March Travels: Photo Dump + Recap

This is one of those posts thats more for my memory rather than for your entertainment...sorry!

Anyway, March was nuts for me. As I'm sure you picked up,  3 out of 4 weeks I was out of town visiting family, and it was nothing short of awesome! So today, I am just going to share a bunch of photos from both of my trips.

The first trip I went on was a road trip out to my grandparents out in Georgia. It was a 12 hour trip that turned into a 15 hour trip because of stupid Texas traffic.

We went through several states that I can't even think of right now, but I know Louisiana was one of them...haha!

When we finally arrived, we went straight into adventure. My Aunt Tee, cousins, brothers and I climbed 2 waterfalls.

We hiked, swam at the lake, bowled and toured Point Park, a key point in the Civil War. 

We even snapped some family photos!

The week came and went so fast, the road trip home kinda snuck up on us. Good thing our route went right through West Monroe and we stopped at the Duck Dynasty Headquarters.

 We even saw Jase!

I was one for exactly one day before I packed up and headed to Ohio! Actually, it was nice, I didn't even have to unpack my suitcase.

My sweet cousin Will...this picture cracks me up! (That's homemade Mac and Cheese he's coveting)

I got to hang out with my Aunt Denise, Uncle Jon and my cousins for a bit. We had so much fun together, if you can't tell from that picture above! Hahaha!

Then, that weekend, we packed up and drove out to West Virgina to visit with my grandparents, my dad and other cousins. I hadn't seen them in 4 years....too long in my book!

That Friday, we went out to Dinner at the famous Wells Inn and after went to a Frank Sinatra show. For some reason, I don't think we took any pictures of this...bummer!

Saturday we went to an outlet store and had a blast trying on things...some to be featured here on WIWW.

All of us ladies, we really did shop until we dropped!

After the weekend was over, my Memaw, dad and his wife headed out to where he lives, Pittsburgh! I got to spend a week in the freezing cold!

We spent the week shopping and touring the city. Pittsburgh is beautiful!

Wednesday, we visited the Flight 93 memorial which was very moving. I'm glad that I can say that I've been there. 

ignore my face in this picture ^

Then on Thursday we drove out to Gettysburg! I can't find any pictures of that either for some reason, but it was a lot of fun. I was so happy to get to go because my Nana and Papa up in Georgia live close to the battle of Chickamauga  and Chattanooga, so I can now say I've been to three of the major battles of the Civil war... very cool!

Once again, the week flew by and it was time to head back to Ohio to spend my last few days with my lovely family out there again. (There needs to be a term to refer to Aunt, Uncle and cousins so I don't have to type all that LOL!)

I've never laughed and smiled so much, my cheeks literally burned...they all crack me up! We played this game until like 2 am one morning, it's so much fun, you should play it.

On my last day, my aunt took me to the coolest store ever: Big Lots. No joke, it's really cool! I couldn't believe that I had never really shopped there before. Not only do they have the coolest candy (Crush flavored licorice, anyone?), but their makeup section is to die for. The above picture is me trying on their hats :)

At the airport, I had tears in my eyes just thinking about all the amazing memories we made. It was such a fun month and I was sad it was basically over. I was sorta sad that I had to get back to reality (hello work!) and back into my routine. 

Thank you to each and every one of you who made this such an amazing trip! (You know who you are)

My March Photo Journal 2014

Thanks so much to Deaf Girl Musings for hosting such a fun, creative challenge! 

It was challenging, fun and most importantly, it helped create such an amazing journal of memories

(Which just so happened to include two different vacations!)

Here is my completed photo journal:

I plan on printing these out and adding them to my scrapbook.

To see all the photo journal posts, click here.

30 Day Photo Challenge, Week 5- Last one!

I can't believe the end is here! I know I am late on posting my last week of pictures...I blame it on travel. Nevertheless, here are my final pictures of the challenge:

Day 24, Animal:

This is Sophie (my cousins/aunt's pup) and she is just the sweetest, most loving dog on this planet. Can you believe she was born in 2001?

Day 25, Something pink:

This one was actually challenging. I don't really prefer the color pink, so I don't have a ton of it. 

But I did have this hot pink bag that I kept because I adore the polka dots!

Day 26, Close up:

This is my youngest cousin, Will. Ain't he adorable!?! He's so witty and fun loving... he's my little buddy. I love him so!  

*also note Spongebob's impeccable photobomb!*

Day 27, From a distance:

While visiting PA, we decided to drive out to the United Flight 93 Memorial. It was so moving and heart-breaking. This shot was taken looking directly at the crater where the plane hit (a little to the right of that big rock) in the direction it was flying.

They truly were American heroes!

Day 28, Flowers:

Hydrangeas are one of my absolute favorite flowers!

Day 29, Black and white:

Before I left, we snapped a few shots of my family members I haven't seen in forever. 

Going clockwise

Top left: My grandmother, 

My grandfather

Bottom left: My cousin Hayden and my Uncle Tom, 

My cousin T.J. and I

Day 30, Self portrait:

 This was taken after I got some chocolate. All is good in the world!

To see the previous posts, click here!

Next, I am going to add all of them together to create my photo journal. Stay tuned!

30 Day Photo Challenge Week 4!

I can't believe that we are already on week four! I have to say this challenge has been really fun. I love getting the opportunity to be creative with the different days and also being able to look at how other's differed from mine!

Here are my photos for this week:

Day 18, Shoes:

Last week, I was on a plane heading for Ohio to spend time with my family. I always wear my tennis shoes when I travel because they normally take up the most space in my suitcase. 

Day 19, Something orange:

Orange is probably my least favorite color, but I did manage to find some in my suitcase. Even though my beanie is technically coral, I still think it fits. I just got this orange blouse at the thrift store  and my glasses case just happens to be corally-orange, too!

Day 20, Bokeh:

This is my Aunt Denise and I (check out her blog). I am so happy to get to see her!

Day 21, Faceless self portrait: 

I am not very good at messy buns, but my aunt loved it and wanted to take a picture of my bun that day for her Pinterest board.

Day 22, Hands:

This is my hand next to my grandmothers. Isn't it neat!?

(We both have tiny hands, don't we!)

Day 23, Sunflare:

This was taken on Mt. Washington looking at the Pittsburgh skyline.

Check back next Monday for the last week of the challenge! (I'll share today's photo then)

and be sure to check out the Deaf Girl Musings Facebook Page to see all the other participant's photos!

30 Day Photo Challenge, Week 3!

First off, Happy St Patty's day!

It's been a crazy week filled with tons of wonderful memories. If you didn't already know, I spent the past week up at my grandparents mountain retreat. My cousin's spring break just so happened to be the same as ours, so we all drove up for a week of fun! I think I will do a post tomorrow or sometime soon with all the adventures we went on.

 We just got back saturday, and tomorrow I leave to go visit my other side of the family. I am so excited because it's been so long since I've last seen them and I know we will have a blast together. Anyway, here are my pictures from this past week:

Day 11, Something Blue:

This one came out a little blurry because I was zoomed in so much, but my family decided to go bowling and this was our score board. Actually this was only the younger kids one, as we split up into two groups (one with bumpers, one without). It was funny because my papa shocked us all and whooped our butts at bowling! He was scary good and giving us all tips... this is coming from a man who hardly ever bowls! (Must be the engineer in him)

Day 12, Sunset:

I'm cheating on this one because this photo was actually taken back in July while I was in Florida. I'm dreaming of being back at this beach, though!

 Day 13, Yourself with thirteen 'things':

I guess I am also cheating on this one... because I am with people not things, but this one was too good not to share! This was our entire group up on the mountains with us. Here's who is in this picture: My brother Austin, SIL Holly, my cousins Tyler, Matthew, and Jake, myself, my mom, my cousin's friend Michael, My grandfather (papa), my other brother Addison, my aunt Teresa, my nana (grandmother) and family friend Ian way in the back. That makes 12, not including me.... so for the 13 things, I am including Sydney, my dog who so gracefully photobombed this picture! Look at the middle left :) There you have it...myself with 13 things people!

Day 14, Eyes:

 There's an unspoken rule in our family: Never be the last one awake in the mornings. We will make you look silly (these were dog toys) and take your picture. And we will post it all over Facebook. This time it was poor Ian who got it. This makes me laugh because his eyes are perfectly shut and his mouth is open, as if he's in a deep sleep completely unaware of what's going on around him.

Day 15, Silhouette:

I absolutely love this picture! I just think it's so neat. My Papa built a zipline on their property and every time we come out, we always have to ride it. This time it was dusk and this shot was taken of my Papa looking up at the deer stand/ top of the zipline as he was waiting for the next victim, I mean adventurer. 

Day 16, Long Exposure:

This was my failed attempt at long exposure. First, I had to google what that is and then it took about a billion shots just to barely get an acceptable one. Nevertheless, it's still a pretty picture, long exposure or not! This was Cherokee Falls at Cloudland Canyon State Park. It's about 280 steps down to reach it, but it's so worth it! It's absolutely breathtaking and I am lucky enough to get to visit all the time because my grandparents live so close to the park. 

Day 17, Technology:

(Excuse my terrible cell phone quality picture, it was last minute!)

I could give up my cell phone, my nook, my alarm clock and any other technology I have ( I really don't have that much seeing that I had to mention my alarm clock as a piece of technology). But I tell ya, I couldn't live without my laptop. I use it daily and for almost everything. I use it a lot for school (it was a grad present) but I also use it to blog (what I am doing in this picture, it's like a 'blog'-ception!), keep up with social media, watch TV (hulu mostly), listen to music and so much more! 

That's it for this week, check back next monday for Day 17-24!

30 Day Photo Challenge Week 2

I'm a day late, but here I am...week 2!

To see week one's pictures, click here

Day 4, Something Green:

 My mom got these gorgeous daisies (my fav flower) the other day and they make me smile every time I see them!

Day 5, From a high angle:

This was looking down at one of many jars we have filled with shells that we collected on several beach trips we've taken. They make me think of those fun memories!

Day 6, From a low angle:

Taken on my grandparent's property... they have lots of trees!

 Day 7, Fruit:

 I looooove pineapple. That is all.

Day 8, A bad habit

I have a major sweet tooth. Major. To the point where I have to have something sweet after lunch and dinner. One of these peanut butter cups does the trick!

Day 9, Someone I love:

(he is only holding a BB gun... don't worry!)

This one was hard to narrow down, I love too many people to choose just one!

This is my oldest cousin on my mom's side, Jake. He inspires me every day. As I've said before on here, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 2 years old.  It's a terrible terrible thing to deal with, let alone dealing with it so young. I pray everyday that one day we will find a cure, and I know we will!

 Day 10, Childhood memory:

 My brothers, cousins and I all grew up playing card games together... in fact, we still do! Our favorites are spoons and Uno.