Thursday, May 24, 2012

New Home for the Summer

This Summer I am working at Aspen Grove Camp. It has been great so far. Mostly I'm just amazed by the beauty. It is such a gorgeous place. I'm happy to call it my new home despite my "rustic" living conditions that I will have to get used to living in this Summer ;). 

Thus far I have seen a moose and my roommate saw a cougar on her morning run. I've eaten good food. Played lots of games and done team building activities. Learned how to properly wash my hands, make a bed and clean rooms. Performed skits and songs. Learned a lot of people's names and forgotten a lot as well.


I'm one of the Arts and Crafts Counselors. This is where I will be spending most of my time. I've been doing training all this week and I have a few more hours tomorrow but then the campers start coming tomorrow night. Should be exciting!



Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Welcome Back Home!

This past weekend was wonderful because I was reunited with two of my best friends Alissa and Lindsay. It had been a year since we had all been together so it was wonderful to spend some time together. Alissa arrived just in time to help throw a waffle Prom after party for my brother Matthew and his friends. Then the next day, we celebrated Mothers and DC by visiting some monuments and memorials.







Then on Monday we met up with Lindsay and went to Georgetown to get some delicious cupcakes, walk the streets and shop. It was great fun. I love these ladies :) 


That night we went to see Titanic 3D and it was so great. It was my first time seeing Titanic and I really enjoyed it. It was the perfect girls day!


The next day was Alissa's birthday! Woohoo! So Lindsay came over for a lemon ricotta pancake breakfast to celebrate with us.


It was so fun to have Alissa here to visit and to get to see Lindsay before we all head off on exciting adventures of our own. (We were missing you Court!) 


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Happy Birthday Alissa!!!

Happy birthday to my best friend Alissa!! 
I love you to bits and am so thankful for our friendship. I love all of the memories that we share together and can't wait to make some more.

good ol' track days :)


BFFs 


dances


DC


yearbook


graduation!!


summer nights


Jonas Brothers!


dancing in the rain


Freshmen Roomies


nerds


Harry Potter!!!


going off on new adventures


sophomore parties


Summer visits 


Happy birthday!!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Saturday, May 12, 2012

A Perfect Afternoon in DC

I feel so lucky to live close to DC. I love being able to zip in for a quick trip to visit such a beautiful and historic area. I think that every American should visit Washington DC at least once in their life. It is a truly awesome place.
This week my mom and I went into DC for lunch and to visit some monuments before I head out again. It was the perfect afternoon. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious and the company was even better. First stop was Georgetown Cupcake, which luckily did not have a long line. We were hoping for the salted caramel cupcakes, but they weren't out so we go the german chocolate fudge instead and they did not disappoint. The secret flavor was coconut that day. delicious :)
We ran into a lady there who was on vacation hitting up all the different food spots and she told us that she had just eaten 4 slices of pie for lunch and was now getting her cupcakes. She was definitely on a food vacation. We were curious what she would be eating for dinner. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do :)

We got some yummy salads and wraps after the cupcakes (yes we know how to live...dessert first ;) ). Then we went to the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial because I had not seen it yet. It was pretty cool. I enjoyed the quotes and the concept. 


We walked along the tidal basin toward Jefferson.


Stopped at FDR's memorial. 



Said hello to Jefferson.



Then headed home. It was a perfect afternoon in DC. Thanks mom!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Puerto Rico

Last week my mom and I had a great adventure. We went to Puerto Rico for five days to relax, soak up the sun and hike through the rainforest before I was off again on to my next adventure.

Here we are on the airplane heading off to the Rich Port.

This is the beach that was right by our hotel. The sand was so soft, like powdered sugar, and the water was so clear and warm.


obviously I was excited :)


The view from our hotel room


just lounging at the beach.


This is where the real adventure was. We hiked through the rainforest, repelled down a waterfall and ziplined through the canopy of the trees. It was seriously one of the funnest things that I have ever done in my life. I would highly recommend it. Our guides were hilarious and super helpful.




This is the waterfall that we repelled down. It was pretty scary, but awesome at the same time.


This is how we felt after repelling.


This was the delicious meal provided to us by a local family. 


On the way back to the hotel we stopped at this fruit stand on the side of the road and I got to use some of my Spanish to get us some bananas, coconut and mango. All of it was so good!


That night we went to dinner to get some Puerto Rican cuisine. I got the mofongo, which is a native dish of smashed plantains filled with some kind of meat. It was delicious.


That night we finished off our coconuts in the hotel room.


The next day we ventured off to Old San Juan and toured the Old Spanish Forts. They were pretty cool and the textures and colors of the walls were our favorite parts.






we got some super yummy coconut and passion fruit ice cream.



We ate at the Parrot Club and were pleasantly surprised when our nachos came with plantain chips rather than corn or tortilla chips. They were delicious.


We spent the next day mostly relaxing at our resort and sipping drinks by the ocean.



We fed the iguanas.



enjoyed a stroll on the beach


and saw a beautiful sunset to end off the trip right.


It was a fantastic trip and vacation. Thank you Mother and Father for the wonderful opportunity!