I know it’s only been a few months, but it feels like its been forever since I last sat down to write a blog post! I was using a school computer all last year, so when I graduated, I had to return it. I’ve been computer-less all summer until last month, when I bought a new Macbook Pro for college. I didn’t realize how much I used my laptop until I was without it, and I’m so glad to be back with one. There are so many new things I want to do in the next few months, and focusing on my blog is definitely a big one. I have lots to update on from the past few months, and there are some really exciting things in the future!
What have I been up to? Summer seemed to go by in a blur. May was crazy, with the last week of classes, graduation celebrations, and a family trip. June was probably my favorite month of the whole summer- I traveled a good bit and spent lots of time with friends. While July was good as well, I spent most of my days at work or laying at the pool. It was pretty lazy, but I definitely miss it now that school has started back and gotten so busy.
May // This was a really crazy month for me. I had two AP exams to study for, so my last few weeks of classes were filled with reviewing and going through old material. I shopped with my friend for my graduation dress, tie dyed my senior tank for field day, went to dinner with my bosses and coworkers to celebrate the graduating employees, and went to my last ever high school class. Seniors got out of school a week early, so my last day was the tenth. I had a few weeks of free time before graduation on the 25th. Graduation was fun, a lot of my family came into town and we had a party afterwards at my house. We had a build your own taco bar and a bonfire with s’mores. Such a good night! The day after the graduation, our family packed up and hit the road, heading to Orlando, FL for a summer trip to Universal Studios. It was a 12 hour trip, so we split it up into two days and stayed in Atlanta, GA for a night. It was fun to explore Atlanta for a few hours: we went to Passion City Church for their Sunday morning service, and we stopped at Ponce City Market to shop around. They had amazing food and cute stores: I got a smoothie bowl and a few fun clothing pieces for summer. When we finally got to Orlando, our hotel room wasn’t ready yet, so we went straight into the park to start our day! I was so pumped to hear that we were going to Universal. I’ve been to Disney before, but I think I actually like Universal even better. It’s focused more on rides than the characters, so I think it was geared more towards older kids/adults. The first day we spent most of our day in Islands of Adventure, hopping between the rides and exploring the shops. We ended the afternoon in Hogsmeade Village- the best part of the day! I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, so I loved seeing everything from the books. We tried frozen butterbeer (amazing), rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and walked through the village. Day two: another fun day in the park! This time we went in through the Universal Studios side and stayed there for the day. This side had the Diagon Alley part of Harry Potter world, and I can’t decide which side I liked better, Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. Diagon Alley had so many things from the books: Ollivanders, Madam Maulkin’s robe shop, and Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. Many more rides in Universal later, we took a break and went back to our room for an afternoon break. We ate a late lunch, chilled at the pool, and worked out in the gym before grabbing supper and heading back into the park. This time we went back in on the Universal side and got ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s in Diagon Alley, then rode the Hogwarts Express to the other side of the park. The perfect second day! I won’t spare you the random details of the rest of the trip, but it was lots of rides, lots of walking and swimming at the resort pool, and many repeat trips to Harry Potter world :). It was the perfect way to kick off summer, and I was so sad to leave!
June // June was another really fun month. I went on a few trips, but the best parts of June were the little things I did with friends and family. My 18th birthday was also in June, and I celebrated with friends and got my third ear piercing. My dad and siblings and I started the newest season of the Amazing Race and spent most of our nights catching up on episodes. I went to a summer concert at the Grove one Sunday, grilled out with my fam, went on lunch dates with friends, worked lots of shifts at my shoe store job, going to cross country practices with my old team, worked at VBS for my church, and spent lots of time at the pool. Two fun trips I went on were to the beach with my best friend, Katelyn, sister, and grandmother in early June, and then a senior trip to New York with the same grandmother at the end of the month! The beach trip was only a few days, but it was one of my favorite weeks of summer. We shopped, watched movies, got manicures, took pics, ate lots of good food, and spent time at the beach! It was so fun just to spend time with Katelyn before we went to college in separate places. The trip to New York was amazing as well. It was only a three day trip, but we packed as much as possible into those three days. We explored the streets around Times Square, went to Soho and Chinatown, took the Staten Island Ferry, walked around Central Park and the Met, saw a Broadway play, and so much more. New York is crazy, but I’m glad I went and got to experience the city! June was probably my favorite month of summer. It wasn’t anything crazy or busy, but that’s what made it so special. It was filled with lots of time with family and friends, and I’m so sad it’s over!
July // July wasn’t quite as fun as June, but it was still a great month. I worked a lot in July, which I actually really enjoyed. I love my job, bosses, and coworkers, and I definitely needed the money to put towards college! Independence Day was really fun- I ran in the Stars and Stripes 4th of July 5k with my family, binge watched Stranger Things Season 3 all afternoon, and went out for dinner and fro yo with my siblings. I went to orientation at MSU with my parents and got a good feel of campus and made my schedule for fall semester. It made me so excited to move there for college. I also did lots of dorm shopping and college prep in July: lots of trips to Marshalls, Home Goods, and Walmart. More typical summer things: grilling out, staying up late watching Netflix, running at Whirlpool trails, spin class with my mom, and tanning at the pool! My last full month of summer… sad to see it go.
August // I only had about a third of the month as a part of my official summer, and most of it was spent prepping for college. It was bittersweet, because I was excited for college but I was also really sad to leave my family. I feel like we got really close over the summer with how much time I spent at home, so it was going to be hard to get out of my “home routine” and into a college schedule. It was so sad to see all my daily activities as “lasts”: last pool day, last church service, last Friday night dinner with the fam. I moved in on August 10, so it was great to spend the last week of summer doing all my usual traditions.
I know that was a photo and word overload, but I just wanted to catch up with everything that’s been going on before I start new posts about college! I really want to start posting more and give frequent updates now that I have a computer full time, and I’m excited for this next season of life.
Thanks for reading!
Addie
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