IL part 2

Saturday afternoon we drove over to Chillicothe to spend some time with the Baker side (Mom's family). We took some girl cousin pictures, since we have not been able to for 4 years and just hung out. Jazz was very tired from trying to play with Corky (Gparent's dog) and Cookie (Aunt's fam dog). Her legs were just hanging off mom's lap.
Aunt Diane also had very pretty flowers, so I took pictures of them as well before we left on Sunday to head back to Ohio.

IL part 1

On Friday, Dad got off work early, he and I picked up Mom from work and we drove to IL. Jazz enjoyed laying on my lap while I read. We stopped by a candle store in Indiana (see huge candle).
First stop was the Curtis' we stayed there Friday night and Grandpa made his [somewhat] famous pancakes...he's always made the best that I can remember and I enjoyed them for the first time in 4 years. Grandma also has very beautiful flowers in the back yard, so I took advantage and took pictures of a few.

the 8th and 9th.

On Wednesday and Thursday we did a few things just so we could rest up a little for the IL weekend.
Wednesday Mom and I went to Carriage Hill Metropark and took Jazz again with us for about a mile walk. She was so funny, especially when she got tired and started panting a lot...it was quite dramatic actually. That night Mom, Dad and I went to this really need mongolian bbq place called "bd's Mongolian Grill". It's like a make your own stir-fry kind of place. You pick from a buffet the ingredients you want as well as the sauce and they cook everything on this donut-shaped flat grill (like at a Japanese place). It's such a unique place...too bad the closest one to me is in Kentucky...anyone up for a road trip. =P
Thursday I picked Mom up after she got off work and we went to an outdoor mall called The Greene. Ate at a cute little place called Mimi's Cafe, had a great salad (plus they give you a huge muffin before they bring the salad out). We walked around a little, picked up a slice of Kaluha Cocoa Coffee Cheesecake and a slice of White Macadamia Chocolate Carmel Cheesecake to take home and share with Dad. (They were both very very delicious!) Dad took us to a trail that he usually rides his bike at for our evening walk.

July 7th

Mom and I went to Cox Arboretum because there was supposed to be this awesome butterfly house and we were very very excited to go. Well, when we go there...we found 8 butterflies...I think I may have even counted a few twice. No lie. I did get some great flower pictures though.
So after being disappointed, we stopped by the house and got Jazz (she wasn't allowed at the Arboretum) and went to Charleston Falls. There was about a mile trail that lead to the falls. There were more butterflies on the trail than at the "butterfly house". It was a lot of fun and a great work out for Jazz. =)

Tipp City

So Tipp City is a charming little town about 30 minutes away from my parent's house. There were a bunch of cute little shops (that were all closed becuase it was Monday) that we just window shopped and some randoms stuff as well...a drinking fountain on a street corner, flowers painted on the sidewalks all over town and just some random signs. It was a lot of fun just walking around with Mom and doing one of our favorite hobbies...taking pictures =D

Columbus Zoo

My Parents and I went to the Columbus Zoo on Sunday the 5th because it was military appreciation weekend (so we all got in for free!) =D It wasn't as great as the zoo in Abq in my opinion, but it was a lot of fun hanging out with my parents for the day.

July 4th

We celebrated July 4th at the National Museum of the Air Force. We basically spent a couple of hours walking around 3 HUGE plane hangers filled with planes. I must say that the best part is being able to walk around my Dad in his element...having a personal guide who knows what they're talking about from personal experience is pretty awesome. The plane he's standing by below is one that he worked with in Desert Storm. Also, there was this really cool "50th Anniversary" blanket that had all the AF bases that were open at the 50th anniversary mark. 3 of the 5 bases that Dad was stationed at while he was active duty were on it.

Some pics of me & Jazz the first few days I was in Ohio. =) I love my new sister.

Ohio Caverns

First Trip: Ohio Caverns. Largest caverns in the state. The tour took about a hour. Very cool down there, both in temp and surroundings.

Baker Family Fun!

Some of my favorites of me and the Baker Girls. I must say...we are definitely her Granddaughters =D
More pictures from my Ohio adventures to come.

Has it really been that long?

Okay...so yesterday at work I celebrated my TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! Which means a couple of things...
1-I've been working to support myself for 2 years...
2-I haven't lived with my parents for 2 years...
3-I've been out of high school for 6 years now and college for 2...
Not only that, but a lot of stuff has happened and a lot of things have changed. After 2 years of living by myself, I now have 2 roommates (Crystal & Trish). I've been living with them for a week now and so far so good. I'm not gonna lie, it's different, but it's definitely a good thing. God has done some amazing stuff in my life in these 2 years. I have met so many new people and have gained a lot of great friends.
That's really the biggest change in my life right now...many more things have changed, but none seem as big as this one...
God had brought me so far and I'm just excited to see where he's going to take me next...to see what he still has in store for my life.

One of my favorite songs follows...Planetshakers is such a great Praise & Worship band and this song really touches my heart the first thing that strikes me about this song is the music itself, of course, because I'm a nerd when it comes to instruments and such, but the words always make me think of how wonderful He really is and how I am so quick to forget who is in control...hearing it is great, but the words are even better...

"Great and Mighty"
I stand in this place and lift
Up my eyes to see
The glory of Your face
My God, how wonderful You are
How beautiful Your name
It calms the raging seas
With open arms I run into Your courts
I'll dance before You King of all the earth
You're great, great and mighty
King of glory, God of wonder
You're great, Ancient of Days
Keeper of my heart,
Lover of my soul
You are great and mighty
You are great and mighty
You are great and mighty
You are great
You are great
You are great

I hope y'all enjoy that and get as much out of it (if not more) than I do.

A.