thursday's ten or so: the summer bucket list

my friend angie posted on facebook the other day that she had created a summer bucket list. so being the amazing friend that i am, i decided to steal the idea :-)
(it's not REALLY stealing if i give you credit, right angie?!)


so here, in no particular order, are {some of} the things that i'd like to do at least once before summer is over!


go whitewater rafting
take a camping trip (i cannot believe this one is on here...i have NEVER been camping. but anthony loves it so i want to give it a try!)
visit holiday world (most likely with angie!)
see the ocean at least once...hopefully for a long weekend!
host a summer bash at our house just because
do at least one 5k even in the ridiculous tennessee summer heat
jump on a trampoline 
run through a sprinkler
harvest from the garden (hopefully this is ongoing...ha!)
set up the hammock and spend quality time there
hike radnor at least once a month
implement some fun summer pinterest ideas :-)


i'm sure the list will get longer as summer progresses.  but that's a good {fun} start :-)


what do you want to do this summer? anything i should add?

what's that? you wanted beach pictures?

ok, maybe not

but i'm sharing them anyway :)

first, the beach story

so, thursday my friend meghan called

and said

"i'm in serious need of some girl time

and to get out of nashville

and see some place beautiful.

so...if i pay for hotel and gas

would you please go with me to florida for a day?"

(i didn't have to think about it for long.

i checked with anthony since i felt bad leaving him right after his grandma's funeral

and he said "are you kidding??

as much as you love the beach

you HAVE to go")

so sunday afternoon

when i got back from encounter

i quickly switched dirty clothes for clean

hung out with anthony for a few moments

and eagerly awaited my ride

:0)

laura and meghan arrived at 4:45

we packed up the car

grabbed a few snacks

i kissed my boyfriend goodbye

and we piled in

on the way, laura and i shared with meghan about encounter

meghan shared her latest news

we laughed and joked

there were even a few tears

revelations came to light for all three of us

it was one of those drives that only happens

with a couple of your best girlfriends

we had a gorgeous moon to look at once the sun went down

eventually laura fell asleep in the back

as did her darling baby

and meghan and i made small

and big

talk in the front seats

we also had a few

"find the blue dot" moments

(the blue dot being the dot on my iphone's gps)

and when we arrived in destin

meghan and i were excited to see our hotel

right next to a...

whataburger!

we literally pulled into the drive-thru lane

and laura popped up from the backseat saying

"food?"

which made us laugh

a lot

(whataburgers are goooood, but i just got a picture of the drink)

since we got to the drive-thru at 12:29

we pretty much checked into the hotel

brushed our teeth

and collapsed into beds

we slept in a bit the next morning

i grabbed coffee, the girls got breakfast

then we started showering and getting ready

(well, meghan and i did)

and meghan at one point while we were sharing the mirror said

"you know why i'm doing all this, right?"

and i replied,

"of course! for pictures!"

at that point laura said

"OH!

i was wondering why the makeup and hair straightening..."

anyway, we left the hotel at 11:03

(thank goodness we opted for the late check-out...)

meghan knew her way well

and soon we arrived in seaside

what a FUN little place!

meghan and i enjoyed our temporarily straight hair

there were beautiful walkways and shops

and the taco bar

oh.my.gosh

yum

iz and i found a way to occupy ourselves while we waited for food

(the blocks they gave us to wait with

and the camera)

(take a look at these fish tacos and tell me they weren't worth the wait!)

that's enough with the narration.

i'll let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

just enjoy :)

(no oil here!)

(izzy feeds mommy)

(meghan reads while izzy sleeps)

(it doesn't even look real, does it? all these were taken with my iphone....)

(laura took this awesome pic of izzy and me)

(i got a little sunburned...but you can't really tell here)

(pretty sky on the return trip)

we got in a little before midnight

laura and izzy crashed on my couch

and i collapsed into bed

worth.every.moment

Monday's Memory: the one with the hike in Malibu

i'm one of those people
who NEEDS to see the ocean once a year or so
unfortunately i've always lived in landlocked states
the first time i saw the ocean? i was 20.
perhaps i need to make up for lost time!

this picture was taken in malibu, california
my first time to sunny ca was in 2008
my friend vera and i took a little hike
up to point dume
it was fun
(although next time i'll wear something besides flip-flops to hike it in...)
and this picture was taken when we came back down



a hike right next to the ocean?
perfection.

Thursday's Ten: I Truly Believe

Hi all! Welcome to this week's edition of Thursday's Ten. Today's list is called "I Truly Believe"

you can be serious
silly
or do a combination of the two (which is what I did)
and please include pictures if you can!



1. That all coffee should be this pretty
2. That I should not see the moon on my way home from work at 4:30
3. That rain is for dancing in...and kissing in.
4. That there is healing power in cuddling a baby
5. That freshly grated cheese is MUCH better than that store packaged shredded crap
6. That men are just as attractive when they show their nurturing side...and that they ARE born with it.
7. That the Colts may just go to another Superbowl this year
8. That hearing children sing may be one of the most beautiful sounds on earth.
9. That a person (especially this person) should see the ocean at least once a year.
10. That I am blessed beyond measure.

You know the drill! Grab the button, sign MckLinky and share your list with us!