~EAST COAST ADVENTURE~

What a vacation!!! I seriously had the time of my life!! I got to do and see things I've wanted to do my entire life. I totally fell in love with New York. It is so completely different then here. From the people, to the city.... I loved it!
Saturday: We left early that morning and hopped on the plane. It was a super long flight, but so worth it! We got to New York, and took a taxi to our hotel in Manhattan. After we got settled in, we started sight seeing! We walked to Times Square, which was way cooler then what it seems in the movies. It was huge! And there were hundreds of people, and flashing lights! It was crazy. Times Square meets up with Broadway on the corner, so we walked down Broadway and checked out all the gorgeous theatres and found a BBQ joint for dinner. It was called Virgils, and it was really good. After that we headed back to the hotel and crashed.

Sunday: We woke up really early and caught a cab to battery park. We hopped on a ferry and headed out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island! The boat ride was awesome, you could see the whole city behind you. Seeing the Statue of Liberty was amazing! It's not quite as big as I thought, but it was beautiful! We climbed around the base, and took LOTS of pictures! It was awesome. Then we hopped back on the ferry and headed to Ellis Island. The museum was really cool, and they had people working there that had actually immigrated to the US and went through the island. We had "snappy dogs" for lunch, then headed back to shore.
We back, and got all dressed up and headed back to Broadway. This was probably my favorite part of the trip, I got to see Wicked!! On Broadway!!! I cried through the whole thing I was so happy! The music was beautiful! It was such an amazing experience. I'll never forget it!

Monday: We headed out to Central Park. It was so gorgeous! It was crazy that this beautiful, green park was right smack dab in the middle of this giant city! We walked around the park, and had lunch. Then we took a buggy ride tour. It was really cool, the park is huge!
Afterwards we went to the Empire State Building. WAY FREAKIN COOL!! The city was gorgeous from 86 floor up! It's completely open up there, so you feel like you're walking around in the clouds. AMAZING. You could see ground zero from up there, and it was just crazy to me that a few years ago, in that spot our whole world changed.
That night we got on a train, and headed to Elizabethtown Pennsylvania. Lets just say, trying to navigate the USA's largest train station was a joke. I was literally in tears by the time we finally found our train. UGH. But the ride itself was really cool. We drove through New Jersey, and got to Elizabethtown at around 10pm. My Uncle David picked us up, and we went to his beautiful house! We were out the second our heads hit the pillows....

Tuesday: Was pretty laid back, we were exhausted from New York. We took a tour of Elizabethtown with my Uncle's family, and went to a farmers market auction. It was really cool! They auction off anything you can think of.... from birthday cakes to houses! It was really interesting. We got lots of yummy food, and knock off designer sunglasses. We also went to see the Susquehanna river, which was huge!! I'd never seen a river so big before. We may have mountains here, but their rivers are crazy.

Wednesday: We decided to go see the Gettysburg battlefield. We went through the museum, and learned a lot about the battle. Then we went outside and toured the actual battlefield. It was really interesting. There were a ton of old monuments, and lookout towers so you could see the entire field. We got to see where Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address, and saw the countless markers for the unknown soldiers that were killed in the war. It was mind boggling to see just how many people died for our freedom.
Then we went to dinner in a 200 year old pub! It was so awesome! Everything was lit with candlelight, and all the staff was dressed in period clothing. The food was great!

Thursday: This was one of my favorite days! Me and Teague took the car, and drove to Philadelphia. The city was gorgeous!! The old buildings were incredible. We got to see the Liberty bell, and Independence hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. We ate a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, which was fantastic! We took a tour of the US Mint, which was really cool. We went to the Constitution Center, and toured the museum.... We saw the Rocky Statue, and went through an incredible art museum. We shopped at the Redding Markets, and ate dinner in Chinatown. We took a bus tour through the city, and saw everything! GORGEOUS city!

Friday: We went on an adventure through Washington DC! We went to some of the Smithsonian Museums. We had a picnic on the great lawn in front of the Capital Building. We went through the Holocaust museum which was life changing. I can't even describe our experience there. They had real pictures, and movies from the death camps. It was completely horrible. I'll never be the same after that experience. I wont say it was fun, or cool....but I'm so glad we did it. We got to see all the monuments like the Washington tower, Abraham Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, the War Monuments.... It was amazing. We got to spend the day there with my Uncle's family, and we had a blast.

Saturday: We went to Hershey. Hershey Chocolate Co. actually bought and founded an entire city! The factory is right in the middle of the town, and the whole city smells like chocolate. I almost packed my bags and moved there right then! We went on a ride that showed us how all the chocolate was made, and then went shopping! There is nothing like a fresh Hershey chocolate bar straight from the factory. My favorite part of the town was that all the street lamps were shaped like Hershey kisses! It was seriously the best place on earth! I thought I'd died and went to chocolate heaven.
After Hershey we went to Mount Gretna, which is similar to Park City. We went on a hike through the little town and got ice cream at this amazing creamery. YUM!

Sunday: We did some last minute souvenir shopping in Lancaster while David's family went to church. Then we headed back to Philadelphia to catch our plane ride home. I honestly didn't want to leave! I was trying to figure out how we could afford an apartment in New York! haha! It was such a great experience. Everyone should experience the east coast sometime in their life! It was the best vacation I'd ever been on.

~ME~

Sometimes I feel like no one really knows "Me." I thought since I'm starting this blog that I would start off by telling you ten things about me.

1. I ADORE my family. I know we've had our rough times in the past, and we can sometimes be dramatic, but I love them to pieces. I have been blessed with four wonderful families. I know a lot of people think being a part of a divorced, mixed family would be hard. And don't get me wrong, there are times when it is, but I seriously have the best families anyone could ask for.


2. I absolutely love my husband. He has been my best friend and companion for years. He is the hardest worker I know, and takes such good care of me. He's stuck with me for 2 crazy years of marriage, and still kisses me goodnight, and goodbye every morning. I don't know how I would live without him. He is without a doubt my soul mate.


3. I have a deep passion for music. I honestly feel like music speaks to the soul. I have loved to sing my entire life, and there is no better feeling then the one you get listening to a beautiful, powerful song.


4. I love photography! I generally have a camera glued to my face. I love being able to be creative for a living. I think that photography is a personal form of art, and I love capturing memories, and preserving them forever with a camera.


5. I have two kids, which happen to be fury.... I have two dogs named Bella and Alice. They are spoiled little brats, and I love them!! Bella is a Sheprador, and Alice is a Great Dane. They are my babies, so please don't ask "when are you going to have kids?" Because I've already got my hands full, and it won't be anytime soon.


6. I love to travel! If I could live in a box, and be able to travel the world I would! I want to see and do everything I can possible cram into my little life. I feel like you learn and grow so much as a person every time you visit a new place with different cultural beliefs and lifestyles.


7. I am pretty much up for ANYTHING! I love trying new, crazy and spontaneous things. I want to die knowing that I never turned an opportunity down to do something fun.


8. Yes, I got married young.... No I did not go to college..... Yes I am extremely happy! I love married life. My husband and I have a blast together. If I could go back and do it all again, I would have done it the exact same way. I have a beautiful little house close to my best friends and family. I LOVE my job, and I hope I can continue doing it forever. I love my little family, and my life. NO REGRETS!


9. My life motto is..... Life is simple, live an adventure, build meaningful connections and lift people along the way. Give more to the world then you take, kick ass, and be true to who you are!


10. Wanna talk religion? Talk to me in person. I hate when people assume and gossip behind my back about what they think I believe in. I'll tell you right now, you're wrong. There are maybe five people in this world who truly know what I think and what I believe. And they asked..... I'm not afraid to tell you, so if you're curious, ask.

Well, there's me in a nut shell!