Cause I’ve Been Waiting For You For So Long...

Welcome Home!!

Yayy! Welcome Home Eric! My hottie sister and her hottie husband have finally been reunited!! Claire and Eric got married at the end of December and then not even a week later Eric moved to Alaska, where he was stationed before he left to serve in Iraq. He is home for 2 weeks on his r&r and my sister is the happiest girl in the world! I could never imagine being away from the person I love for 7 months, you two are incredible. 

Thank you Eric for what you do and thank you for being so wonderful to my sister. I could not ask for a better man to take care of her and love her. I am so happy you two finally get some time together! I love you both <3

I'm Looking For an Exit Sign, Gotta Get Out Of Here and Get It All Off My Mind.

Excursion #7

Escape to Stony Brook with Shauna and Andria!! Spending time with those two is a guaranteed BLASTY BLAST!! Andria lives in Dalton, NY ...where the heck is that you might ask... well it is in the middle of nowhere New York. Ever heard the song Dirt Road Anthem? I'm pretty sure that song was written about the trek to Andria's house. 

We took a little detour to Wegs, did some shopping, drank some coffee and helped a stranger then headed to the falls for some serious climbing. We are some pretty awesome people and decided to climb up one of the waterfalls... paths are for sissies :)

 

These are two faces I hope to know for the rest of my life. 

Shauna and Andria are those friends that you can go months without seeing and nothing changes, the instant we see each other we are just as comfortable, open, goofy and non judgmental with one another as we have always been and I am so thankful for that! Its so refreshing!

Cause It's a Good Night...

to be out there soaking up the moonlight...

I Get Lost In The Beauty Of Everything I See...

Ithaca Is Gorges.

This post is dedicated to my very best friend, Michele Barbara Judkins & to EXCURSION NUMERO 6!

Michele and I have been best friends since we were little tots... we have known each other since we were only months old. We have been there for each other through lots of laughs and smiles and tears (but mostly laughs). Michele has a beautiful soul, she really has a unique insight on people and on life that I wish I had. 

 Michele, her twin brother Mike and their cousin Chris and I have all been great friends since we were little. This week Michele planned a little day trip, get away to Taughannock Falls in Ithaca. Oh my goodness it was so gorgeous!Michele has a much better eye for capturing pictures than I do so she let me borrow all of these pictures from her :) She's the best!

our very slippery journey up to the falls...

We finally got there and couldn't wait to hop into the water  buuuut...

then we spotted the park ranger, but no worries that didn't stop us... we devised a plan to fake out the ranger then we jumped right into the water, under the falls as soon as he was gone!

after the park we headed to College Town Bagel for some lunch! I got a sandwich called "The Sweet Rachel" How perfect!! 

It was a great day! I love being able to spend time with them they are such genuine, fun spirited people who I truly truly, deeply care about. This was our 3rd or 4th road trip together and I am sure there will be many more to come!

Let's Get This Thing Started, It's My Kinda Party...

Oh So Many Excursions! #5

Kim's bachelorette party weekend, camping at Uncle Luke and Aunt Cheryl's! 

Kim's big day is next weekend, eeeek its coming up so fast! She is going to be not only a gorgeous bride, but a gracious bride, which is just as important :) 

Lots of laughs shared by everyone... plus a few missing from the picture. So much fun! Dear Kim, enjoy the week before your wedding, don't get too stressed. We've all got your back lady! :)
(thanks Lauren for the picture! (I really need to start remembering my camera!))

Right Now I'm On This Lake Shore and I'm Sitting In The Sun...

Excursion #4

Camping in Dansville, Stony Brook and fishing!

last weekend a group of 9 of us went camping out in Dansville (aka hicktown) on our friend Jerry's land. He has acres and acres and acres of land, perfect for setting up tents, beer drinking and bonfires. It was a gorgeous, clear, star-filled night.

Clear, star-filled night = perfect for star tripping! 

What is star tripping? Well, allow me to explain. No, it does not involve any type of drugs (don't worry moma bear)... just a starry sky, a flashlight, friends willing to get really dizzy, make a fool of themselves and possibly a few grass stains. Lucky for me I have plenty of friends willing to be goofs and embarrass themselves for pure entertainment :) 

 How to star trip:

1. pick one star, focus on it 

2. stare at your star and spin in circles for 30 seconds (a difficult task, so this is where your friends come into play, have them hold you up and help you spin)

3.  after 30 seconds is up have someone shine the flashlight in your eyes

4. try your absolute hardest to stay on your feet... bet you can't do it!! ;)

5. fall on your behind and usually laugh until you are seconds away from wetting yourself

After a night of games, laughs and stories we headed to Stony Brook State Park the next day. I wish one of us had our camera but no one trusted themselves on the slippery paths along the waterfalls :/ Oh well, it was a perfect day and loads of fun. The rest of the day included heading back to Jerry's, the boys cooking burgers on the grill and some fishing!!!

I finally got to cross 'go fishing and catch something' off of my bucket list!! 

 

My catch!

Jerry trying to teach me how to take the fish off the hook... it kept slipping out of my hands!

Ron and Leah, some of my lovely fellow fishermen

Matt with the biggest catch of the day!!!

 

(Matt gets credit for all of these awesome pictures!!! thanks Matt!!) 

Here In These Deep City Lights...

Excursion Numba 3!!

NYC (for the first time)!! it was a quick weekend trip but I loved every moment of it. I totally and completely fell in love with that city. oh boy. 

AND I finally faced my fear of escalators, it was kind of unavoidable in the city.

I finally got to see my best friend from Across the Pond after a year!! My friend, Nish is from London and we met while working in Disney World together last year on the Disney College Program. I promised her if she was ever anywhere in the states I would try my absolute hardest to be where she was. Her family decided to take a vacation to NEW YORK this summer, MY STATE!! All the way from London to NY, that's a sign that I was meant to see her again! My closest friend, Jess from school at SUNY Delhi lives on Long Island so I also got to see her!! I was able to visit her and stay with her for the weekend!!   

The first night Jess and I decided to get all dressed up, go to the city, do a fancy dinner, Times Square and then go out on the town and raise some hell, maybe turn a few heads :)

buuuut instead of fancy dinner we decided on street food! Mmmm "dirty water" hotdogs!!

 

Well Saturday night ended up turning into Sunday morning while we were still out and about... 12 hours in heels. I DO NOT know what I was thinking, my poor little piggies! We were out from 6:oo pm until 7:oo am. Oy.  A night of sight seeing, and dancing turned into a very long walk back to Penn station, and a 2 hour wait for the very last train home. The next morning we slept for about an hour, bounced right back and hopped on the train to the city again to meet up with Nish!! 

Finally seeing one another after a very long year apart!!
Those were some very happy hearts :)

Look how gorgeous my friend from across the pond is!!! 

Then we were off to more sight seeing... We met Nish in Bryant Park, which is absolutely beautiful then we were off to Central Park! I would have stayed in Central Park for hours and hours if I could have! The weather was perfect and it is amazing there!!

Nish and I last year in Flordia. Making a Pinky Promise to keep in touch. You have to kiss on it to make it official of course

and the pinky promise continues! we kissed on it :)