sweet summertime

Once again...I'm horrible at keeping this updated! I keep telling myself to blog once a week, but I never actually do it. I can't seem to make myself sit down and just write. But here I go again..a lot has happened since my last post, but most importantly, my summer classes are finally OVER! Hallelujah! My brain can officially turn off for awhile. Now it's time to get down to some serious reading, one of the many things I've been pushing aside. Although I try so hard to like it, reading is just not my thing. I'm super slow and I usually just end up falling asleep. But I have about six books I was hoping to read this summer, so I really need to get with it.

Anyway, this summer has been flying by, but it's been good, and I know the remainder will be even better! In early June, I went to New York City for a few days with my mom, grandma, sister, and brother-in-law. NYC is probably my favorite city so it was awesome to be able to go again. We stayed in an amazing hotel in the heart of Times Square, and since our room was on the 43rd story, we had an awesome view. I'm absolutely terrified of heights so I was not excited about being that high up. I praised God every morning after we came down to the ground level for the day!

the view from our hotel room

We're huge musical fans so we saw three; 9 to 5, Guys and Dolls, and West Side Story. They were all great, but 9 to 5 was my favorite. We hung out in Little Italy and Chinatown, took a stroll through Central Park and ate at Tavern on the Green (a famous restaurant in Central Park), did a little shopping, and did some sightseeing. We took a tour of NBC studios, which included a tour of the sets of SNL and Jimmy Fallon's show and we went to the "Top of the Rock," which is the top of the GE building in Rockefeller Plaza. We stood on the observation deck of the 70 story building and looked out at the city. Although being 70 stories above ground made me feel like throwing up the entire time, it was a fantastic view. Overall, we had a great trip and I'm already looking forward to going back again!

all of us in Central Park

the view of Central Park from the Top of the Rock

For the fourth of July, my family from Florida came to visit. Altogether there were around 20 of us, so we had a good time. We spent some time playing on my grandma's farm and we went to the Lincoln Museum and sites in Springfield because my cousins had been learning about the Presidents of the U.S. For living so far away from each other, my family stays pretty close. It's always fun when we're able to get together.

my grandma's fourth of july tree

Ellen and Bobby touching Abe's nose