Palatka Camping

For Christmas, Hamilton and I decided we would take my mom and nephews camping. So we came up with a date and decided we would go for the first 3 day weekend in January! It was such an awesome trip. Plus Ham's sister ended up coming too and that was so fun!

We went camping at Rodman Campground and it was the most beautiful campsite I have been to yet. I think it's my favorite because it isn't as cleared out as other sites. There are so many trees and still some pretty thick brush everywhere, which makes the sites pretty closed off from everyone else's, which is pretty nice when camping with a dog.

I honestly don't like to have a solid plan when I'm camping. I usually just do some research on the area and pick out a couple things that I MUST do! So for this trip, I found Ravine Gardens State Park. That was the only state park really close to us, and the pictures were absolutely beautiful! So the first full day, that's where we went. Once we had been back at the site for awhile and rested a little, we drove down the street where our campsite was and I was in awe with what we found! As we drove down, there was a huge river, or lake or some sort of body of water. The shore was just all dead trees, and we could tell they had been there for a long time. It made for some awesome pictures, plus it was so gorgeous. We climbed way out onto the trees, and I was amazed at how thick the trees were! I would like to know where they came from. A little further down the road was a dam. It wasn't huge, but it was the biggest one I've seen!

The next day we just drove down SR 19, which goes through the entire Ocala National Forest. We just looked for hiking trails or random dirt roads to drive down. We found a couple, and they were some of the prettiest trails I've ever seen!

I am so grateful that we are able to take these trips and have the flexibility to take off work. I love hiking these trails and sleeping in the woods, especially in my hammock (which is WAY more comfy than I thought it would be!). And an added bonus is that the food always tastes better when your camping!


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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I'm ready for ya, 2017

 FINALLY stayed to see the fireworks at Disney. I always ask if we can stay to watch the fireworks, but we are usually way too tired to stay late. We go almost every month, so we don't tend to stay all day when we go, unless we go with other people.

 We went to an island called Beer Can Island. It is right off the bridge and found our way to it. I grew up at this island. I loved it so much because of all the fallen over trees and I would always find some pretty awesome looking shells there too. I haven't been there in probably 10 years! It definitely brought me way back and I loved it!

 First of all, they need to stop growing up. They are mirror images of their dad and uncles. It is insane.

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2017, that blows my mind! This year is going to be a huge year for me personally and for Ham and me as a couple. There are a few things that will be happening that I cant really talk about yet..I will just say we are both applying to a new school, andddd there is something pretty big in the works that should pop up sometime during or after summer (hopefully)!

I have slacked a little the past month or so on blogging, I kinda forgot how much I love it. Plus I really wanted to revamp my blog. It was getting boring to look at and I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it. I will probably change a few more things, but it helped me to get so inspired to see just a small change.

I really just wanted to write a little post about my goals for 2017. There are a few I wont mention just yet because I'm not sure how they will play out yet, but you'll hear about them soon. I have so many things I want to do this year, and so many that have become much more realistic recently.

travel more // this doesn't mean flying abroad or anything crazy like that. I mean road trips and camping and things like that. I have a very long lists of places I want to go to. I have a few that I have to accomplish this year. Devil's Den, Ocala National Forest, Little Grand Canyon in Georgia, Highlands Hammock, Ravine Gardens. Those are the specific places I really want to visit before the end of the year.

blogging // I really want to make it a priority to blog more regularly. I have so many exciting things coming up, and this is an awesome way to document that. Plus writing is my passion, so why not?

patience // This is a real struggle I have. I don't have much patience anymore. I got to the point where I was so proud of how patient I was becoming, but life happened and it all went downhill.

be more loving // I already work on this on a daily basis. I do my very best to love everyone and to avoid judging them. I feel that I have become so much better at this, but I know I still need to work on it.

youtube // I don't have a youtube channel yet, but I have been trying to figure out where to start for a few months now. I'm not sure what direction I want to go in yet, that's why I haven't started it. I have been doing a lot of thinking, and I think after a few weeks/months of blogging I will have a better idea on what I want to do.

I know I said this already, but I am really so excited for what this year will bring. Life is amazing and I have finally started to let go and live life the way I want.

I will be posting a recap of my favorite things from this year tomorrow! Stay tuned!
xoxo, Jacquelyn

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