Lessons I Learned from 6 years of Marriage

Happy Monday! 

Here's to kicking a case of the Mondays away!! 

At the beginning of this month Babe and I celebrated 6 years of husband-and-wifeness! We had a beautiful weekend away in Flo, visiting Manatee Springs State Park. While driving over I shared some of the lessons that I learned over the last six year on Instagram. And because today had a way of bringing those things back to mind I figured I would share them here, because life has a way of reminding you just what is important. Never forget to cherish the people you love and hold them close. So here's to hugs and life and having a tribe of people to walk through it with. So very thankful he is part of mine... 

6 things I've learned over 6 years of marriage

1.) Life needs balance; like someone who sings loud to every song on the radio and someone who doesn't even know the words because he's a melody person or someone who says "hey let's jump out of this tree" and someone else who says "crazy woman, you have to check and see how deep the water is first"

2.) Love and life will change you, but you hold tight and stay grateful because marriage is a commitment to have each other's backs!

3.) Marriage is as much a journey as the rest of life, just enjoy the ride.

4.) Marriage isn't a fairytale... It's better than that; it's real life lived out in all its bittersweet glory.

5.) Babe's answer (aka: be careful what you ask for) You love the person, no matter how much you hate their bad habits

6.) Being a good spouse and knowing how to best care for your partner is a never-ending learning experiment! Someday I will get better at his love language and I will learn to put my cereal bowl in the sink, among other things... 

And with that I am off to Love him by doing the laundry, because today has been hard for him and freshly laundered (and put away// because somehow I can never get this step down) towels, make him smile! Marriage really is an endless learning curve and I'm so thankful he's never given me a grade! 

Any other married folks? 

What lessons have you learned over the years?

5 Great Road Trip Reads!

With all the road-tripping and book-clubbing I have been doing the last few months, I have been reading like crazy! And I LOVE it!! Here are are a few reads I recommend for this summer... 

The Night Sister- Jennifer McMahon writes with an edge of darkness and The Night Sister had the added element of a supernatural feel. This book was a little spooky, so if you don't prefer the dark and scary, I would steer clear. However, if you don't mind it, then this book was great! I couldn't put it down. It centers around two different time periods, jumping back and forth between the past and present. I don't typically prefer books like that, but she did it in way that was easy to follow. It centers around two sets of sisters, their understanding of each other and a mystery that has taken generations to figure out! 

Red Queen- I didn't know this at the time it was given lent to me, but apparently Red Queen is one of the newest "in" things and I can see why! It was really good! The main character, Mare, is a teenage girl from the lower class because her blood runs red. Silver bloods are the elite, because they hold special powers and in turn run the kingdom. Eventually Mare finds herself thrown into their world and sets out on a path to turn the kingdom around and create a fair society. She finds herself town between worlds, between brothers and between the girl she was and the woman she is becoming. Definitely a great read! I am looking forward to the second book, The Glass Sword, but I have heard it is a bit of a let down, so I'm not in a rush to disappoint myself. Anyone read it and thought differently? 

True Colors- I actually read this a while ago, so it isn't super fresh, but I remember how much I loved it!! So much so that I ended up buying a copy (something I only do with books I love) and am planning to reread it and use it as my pick for book club next month. It centers around the bonds of sisterhood and how strong they can be -or how damaged they can become- when outside forces break open the bubble that they had created for themselves. We will see if I still love it as much as my memory thinks I do! 

* Even before leaving for Kenya, I had been feeling this weight of "stuff"! Just so much crap pardon my french everywhere I turned!! Since returning from Africa, the desire to purge my house and life of ALL as much of it as possibly is now even stronger! In America we just live with this need to "have"- we need this, we want that- when ultimately it ends up being something sitting on a shelf and cluttering our lives. The desire to live more with less led me to grab these off the shelf where I had tucked them and dust them off... 

Seven- A while back I told myself I was going to walk through Seven by Jen Hatmaker and really do each month of purging; getting rid of 7 things a day for a month, only eating 7 foods for a month, choosing only 7 items of cloth to interchange for a month... Well, somewhere amid the 7 things a day I got a little sidetracked and never jumped back on board. But there's not time like the present to jump back into something and so I begin anew!! Join me?! It really helps the Jen Hatmaker is a hysterical writer and a wonderful encourager! I can do this! 

The More of Less- I grabbed this book by Joshua Becker, through Blogging for Books, a while ago thinking it might come in handy if and when I convince Babe that we should pack it all in and hit the road in Flo full-time. Well, that day has not come yet, but I don't need to wait until (did you read that Babe?! UNTIL!) it does to start living more with less!! It's all about "finding the life you want under everything you own" and has great anecdotal stories, along with tips, tricks and whys, for working your way towards getting rid of some of the stuff that's bogging you down! I'm excited to read more and really start purging this house of the things it doesn't need! 

Happy Friday friends and happy reading!! 

Any awesome reads to share? 

Guide to Highlands Hammock State Park in Florida

We love exploring Florida's amazing state parks! Highlands Hammock State Park is the perfect state park for adventurous couples, but especially for families. Here is our guide to Highlands Hammock State Park.

Highlands Hammock State Park was a great Florida treasure!! It felt a little Jurassic Parkish and had a lot of little extra perks. We loved it even just the two of us, but I would probably deem it as the most family friendly park we have visited thus far. So if you have little ones, Highlands Hammock is definitely a worthwhile adventure!!

What We Did:

*Hiking- The trails in Highlands Hammock are shorter and a lot of them include boardwalks, which is why I found it so family friendly! You can have strollers for most walks and you can pick and choose how many you do/ how long your hike is! Each trail offered something different to see. Whether it was a 1,000 year old oak tree or a really neat “catwalk” through a swamp, you had a lot of different options to choose from.  We loved the little bonuses each trail offered- climbing the tree, forging our way across stones to keep from falling in the swamp, going inside a giant tree…!!

* Museum- There was a museum that highlighted the Civilian Conservation Corps, that was part of Roosevelt’s New Deal, which helped begin many of the first state parks in Florida. 

* Exploration Station- There was a neat exploration station in the park, across from the museum, that was open on Saturday morning. You could learn about animal tracks, different Florida spiders, even different animal feces in a “hands-on” way. No, you weren’t literally holding poop, but you did get to hold the glass is was sitting in! It was intended for children, but the kid in me loved it! They are only opened seasonally and when they have enough staff, so it may not always be open, but it’s definitely a fun perk when there!

* Tram Tour- We took a 2.5 hour tram tour through a restricted section of the park! It was fun, but got a little long in our opinion. We did get to see all kinds of wildlife (gators, turtles, birds…), but when you are from Florida you get to see a lot of those. It was hard to hear the different things the guide was telling us when the tram was moving as people were talking and the tram was really squeaky, but when we could hear there were some neat facts that our driver was sharing! If you have little ones it is a much cooler way to experience the park as the movement of the tram does offer a nice breeze. The tram is a day only purchase (you can’t book ahead) and you have to be at the ranger station by 8am to ensure yourself a spot! Babe was 5^th in line and the people behind him got the last tickets (there were tons of other behind them that didn’t get tickets). The tram doesn’t leave until 1:30pm, so it is definitely in high demand, just FYI!

* Music in the Park- Though this wasn’t going on when we were there, certain weekends include music from live performers. There is a stage setup by the main park playground area (the camping loop has it’s own playground), in front of a large grassy field. You can bring your lawn chairs and picnic blanket and enjoy an outdoor concert. There was a food truck while we were there and he told us that he is typically there on Music in the Park nights, so you can also get a nibble or some ice cream!!

Where We Stayed:

Photo taken from the trail located inside the campground area

The camping was nice (above photo taken on a short trail located in the campground), but VERY crowded! We ended up sandwiched in between a retreat of sorts and people had multiple tents at each spot. It wasn’t terrible, but we do enjoy state parks because they usually have more spread out spaces. The parks at this space seemed a little more on top of each other. Book ahead in order to be able to pick out a good spot, as we did see some that had more space and better views!

*There is also a primitive camping loop that looked REALLY nice, but was only open to tents and pop-ups.

Where We Ate:

In typical Flo-Venture fashion we found a local BBQ spot on the way to the park and dove right in!! Ah-mazing!! Fire-Chief Barbecue Co. is the reason we make trying new BBQ stops a priority! Though a little hard to find if you don't know what your looking for, the bounty of wonderful food you can find is worth a little hunt-and-find! Fire-Chief BBQ Co. sits directly on Highway 27 in Davenport, Fl. We had a hard time finding it at first because we were assuming we were looking for a building. What we found was even neater!! It is an open air BBQ joint, with the smoker set up under a tent. There is also a picnic table should you choose to eat there (which we did!)! The food was the bomb!! I got a BBQ burrito, filled with guac and sour cream and it was like two of the most amazing worlds collided and brought me BBQ-ican happiness of epic proportions!! Seriously a must try if you find yourself heading through the area! The owners were really great too!! 

I don't think we have ever had a Flo trip that we haven't loved and this was no different! Hope to be out exploring again soon and I hope the same for you!! 

Have you been anywhere fun lately? 

Have any plans to adventure somewhere soon? 

Other Florida State Park Adventures 

Rainbow Springs State Park 

Faver Dykes State Park 

Join in for this month's #travelTuesday link up and let's adventure together!

~On the 2nd Tuesday of every month I will be sharing a new travel destination and would love to see where you have been exploring! 

~Any linked posts will be pinned under Travel Tuesday on my Pinterest. 

~No real rules, as I am not a huge fan of those sorts of things! Just add any travel related link and I encourage you to peek around and see where everyone else has been. Leave a little love where you like! 

~Feel free to grab the image from the sidebar and add it to your post so others know where to link up. 

Excited to explore the globe with you all!!

An InLinkz Link-up

{Giveaway} My Favorite Camping Happies!!

Happy Thursday Y'all!! 

Friday is so close I can almost smell it!!

But, until it gets here, I figured it was time to share a little happiness with all of you! 

In honor of all things camping, this weekend's upcoming Flo adventure for our 6 year wedding anniversary and the fact that the destination is unknown (to me anyways)- and because who really even needs a reason to share happiness anyways- I am partnering with some awesome companies to share some of my favorite FloRida-trip-happies with you! 

When we go RVing there are a few essentials we always take with us, for one reason or another. Most of these essentials also seem to translate over into our "docked" (at home) life too; so, whether you are out adventuring, snuggled up at home or trying to make it through a busy day these are all pretty good things to have around!!

But for us, here are the main reasons we keep them on-hand...
Jerky- Jerky is the perfect snack for long hikes as it keeps us fueled and ready to go, but it's also perfect for a mid-morning work snack! Field Trip Jerky is seriously the best stuff around!! With no preservatives or added MSG this stuff is so fresh and good and has that "just-right-jerk" texture that I look for in a good jerky! The first time we tried this stuff we were floored in comparison to the typical stuff we used to get. 
Popcorn- If you have followed me for a while you know how much I love my popcorn!! Seriously, I can't make it through the week without at least one popcorn-for-dinner night! That translates over into our travels too and we usually have one popcorn night while we are in Flo. And the best, and really only true way to enjoy popcorn is stove top popped! If you don't have a Whirley Pop, get one!! I swear by mine (and never washing it out)! Then you can pop these yummy Jolly Time popcorn kernels anytime! Another popcorn trick I love: cutting open a back of microwave popcorn, with the butter and oil all mixed in, and popping that over the stove (or campfire)!!
Honey- Y'all!! Honey and cheese night (and of course a good bottle of wine) is Flo's specialty! Without fail, cheese and honey night happens every, single night! And if you have never tried honey on your cheese before you are missing out on a whole segment of life! Try it! And I recommend starting with Savannah Bee Company's whipped honey! I love the thickness of the whipped honey when paired with cheese! My favorite pairing? A good havarti or Vermont sharp cheddar! 
Cards- Because cheese and honey night should best be enjoyed over a game of rummy!! Our game has been going on over 2 years now. I am currently in the lead (for a while now), but Babe is slowly creeping back into the game! Current score: Me- 10,310 Babe-10,100
Adventure Mug- Every morning needs a little 'Adventure Fuel' happiness to kick-start the day!!
Coffee- Because the mug just isn't complete without the coffee to go in it! I know Seattle's Best is just your run-of-the-mill, grocery-store-shelf-find, but I love the taste. It's strong without being bitter, goes done smooth and soothes my soul! Even better, sweeten it with a little bit of that honey and you have what I call "coffee-bliss"!! 

One "happy camper" will win all of this great goodness! 

It includes: 12 bags of Field Trip Jerky + a super comfy American Apparel Field Trip Jerky shirt, two bags of Jolly Time popcorn kernels, travel pack of Savannah Bee Company's whipped honey in different flavors, a pack of Bicycle cards, an Adventure Fuel mug and a bag of Seattle's Best Coffee! 

Happy Entering! 

Entry options below image! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 Highlights from my trip to Kenya

We're back from Kenya and my mind is still reeling and processing and spinning, but my heart is oh so full!! Here's a sneak peek at my trip and some of the amazing highlights from my time in Nairobi...

 ~SMILES~ So much smiling in Kenya! It was a beautiful thing to see. Despite some of the conditions (the rain, the poverty, the mud) the smiles were prevalent. The kids (and adults) were so welcoming and the smiles were everywhere. Kids would smile and wave, shouting "How are you" with their Kenyan accents and laugh and giggle whenever we responded or would light up when we greeted them first with a "sasa" (Kenya greeting for children). The Bible Clubs we spent some time observing were filled with even more smiles!! And tons of...

~DANCING and SINGING~ The worship in Ngando (the community where we spent the majority of our time) still blows me away! They can worship and sing for hours, voices and arms lifted high and the dancing makes it even more fun!! I LOVE worshipping Kenyan style!!

~THE PEOPLE~ I met so many wonderful people! The Kenyans were so hospitable and it was so nice being welcomed into the culture in Ngando. It was also such a blessing to be there with the team from the US. The Matlack's (who call Ngango home) are a wonderful couple with such an amazing heart for serving and living life with the marginalized poor. They moved into Ngango 5 years ago, have made it their home and truly love the people they get to do life alongside. Learning from them and being invited into their family is something I will always be grateful for! I also loved getting to know Jessica and Nathan (who I traveled with from Summit) better! International travel really is a great way to get to know people quickly. Still missing all the time we got to spend together!!

~SAFARI~ Be still my adventure loving heart!! Safari day was so cool!! Rhinos, giraffes, zebras... we saw so much during our morning in Nairobi National Park and I can't wait to share more of the fun with you soon! But first I have to pick through thousands of pictures!

~BEAUTY~ Kenya truly is a beautiful country! So much green, so much wildlife, so many beautiful people...

A once in a lifetime trip that I will never forget!

Happy Things 2016 Linkup// April Happies

source

This month's happy things post is short and sweet! I will share more of April's wonders later, as I know there will be much to share with you all. 

I am currently making my way back from Africa. I know there will be so much to process- so many thoughts and feelings working their way through me- which is why I found this quote so fitting for this month. With all the uncertainty at the beginning of the month about the things I would experience in Africa, I know that this month and this time away will be something that I will probably long to remember for the rest of my life. 

Happy last Monday of April friends! I hope this month has been good to you! Looking forward to seeing your Happy Things! Feel free to add your link below! 

Link Up Rules: 

- Share a post (up to 2) about anything happy; it can be 5 happy things, 1 happy thing, really just anything for the month that has made your heart smile! 

- Feel free to share the image above, or link back, so that others can link up their happy things too!

- Leave a happy comment on at least one other post

- I will interact with all posts in some way (comments, pinning to Happy Things 2016 board...)

- Share your happy things on Instagram using #happythings2016

- Come back on the last Monday of each month to share your happy things for that month and start a community of people who are adding a bit of cheer to Mondays! 
- Link up will be run through Friday of the same week

An InLinkz Link-up

Guest Post: Visiting Scotland with Kristin the Traveling Teacher

Happy Tuesday Friends! 

I am currently over in Africa and so this sweet gal is guest posting for me today! 

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Meet Kristin, aka The Traveling Teacher!! She is absolutely the sweetest! The adventure bug bit her long before it ever bit me and she is a great wealth of knowledge for all things hiking and outdoor exploring! She shares some of her awesome adventures on her blog, but you can also find her sharing some awesomely stunning views from travels over on Instagram! She is sharing some of her favorite spots from Scotland with us, but head over to here spot of the internet to check out more of her adventure fun!! 

And don't forget to visit my post from last week and link up your adventures for #TravelTuesday!
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Top 10 Places to Visit in Scotland

For two weeks my family and boyfriend traveled around Scotland! These are my top places I recommend to visit!  There are even more places that we went and you can read a more in depth story about we did, how we traveled, and where we stayed in the travel section here!  Scotland is definitely a must visit with many historical sights to visit along with natural beauty!

1)Rosslyn Chapel– The heart of Robert the Bruce is buried there.

2)Doune Castle– Made famous by Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Outlanders

3)Fairy Pools and Fairy Forest on Isle of Skye- These are located in two different places on Skye but both are EXTREMELY COOL! The fairy pools are beautiful pools of clear water that run from the mountains. The fairy forest are small mounds that you can climb up.  People have left the fairies gifts in different places.

4)Kilt Falls– This is a beautiful waterfall that drops into the ocean. There are also dinosaur footprint fossils nearby!

5)Quiraing– Amazing jagged landforms made by glaciers moving through the land- some good hiking trails around.

6)The Butt of Lewis– Amazing Light house with dramatic cliffs. If it is warm enough there is a beautiful beach nearby.  This is also the windiest place in the UK.

7)Callanish Standing Stones– These are standing stones similar to the concept of Stone Henge.

8)Ardvreck Castle – Located in Ullapool this is a beautiful ruin castle that is surrounded by crystal clear waters of a highland lake.

9)Skara Brae– A 5000 year old stone age village that was uncovered in a brutal storm. It was inhabited from roughly 3180 BC–2500 BC!

10)Dunrobin Castle– This is still occupied but you are still able to tour it. There is also an amazing falconry show.

If you have any questions about our trip, please feel free to ask!

xoxo

Kristin

#TravelTuesday 4// Laying Aside Fears of International Travel

As someone who loves adventure and thrill, it surprises people to learn that international travel scares me. I am usually up for anything! But after Greece, international travel scared me and I never really had a strong desire or need to see other parts of the world. Fear told me that the United States was full of enough beauty for a lifetime- and it is, full of so much beauty. But being afraid to step outside my comfort zone, and cutting off anything outside the borders of the U.S., discredits the rest of the amazing world that God created.

What am I afraid of? I think mostly the unknown. I like knowing what to expect. Do I think other places are really any scarier or more dangerous than the United States? No, not really. I think all places have things that it is right to be cautious of, in their own way. I just know the things to be afraid of in the states. Going to a new place means not knowing the things to be that I should be wary of.

It also makes me nervous to not be able to communicate with people. A communicator by nature, I love to talk to people, I love to be able to share stories and learn more about them and speaking different languages makes that hard. It makes me nervous not being able to understand what those around me are saying and not being able to join in on conversations. But my trips to Costa Rica helped alleviate some of that fear. There is a lot that can be spoken with expressions and having interpreters helps and sometimes you just branch out, make a fool of yourself and try to learn their language on-the-go. People are generally kind and willing to be helpful, in between laughs at all the things you said completely wrong! It really is true, that the best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in the culture.

But if I am being truly honest, I think the thing that might scare me the most is how God will use this trip to change me. I believe that travel in the U.S. can impact my heart and teach me things, but I am not sure if those trips will ever have as high a probability of creating pivotal moments in my life that can truly change parts of my heart. Change and me, we have never really gone well together- change has a funny way of rocking your entire world off its axis. I don’t enjoy having my world rocked, but I know that anyway He chooses to change me will be for the better- for His glory- it just doesn’t make it almost any less terrifying. God has a way of asking big things of those who follow Him. He breaks our hearts, over and over again, for what breaks His. He invites us to be part of the story He continues to write and it is, all at once, exciting and scary! Pivotal moments in life are usually never easy; they come with challenges and heartache, filling your heart with things that can tear it clean in two. But God is there, always with you, holding you, helping you and mending your heart. I need to remember that! And so I tell myself that, over and over, because I refuse to NOT do things because of fear! Fear will not stop me, because fear CAN NEVER stop God and He is always on my side!!

And so I remind myself of that and of all the wonderful things I would have missed out on if I have chosen to let fear take the wheel... 

//The beauty of Greece & Turkey// Sure, I was already there when my fear kicked in, but if I had chosen to let fear define my trip I wouldn't have truly seen the beauty that the country had to offer! 

//This miracle moment// My first out-of-country mission trip to Costa Rica was all girls (at least those of us leaving from the states) to drill wells with Agua Viva Serves. We worked alongside those in the community where the well was being built and other Costa Ricans employed through Agua Viva. The team helped me learn some spanish and then showed me how to work the drill rig! Helping with the pipes made me feel a sense of strength I had never experienced before and gave the guys a good chuckle to see that a girl could do some of the heavy lifting (they were very wary when I first asked them to teach me, especially since, in the Costa Rican culture, manual labor jobs are seen as men only work). Then, in the midst of all the mud, and the sweat and shoveling, a pipe striped and that pipe, the others connected to it and the drill bit all broke off from the rig and disappeared into the (now very deep) ground. We were worried that we had just lost all the progress, a weeks worth of labor hours, as well as expensive material literally down the hole; but God showed up in a big way and the guys were able to find a way to get the pipes out of the ground, find the striped pipe, replace it with a new one and keep going! I would have missed the elation and praise and smiles of that moment if I had let fear keep me from getting on the plane! 

//Babe's first mission trip// That first trip to Costa Rica, proved to me that I can live outside of the fear I had created in my head! The God moments of that trip began opening a door in my heart which led to another trip with Agua Viva Serves, but this time WITH BABE! This was his first mission trip ever (I had done others in the US when I was in youth group), but this was his first. It was so great to experience that time together and to watch God work through and around him! (man am I going to miss that face while I'm gone!) 

//And now for AFRICA// God used each of those moments to open the door of my heart, inch by inch, to say to me, "You! Go to Africa!" It was small at first, a nudge on a nudge, and then He screamed it at me!! And so, here I am go! And I am ready; even if my heart flutters and my knees shake a bit! I am ready and open and anxious to see what He will teach me!! 

Any travel advice for this nervous girl? Anyone been to Kenya? 

Anywhere fun you've been adventuring lately? Or plans to adventure soon?

Join in for this month's linkup and let's travel together! Just add your link below! 

~On the 2nd Tuesday of every month I will be sharing a new travel destination and would love to see where you have been exploring! 

~Any linked posts will be pinned under Travel Tuesday on my Pinterest. 

~No real rules, as I am not a huge fan of those sorts of things! Just add any travel related link and I encourage you to peek around and see where everyone else has been. Leave a little love where you like! 

~Feel free to grab the image from the sidebar and add it to your post so others know where to link up. 

Excited explore the globe with you all!!

An InLinkz Link-up