Adventure doesn't have a curfew

My summer started off with a bang. First of all, being done with classes makes me giddy. My dad and I chatted about Elvis and the mad phenomenon of the Beatles on the ride to the airport. On the flight, the stewardess gave me two bags of hun-cal Cheese Nips AND a refill on my ginger-ale. That's service. I cried reading the rest of Bloom and would look out the window at the clouds whenever I thought I was about to lose it completely. I finished the book, so this will be my last time writing about it for awhile - promise. A few of my favorites from the last 80 pages:
1. p. 198:

Fear and Sadness had to go, and it would be my job to kick them out...I just said, "Get out," loudly and forcefully, like a true badass, if I do say so myself. "I am not afraid. So get the hell out of my head. Now."

2. Kelle made a Dumb and Dumber reference...I just know she and I would get along so well.
3. Hilarious descriptions about the hot physical therapist that works with Nella.
4. She writes about getting overly excited about future plans and how it's fun to talk about those dreams. And it made me think. You know the stupid cheesy quotes (that I probably posted on MySpace more than a couple times) that say things like, "Shoot for the stars" or "Dare to dream?" I think I was a very ambitious child, but recently I really have not liked those quotes because, for some reason I had in my mind that those dreams were supposed to be things like being president or being a famous author or actress or something. And I didn't feel like I had ambitious desires like that anymore. But Kelle's section on page 208 made me think about how, for me, those dreams are really things like being an awesome aunt someday, being a mom, living close to my siblings, and having fun with slash loving my family and friends well. And I realized that those are perfect dreams.

This post was really supposed to be about my trip to Texas, so pardon that long digression. Katie picked me up from the airport and we went to explore Austin for a couple hours! We went to El Chilito in search of the sweet mustache see-saw Cathy told me about. The see-saw wasn't there, which was a huge disappointment, but we got some good (and super messy) burritos. We also went to Amy's Ice Cream and I am a little obsessed with that place now because it was delicious.

We celebrated my birthday with Taryn when we got to Waco. They had gone through a fiasco to make a heap of cake balls but they were so yummy and obviously worth the trouble. And look at the card they got me for my birthday:

 

He is a babe. And seriously? They know me so well. And on the inside Justin wrote, "Don't waste a wish on being any cuter, because you simply could not be any cuter. Happy Birthday!" What a guy.

We packed up lots of furniture into the van, but we also had a few days to just have so much fun being together. We ate fro-yo, went to a hibachi grill called Shogun, played lots of games (Sour Apples to Apples, Yatzee, and our favorite- the game of Things), and got manicures. They showed me the coolest places in Waco, including a precious store called Harts & Crafts and a really great coffee shop, Common Grounds. I got to meet a couple of their best friends there and got to hang out more with Taryn's boyfriend, Luke. I also probably experienced my most embarrassing moment when I got locked in the bathroom at Luke's house and he had to break down the door (I know, it was awful. And yes, I've had far too many traumatic locked-in-the-bathroom experiences).

Check out my new sunglasses! When I got home Olivia said, "Those look like they're old-fashioned," and Matthew said, "What are you...from the...1970's?" Yes, yes I am. I LOVE THEM!

On Friday we went to Six Flags in Arlington. The weather had been cooler than usual all week (which was great), but the thunderstorms held off until right after we left the park. Perfection. We were famished after riding crazy rollercoasters all day, so we stuffed our faces at Red Robin afterwards and it was the very best!

It was such a blessing to be able to spend the week with Taryn because we hadn't seen her in so long, so it was also super sad to say goodbye and begin our 14-hour drive. But Katie and I did have lots of fun listening to great music and going through super random tiny towns. I loved the southern scenery of hay bales and water towers (really, I think they're just so cool). We made sure to stop at the state borders to get great pictures and we also made lists about our dreams...21 things I want to do before I'm 21 (it's not finished yet so I probably need your help), things Katie wants to do this summer, and things we want in our future husbands (we're girls, okay?). It really was fun! And we made great time, even with the sections of pouring rain and road work.

 21 before I'm 21:
1. Go to a movie by myself
2. Be in a flash mob
3. Go to the sand dunes
4. Learn to decorate cakes
5. Get a photography book
6. Buy a nice camera
7. Learn to sew
8. Practice cooking
9. Expand/update blog setup
10. Do a sprint triathlon
11. Learn all of the words to "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" (Matthew, I think you should learn them all, too)
That's all I have so far so be thinking and let me know!