#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!

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.

Last Weekend, Frankfort & A Dream Come True

We have completed over half of our #summerbucketlist and have plans for most of the rest of the tasks. Marcus and I have both really enjoyed having these established goals to keep track of fun things we can do with Georgia Grace. To say she has had a fun summer would be a major understatement.

Last Friday night we celebrated Marcus's birthday early with his family at one of our favorite BBQ restaurants Moonlite. And it just so happened in the humungous restaurant we were seated right by GGH's "boyfriend". We heard about her "boyfriend Ace" all the way home. They are just the sweetest!

Last weekend you could have found us poolside. This is our first summer with Mom's new pool and I think we've done our part to illustrate it was money well spent :)

 Sunday night was Mexican night. We normally have quiet Sunday nights at home preparing for the week ahead but we felt like doing something a little different and enjoying the relaxed schedule that comes with summer.
 

Me: "Georgia, do you want to go to Garcia's?"
GGH: "Yes, chips!" Ha!
We have a deep love for our Mexican food around here. 

She was such a big girl to sit in the booth all by herself and feed herself (mostly). And the Baby Bjorn Bib was one of my best purchases as a parent. Wipe it off and go! So much easier than laundering stained cloth bibs.
 

Thursday I had to be in Frankfort for a conference and since I would be staying overnight my two favorites tagged along! I trained, they toured the town. I know who got the better end of that deal.

But they saved the best for last so I could be a part of it. Because it's not a trip to Frankfort without visiting the State Capitol building! This was Georgia Grace's first trip and she loved climbing the steps and running around the perimeter. We didn't get to go in as they weren't giving tours that day so we will have to make another trip so she can see the inside. It's so beautiful!

 

The best photo bomber I've ever seen. She made the picture so much cuter :)

We walked the gardens of the Governor's Mansion also-when in Rome. It's modeled after Queen Maria Antoinette's villa in Versailles, France. Nope, didn't know that prior to the trip, read a historical society sign :)

So why was I in Frankfort this week???

Because I have some big news to share...

 

I have accepted the position as the Director of Special Programs for Butler County Schools! I have always had a passion for nutrition, especially school nutrition. I have aspired to become a nutrition director and those aspirations are now reality. I will be the director for other programs in the school district as well that are equally important and I'm excited about that opportunity to be involved in other aspects of children getting the very best education.

 

Thank you to those who prayed and supported me. God has truly went before me to open doors and make provisions according to His plan. And thank you to my Grayson County family for three wonderful years at TLRMC! I will miss the people and hospital so much but I know this is the path I am suppose to be taking. And they have all supported me and wished me well despite hating to see me go-love those people so much. 

 

I'm ecstatic to begin my new career at BCBOE! Go Bears! 

Weekend Wrap Up

It is mid July and I feel like Summer just began. This is definitely one of the fastest seasons I can remember. We only have three weekends left to savor these lazy, fun days until the new school year begins and Daddy is back to the daily grind. I hope they are all as enjoyable as this one!

I worked Thursday (I earned a three day weekend so I gladly did it!) and Georgia Grace took a trip to the orchard with Marcus, Aunt Shanna, Ma and Pa. They were all on vacation last week so it was the perfect time for a family outing for the original Harrison four + the new addition to the lineage :)

She fed the farm animals, went down the big slide with Aunt Shanna and ate some yummy peach ice cream. She loves animals so this day trip was right up her alley.

While she was doing that I was doing this. Two other local dietitians and myself hosted a "MyPlate Grocery Tour" at a local grocery store.

This was my first time ever doing a nutritional grocery tour and it was a lot of fun! This is the rewarding part of my job and I'm thankful for this opportunity. 

Our three day weekend started off Friday with a trip to the orthodontist (bent my bottom permanent retainer and had to have it replaced) and the Depot to look at house pretties. She had fun the first 30 minutes we were in the store but then she started taking her dress off and standing up in the cart and other on-the-cusp of two years of age activities :) We wrapped up our shopping and headed out for lunch.

Friday night was one of the most fun nights of the summer in my book. Chaney's Dairy Barn hosted their "Ice Cream & A Moo-vie" night and it was Frozen night. It was a nobrainer that we had to attend this night. We met Aunt Paigey and Uncle Eric there and packed a cooler full of nostalgic drive-in snacks. There was so many people, it was the largest crowd they had ever had. We found a small opening on the far right side, threw down our quilt and enjoyed the show. This will be a summer tradition for us!

Saturday was another fishing trip for Marcus. They caught over 200 fish! I seriously don't know how there are any fish left in Lake Malone.

My girl and I found another body of water to entertain us. She became super brave this weekend and was jumping in like a fish and "swimming" with us. We have to be careful to not get her ears wet but that doesn't stop us from having fun!

Sunday was church and a pool party for our sweet friends Lola and Eli. This was Georgia Grace's first trip to the Morgantown City Pool. It's a huge pool and it took her a little while to warm up but once she did she didn't want to leave. All her AKK friends were so excited to see her. They have been on vacation for two weeks so it will be a sweet reunion today when she goes to visit :)

Happy Monday! We've got a busy week ahead of us so I'm just taking it day by day and living up summertime!