Author: aprillynette

How to Insure Your Weekends are Epic….

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Recipes for EPIC weekend adventures include:

-Friends

-Family

-Any new/novel

-Progress towards goals

-Naps

The last few weekends have been just what the doctor ordered for any end-of-Summer-blues we may be facing. We may not have traveled out of town, but luckily for us there is plenty of fun to be had right next door in Savannah, Georgia. We have played on play grounds, visited cute downtown coffee/art spots, had sweet friends visit from out of town, snuggled during Sunday afternoon naps, ate buttery popcorn during movie night, read books by flashlight in our pillow fort, and make some big strides for a new bucket list adventures coming up this fall.

Check out some of the fun!

 

2017 Bucket List: Completion Report

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While the temperature outside may still denote Summer, my school calendar does not. A new Happy Planner has been purchased and pre-pre-planning is underway. I have to go back to work a little bit earlier these days…however it is easy to get back into the school year swing when you absolutely love your job AND when the one who helps with Addie during the day is the same woman who raised you (thanks MOM)!

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We had another epic Summer in the Harvey household complete with trips to Disney World, a cruise to Mexico, time spent at the Lake and Beach. It’s a wonder that we were able to complete anything on our Summer Bucket List with all that extra fun…but Addie and I are pros at this bucket list thing. Check out of progress this Summer!

Here is the list for this year:

  1. Make a stepping stone- Bought the supplies, but not yet completed. I will post picks with the finished product!
  2. Collect and paint rocks- CHECK!
  3. Visit the Trampoline Park- CHECK!
  4. Paint Pottery- CHECK! Addie did such a great job. The lady who works there noted how much patience she had painting all of her pieces.
  5. Create a spa night at home- CHECK! Aunt Mer took us to a neat place that allows you to customize and create your own bath scrubs and oils. We used these and some samples of spa lotions and nail polish that we got for free the same day.
  6. Go to a summer matinee- CHECK! We saw Cars III….not my favorite Disney movie, but a Disney movie is better than almost anything else out so I call it a win.
  7. Have a Random Acts of Kindness Day- I really like doing this, but it is so much more fun as a group. I will add it to the Fall Bucket List to redeem ourselves!
  8. Tie dye- CHECK!
  9. Have a picnic/tea party- CHECK! This was Addie’s first-official-non-pretend Tea Party. She LOVED it!
  10. Go sea shelling in St. Augustine- CHECK (sort of). We went to Fernandina instead and there were VERY FEW shells.
  11. Make homemade pizza- NOPE.
  12. Make jewelry- CHECK! Addie made a necklace and bracelet with her name on it and all.
  13. Go to the beach with friends- CHECK!
  14. Have a lazy day around the house- CHECK! We actually had several of these….until I decide I can’t stand being cooped up and we go head to town or anywhere.
  15. Go to a U-pick farm- CHECK! This year we actually picked tomatoes. YUM!
  16. Go to the open studio hours at a local kids art studio (Henny Penny or Scribble Art Studio)- NOPE. Maybe sometime soon?

All in all it was a great Summer. I can’t wait for many more with this little chick!

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Lake and Beach: 2 Weekends with Addie

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With only 940 Saturdays between birth to 18 I want to make sure I savor each and every one in Addie’s life whether we are adventuring around the world or our hometown, I want to hold on to these precious moments. Some weekends we celebrate the mundane….but the last two weekends have been extra-special.

Elijah Clark State Park Weekend Adventure

We camped, we ate Mexican AND Italian (who says Lake Life can’t have some global flare), we tie dyed, and we swam and played!

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Day Trip to Downtown Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach

We came, we played, we ate, we left!

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Summer Bucket List: Addie’s First Tea Party

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We have played “tea party” in the bath tub, playroom, at Mimi’s house, and just about everywhere. Addie has made raspberry, peach, blueberry, chocolate, and even the occasional broccoli and carrot tea. This week Addie, Mimi, and I had a chance to have our very own real tea party. Look at the pictures below. I think it is safe to say that it was a great experience, and I am sure will become at the very least an annual tradition!

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Addie’s First Tea
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Yum, raspberry tea!
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Three lumps is better than two!
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Gotta have the pinky out!

Wanderlust Wednesday: Ireland

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Today went down in the books as another fun summer day with Addie and family! Her cousin Aubrey is in town for the 4th. They swam until they dropped today at the Splash in the Boro.

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While I do like celebrating Independence Day in the USA, I have to admit that I do miss bringing in the 4th in Ireland while Waring and I were on our honeymoon EIGHT years ago. I miss this place… Maybe we will make it back there for our 10th year anniversary. A girl can dream….

5 Reasons Why I Love Ireland (and you should too):

  1. Round-abouts and left-sided driving make everything more interesting
  2. Bed & Breakfasts are WAAAY cooler than hotels. Each host is a treasure trove of knowledge and each place seems to have a sweet dog as their mascot.
  3. Small town vibes are everywhere. You can explore the country by traveling from town to town and not feel overwhelmed.
  4. Absolute 360 degrees of beauty EVERYWHERE you look.
  5. When the heat index is over 100 degrees here in Georgia….the high is a crisp 60 degrees in Galway.

Summer 2017 Bucket List

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Another glorious summer is here! As an educator, Summer is the season of life in which we can stay up late, pretend for a little while that we are stay at home moms, finally get to that overdue spring cleaning, READ, be the fun mom that you wanted to be all year, cook actual meals that aren’t from a box, can, or freezer, and reconnect with family and friends. Yes, summer sabbaticals are amazing. They recharge our batteries and allow us to hit the ground running at 110% come August!

Summer is great, but it doesn’t last! In order to make the most of each summer day with Addie I find it helpful to create a bucket list (of course….). In years to come I think it will be even more fun as she will get to come up with unique and crazy adventures to add to our list each year as well.

Here is the list for this year:

  1. Make a stepping stone (We did this last year, so I would like to make it a yearly tradition).
  2. Collect and paint rocks
  3. Visit the Trampoline Park
  4. Paint Pottery
  5. Create a spa night at home
  6. Go to a summer matinee
  7. Have a Random Acts of Kindness Day
  8. Tie dye
  9. Have a picnic/tea party
  10. Go sea shelling in St. Augustine
  11. Make homemade pizza
  12. Make jewelry
  13. Go to the beach with friends
  14. Have a lazy day around the house
  15. Go to a U-pick farm
  16. Go to the open studio hours at a local kids art studio (Henny Penny or Scribble Art Studio)

We still have a little bit  more time before I go back to school. I will be sure to post our accomplishments then! What’s on your list this summer?

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Who You Are Today

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Who you are today….that’s who you are.

Be brave.

Be amazing.

Be worthy.

And every single time you get the chance, stand up in front of people.

let them see you. Speak. Be heard.

Go ahead and have the dry mouth.

Let  your heart beat so, so fast.

Watch everything in slow motion.

So what. You what?

You pass out, you die, you poop?

NO. 

(And this is really the only lesson you’ll ever need to know.)

You take it in.

You breathe this rare air.

You feel alive.

You are yourself.

You are truly finally always yourself.

-Dartmouth Commencement Speech, Shonda Rimes, 2014

 

Bucket List: 2017 Edition

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Happy 2017, everyone! This past year will certainly be hard to top. In 2017 I want to make the most of time this year by spending it with family and friends and soaking up each moment together. In addition to selecting a list of fun, must-do items, I have also chosen a word to serve as a focal point and core value.

After mulling over several choices one just seemed to stick. Embrace. Yes, I want to embrace all aspects of life this year, the happy, the sad, the routine, the mundane. I would normally learn towards stronger, more intense, more direct and forward terms, (i.e. strive, intention, drive) which is why I purposefully chose a softer, more compassionate gentle term to balance out my type-A, driven, obsessive bent. I want to embrace life, embrace others, embrace gritty, raw, real life. Only God knows what is in store for us, and only He can can prepare us for 2017. Here we go!

Here’s the List:

  1. Write my own manifesto (from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project)
  2. Write a letter to my future self
  3. Celebrate my last day of my 20’s
  4. Plan (and have) a spa day
  5. Do Adult Disney
  6. See the Rocky Mountains
  7. Fly fish
  8. Sand surf
  9. Stay in a Deluxe Disney Resort
  10. Hang Glide
  11. Sleep in a tree house
  12. Learn about floral arts
  13. Take a cooking class
  14. Master the art of the sugar cookie
  15. Plant bougainvillea
  16. Reach goal weight (finally)
  17. Pay off student loans
  18. Develop a “big girl” skin care routine
  19. Visit a new state
  20. Visit a new country
  21. Explore Universal’s Harry Potter World
  22. Complete a Reading Challenge
  23. Learn Spanish (again…)
  24. Prepare for an emergency (so we won’t get totally caught off guard by something like Hurricane Matthew again.)
  25. Attend Dragon Con
  26. Plan and implement seasonal bucket lists/monthly challenges

 

What’s on your list? Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

 

2016 Bucket List: Year End Review

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2016 was am amazing year, and we are excited for more adventures in 2017. Thank you, Jesus for your provision, sacrifice, and blessing!

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  1. Get a Henna Tattoo Got this one crossed off at DISNEY WORLD. Yes folks, it will happen this Summer. –Check: Summer Family Vacation 6/2016
  2. Have Mermaid Hair (Dye it a crazy color) I was able to get mermaid hair (purple and blue just in time for DISNEY)! 
  3. Plant Hydrangeas and Bougainvillea Partially complete. Some beautiful pink and blue hydrangeas have been planted outside the bedroom door. Now we just need to find the perfect spot for the bougainvillea. 
  4. Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride Dad and I completed this bucket list adventure. It was so peaceful floating in they sky…. but we almost landed in an orange grove!
  5. Make a Will Ok….this was on the bucket list last year. Now that the house has been built we have no excuse. DONE!!! 8/25
  6. Attend a Stargazing Event (maybe next year…)
  7. Visit 1 New Country (sigh…maybe next year…)
  8. Visit 2 New States Done and Done! For Spring Break we visited several states. The two news ones for me that we were able to explore were Vermont and Rhode Island. I absolutely love all things New England! Current state count: 36.
  9. Visit Disney for 25 Days We ended up spending a grand total of 22 days at Disney…and we renewed for next year. Whoo-hoo, I call this bucket list task a win!
  10. Start A Habit: Consistent Daily Devotionals Currently I am doing a short one each morning, but I would like to incorporate a few more in-depth studies. 
  11. Reach Goal Weight I am trying…..ok I could probably be trying a bit harder. I guess that there is always next year.
  12. SCUBA New Place (maybe next year…)
  13. Start Composting I acquired a composter, but unfortunately that is as far as I got. 
  14. Emergency Preparedness Kit: We have a sawyer water filter, some backpacks, flashlights, fire starters, and non-perishables, but that is just a start. Now that we have a true outage experience from Hurricane Matthew we have a real-life experience to draw upon as we think about future preparedness. 
  15. Grow a Garden We have paired down the garden plans this year because we need to focus on several other projects around the yard. We do have some tomatoes and peppers growing currently. 
  16. Read Entire Bible (still reading, still growing, the bucket list task is never complete). 
  17. Attend the Highland Games Check! We went to the local games in Savannah. It was fun to try some Scottish cuisine. 
  18. Attend a Renaissance Festival (maybe next year…)
  19. Go to the Trampoline Park Done!
  20. Quit Coke….hahaha this wasn’t even closer. I am trying to stay away from the fully-leaded ones, but I am just not sure that I actually want to quit bad enough. 
  21. Take a Declutter Challenge! Done and done! Just had a yard sale this past weekend. It feels great to be a little bit lighter…now onward to buy more stuff (just kidding…).
  22. Swim with Dolphins (I just can’t get over the price tag for this experience…)
  23. Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (nope). 
  24. Sleep in a Tree House (maybe next year…)

Stay tuned for more adventures and bucket list ramblings in 2017.

Birthday Adventures in Asheville

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Our very dear friends, Justin and Meredith, are givers. They truly have a servant’s heart and desire to show Christ’s love through acts of kindness and service. We love them and are thankful for their impact on our lives as a family. To celebrate them and the milestone, three decades of life on this earth, that they are turning we went to Asheville to celebrate!

Because I am a crazy list-making, travel-planning nerd the details of the weekend were planned out in or to maximize the fun! We could not have pulled off such a fun-filled weekend had it not been for the other couple you see in the picture above, the Edwards. They (and their two little boys) truly brought such a great spirit of fun to the weekend! Audra helped find a service activity for us to do in Asheville that was totally Justin and Meredith, called 12 Baskets Cafe.

 

Let’s recap: mountain life, campfire, s’mores, hiking, waterfalls, low country boil, cookies AND cake,  acts of service, three cute kids,  long talks with friends, new experiences in a fun city = SO MUCH FUN! Thank you Justin and Meredith for having a birthday so that we could celebrate!