out of the dead leaves springs a budding romance?

took a walk through the Saratoga State Park today with three friends. the path we took was muddy in places, slippery sulfur deposit in others, but we made it down the fairly short path to a small waterfall with a bunch of large broken rocks in the pool below it... we played in said waterfall & broke rock graveyard despite the fact that the water was ABSOLUTELY freezing & i got my pants all wet. I DIDNT FALL THOUGH!!!! which is a shock, b/c i am naturally a klutz (my nickname in kindergarten was Grace, and i've only acquired about 1/3 of the coordination i've been lacking since birth in the years since)

as evident by this candid snapshot, my friend and my cousin are apparently testing the waters with each other right now ... its cute but at the same time, i'm nervous about the repercussions if it doesnt work out. but its too soon to talk about things failing when they've barely begun. as of right now i wish them both luck, and i hope i can avoid any fights, even though i know that hope is futile.

i learned a new word today, and im wondering how to use it in a sentance without sounding pretentious AND/OR like i'm making up words.
the new word- encomium
if you have any good/funny ideas, send 'em my way.

(i tried to use it in my resume, but i was not successful:)