddies. we prayed, God answered, and tim got called in for a mysterious and very unexpected job interview on new years' eve 2009--with my boss at the time, who he'd never met, for a job he'd never applied for or even knew was available. they just happened to be in town that day, which is no small matter when you live on the other side of the country {i really can't even describe to you how amazing this is}. too amazing, to be sure, to be coincidental, and the fact of the matter is that my friends live walking distance from my house now.

but, i guess, the point is not all that either.

the point is that there is going to be a new third wheel in karz and tim's relationship. a much smaller, but maybe louder, third wheel. karz asked me to take some pictures of their little family and, even though i am by no means a photographer and had never even attempted anything like a real photo shoot before, i was too excited about the whole thing to say no.

so. blogland, i would like you to meet these good people.










dear little third wheel,
you are stealing my spot. 
i hope you know that.

i set the bar really high.

you'll need to be loud and obnoxious. belligerent. you'll need to throw things from the back seat and make it awkward for these two ragamuffins to do anything romantic in front of you. you'll need to ask lots of questions and just always be there. valentine's days, weekends, holidays, saturdays, 3 in the morning.

especially 3 in the morning.

you'll need to cry a lot on karz's shoulder, because {and i know you'll find this out} she is the best at making people feel better. she'll say wise things and if she doesn't know the answer, tim probably will. they make a good team like that. she'll take you on adventures and make you laugh and bake really sweet things for you to stuff your face full of. she'll make you listen to country music {you don't have to like it though}, and she'll take you to the ranch so you can be spoiled by her parents. her little brother will teach you how to dance in the kitchen and make you a peanut butter banana wrap. his name is aj, and i think he'll make a fantastic uncle.

i'll still be around though, just to make sure. and every once in a while, i'll pull you aside and remind you how lucky you are to have a front row seat to this steady and beautiful relationship. watch them and learn from them.

love,
your crazy viking aunt,
suzy