Illinois :)

Well, so much for blogging everyday!

Since I last blogged, I have been to frosh camp once and finished my last orientation session.

This week my family and I are at my Granny's house in Moline, Illinois for our annual family reunion. We love this time of year. Charlie brought her friend, Carrie Taylor, this year while I am by myself. She's a sweetheart though.

Today we went to lunch at the local Mongolian Grill around here--our favorite place to eat! My cousin Teena and her two sweet kids met us up. I brought home plenty of leftovers for supper tonight...I just love it. We don't really have plans for the rest of the day, so I guess I'll be on the computer contacting my August Frosh Camp kids and reading my new book. :) I don't remember how to relax. This is new to me.

I am working on setting up a Google+ account. If you have one, contact me so we can be acquainted on it!

I plan on blogging again later tonight. I don't know what I will blog about, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Bailey

Beach, Burns, and Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

We woke up this morning and headed straight out to the beach, of course! Mom was too burnt from yesterday (bless her heart---she's a redhead), and dad was also pretty red. So, it was just Charlie and I, and we had a blast! We laid out for a bit, got in the water, and started volleying back and forth when a couple guys asked us if we wanted to start a game. We then accumulated some more people during our mile walk to the beach net, and ended up playing for an hour straight. It was so fun and definitely a work out! We had a blast, yet again.

Later this afternoon we went in, showered up, and went store hopping with mom and dad. They have some crazy souvenirs out there for sure. haha. We finally went to eat at "The Lucky Snapper" and were completely disappointed. I don't know if we were expecting something totally different or what. Although the food was terrible, the view was great! We were seated by an open window that overlooked the dock and boardwalk here in Destin. It was really neat.

After supper we went exploring on the boardwalk and listened to the live 80s-rocker-wanna-be band (they were really good, however) in order to waste time for our 8:00 boat ride!
Dad made reservations last night for a 100 passenger boat that was going out into the ocean to have "front row seats" to the Destin fireworks show. We thought it was a neat idea, and we were warned that we needed to be ready to line up an hour before we loaded. That lady sure knew what she was talking about! They weren't loading our trip until 8:10, but we walked by after supper and there were people standing in line at 6:45! After walking around, we made it in line at a great spot and got on and in seats just fine. What an AMAZING time we had! We didn't realize that "front row seats" literally meant "a couple hundred yards from the dune where they set them off and the first boat in line to see them." It was so neat. We could turn around and see the city of Destin and the bridge full of people coming to watch. We also saw every other firework lit up along the beach! After the show was over, the captain took us on a 40 minute boat rode out in the middle of no where. It was a cool, breezy, and dark night, and we had a great one. :)

The view from the restaurant!

Charlie&Mom at supper

Dad and I

Charlie and I at the boardwalk!

Family photo :)

The henna tattoos that us girls got today! 

(Mine is the foot)

On the boat!

Our fourth of July this year has set the bar high for the rest of them. There's just something about being at the beach that I have fallen in love with.

Aside from the fun boat rides, food, and shopping, I just praise our great Lord that we live in the country we do. Although people talk so bad about how our country is headed for the dumps, it could be so much worse. We have more freedoms than anyone has these days, and I couldn't be more thankful. I hope you stop and take a second to step back and realize how blessed we truly are. God bless America.

Happy fourth of July, everyone. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be an American.

Ocean&Parasailing

Today was so fun!

I woke up at 8:30 this morning and had my devotion out on the porch of the condo. You can see the ocean from our condo, and it was so beautiful! The weather was perfect, and the noise of the ocean and people playing on the beach was so relaxing. It was an awesome setting to study the word of God. What a great way to start the day!

We headed to the beach around 10 and was there for most of the morning/early afternoon. I met someone that goes to Houston High School here in the Memphis area!! I couldn't believe it! Our family loved being in the water, and Charlie and I got to play volleyball. It was so fun!

We also went parasailing today! I truly believe that the pictures are more fun than the actual sailing in the sky. They are so funny to me! It was an adventure, and all four of us did it. It was a neat adventure! :) I'll post a few pictures and maybe you'll think they are funny...

I also had the best seafood I have ever had tonight. We went to "Old Bay Steamer" here in Destin, and it was absolutely AMAZING. I even got the Royal Red shrimp with the heads on them. It was a neat restaurant, and again, it was SOOO good. 

After supper we went around town a little and shopped around at the local tourists shops. They are so overwhelming! It was fun making fun of the wackiest stuff, though. Today was just such a great day. I'm ready for the beach tomorrow! 

I hope you all had a great day. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you!

We're here!!

We made it to the beach!!

Our goal was to leave this morning at noon, and one thing about our family is it takes FOREVER to get out the door if we're headed somewhere. But, we were in the truck and ready to go at 11:40. :) What an accomplishment!

Before we left we all had a few things to take care of around the house. Mine was painting. :)
One of my cousins from Illinois has a teacher-friend that she showed my paintings to, and the lady turned around and ordered 5 boards!! She has a 5 year old daughter. She is decorating her room and loved my stuff. I finished the touch-ups and sent those out this morning. I'm excited to see what she thinks!
Thanks, Mrs. Tricia for the order!

These are the boards I sent out this morning. 

We drove to drop my car off at campus, and then headed to Olive Branch, MS to where the plane is. We flew one of Dad's pilot buddies' Baron. It's so tiny, but we are so grateful! I have always had problems with my ears, and in April we took the Baron to Illinois to visit family, and flying was so painful. I was a little nervous, but with all of my medication in me--it was bearable this trip! We landed in Destin a little after five, went to the condo, and where's the first place we went after unpacking? Wal-mart. We just couldn't resist I guess. 

We have pretty much chilled all evening in the condo. It's so cute! Around 10:30 we decided to walk around and then headed down to the beach. It was so beautiful! 

I just wanted to keep you posted. We have an exciting (we plan on anyway) day ahead of us tomorrow. So, I'm headed to bed. I'll leave you with a few pictures from the flight and tonight. I hope you all had a great day. Thanks for reading!

On the way to the airport!

In front of the Baron

Mikey loved the airflow during the taxi.

The ocean!!

Our nice little ocean walk :)

Bailey

Welcome back!

It's been a while.

I know I said back in January that I would try to make this an everyday thing, and I knew back in January that it probably wouldn't happen, but I am feeling inspired and motivated again. So, I am just going to pick up where I am right this minute and go from there.

This is the first full week I have had off since my spring break (which was in March). I am an Orientation Guide & Frosh Camp Counselor at the University of Memphis this summer, and boy is it keeping me busy! I really love it though. I couldn't see myself doing anything else these few months. With that said, I spent my week off working full time at the daycare. I sure missed some of those kids! It has been hit and miss when I can make it over there, and I haven't been able to work there for about two months. It was good to be back, but I am also ready to get back to campus.

I have been home this week, and it's been pretty nice. If you know me, you know that my baby sister is my world. It's been so great seeing her everyday. She's actually in bed next to me right now watching a movie while I type. I just love and miss her so much. We're both stoked about me having this week (and a half) off though for the simple fact that we are heading to the BEACH tomorrow! I haven't been to the beach since I was 6 years old (I went to Disneyworld for my 6th birthday) and Charlie has never been to the beach. She, mom, and I have been shopping and getting pedicures in preparation to go. We are so excited! Daddy is flying us out tomorrow in the Baron (a four seater personal plane) around two, and the four of us will be in Destin until Wednesday afternoon. We can't express how anxious we are. With our crazy schedules growing up, we have never really had a family vacation for just the four of us. It will be different! I plan on updating this during our visit, so check back for a few pictures. ;)

Another exciting thing going on is Luke and my involvement within the college ministry at Bellevue. It has taken me a year to get my feet wet within the church because it was truly a culture shock for me. I was scared that would happen, but I am stoked I am finally diving in. Luke has been to a few services/outings without me because of my schedule, but I think I like that. He already has a feel for how things go and knows a few more people than I do (he has grown up with most of them) so it makes the transition a bit easier since they already know who I am through Luke...well sort of. We're joining a college co-ed sunday school class together! He will, of course, go without me the first time, but I will be able to make it consistently after this Sunday. It's just nice following his lead. I am so thankful I have Luke by my side--especially through my spiritual walk. I could not thank him enough.

One more thing--I am on a mission to lose 15 pounds by the end of the summer. I am doing a "Challenge" with a group of ladies from different states through one of my old (and favorite) teachers. It's about physical, emotional, and spiritual growth--not just "weight loss." The Challenge is a life style change...not a diet program. I have dropped 3.1 pounds in the last two weeks, and I can't wait to work hard (after vacation, of course) to meet my goal. I haven't been this motivated and dedicated to get back to feeling good in a long time, so I am excited to prove to myself I can do it. I'd appreciate the prayers, also! It's tough to live away from home with an inconsistent schedule and follow the "rules" of eating healthy. But I am busting my tail! I want more than anything to finish the last month strong. 

I know this post was kind of long, but I guess I had a lot to share. I'm excited about the next few weeks ahead. Thanks for taking the time to be interested in what's going on in my crazy world. I hope you have a blessed night, and here's a verse to think about--it's from my devotion today: 

"Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." Psalm 48:9. 

Thank the Lord for his unfailing love.

Bailey