sweet plans of summer

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I love a list so, naturally, I put together my plans of summer so that I can be sure to seize the moments of this fabulous season. 

1. Go to the drive in movie theater
2. Take a cake decorating class
3. Read Jane Austen

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4. Go sailing (already have my groupon purchased!)
5. Take in the sites at the Salvador Dali museum
6. Run a 5k
7. Try out paddle boarding

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8. Map out Greece trip
9. Host a board game night with friends
10. Make smores

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What are your plans for summer?

The Day I Tried Rock Climbing

I have always been a little (or a lot) scared of heights but there have been a few times in my life that I just went for it and overcame my desire to simply just stay put on the ground. Angie Away and I climbed a cliff in Hawaii and there were literally moments we could have fallen to our deaths but we continued on, taking in the enormous beauty of the island. And, the last time I climbed to new heights was at the start of graduate school when we participated in a ropes course. That day taught me that I could lean on those in my program as I climbed up some insanely tall infrastructure as they cheered me on, strapped in, and jumped off the ledge to zip line through the woods. So, yes, there have been a few moments well worth pretending I was not scared of heights at all.

This past weekend, I faced my fear again and took to the wall for rock climbing with some of my sorority sisters. Our alumnae group plans lots of fun outings but I was unsure about how I would do on this one. I actually had so much fun that I totally forgot that I was off of the ground! We had a great experience, gaining confidence with each climb and challenging ourselves to attempt harder courses. Bonus that it is also a great workout!

My climbing crew!

First time up the wall

Whose scared of heights?

Jennifer rocked this climb

Christine was our little wall climbing monkey

Taking on this weird part of the wall

Stop for a quick pose!

After I finished my day at the rock climbing wall, I felt empowered and eager to do it again. If you keep thinking about giving something new a try, do it. You may not be the greatest at it but having the courage to start and giving it a go is an accomplishment all on its own.

Big thanks to Jennifer for talking us into climbing! And to Vertical Ventures and their awesome staff for teaching us the ropes!

Celebrations

One of the reasons that I decided to return home to Florida was so that I could a part of those life moments happening with my family. This spring has been full of celebrations and I have been enjoying every minute of it.

A few recent celebrations:

Melissa's Birthday Dinner





My nephew, Luke, turned 1!

Ella's 5th Birthday

Kaleb's Baptism

{my chi omega sisters and our families}

Dragon Boat Races

Each year, Tampa hosts the Dragon Boat Races. The annual festival raises thousands of dollars for local charities and has over 70 teams that compete in the competition. This year, one of my friends and co-workers signed up to participate on a team. A few of us from work went downtown for lunch at Jackson's Bistro and then decided that we would spend the rest of the afternoon watching the races.

The event was full of excitement and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the large boats race down the water. While we sort of stumbled upon the event this year, I look forward to heading down to the water again next year for the festivities.