North Carolina adventure list.

Oh the excitement that comes with stomping around new territory! We've been living in Durham for almost six months now and we are very excited to be here! So far it has been lovely! We starting hearing amazing things about the area we are living in before we even started considering applying to Duke. Needless to say we have a lot of places we want to check out. Fortunately we have around five years to do it all. Here's the first draft of our list of adventures we'd like to go on while we're residents of the beautiful NC.

North Carolina adventures:

1. eat Maple View Farms ice cream. again and again
2. tour Biltmore... during Christmas time?
3. go to a Duke basketball game
4. hike all of Eno
5. ride the park train in Raleigh
6. Durham Bulls game
7. Duke football game
8. check out the Life Science Museum
9. adventure around OBX
10. UNC Aboretum
11. Pooles Diner
12. Historic Occoneechee Speedway
13. Ayr Mount plantation
14. Picnic (the restaurant)
15. hike the trails of Duke Forest
16. visit the Sarah P. Duke gardens
17. go to a pumpkin patch
18. pick the fruits
19. find Zaboomafoo at the Lemur Center
20. visit the Duke Chapel
21. check out the American Tobacco Historic District
22. Gugluhpf Bakery, Cafe, & Restaurant
23. Bennett Place Historic Site
24. Coker Arboretum 
25. Chimney Rock State Park
26. Loco pops
27. Rise Donuts
28. Tacos at La Superior, Esmerelda's Taco Truck, Cuscatleco, El Partron, and Guasaca

Savannah adventure list.

We only have a month left here in Savannah and I'm barely posting our adventure list!! Guys! I'm sorry! I mean I know that no one out there is like, "Man I wish Katelyn would get on that." But I still feel bad... maybe for my posterity's sake since blogging is how I journal half the time.

Anyway. K. Savannah is a pretty touristy place so there's lots to do. Plus besides Todd serving his mission in Arkansas we're not very familiar with the south. That mostly means new food. Lots of new food. And new other stuff but you know where my priorities are. ;)

That being said I'm going to divide my list into two... attraction type stuff and all things delicious. So yeah... without further ado...

Attraction Type Stuff

1. Forsyth Park/Jones Street
2. shopSCAD
3. Skidaway Island State Park
4. Atlanta!
5. berry picking
6. Bonaventure
7. Fort Pulaski
8. Tybee Island
9. Tybee Beach
10. Riverwalk
11. City Market
12. camping on Jekyll Island
13. farmer's markets
14. historic squares
15. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
16. Drive to Wormsloe (through the Spanish moss)
17. The Book Lady
18. Hilton Head
19. Edisto Beach
20. Lake Mayer Park
21. Savannah's Candy Kitchen

All Things Delicious

1. Green Truck
2. The Five Spot
3. Sly's Sliders & Fries
4. Sweet Potatoes (banana pudding)
5. Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room (fried chicken)
6. Leopold's
7. The Olde Pink House
8. Collin's Quarter
9. Baker's Pride
10. Chocolat
11. Vinnie's pizza
12. Back in the Day Bakery
13. Maddio's pizza
14. Sandfly BBQ
15. Two Smart Cookies

As you can see we've had a lot of fun and there's a lot of fun yet to be had! Anyone out there been to Savannah that wants to recommend an awesome experience that we should have? How about tips on watching fireworks next weekend? We kinda don't want to be surrounded by the college scene but we still want to see the show.

k thanksss!

tybee beaching.

If you haven't noticed yet we've been treating our summer like a ginormous vacation. Yeah Todd goes to work every day but he gets to come home early on Fridays and from there we have all weekend to get familiar with our temporary stomping grounds.

This weekend the sun was out and a blazin' so we opted to visit the beach! We're about thirty minutes from the vast Atlantic so it's pretty easy to pack a lunch, load up the car, and head out to the water. Hauling all of our chairs, food, shade, etc. to and from the water is a pain but it's absolutely worth it.

And of course I took a ton of pictures of our morning. Here are a few of the gems I'd like to not get lost in the depths of my phone's gallery.

We got there around 10am so the sun had only been up for about four hours. Ha where are my mountains?? But really, despite the terrible back-lighting for pictures ;), we'll be going even earlier next time. You get a good spot, the sand isn't on fire yet (you think I'm kidding), and you avoid all of the college kids! Perfect!

Todd grew up swimming in the Pacific. I grew up swimming in lakes. I think we'd agree that the Atlantic feels much nicer than both.

Oh this sweet boy. He seriously loves watermelon SO much. It's unreal.

He dropped his second slice in the sand so we threw it away. His little heart couldn't handle it. Don't worry, we had more. 

Hahaha. Just... hahaha.

Do you think Carter's or maybe OshKosh B'gosh are looking for a new brand rep??

I love that he recognizes when I'm taking pictures. He's started cheesing and it's one of my favorite little toddler stages. (: (: (:

p.s. where do you buy sturdy sand castle toys? 'cause the ten buck kit from Wal-Mart isn't cuttin' it. Which I should have known haha.

Merman and Merboy!

Oh my heart. I'm really glad I like my own kids. They're pretty darn cute. *as I suppress my memories of church today with a grumpy 14-month old*

And this...

... this is a face to end a blog post on. I mean look at that smile. Haha I'm telling you... my boys are going places. #laughtillyoucryemoji

Really though we had a lovely morning and this summer has been a blast so far. I've definitely struggled adjusting with all of this free time post-MBASA. We're doing our best though to not get too bored yet still get our relaxing in before Todd's program starts up. It's a fine line when you thrive on being busy like I do (I know, I'm working on it) but we're doing good. Real good. Peachy even. #thesummerofgeorgia

BYU baseball & Bridal Veil

We're knocking off bucket list items left and right people! Last week we watched BYU baseball take on (and beat) the Utes and this afternoon we hiked up to Bridal Veil falls. Two great family adventures in the books as we finish up our 2nd chapter at BYU.

Here we are at Miller Park watching BYU score many many runs.

You can probably guess that he was indeed excited to get a cougar tail at our last BYU sporting event. Todd was happy too when we came back with a 2-foot long maple bar instead of popcorn haha.

Cosmo seems taller these days...

Thanks for the tickets Bret!

____________________________________________________________

And here we are at the bottom of Bridal Veil. The story goes something like this...

Six years ago Todd and I had been hanging out a lot... just the two of us... and we decided to go on a little mini adventure up to Bridal Veil on a reading day before finals. We hiked up to the top (way passed the "hiking passed this point is strictly prohibited" sign) and took some fun pictures next to the waterfall. After making our way down the rocky base of the falls instead of the trail we walked back to the car... hand in hand. Therefore making the two of us a thing. It was great... and has been ever since. (: We decided to visit the falls again before leaving Provo and the boys loved it. It was everything a little boy could ask for... throwing things into the water and climbing up rocks. And boy did he climb! He was like a little mountain goat that kept climbing high and higher until even Todd said no more haha.

Can you find Todd??

Hahaha and the smirkiest smirk award goes to...

Besides being a mountain goat he also decided that he needed to grace each bench on the walk back with his bum.

Thanks for joining us for adventure numbers 9 and 10! Stay tuned for more!

goals goals goals.

These last few months have been ones filled with unbalance. I feel like everything is on one extreme or the other with too many deep ruts in between. I've stayed too busy and slept too little. That pretty much sums it up.

Yes, I'll have busy days and yes I can't really control the sleeping thing with a baby that doesn't enjoy sleeping at night... but I can do what I can do. Part of that is learning to balance things out a bit, not say yes to everything, and to simplify my life.

Every once in a while I have found that at least attempting to re-center and set some goals helps me to... feel better I guess.

And now that Calvin has hit 8 months I think it's about time. That and the excitement that the New Year brings.

Let's do this. Accomplishments I'd like to see happen in 2016.

1. √ Run For Your Life... a yearly ritual where I run 150 miles in 2.5 months to become an intramural champion. 
2. Run a marathon... I've decided that this summer is probably the summer to do it. I'm not planning on being pregnant, Todd will be between schools. Unfortunately we have no idea where we'll be all summer so where this marathon is going to happen is pending.
3. √ Kick those last 15 pregnancy pounds to the curb. They've been lingering for a few months now and quite honestly they've overstayed their welcome. It's time. (said in Rafiki's voice)
4. Master the art of bisque. The other day I went through my cookbooks and tagged any recipes that I'd like to try (my attempt to throw out a bunch of them before we move) and I found a lobster bisque recipe that looked pretty good. I've never even consumed the stuff but it must be good if Studio C is cracking jokes about it.
5. √ Master the art of pie crusts... grrr. dang pie crusts. I've got the flaky thing down but man... they're always so ugly haha. I know they don't have to look good to taste good but I'd like to figure it out. 

          (Did anyone else just notice the transition in these goals? Haha from running to losing weight             to making bisque and pie. Oh dear.)

       6. √ Read the Book of Mormon with Todd. Fortunately we've already gotten into a pretty good habit of reading scriptures together before those two turns of the lamp switch. This year though I'd love to read the whole thing as a couple.

That'll do for now. 

p-town in the summer time

Only 6 more days of school! Our summer time is just around the corner and I can't wait! We'll obviously be busy with our new little man but there are still so many fun adventures we'd love to go on. And so in no particular order (and with the understanding that some of these things probably won't happen) here is our list of summer time to-do's...

1. hike squaw peak
2. Balloon Fest (July 3-5)
3. attend a fair in August
4. attend the Manti pageant
5. cheer on the Utah Valley Marathon runners... and meet Mel. oh. my. heck. I know!
6. demolition derby?
7. farmers market!
8. Movies in the Park (Monday nights in August)
9. Rooftop Concerts (first Friday May-October)
10. swimming & splash padding
11. Midway's Swiss Days
12. Spanish Fork Fiesta Days
13. Springville Art City Days car show (June 13th)
14. Payson Salmon Supper (August)
15. rodeo
16. food truck round up
17. 
    

What'd we miss??

We're pretty excited to be spending the summer in Provo without school in our faces. Yeah Todd will be working a bunch and we'll have baby brother keeping us busy... but with our evenings free of homework we're going to be having loads of fun. (:

Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns

Now that the snow has fallen and autumn is on it's way out the door it's about time I share a few ton of pictures from our visit to the pumpkin patch last month. Ever since discovering the small pumpkin patch on the way to Walmart a few years ago I have developed a love for going to pumpkin patches. Something about all of the seasonal festiveness and lack of spooky traditional Halloween stuff and thousands of pumpkins just speaks to my heart. Growing up the "pumpkin patch" was the over-sized cardboard box of pumpkins sitting outside of the Winco entrance. Don't get me wrong, I loved going to Winco the Monday evening before Halloween and picking out my very own pumpkin to either smother with acrylic paint or carve a surprised circle face out of, both signature pumpkins of my childhood self. (: Just throw a pumpkin patch into the mix and now I get totally pumped! An excitement I hope to pass on to my kiddos. This year we took Peter to Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns out in Springville and it was so great! Perfect for our little guy and really, I'd say we all had a lovely time. (: Here are some all of the highlights...

The hay bale tower! Peter had a blast climbing to the very top...

...even though it meant getting scratchy hay down his diaper resulting in bum itching all evening. Haha poor kid.

The slide was also a hit, well mostly the platform above it (aka a box car roof). I know, super safe.

Bleating like a sheep, one of his many talents.

Tractor riding! We saw so many pumpkins and cars! And Emily got sneezed on by the kid next to her, that was pretty hilarious.

Clearly the kid didn't see her there... cause guys, she's 'squatch.

Peter caught on to the technique behind mastering the kid maze pretty fast... just follow the tall kid in front of you! Works every time.

Todd's doppelganger for the evening. Hey, it's either this furry fellow or a 40 year-old man. 

And the best moment of the evening... pumpkin picking!

Everybody got one, even baby. (:

Happy fall to you, from all four of us.

the next era of p-town.

So... sometimes you just get into a blogging slump, yaknowwhatimean?? Ya, sorry about that. Even now I'm like hmmm, what to say...

Well we've had quite a few lovely adventures the last little while. We've been in Provo for about three months now and let me tell you... Provo is a different place than it used to be. Partly because I'm experiencing it as a mother and not a student. Partly because this place really has bloomed since we moved away two and a half years ago. Heck, we've got food trucks now! Talk about hip! Now that we are indeed back in p-town it's time for a new adventure list. A list like unto previous years except this time we have a two year-old in tow, making everything much more "exciting." (:

1. food truck round up 
2. hike the Y 
3. splash pad and hawaiian ice 
4. pebbles in my pockets 
5. consume some awesome bevvies at swig, pop'n'sweets, and sodalicious 
6. introduce Moo to the best Provo eateries 
7. visit some animal friends at the bean museum 
8. dine at Waffle Love 
9. Van Gogh to Play Dough: Art for Toddlers with Lisi!
10. Jaker's Pumpkin patch
11. Rooftop Concert Series... missed it this year.
12. camp in southern Utah... arches perhaps?
13. letterboxing!

• Emmett's and Ethel's
• Timpanogos Cave
• American Fork Amphitheatre
• Flour Girls and Dough Boys
• Scout Falls on Timpooneke Trail
• Lehi Sugar Factory
• Central Utah Gardens
• Scera Shell

That'll do for now... we are poor college students after all. (: That being said, any cheap adventure recommendations?

the halls do door county: Peninsula State Park

The fourth of July was great and all... but the 5th of July was pretty awesome. We drove up the thumb to Fish Creek to check out Peninsula State Park for the day.

Our adventure started with a 9.6 mile bike ride along the Sunset Trail around the park. About 4 miles in we stopped to check out the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. It was a neat little place and Peter appreciated the wiggle time, as usual.

cheeeeeese

Happy 5th of July!

The trail was beautiful and well shaded so we all had an enjoyable time cruising around the park. (:

After our bike ride we headed to the other end of the park for some hiking. Of course we had to make another climb to the top of another observation tower. Fortunately this one was safer with smaller gaps in the railings. Unfortunately it was windy and there were a lot of people. Juuuuust a little nerve wracking. 

Really the tower wasn't too bad... but hands down the hike was better. We got to hike along the water, check out some caves, and work up a nice appetite for our next adventure...

I spy a daddy and a Peter...

Just call him mountain-goat-Todd.

Peter is always a ham. Seriously he is never not being a ham.

Apparently that's how we really felt.

Ah yes, the next adventure. We had dinner at Al Johnson's, a Swedish restaurant that grows grass on their roof for the goats.

I want to order that goat, please.

Just like home!

Peter had fun checking out all of the trolls and watching the silly goats bleat, eat, and pee on the roof. So much fun in fact that he slept all the way home and almost missed out on s'mores! 

K not all the way home. We had to stop at Wilson's for a root beer float that had their homemade root beer and homemade ice cream. It was amazing people! Seriously, top three root beers I've ever had in my entirety of living. The other two are Mug and The Grumpy Troll's brew in case you're wondering. (:

Back to s'mores... don't worry, we woke the beast so he could enjoy his first s'more experience. And let me tell ya it was a hit! Especially once he figured out he could pull apart the graham crackers and go straight for the good stuff.

I mean have you ever seen a happier child??

So to wrap things up, here's my list of Door County favorites... aka the things you should highly consider doing due to their grandeur and/or deliciousness. Including some things that we didn't have time for that I would have been up for...

• camp or stay in a lake house with beach access... hammock and a good book recommended
• hike/bike around Peninsula State Park (Eagle Trail has all of the caves)
• buy something cherry from Grandma Tommy's and sample their amazing jams, salsas, and mustards, they mean business when it comes to this stuff, it was all incredible!
• play at the beach, Whitefish Sand Dunes State Park if you're looking for some great sand and Cave Point County Park if you just want to adventure around and not swim
• consume a root beer float from Wilson's 
• get pizza at The Wild Tomato right outside of Peninsula State Park
• rent a boat or a sea-do for the day and play on the water
• go kayaking
• check out the goats at Al Johnson's although don't feel obligated to eat there
• climb to the top of a light house or two... there are eleven to choose from!
• shop around all of the goofy shops in one of the little "sea-side" towns

Have fun! (: