Where HAVE you been?!?! --- Summer Part II

Where have I been?!?! Well my friends….that is such a good question! The answer is – EVERYWHERE! Ok, well obviously that is an impossibility…but, it seems like it. Ha!

So…we started this summer thinking we were going to move (permanently) to Washington DC – we even found ourselves the cutest condo to rent

HOWEVER, God had other plans for us…in fact, those plans included a move back to OMAHA, Nebraska. Yup, that’s right – we moved back to Omaha. But, this post isn’t about Omaha (that post is coming soon) – nope, it’s about all the fun, new, excited places went and all the exciting things we did and were able to be part of. So, here’s a sprint through my Summer….picking up where I left off (which was after our little vacay out West)


Right after we found our adorable little condo, we headed to Europe. Kevin and I spent a week and a half traveling around - we had the most amazing time!! And while I took thousands (literally thousands) of pictures....here are a few highlights

Barcelona, Spain - enjoying some yummy tapas!

Malta

Naples, Italy

Rome, Italy - if you click to enlarge this picture you can see the Colosseum. I have tons and tons of pictures of it too but, I keep reminding myself this is a sprint! Ha!!

Vatican City

Here a Picture of the Volcano we passed on our way to Livorno. So neat!

Tuscany, Italy

Cinque Terra, Italian Coast

Cannes, France

Monte Carlo, Monaco

After our European adventure, we made our way back to Omaha, packed up our apartment and made our way to Maryland. Along the way, we made a few stops.....of course ;)

Churchill Downs

An adorable little winery we found in West Virginia

Once we were settled in Maryland, we decided to take full advantage of our new geographical location and head up to see Kevin's family in Maine. What a gorgeous drive!! Although Maine is quite a drive from Maryland I didn't even mind since the scenery was just so beautiful.

For instance, we saw this hot air balloon just sailing over some farmland - so picturesque!!

Kevin has so many wonderful memories at his family's lakehouse so, when we chose to stay there. I can't wait to take our children there one day - I just know they will love it as much a Kevin and I do!

On our drive back to Maryland, we stopped at West Point. My Mom was stationed here when I was in grade school and I was just dying to go back and show Kevin one of the places I great up. I'm so happy to say that it was just as I remembered it. :)

We were home for a few days before we were off again. This time we were off to John Paul's Army Boot Camp graduation. Since his graduation was at Ft Bragg in Georgia, we were able to spend a few days with our friends near Atlanta. We love the Cagles and are always soooo happy when we are able to spend time with them. This time, our big outing was to a natural water slide. It was sooo cool!!! If you ever find yourself near Atlanta I highly recommend checking it out. I must mentioned that it is quite a hike out there - but well worth it.

Here's Caran and I heading down the slide - yippee!

I could do an entire post on John Paul's graduation (and I still might) - there really aren't enough words for me to describe how happy, excited and all-around PROUD of him I am. In addition, it was just amazing to watch him fulfill his dream of being a solider in the United States Army. Ever since he could talk, he has talked about the day he would become a solider - like I said, I could not have been/be any prouder. Definitely one of the happiest days of my life!!!

Here's John Paul (on the left) and his buddy Valentine. It was family day and we were so happy that Valentine was able to hang out with us for the day.

My family right after graduation.

John Paul and I right after graduation - yeah, it didn't take us long before we hit up the Starbucks - ha!

Well....I think that's enough for one post - and I'm almost done with the summer, yay!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

It's November! Guess that means it's time for a Summer Recap ;)

Boy have I been slackin' on my blog!! I have meant to start writing again several times but, each time I sat down to write a blog....it just seems as thought life pulled me in another direction. This summer has had a ton of twists and turns! It's been a lot of fun....maybe a bit stressful at times but overall, it's been really great! Here's part 1 of a short & brief-ish recap of what we've been up to -

May

I graduated from nursing school - HUGE yay!!

I visited my friends and family in my beautiful home state - Oklahoma

I was able to spend some a-mazing girl time with my two besties!!! Plus, I got to see Eli (the cutest baby in the WORLD a ton!!! - woo hoo!)

Went to my good friend Laurie's wedding - such a gorgeous bride!!

As soon as I got back to Omaha, my brother, John Paul came up for a quick visit before he headed off to boot camp. So, so, so proud of him!!

After John Paul's visit, my Aunt & I were off to DC for a few days. Even though it rained the majority of the time we were there, we had a great time....I was truly thrilled to have a few rainy days - rain has a way of slowing you down and that's exactly what happened to us, we both really enjoyed the down time!

Even though Kevin and I lived in Omaha for 3+ years, due to my school and his extremely busy (and crazy) work schedule, there were still soooo many things that we wanted to see and places we wanted to explore - so, we took a weekend a went around to some new places and of course, we returned to some of our favs....here's a new one, it's the Soaring Wings Vineyard. The guy that own it is a retired pilot - I thought it was a pretty clever name. They had some pretty tasty wines and beautiful views.

And, here we are at The French Cafe...love this place!! It's an Old Market fav! If you ever find yourself in the Omaha area, I highly recommend that you try it ;)

June

We had a going away dinner with some friends on their awesome deck....I'm not really sure what it is but, I love eating outside. There's not a whole lot that beats cooking out with friends on a nice summer evening!

There was a ton of stuff we did in June but, most of it was just boring time consuming stuff - like, planning out stuff for our upcoming travels and looking for townhouses in the DC area. I'll tell ya, once you've looked at a dozen or so townhouses online, they all start to look the same. ....I also said good-bye to some good friends - I just love these girls so I was pretty sad to say good-bye.

Lori and I at the lake

Jacquelyn and I at the Nebraska Brewing Company

Heather and I at my fav sushi place in Omaha

July

On July 1st, Kevin and I headed off to Colorado Springs. Some of our best buddies live there and we've been meaning to visit them for a few years now....it was really awesome to finally get out there. While we were there, we went on a few adventures with them....

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The top of Pike's Peak

7 Falls

Garden of the gods

When we got back from the garden of the gods, there was the most amazing rainbow!!

Air Force Academy

The bear we saw at the Air Force Academy - pretty cool

From Colorado, we made our way to South Dakota...where we saw Crazy Horse

....and Mount Rushmore

Then we did some great hiking in the Badlands. All I can say is that this area is REALLY gorgeous and we had a great time exploring it.

And, of course, we stopped to sample wine at a local vineyard - it's called Prairie Berry and if you ever find yourself in the area I highly recommend stopping by!

We left South Dakota and headed back home but we were only there for a few days before we were off again!!

Well, I'm off for tonight! Hopefully by the end of the week I will be all caught up - lol!

I can't wait to get all caught up on all of your blogs too!!