a list update and the start to my summer adventure

180 days with 60 plus 5TH Graders ... MATH ... happy times ... crazy times ... mad times ... quiet time ... i made it ... to what you ask ... SUMMER! on june 5TH my kids left the nest that was Cherry Street and will move to middle school next year. loved my students and will continue to pray for them as they continue on with their life! i'm so thankful they were part of my journey! by june 6TH i had my room packed up and shut down the MATH champion room. (that unfortunately did not produce as many Math champions as i would have liked.) 



this was my room as i closed up shop for the summer!

now june 6TH was also my last day in panama city before i left on my summer adventure! however before i left town there were many things to do and people to see. one of those people to see was miss raeleigh grace sullivan (& her sweet mommy and daddy!) raeleigh was born on june 5TH and i could not get enough of this precious baby! i absolutely can't wait to see her again when i return home at the end of the month! 

welcome miss raeleigh grace! her daddy (swaddle king) had her snug as a bug in a rug!

such a precious baby! i'll be praying for this little one always!



 now i need to back track just a little because i marked another important thing off my list over memorial day weekend! number 3: learn to water ski! now this was no easy task ... nor was it pain free ... it was very hard and painful and let's just say my body hated me after spending the whole day on the lake! however by the end of the day i was able to say that i had learned to water ski ... even if i only made it 1/4 of the way around the lake! :) we were not able to get good pictures of this however we did capture some pretty amazing video which helped me to cross off another thing on my list. number 25: post a youtube video and get 250 hits!

so please enjoy the link below which will take you to my youtube page where i give you permission to laugh at my attempt to ski!

my skiing adventure!

it seems like i've really been knocking some things off my list lately including ... number 22: go paddleboarding! which should have been more like learn to paddleboard because it was definitely a learning process. in the pictures below you'll see my BFF amber who took part in the day with me! oh and i can't forget the ones who made it happen ... brandon and blake! y'all are awesome! and sorry brandon that you had a "rear" view the entire day! barb (who i run with) and her family even came out for the day to watch and my sweet friend cameron was there to take pictures! thanks to everyone it was a wonderful day on the water! now enjoy the learning process below!

step 1: get on your knees. yes amber is already up and yes brandon is still holding my board. HA!

step 2: one foot up. amber is a pro ... brandon is still there.

step 3: finally up! look a little knee knocked or whatever but i'm up!



brandon was finally able to let go and i was on my own!

and eventually i just decided i perferred to ride on my knees. :)







 i even learned to surf by the end of the day! look at that form! surfing USA!

back to june 6TH and everything i had to do and people i had to see. i spent most of the day packing ... washing clothes ... cleaning house ... packing ... and more packing because on june 7TH i left town for a 23 day summer adventure/journey with stops in auburn and athens and nashville/fountain run and kentucky! packing for 3 weeks was no easy task ... however i think i did pretty good!



4 bags ... a snack bag ... and lexi (who departed the journey early at grandma's house!)

after a slight delay (left my phone charger and computer at the house) in which i had to turn around i made it to chipley where i had lunch with my grandma shirley and then continued on to my first stop: AUBURN!!

i seriously love this town ... it's the promise land ... the loveliest village on the plains ... there's literally no place like auburn. i was able to spend time with my sweet friend lauren and her husband daniel. i was blessed to be part of their special wedding day a year ago and their friendship means so much to me. can't even put it into words. back in college lauren and i would regularly walk campus and enjoy a LONG dinner at momma g's. (these dinners would typically last anywhere from 2 to 3 hours!) ever since college when i come back to auburn we keep up the routine ... walk campus and dinner which is exactly what we did on my quick stay.

this was taken on our walk. absolutely beautiful!



the next day we enjoyed a morning of chatting and lunch at amsterdam cafe! i was also happy to see that the toomer's trees seem to still be kickin. :) loved my time with lauren and i don't know when i might see her or daniel again but i do know that as they leave on their own journey soon i pray that god protects them ... and works through them ... and loves on them ... and that he would be glorified in all that they do! love to the arthurs!

toomer's oaks!



before i knew it day 1 & 2 of my summer journey were in the book and i was back on the road to my second stop: ATHENS, GA! to see my sweet cousin and her husband!

this is my road trip happy face! just my tunes and me crusin' down the highway!

on my first night in athens we went to dinner at this amazing place called farm 255 i believe. everything's FRESH ... REAL ... and yummy! the weather was amazing ... the company was great ... and the food was in my belly quickly! after dinner we went to this bar called little kings where they had cornhole on the patio! after an intense cornhole game we just spent time catching up until the drag show started and that was our cue to leave. HA! we hit up a couple other places before calling it a night. the atmosphere here is really chill and i think it's safe to say i'll be back visiting athens soon!

today we started with a delicious breakfast at mama's boys followed by a nice afternoon walk through downtown and UGA's campus!



of course we had to stop for a quick picture at the stadium and yes i bought a shirt. WAR EAGLE but i'm truly a college junkie.

before i left on thursday i was slowly packing the car and finishing up things in the house but when it came time to leave i noticed a little surprise in my passenger seat! pretty much every morning i run with some friends and i've recently learned that some refer to us at the 20 something ... the 30 something ... and the 40 something. i've spent the past year running with them ... talking ... sharing highs/lows ... and i don't know if they will even know just how much they mean to me! they encourage ... give advice ... laugh at/with me ... and listen ... they are the best cheerleaders a girl could have on her side! goodness i could just go on and on but basically ... barb and leigh ... if y'all ready this i love y'all! 

so back to the surprise in my seat! barb and leigh have encouraged me to get out ... see the world ... go on crazy adventures and well that's kind of what i'm doing so in my seat i found the book "born to run" and the magazines you see below! reading 5 books is also on my list and leigh recommended this one to me a couple weeks ago. it wasn't until i made it to auburn and was getting ready for bed that i realized that there was a sweet note written inside!





this note was just the encouragement i needed to get me super pumped about the rest of my trip! tomorrow i leave for fountain run, kentucky (an hour north of nashville) where i will spend the next two weeks at a camp called barefoot republic. please check them out at www.barefootrepublic.org or you can "like" them on facebook. they update pictures daily on facebook so next week you can see what i'm up to everyday ... for those of you who would like to know what i'm up to. :)

while at the camp i will lead junior high and 3RD - 5TH Grade girls. and aside from all the FUN i know we will have my prayer is that god moves in an awesome way ... not just in the girls lives or all the campers lives ... but in my life also.

"and don't forget to pray for me. Pray that I'll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out." ephesians 6:19 - 20

paul's request is my request! love to all and hopefully i'll be able to update next weekend after week one of camp! my heart is happy and excited and full to the rim!