#summerbucketlist

Summer is officially behind us so I thought I would do a recap of this super fun season. I created a summer bucket list back in May and it was helpful in making sure our days were full of fun and sun! We didn't get to everything but I was happy with the memories we did make. Here is what our summer looked like-

1. Summer beach trip

We took a trip to the Gulf Coast the first week of June just like we did last year. The school year ran late this year due to our brutal winter so we were nervous it would interfere with our trip but it didn't. We always have the best weeks when we are at the beach with our Georgia peach. The beach is our happy place.

2. Attend an outdoor concert

It wasn't outdoor but it was at the Grand Ole Opry which was even better. We saw Terri Clark, Sam Hunt, Craig Morgan, Trace Adkins and CARRIE! What a blast.

 

3. Teach Georgia Grace how to catch fireflies

Check- this was fun too. Before it got super hot in August we stayed outside until dusk a lot of nights.

 

4. Go on a date night to the drive-in

This one didn't happen and I was excited for it :( I called two different times for their showings and neither time did the movies sound appealing so we never went. We will try again next year!

 

However, we did go to an outdoor showing of Frozen! It was so much fun and an activity we could all enjoy. We will definitely do this again next year.

 

5. Spend a few weekends at the lake

We halfway did this one. We went to the lake once for Father's Day Weekend and had a great time. The rest of our summer weekends got away from us so only one trip this year. We will try for more next year!

 

6. Make and eat popsicles

Yes and yes! We ate homemade, store bought-we weren't picky.

 

7. Take Georgia to the splash park

Did this but didn't have the best time. I think next year when she's older she will enjoy it.

 

8. Go to a farmer's market

Marcus and his family took Georgia Grace to Jackson's Orchard at the beginning of the summer for a fun day trip. They have a petting zoo and slides so it was fun for everyone!

 

9. Attend our county fair

Our county fair falls during the 4th of July holiday every year so we went a few nights for some square-dancing, socializing and funnel cakes!

 

10. Learn how to can from my Mamaw

Postponing this one for next year. The days got away from us and by the time Mamaw was ready to can I had just started my new job.

 

11. Take a day trip to a place we have never traveled

We spent the last weekend of the summer in Memphis which is a city neither of us have traveled to. It was a short trip but jam packed with fun. Staying at The Peabody, exploring Beale Street and going to Graceland were some of the highlights!

 

12. Try a new recipe

I will be honest and say I didn't try a lot of new recipes this year. It was a Summer of transition as we sold our house and moved in with my Dad. I did try a spicy crockpot queso dip the other day and it was delicious! I will have my own kitchen soon so I will make up for lost time then :)

 

13. Have a TV sitcom/movie marathon night

We had a busy Summer so I don't think we ever spent a full night watching TV ( we will make up for that this Fall I'm sure) but our favorite show to watch this Summer was Modern Family. I know it has been on for several seasons now but we just got into it and laugh ourselves silly.

 

 

14. Read four books

I was only able to read one book this Summer. Between the move and my new job my spare time couldn't be spent reading and that's ok. I know there will be a season for that.

 

I did read Surprised By Motherhood by Lisa Jo Baker and loved it. I'm glad I found time for this one.

 

15. Make homemade ice-cream

We did this a lot! This is one of our favorite summer traditions.

 

16. Walk to the sno-cone stand one night after supper

Before we moved we made it a point to do this because we will no longer have the luxury of walking to the sno shack stand.

 

17. Go to the pool- a lot!

We knocked this one out of the park :) Mom's pool was our Saturday hangout most weekends. Georgia Grace became more and more comfortable with the water each time we swam. We will miss swimming!

18. Watch fireworks

We watched fireworks on three different occasions. GGH didn't mind them one bit.

 

19. Go on a family picnic

One of my Thursdays I was home we took a little family picnic. Our Summer was mild so it was enjoyable to be outside in the middle of the day in July!

 

20. Go to a baseball game

Didn't get to this one. We aren't big baseball people so it wasn't high on our priority list but I do want to expose her to America's pasttime. Next year! I doubt she (or myself) would have sit through a whole game anyway.

 

21. Take Georgia to our church VBS

She went one day with my Mamaw and I hope next year she can go a few days. She will be in a regular class before we know it!

 

22. Chase Georgia with a water hose in the yard

This was how we beat the August heat! She had a ball.

 

23. Stay in our pj's all day

This didn't happen much either but I do recall one rainy Saturday I don't think we ever went anywhere or put on "real clothes"

 

24. Eat fruit right from the vine and make a pie with the rest

Georgia Grace did this a lot with her Pa picking grapes from their vine. She was sad when they were gone. No baking but I don't think grapes would be good baked :)

 

25. Break ground on our new house!

This hasn't happened but I'll give an update soon :)

We had a great summer checking things off our summer bucket list!

Five on Friday

One

Georgia Grace has had a week of transitions as we adjust to our new schedule and routine. She loves going to her Grandmomma's to play with her friends and seeing the school buses in the morning but she doesn't love naptime, brushing her teeth and bedtime. I'm hoping next week these things will start coming easier. It's been hard on this momma to see her upset by the things we know she needs although she doesn't think she does. I think this selfie face says it all!

 

But she's still a happy girl all the other time! Let her play outside and watch Frozen and you're set :)

 

Two

Yesterday the SEC Network launched! And the first live game for the network will be a UK basketball game today which is super cool considering it's August. I know this will be our main channel this fall. College football season can't get here soon enough!

 

Three

When I found out I was pregnant with Georgia Grace my mom gave me a copy of "Little Mommy". I had a childhood copy but the pages were ripped and it wasn't in good condition so she found me a brand new copy. I read it to her sometimes and tonight she specifically requested it. I was blown away that she remembered the title! I screamed for Marcus and showed him that she was pointing at the book saying "Little Mommy". I feel like I have made it as a girl mom :)

 

Four

Yesterday marked the 15 year anniversary of the motorcycle wreck that nearly took Marcus's parent's lives. They were victims of a hit and run incident with a drunk driver that left them both in serious condition. Today we praise the Lord that He spared both of them on that night! God wasn't finished with them. I'm thankful GGH has a Ma and Pa here today that we all love so very much!

Five

I'll conclude with one of the highlights of my week. My sweetest friend Beth Lau sent me the most encouraging note this week to congratulate me on my new job. Her words are always so life giving to me. It was exactly the pick me up I was needing. I'm thankful God brought us together during our WKU days and continues to allow us to be in each other's lives despite the distance.

 

Happy Friday friends!

Walking In Memphis

We are back from a little weekend getaway to celebrate my promotion, Marcus's birthday and the unofficial end to summer with the school year starting this week. We chose Memphis as our destination because we knew we wanted to stay in the South and I had never been. Plus it wasn't too far and there was so much there we wanted to do.

Marcus surprised me with booking a room at The Peabody. What a sweet surprise! I would have booked the Holiday Inn and called it a day but not my husband :)

After 4 1/2 hours in the car this girl was grinning ear to ear to be out of a carseat. She rode so well though. Thank you Jesus for portable DVD players and Frozen :) And have I mentioned we are currently Frozen obsessed? OBSESSED. Olaf even made the trip with us.

Secretary Georgia getting familiar with our room. She was ready to do some exploring!

The Peabody hotel is most known for the Peabody Ducks. Five mallard ducks live in the hotel and from 11-5 everyday they swim in the hotel fountain in the lobby. In order for them to get into the fountain they do a "Duck March" two times a day where they walk the red carpet from the fountain to the elevator up to their penthouse on the roof of the hotel. The ducks were Georgia Grace's favorite attraction of course!

We went up to the rooftop to see the views of the Mississippi Delta and the Duck Palace. I'm pretty sure their palace was bigger than our first home :)

When we arrived on Saturday we headed for the notorious Beale Street. My Mom and Stan made the trip with us, it was nice to have extra hands to help and entertain baby girl!

"Walking in Memphis"

The sun was directly in our eyes so this was the best we got. And there's no telling what caught her eye!

We ate dinner at Blues City Cafe for a little "south in our mouth". We all got ribs and they were perfect. 

We found the Fedex Forum and had to take a picture sitting on the basketball. We are probably some of the few Calipari fans in these parts.

We found Elvis on Beale Street too!

We walked down to the Mississippi River to watch the sun setting. They have a neat park and restaurant, and you can board the Memphis Queen which I really wanted to do but we ran out of time. Love this sweet picture of our baby girl. So natural and in her element.

After walking the town we headed back to the hotel to enjoy "Memphis's Living Room" as The Peabody's lobby is referred. It was super swanky.

Sunday morning we got up and crossed the I-40 bridge into Arkansas to see Memphis from the other side of the river. And because I'm a huge Kelly fan and wanted to see a little bit of her state. Sorry Kelly, I wasn't impressed but I'm sure NWA is a different world :)

Sunday was a day devoted to honoring the Kings of Memphis. First up was MLK. We went to the Civil Rights Museum where the Lorraine Motel still stands as it stood the day he was assassinated.

There is a replica wreath like the one that hung following his burial and two old cars are parked in front of his room that were there on the day of his assassination. It's hard to put into words how amazing it is to see this in real life. 

Next up was the King of Rock n' Roll. I was so excited to tour Graceland.

We're looking all touristy-cute in our backpacks, speakers and headphones :) We loved the self guided tour though so you could go at your own pace and hear everything clearly.

The entrance to Elvis's mansion with the staircase leading to the 2nd floor that is forbidden by the public. Only a handful of people have been on the 2nd floor since August 1977. The curiosity was strong but I restrained myself from jolting up the stairs :)

The pool room was covered in 320 yards of fabric! It felt like a big canopy. 

The studio. There was a Q&A video session playing and it felt like he was right there in the room. Very surreal.

Graceland wasn't this girl's favorite stop but she did love the mini boots on the wall. 

The old racquetball room turned awards display room. It was floor to ceiling filled with gold records.

I actually did not realize Elvis was buried in Graceland until toward the end of the mansion tour. His body rests in the Meditation Garden beside his parents and grandmother. There is also a marker for his stillborn twin brother.

And as we were boarding the bus to leave Graceland we spotted Elvis himself... :)

We did the platinum tour so we could tour the car showroom and the Lisa Marie. The automobile exhibit was fascinating! So many vehicles for one person. This was the pink Cadillac Elvis ended up giving to his Mom that he called "Gladys's car". I loved it with the snow covered Graceland behind it.

Touring the Lisa Marie may have been my favorite part of all. It was such a huge plane that probably seated 200-300 people turned into a private penthouse. Gold plated seatbelts, a phone to call out to anywhere in the world, a full bathroom with a getting ready area--I was in awe. The tour told that once Elvis realized Lisa Marie had never seen snow they hopped on the plane to Colorado, got out and played in the snow for a few minutes and then flew back to Memphis. What a life!

It was a short trip but we made the most of our time in the birthplace of rock and roll. We debated about taking this trip but I'm really glad we did. The busyness of fall is around the corner and my new job will be pretty consuming for a little while so this should cure the travel bug until October.

List Bliss

Happy Friday y'all! My life is not functioning in long, narrative thoughts but rather short lists right now so I'm not going to fight it. We've been doing a lot of "hurry up and wait" here lately and as exhausting as it can be I know there is a reason for it. I have been reminded several times this week to just simply trust His plan. His plan is good. His plan is sovereign. There's a lot of peace and freedom in those words for me.

One

Last week (July 14th) was my two year blogiversary. Some days it feels like I just started and some days I feel like I have been a blogger forever. Even though my plate has more on it than it did two summers ago when I was halfway through my first pregnancy and wasn't wrangling a toddler I still try to make time to chronicle our lives. These days are fleeting and I want to remember them as vividly as I can while still living in the moment each and every day. Blogging has a beautiful way of allowing you to do both. Thank you to my readers (over 83,000 page views say what?!? Y'all rock.) for motivating me without even knowing you do. It's been a fun journey that I hope continues for a long time.

Two
 Potty training. So much to say about that. Since I last posted exclaiming we were 90% there I jinxed us and she decided she wasn't interested in the potty. But then Wednesday night I had the idea to store a bin of toys right by her potty so that she can play while she sits and that seemed to do the trick. She wore panties all afternoon and night without any accidents! Maybe just maybe we will have it whipped by the end of summer.

Three

Can we talk about how big this child has been acting here lately? She speaks in full sentences ("I want more corn", "I want to see my Dada", "Get up Eliza, Callyn; Go pee!" Ha!), drinks from a cup, pees in the potty and wears big girl panties. But no matter how big she acts during the day you can bet she wants her nighttime milk and cuddles to soothe her to sleep. We're hanging on to that as long as we can.

Four

Naptime yesterday equaled studying our plans (I feel so official since they are in blueprint form now!). The builder said how impressed he was with the detailed list of materials, finishes, etc. that we provided during the bidding process. He hasn't learned how Type A I am yet obviously ;) Things are moving right along and we are on track to break ground by the end of summer-yeehaw!

Five

Sunday we were greeted at Mamaw's with the sweetest gifts from my baby cousin. She asked Georgia Grace and me to stand by her on her wedding day.

This is the third flower girl gig she has landed! And technically her fourth wedding if you count when I was 38 weeks pregnant with her as the Matron of Honor in my sister-in-law's wedding :) She will be 2 1/2 for the wedding which should be a good age. Time will tell the tale. 

She was so excited she did the "cheese" grin! She loves her Payton so very much. These two are an inseparable pair.

She will be the most beautiful bride. I'm so thankful we get to share the day with her.

Have a great weekend friends!

The house that built us

We have been moved for three weeks now and are slowly getting every box emptied and every closet stuffed full of our things. The transition to our temporary home has been seamless and we are enjoying the extra space, huge yard and panoramic views. I think I had forgot how much I enjoyed the outdoors.

Even though we are elated to build a larger home to grow our family into and to make new memories in our very first home will always hold a little place in my heart and remind me of home when I pass by. It holds the history of a sweet love story in between those walls.

We bought the house while we were engaged five years ago. It was the second house we had looked at and I was sold on the first house because it was more of a fixer upper and I thought since we were young and able it would be fun to take on. Thank you to everyone who kindly told me different :)

It didn't take long before I fell in love with the house too. Marcus moved in on New Years Day and I moved in after our wedding. Those days of making our house our home will be forever etched into my memory. Besides a dorm room neither of us had lived outside of our parent's homes so we didn't have much to fill up the space but we didn't realize that at the time nor did it matter. For our bedroom suite we used one that has been passed down in my family. Our dining room table was from Marcus' family. The recliner in the living room was handed down to us from my grandparents. It was like a patchwork quilt of all of our families in the form of a little, cozy, furnished house. 

We celebrated four Christmases, gave treats to over 1,000 trick-or-treaters, watched hometown parades from the front yard, brought home our first born, and entertained lots of family and friends (lots of outdoor grilling ha!). There was laughing, there was fighting, there were tears, and there were trials. We built our marriage and our family while living in that home.

It's with an anxious and humbled heart that we say our final goodbye to the place that holds endless memories. Even though there were several days I spent more time ready to be done with it than enjoying it for what it was I will always remember it for the love and happiness it brought. But I know that the people inside the house are what the memories are made around and home to me will always be wherever they are.

I'm thankful for this home and the new home I will share with them soon. We are closing one chapter of the story and beginning a new one.