Morgan Visits Tallahassee

Carson went on a rafting trip in Idaho, so my sweet cousin Morgan came up to Tallahassee to see our new place and to spend the weekend with me. It was great to have her up. 

She got there on Thursday night after work. We talked and went to bed. 

On Friday, we went to the beach! It was suuuuper hot and humid. We'd stopped at Target on the way there for magazines to read, and while we were lying on the beach, we put the magazines on our faces to shield ourselves from the sunshine. Did you know that the ink on magazines will come off if you do that? The huge smudges on our foreheads tell you that now we DO know...

We stopped for boiled peanuts on the way back from the beach because we love them and our husbands don't, so it was a win-win scenario.

We'd planned out some adventures in the sunshine for the next day, but it rained, so we put on our (matching - not on purpose I promise) raincoats and went to the mall.

We returned to complete a number of projects - I used Morgan's etching cream to etch my flour and sugar jars, I showed her how to make maxi skirts (this has for some reason been project of the year so far), and while she took a nap, I made a moss-covered letter like I saw online.

Later we learned that I can't open a wine bottle to save my life. We had eventual success but it was very touch and go there for awhile.

We made yummy smoothies.

And the next day we went to a church we definitely won't visit again. That experience needed something savory, so we went to Jimmy Johns which made the day better.

Crafting, late nights talking, a beach trip and shopping - not a bad weekend!

Thankfulness

This summer, we're thankful for... 

Sunrises

Sunsets

Going into work late

And enjoying that in the sunshine

Frozen Yogurt

Huge things of blue gatorade

Naps

Friends

(we went to the Cheesecake Factory for a baby shower, picture from Jasmine's iPhone)

Evenings (we discovered that Monopoly is boring, but Life is fun)

Things that grow!

Ice cream with friends

Laughter - this sign was too much

Sugary cereal as a treat

Color coordination

Good friends and nose piercing dates

His and hers pizza

National Donut Day

Haircut sessions

Getting caught in a thunderstorm

Found passports (this was taken when we were searching for it... in Carson's office at school at midnight)

Humidity did this: (humidity on top, normal on bottom)

 My job... I work with some interesting people.

Cute bowls

(I found these cute little dip bowls in the dollar section at Michael's. They're perfect for tiny snacks - like semisweet chocolate when there's nothing sweet in the house)

The Cat

On a cool evening, we decided to read in the backyard. 

While Carson gathered his books and computer (he's taking a summer class and needed to study), I set up a blanket and began to read. 

"Mrrrrooowww," I heard. I looked up and this cat was sitting under the porch, hoping I'd invite her over. I did, and she gleefully ran over to be scratched. 

She decided after a fair share of scratching behind-the-ears that she'd rather sit under the neighbor's truck, so we said goodbye and she laid down and pretended to nap, but really looked at us out of the corner of her eye, swishing her tail back and forth.

Carson worked and I read.

Then Carson noticed that the cat was interested in his fingers, which were tapping a beat on the grass. She thought that he was getting her attention, and ran over to pounce. 

She let us play with her for a few more minutes then dashed away through neighbor's yards. We've not seen her again. 

Celebrating Freedom!

I think that the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. It has things I love: warmth, food, wearing a certain outfit for the occasion, time with friends... and fireworks. 

I had the day off, which was GREAT! I haven't had a holiday off since I started my job and I was thankful to not work this one because it turned out that we had a FULL day of celebrating. 

We began in Stow, Ohio. My old roommate, Erica is from there and she and her husband Zack (I was in their wedding the weekend we moved to Ohio) were visiting Erica's family, as they are en route from Spokane to their new home-to-be in Michigan (three sets of close friends have recently relocated to Michigan, so we're scheming a trip). So we joined them in the morning for the 4th of July parade in Stow. We sat on a grassy hill in front of a funeral home, her family's preferred spot because said funeral home gives out free donuts and coffee. We partook, naturally. 

And then we enjoyed the parade. 

I interrupted Carson's donut eating for a picture... not a good idea.

Erica marched in this band in high school. We thought that all the high school students now looked like babies. 

We were near the very end of the parade... can you imagine doing this for a few miles?

After the parade, we had lunch with Erica's family and then sat around talking for most of the afternoon. While we were there, I got a text inviting us to a cookout at some friends' house, so we decided on a whim to attend. We were the only ones to NOT bring a side dish or dessert that belonged on Pinterest, so we may not be invited back, but our chips and soda were still welcome. 

The highlight of that party centered around food and fellowship... until water balloons and smoke bombs came out. Let's just say that there were lots of wet people by the end.

From the cookout, Carson, Lana and I headed over to Willoughby for fireworks. A group from the cookout was there too, but we didn't find each other in time for the show. We sat right in front of the field where there was a firetruck, so we thought that meant the fireworks would be right in front of us... and we had to wait a little over an hour before they started. Pictures were in order.

From where we sat, we could see fireworks shows in other places through the tree tops, but nothing compared to the show that we saw. Because we were right in front of the fireworks, we basically had to lay on our backs in order to see them... they were huge and loud and prettier than any I'd seen before. 

This picture? Unedited.

While we watched, we noticed that things kept falling on us - it was "dust" from the fireworks. We called it shrapnel, but I really don't know the correct term for it. Anyway, it was covering us - we smelled like sulfur. It looks like the blanket was dirty, but I promise you that it's from the fireworks - told you that we were up close!

Carson slept on the way home... traffic was a beast and we made it home just before midnight but we're still glad we went!