In my books summer is from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Since I really haven't blogged much over the last few months or shared any of my summer happenings I decided to do one big summer post. These are all Iphone pics and totally random, but here it goes.
Summer started with a bang when I jet planed it to LA for Memorial Day weekend with my friend Misty. She was getting off her ship that she had been working on for 9 months and spending time with family in Orange County. I decided to meet her out there for a little Cali fun.
We decided to go to Disney Land (my 1st time her 100th), but had no idea it was the 60th anniversary celebration. The park was packed to the max, but that didn't stop us from jumping from one ride to the next. We also learned that we both have high tolerance for crowds and that we aren't kids anymore (those roller coasters are jerky!)
In addition to a fun Disney experience I had my first In-N-Out experience. I think it might actually compete with Shake Shak!
And went to Balboa Island and had a chocolate covered banana from the Banana Stand (and tried to forget for a few minutes that I'm allergic to chocolate)
We visited several beaches, hung out with Misty's family, and had a fun weekend catching up and soaking up the Cali sun
I took the red eye back from LA to hit the ground running getting ready for VBS. It was my first Oak Mountain VBS and very fun! We had over 400 kids and a great week showing and sharing Jesus with them.
The day that VBS ended My friend and Redeemer co-worker Kathryn flew into town for the weekend. Kathryn is from the North and has been in NYC for 20+ years so I wanted to make sure to show her a full southern experience! We had a great few days together with lots of sweet tea, bbq, and southern charm.
Father's Day weekend came and my parents came in to town. We went to dinner at my dad's favorite restaurant, Chuys, to celebrate.
I've always wanted to try one of these painting classes, so one Saturday night my friends Josie and Katie and I went to "sip and strokes" for a fun night of "trying" to paint Starry Night. I quickly learned that night that I'm not an artist.
Although it's not NYC or Philharmonic in the Park, Birmingham did have a few nights of Symphony in the Park. It was actually really good and for a few short moments I felt like I was back in Central Park.
In the middle of June my friend Katherine Evans and her boyfriend (now fiance) came to town for a wedding. It was so fun having them stay with me and showing them some of Birmingham and my life here!
The cute couple got engaged a few weeks after being in Birmingham.
The end of June I flew out to Dallas for a few days and got to see my friend Gillian perform the lead role of "Baby" in the traveling production of Dirty Dancing. She is amazing and I was so excited to see her! I also got to spend time with my friend from college, Heather and her husband Stephen(I think I forgot to take a picture with them)
4th of July weekend came and I went down to Fairhope (where my parents live) to spend time with family. Mary Blake and I tried our hand at making a 4th of July Cake.
Fairhope is on the water and such a beautiful place to go visit, especially with these 3!
After the 4th of July was when work really picked up for me. We were preparing to launch all new programming and much needed to be done.
We gathered our discipleship group leaders together for a night of dinner, community, and vision casting. It was fun to see the beginning pieces of the dream and vision of starting 50+ children discipleship groups come together as we sat in a room a together
July also brought the "Created for a Purpose" camp where I led devotions for 7th and 8th grade girls. This is an incredible camp for girls that was really fun to be a part of!
On July 17th one of my best friend Amy delivered Hudson, who was born with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome as well as some other complications. He has already had 1 heart surgery and will have to have at least 2 more in next few years. Hudson is about 7 weeks old now and is still very sick but such a fighter! I'm actually going to meet him this week, which I'm so excited about. Although Amy live's in Charlotte Hudson is in Phili at CHOP receiving care. Please check out "Hudson's Heart" facebook page and pray for him and his family!
The end of July brought a day at the lake with our "Mustard Seeds" (special needs ministry) families.
And a trip to Atlanta to spend 24 hours with one of my favorite friends. Kelli and I have had a long road of friendship. She has walked through so many ups and downs with me and has been such a faithful friend to me through it all. She was in town without kids for a few days, so it was nice to have some time to shop, catch up, and of course go to QT for a fountain drink
One of the things I missed when living in the city was having access to a swimming pool. I have loved having a pool at my apt complex as well as my tennis/fitness club. The Blakester and I have had lots of pool dates this summer, which has been fun for both of us!
August came and so did the launch of all our new children's programming. We recruited about 180 volunteers for our different programs and provided training for them before everything launched.
One of our new programs is a rotation program where kids learn stories in the Bible through different sensory learning stations. We are studying the life of Abraham right now so the kids are getting to paint a "starry night" canvas as they study about the covenant, and God promising Abraham as many children as stars in the sky.
It's so fun to see this programming come to life!
The end of August my friend Ken came to visit. Ken and I became friends my first year in NYC through volunteering together. Although he lives in San Diego now, we still keep in touch. It was so great to show this NYC/Cali friend what life in the south looks like!
And then Labor Day weekend came and summer was coming to close. My last big summer hurrah was to go to my first Auburn football game with my friend Katie.
we did it right and tailgated before the game with her family and friends
The game was in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta
Auburn won (beating Louisville) which made the day even better!
I ended Labor Day weekend playing in a low key tennis tournament and spending time with family.
There was lots more to my summer than what is represented here but I feel like this is the overview.
It was a good and hard summer as most moments in life are.
All in all I soaked up some sun, played lots of tennis, had some fun visitors, took a couple trips, spent time with friends and family, and worked really hard at my job.
I guess you would say that is a wrap!
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