Boy Scout Island Birthday Camping

The night before my birthday (Tuesday night) we canoed out to an island that's about a mile away from the mainland. It was a long ride there because there was a crazy amount of wind and the current was taking us in every direction EXCEPT the one we were going in...but we finally made it there and it was already dark, which wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. We brought our lanterns and flashlights, so we were set.

The very first thing we did when we got there was to walk around the whole island. Ham has been there before, but I had not, so he wanted to show me around. We didn't think anyone else would be there on a random Tuesday night, but there was. They were super nice and they were on the opposite side, so we didn't care.

Once we got back to our site, we set up our hammocks and the tarp (which took us a little bit of time.) Then we started the fire. We just hung out for a while and talked by the fire. We went to bed by like 10, because we're always tired haha.

Around 1 am, the people on the other side of the island decided to go for a walk. Somehow their group of 3, turned into a group of 10...and they decided to walk by us and whistle and yell and just be super obnoxious. It was fine, though, they didn't stick around for too long, but it still woke us both up. After we finally fell back asleep, we got woken up again at 2 am. From a crazy storm! I woke up from the light of the lightning and I think that's what woke Ham up too...

So we were hanging in our hammocks and all the sudden it was lightning and thundering on top of us, or so it seemed. It was so scary because it was so bright it hurt our eyes and so loud it hurt our ears. Hamilton ran over to the other people's camp to see if they were heading back to the mainland (they had an actual boat), but they weren't. He came back and just stood under the tarp because his hammock was on the bottom and was TOTALLY soaked since it was so windy and it was pouring. Hamilton offered a prayer because we were just so scared. 

Pretty much right after we prayed, the thunder was getting quieter and quieter. Thank goodness. So since Hammy's hammock was soaked, he jumped in mine and we tried so sleep. He was up and down all night and I don't think I slept more than an hour or two the rest of the night.

It was an adventure, that's for dang sure. 

Once we woke up we explored the island way more. The other campers were gone, so we were free to explore without disturbing anyone else. We tried to identify all the trees and found a little teeny tiny crab. 

We also totally suck at getting pictures together, so I included the only one we took haha. And it describes us perfectly! I'm sitting in the canoe while he just pushes us into the ocean.

Overall, it was tons of fun, and I reeeally want to go there again (not by canoe, though.)

xoxo, Jacquelyn

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Grow

I have been struggling kind of a lot lately. There have been such HUGE life changes in the past two-three years. I know that sounds like a long time for things to still be affecting me, but when you lose a loved one or get married, those are things that will probably affect you for the rest of your life. The thing is that you can choose how it affects you. You can have a positive or negative outlook. You can grow from it or you could not. The worst thing we can do to ourselves is to stop growing or stop trying.
I know we get stuck in ruts and life happens. We get into routines and that gets comfortable, but in my opinion, that is how a lot of us stop growing. Routines are wonderful things! Having a morning routine or a nighttime routine is great and it can actually be really good for your health. Start changing other things up. Switch up the meals you eat, change where you and your significant other go on dates or vacations. Go to new places, I can guarantee that there is some place, some park you haven't been to in your local or neighboring town.
Hamilton and I have a rule when we go out to eat, especially if we are traveling. Only new restaurants. We can't eat at any places we've been to before. We also try not to go to the same place twice. There are a few places we've absolutely fallen in love with and I'm sure we will go visit them again. BUT there are so many beautiful state parks and amazing places so close to us that we haven't been to yet!
I also try really hard to come up with new and interesting date nights. For example, we got into a rut where we would just order pizza and watch a movie, or we wouldn't have a date night at all! And trust me, I have nothing against getting pizza and a movie! Pizza is my favorite haha. I love spending any time with my hubs, but I wanted to get outside and do new and interesting things. So I started to brainstorm some new ideas. One night we went to the beach and had a picnic during the sunset and it was absolutely beautiful! Plus neither of us had cell service so it was pretty awesome to just spend time being quite and actually talking to each other.

I know this post probably seems a little all over the place, but for me, all these things really go together. I am not a person who can do the same things over and over again. So for me to continue growing I really have to continually change things up. That isn't to say that I don't have certain things that I do every single day.
For example, I (try to) always read my scriptures and pray. I always check and write new things in my planner. I always try to journal or write something on my blog (I have TONS of posts that I have written that I just haven't shared yet). There is absolutely nothing wrong with having set routines and set plans for yourself every day! These are all simply my opinions and what works for me.

So here are a few of my tips to keeping things new and fresh.

1. Go to your local farmers market instead of your regular grocery store.

2. Read a book that is outside of what you usually read. Especially if you usually only read fiction! Try to read something that is nonfiction too!

3. Watch a documentary instead of the same show or movie on Netflix. I have been doing this lately and I love it! I feel so much better afterward because I actually learned a thing or two. And I know a lot of the times they can be biased, so then I can do some research and see what the whole scoop is.

4. Branch out and listen to some new music!

5. Instead of going for a walk or run down the same street, drive to your local park! It may be out of the way, but trust me, you'll enjoy it so much more. I've been trying a lot lately to do this and it is so much more fun! I'm not looking at the same stuff all the time!

6. Go camping instead of staying in a hotel.

7. Don't just read those inspirational quotes on Pinterest, instead pick one each week and try to live it.

This is the one I'm working on this week.

8. Make one new recipe every week. Some people make new recipes all the time, but I am someone who just makes the same things all the time. I don't know why because I love to cook!

9. Try to eat breakfast every day. I struggle with this. I mean I didn't even eat breakfast this morning! But I do know it makes a HUGE difference in my attitude when I do.

10. Challenge yourself to do something you're afraid of. This is something I really try to do, but never can. There isn't a whole lot I'm afraid of, but the things I am afraid of...I am REALLY afraid of...I will say that I am afraid of putting myself out there and I have done a really good job at opening up to people when I usually wouldn't.

I could really go on forever. Maybe I'll do a part two soon. These are just some of the things that really have helped me continue to grow and develop as a person. I feel like the past two years I have truly learned and grown so much more than I ever have. I have made a conscious effort to do the best I can and to not get stuck in a continuous cycle of the same things over and over again.


xoxo, Jacquelyn

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2016 recap

 Camping in Apalachicola was by far my favorite thing! It was my first real camping experience and I am hooked. We just drove all through the forest and stumbled upon some of the most amazing places.

 WEDDINGS! 2016 was the year of weddings! Many of Ham's friends got married and so did a couple of his siblings!

 2016 was also the year of beachin it up. We got tanner than ever and spent most of the first half of the year at the beach.

My momma graduated her LPN class. She is still in school for nursing and doing so well. Such an amazing role model.

We moved to Bradenton! I am from here. Born and raised. It was so amazing and so good for me to move back here. It was something I needed to do for my soul and I am so happy we're here for now.

 Spend a good week or two with all my nieces and nephews. My bother and his fam came down in the summer. I love when they're here because I definitely don't see them enough.

 Ham's oldest sister got married in July and it was such a beautiful and elegant wedding! There was so much love and I am so happy to be apart of this family.

 Got to see Twenty One Pilots for the second time and it was AMAZING. We had such great seats and it was such a fun time.

 Ham's oldest brother got married a week and a half later and it was such a fun wedding! It was a very small wedding, which made it so intimate and personal. It was such a wonderful day to be apart of.

 I tried to only post a few of these photos, but I couldn't pick! We got to spend a whole week in Tennessee after the wedding and it was so beautiful. I have developed a love for hiking and it definitely started with this trip. I haven't felt so close with nature in my life. It was so peaceful and so beautiful. It made me feel so small but so free and I can't wait to go on so many more adventures.

 I have seen some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen in my entire life this year.

 We adopted a pup. We love him so much and he fills our life with laughter and so much joy. He makes things a little stressful at some times because he is still a puppy and likes to eat EVERYTHING...including our nephews bed...

 Again...SO many weddings! But I'm not complaining. We love weddings so much! Dancing, food, and so much love, what more do you need?

 We spent Thanksgiving with Ham's family and we went camping. It was tons of fun and it had been awhile since our last camping trip, so this just made my love of nature grow so much more. I am happiest when I'm out camping or hiking or just laying down looking up at the trees.

 We went to Disney almost every month and I loved it!

Sorry for the overload of pictures! 2016 was an amazing year. I know a lot of people had a rough year and some bad things happened, but I had a wonderful year and wouldn't change a thing. I have really come to know myself so much better this year and I know what things I want and what I want to do. 

I know 2017 will be even better because we have a better grip on what is going to happen and what we want. 

If you made it to the end, thanks for stickin it out haha.

xoxo, Jacquelyn

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