Bucket List #8

And... We've (kinda) finished #8 on the bucket list!

 It wasn't a lake... nor did we build an EPIC sandcastle, but we got close enough!

We woke up and were in the car by 9:30 a.m. to beat the heat to Chaplain Nature Center. 

Time to hike our way down to the beach! We LOVE this place. 

The weather was beautiful. The lighting was gorgeous as well. I'm thinking I'll have to go back and do photo-shoots sometime soon! 

It takes a good 10 or so minutes to hike down, but it's definitely worth it. Emma was a trooper and carried Jonah most of the way there and back. 

You know you're almost there when the dirt begins turning into sand! The little kids alway break into a run at that point. 

Yay! Last time we were here it was about 60 degrees... and the kids swam anyway. It was much better weather for swimming this time! 

They dove right in! Jonah hated the sand and the water last time we were here. He would cry whenever Emma tried to put him down. Surprisingly, he loved it this time! He was so excited splashing in the water, and trying to catch minnows. It was adorable. 

I didn't want to take my camera too deep into the water, and I didn't want to walk it back to my stuff, so I sat and took pictures of the sand. Artsy, I know. 

But, hey, I had fun! 

Ok... Listen up. I caught this minnow with my toes. YES. Toes. I just scooped it up and tossed it on the bank. I'm not gonna lie... I was pretty proud. Coolest thing ever. 

Ally caught this tiny, little minnow! I don't know if you can even see it... It's about the size of some of the sand! 

We all fished for minnows for a while. A dog had "adopted" us for the day. Landon was loving throwing the frisbee for it, but it wasn't helping those of us who were trying to catch fish. 

Look at her! When did she get so big?? And beautiful?!? It's crazy! 

Aw. Landy-kins. 

Jonah and Emma fishing for minnows! 

Look at that smile! It melts my heart every time. 

Isaac was so cute splashing around in the water! They were all so good all day. I was really thankful for that! 

Jack stayed busy burying himself in the sand. Over and over and over... 

Baby feet covered in sand are so adorable. And I hate feet. So that's saying something. 

Here's the "EPIC sandcastle"! Maybe not quite EPIC. But we did build about 3 of them... So that must count for something.  

I love this picture. Love it. 

Kyle couldn't make it, so Drew drew (No pun intended...) his portrait in the sand! 

We missed you, Kyle! 

After a couple hours, it was really heating up. And I was hungry. 

So, we rinsed off the excess sand and started the journey back! 

Landon had a hard time saying good-bye to his new buddy. He begged me to take him with us, but he had a collar on. We debated "losing" the collar in river accidentally... But that wasn't a great idea. He was so fun for the day though! 

Jonah was such a awesome boy at the beach and at the chinese restaurant we went to afterwards. 

He makes some good silly faces! 

Wow. I love this boy so much! 

We've done 8 out of 39 bucket list items. I know it's summer and most of you aren't able to do math in the summer, so I'll just tell you - we still have 31 left to do. That's a lot! 

Don't fear! We will finish them all! 

Bucket List - #22

     Now that I'm back and Ally and Emma don't leave for another few weeks, we're really trying to whip out these bucket list items. I have only 47 days until my college classes start! Time is flying. 

     Because we drive up to Wichita for church, we figured it'd be the perfect time to stop by the mall and complete #22. Build-a-Bear! Oh, yeah, baby. 

We are SO excited to be the only teenagers in this store! Yes, we did get weird looks. 

I was like, what? 18 year olds can't warm up and kiss fabric hearts before putting it in an adorable stuffed teddy bear?? 

So, we got them all stuffed and washed up. Now it's the fun part. Picking out the outfits! 

We had so much fun. I'm not even kidding. 

After shopping around for a bit, we settled down to wait for our ride to pick us up. 

We dressed our bears in the middle of the food court and... got weird looks again. 

Seriously... Have people never seen teenage girls dressing bears in a food court before? 

They are so cute! Ally's is on the left (Darcey), mine is the middle (Hadlee), and Emma's is on the end (Tommy). 

I'd say this was a very successful bucket list check off! 

Keep checking back cause we're gonna be updating often! 

Summit 2013 - Part 1

These past couple of days have been a huge adventure for me. I've navigated airports and flown on a plane all by myself for the first time.

     Here I am at the airport about to board my last flight! 

Flying. Alone. Is. Awesome. 

     

     I was flying on my own to get to The Summit in Manitou Springs, Colorado.  In case you haven't heard about it, The Summit is an apologetics conference marketed towards kids heading to college. They have awesome speakers that come in and talk to us about how to defend our stances on some really tough topics. Throughout 2 weeks we spend around 70 hours in lectures. Luckily, the subjects are really interesting so I'm not tempted to fall asleep... Despite having to be awake at 6:45 every morning. Yuck! 

    Thankfully, it's not all work and no play. Everyday we get a little free time to explore the town or go to a park and play sports. Other free time options include hiking Pikes Peak, climbing smaller mountains, visiting local tourist attractions, or just hanging out and talking to people.

 

Earlier today (Monday), we got to go see Garden of the Gods. It was gorgeous! But really hot... Still, the scenery made up for it.

     Here's a picture of the tiny little dorm/hotel room I share with my 3 roommates. The Summit is located in an old 1800s hotel at the center of Manitou Springs. It's such a cool place! It takes a little while to get used to it because it's HUGE. There are numerous staircases and random hallways and doors that lead out to the roof. I've had fun just exploring. 

    In the time I've been here (2 days), I know that I'm going to need some alone time occasionally (being with 181 people all the time is slightly exhausting)... but that I'm going to learn a TON. I'll try to write blogs throughout the week to keep you - and my family - updated!