Come fly with me!

Michael came down to celebrate my 21st birthday with me this weekend, and no he did not drive. He flew!!!...yes, he flew an airplane down to see me! How cool is that?

Talk about an impressive date! He taxied right over to where my parents and I were waiting for him (that's the nice part about him flying into an executive airport). So we went and had dinner and drinks at a local Irish pub. And get this, I was NOT carded! First time purchasing alcohol and I didn't get carded haha!





So Saturday morning Michael took me on my birthday flight with him around Orlando. It was my first time flying with him, and so fun!! It was especially great seeing him in his element working the controls of the plane :)





We flew around downtown and Lake Apopka
And Michael did two touch and go's at a small air strip in Apopka





Such a fun afternoon/date/birthday present!

21

21... I have reached that pinnacle age everyone in college just can't wait to get to! So here are some snapshots from my 21 years

1990: Welcome to the world, and hot Florida summers!

1991: Receiving lots of loving from big siblings, and walking!! :)

1992: New baby brother Eli joins the fam!!

1993: Momma makes me my very own Belle doll!!

1994: New best friend Ali Cat! She is still around today :)



1995: Some more new siblings join the fam!

1996: the Geneva saga is under way...

1997: Decide I want to be a doctor!

1998: First stay at a hospital...and first and last move to a new house! And a trip to Disney :)

1999: Trip to Lake Erie, PA

2000: the new millennium and double digits! Startin’ to love basketball

2001: 6^th grade, 9/11, first time seeing snow!

2002: Christmas on the beach

2003: Southland Summer camp, 8^th grade! Basketball; shoulder injury

2004: Hurricanes hit big time! Start high school! Growing out the bangs :)

2005: Shoulder surgery :( Trip to NYC with Geneva!

2006: Busy young athlete...basketball, volleyball, and softball

2007: First time abroad; Italy and Greece with Geneva, and Mexico with church missions





2008: Graduate from high school! and begin a new journey at Jacksonville University





2009: Study abroad to England, Ireland, and Scotland



2010: Spend the year blogging in pictures



2011: Big brother Jameson gets married...Turn the big 2-1!

99 Things

Instructions:
Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower --or at least attempted to at Jax Beach; pretty sure I slept through some of it; it was at 4am!
6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland--Disneyworld that is!

8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child --ok so I haven't but my parents have!
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run--almost! I've hit a triple!
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors: Scotland and England!
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke: in a group :)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling: snorkeling in the Keys
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching : in Boston, MA!
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt: working on one this summer!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades: actually camped in the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House: not inside though!
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Music

So I heard this song for the first time recently and I love it!!!

"Something in the Water" by Brooke Fraser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5C-YHSy3Fw&feature=player_embedded

P.S. After looking up this artist, I found out she is the Australian lead singer of HillSong! How cool is that???

Also Listening to:

Let Go: Frou Frou

The Way I Am: Ingrid Michaelson

Sweet Disposition: The Temper Trap

Remind Me: Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood (Really the entirety of Brad's new CD "This is Country Music") Check it out; it's awesome of course!

Home: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

On July 8, the last space shuttle launched from Kennedy Space Center, off Space Coast Florida. I was the only home when this happened, and I eagerly raced outside to look up into the sky to see if I could see the shuttle. Unfortunately there were too many clouds for me to see, so I resorted to channel 6 news :(

Some of my favorite memories of my childhood are space shuttle launches! Both the house I lived in as a child, and our current home had great views from the driveway and backyard! My favorite were the night launches; watching the booster engines come off and drift through the sky like brake lights from a car.

Here we are watching a space shuttle in 1998! John Glenn was on this trip!

Happy 225th Birthday America!

July 4th!! Happy Independence Day USA!!!I am so thankful for the men and women who serve our country both today and in the past!

This summer I have been doing a lot of reading for fun :) Here are some of the books I have read and enjoyed so far this summer:

I am currently reading this one!

I have really enjoyed quite a few these, especially Undomestic Goddess and The Wedding! It's been great to read easy, and fun chick lit!