slumber party with the little girls <3

So tonight has been exceptionally fun! I have been transported completely back to my childhood as a little girl! I have two of the girls that I babysit, Monday- Thursday afternoons, over for a sleepover! So far we have painted fingernails and toenails, popped popcorn and ate our favorite candy, watched a girly movie, and put on our pjs and jumped on the beds while jamming out to Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana, and Jordan Sparks songs on the ipod! Gracie and Louisa were soon exhausted and actually asked for bed time just before 10:30. 

In the morning I am taking them down to the Great Hall (our school dining hall) for a big breakfast buffet! They are thrilled. I shared with them about what I used to do when I was a little girl and got scared on sleepovers. I used to lay in the bed all snuggled up and think about a BIG, warm breakfast buffet with all my favorite foods and smiling, happy people everywhere : ) When the girls went to bed they said "Goodnight, sweet big breakfast dreams! 

happy 21st birthday lauren!!!!!!!

My life is forever changed because of you!!! 

r o a d trip!!!!

This past weekend was amazing! 

My roommate, Lindsey, invited me to go home with her for the weekend and spend time at her house, with her family. Lindsey is a military daughter and has moved all over the country, as well as out of the country. Currently Lindsey's dad is stationed in Dayton, Ohio, so for now that is home. 

This weekend was my first time traveling to Ohio, and my first time staying on an Air Force Base. Lindsey family was incredible. We had such an amazing time hanging out with them and getting to relax. We arrived very late Thursday evening/Friday morning to about 10 inches of snow of the ground! I was ecstatic! The weather eventually warmed up while we were there, and by Sunday the majority of the snow was melted and gone. 

On Friday we got to sleep in, which was wonderful. We went on a 45 minute run around the base and visited Lindsey's dad at his office. We did a lot of hanging around the house that day. On Saturday we got to sleep in again, which was wonderful again! We sat around in the living room in our pjs, drinking coffee, and watching trashy television dramas that we regularly don't watch, for about three hours, then finally motivated ourselves enough to get up and go for a run! After our run, we showered and went out shopping! Lindsey scored at the shoe store, and bought three new pairs of shoes. Nothing was in my size : ( Saturday evening Lindsey, her mom, her brother, and I went to a Wright State University basketball game where the team played the #13 team in the nation! It was the biggest college basketball game I had ever been to! 

Sunday  morning we went to Lindsey's family church, South Dayton Presbyterian Church, out to lunch, and then back on the road! 

I enjoyed my time in Ohio very much. Lindsey has a great family that was truly a blessing to be around! 

chattanooga, tennessee !

places i aspire to go!

So I thought it would be fun to make a little list of the places I wish to one day travel to. I'm sure this list will be forever changing, and that I will constantly be adding to it, but I think it will be something fun to come back to some day! Some of these places I have a burning desire to travel to, others I think would just be fun! : )

places i aspire to go:

Domestically-

( i would love to at least pass through all of the 50 states!) 

☑Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California 

☑Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

☑Florida

☑Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas

☑Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

☑Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

☑New York

☑North Carolina

North Dakota

☑Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island

☑South Carolina

South Dakota

☑Tennessee

☑Texas

Utah

Vermont

☑Virginia

Washington

☑West Virginia

Wisconsin 

Wyoming

☑and Washington D.C.

Internationally- 

Africa

Egypt

Ethiopia

☑Kenya

Malawi

Morocco

Rwanda

South Africa

Sudan

☑Tanzania

Australia

Europe

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Netherlands

Romania 

Russia

Spain

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Central/ South America

Argentina

Brazil

Columbia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

Mexico

Peru

Islands

☑Bahamas 

Barbados

Caribbean 

☑Dominican Republic

Fiji

St. Croix

St. Lucia

St. Martin

Tahiti 

Turks and Caicos

U.S. Virgin Islands

Its only Wednesday evening and it feels like the last 3 days have been 3 weeks. Its only the second week of classes and I already feel all the homework and test beginning to pile up. Its been snowing here the last few days, but not enough for it to really stick. We prayed for a big snow in hopes of school being canceled! That did not happen though. 

Just before Christmas break I decided that I was going to become a "runner". I have always enjoyed running, but have always been very bad at it. Well over Christmas break I began to start training and had a goal of completing a 5K race. 

I downloaded an amazing sermon series on to my ipod (Mark Driscoll - Mars Hill Church "The Peasant Princess" Song of Solomon series, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ) and began to ask God to give me endurance, perseverance, and all the strength I need to accomplish the goals I have set for myself. I started off running about 25 - 30 minutes a day, which for me was AWESOME!! When I got back to school I shared my news, and my new found passion and goal with Lindsey and Cat. They were both very encouraging and were excited to continue to run with me. Lindsey and I have been running about 4/5 days a weeks, even running in the snow, and she has been an amazing support system to me. We have gotten up to running about 40 minutes each time we run, and Lindsey says I have definitely completed a 5K. Well because of her excitement , she decided to sign us up for a race! But not just any race.. A HALF MARATHON!!! Never before in my life have I imagined doing a half- marathon, and I still cannot imagine it, but for some reason Lindsey is persistent in believing that I can. THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE AN ADVENTURE!

So as of now Lindz and I are currently "training" and working on adding miles and minutes to our run each week. The race is called the Kentucky Derby Half Marathon in Louisville, Kentucky. It is not until the last weekend of April, but I am sure I will need all the training time I can get! Brian will also be actively training as he prepares of his second triathlon this summer. I'm excited to see how everything goes! 

I made it through my first week of classes! All my classes seem like they are going to be very enjoyable, but also very difficult. I am finally taking a few Education courses this semester, so I actually feel like i'm getting somewhere! 

Lindz and I went running yesterday afternoon down at coolidge park and on the walking bridge. It was freezing, but a lot of fun. Chattanooga is gorgeous.  Afterwards, we went into Greenlife and got lattes and went shopping! 

Today it's 19 degrees here, ah! and 56 at home in Florida. I wish our dorm room had a fireplace! 

            here are my past and present roommates, 

                          and my best friends!!! 

back to school!

I drove 9 hours alone back to school yesterday, and finally made it! It was hard to leave home and my family, but so great to be back with friends. I have a new roommate this semester, along with my old roommate from the past year. When i arrived back on the mountain it was 29 degrees outside!!!! I WAS FREEZING! I had driven up from Florida, and was in flip-flops and a short sleeve shirt, obviously not prepared for the freeze! I arrived to a newly decorated room and was greeted by my two lovely roommates! We spent some time "catching up" then went and saw Bride Wars! Very cute movie. 

Classes start tomorrow, which i'm not particularly thrilled about, but I am so ready for the semester to fly by and summer to be here. Its suppose to get really cold tomorrow and snow on Wednesday and Thursday. Being here I have learned a lot about winter attire, how to wear scarves, hot to tie scarves, NOT TO WEAR FLIP-FLOPS, and that only one jacket usually isn't gonna work! It's been quite the learning experience for me. 

This semester I will be tutoring/babysitting for two different families. I am looking forward to spending that time with all the kids. Both families are absolutely amazing, and their children are all so precious. 

This being the beginning of my blog, i thought i'd post a few pictures! Here is my family!