Well, my summer driving for team USA has come to a close and I'm writing this back out on the farm. I sat on my couch this morning and all I could hear were the bugs buzzing outside. I sat out on the patio this afternoon with my bunny and the sound of tons of birds up in the tree just chirping along. It's a much different pace than what the past few weeks have been, but I couldn't be happier to be home. 

Here's how the past two weeks went down..

8/19 and 8/20 we worked and drove afterwards.. We were in Pennslyvania then Hunt Valley, MD and then we were back in Silver Spring, MD.

Thursday night after work we went to the Washington Redskins vs. Detroit Lions game. It was my first NFL football game, so it was really cool to see! We had an event so that was probably the fastest tear down we did. Hustled over to the game, just in time to get poured on when we sat down. Good thing we had our nifty little BMW rainjackets to help us out. Luckily, it didn't last too long and I enjoyed the game.

8/21- We went out for a team dinner to the Capital Grille for dinner. Brian's birthday was Saturday, so it was where he wanted to go for his birthday dinner. Everyone got all dressed up and we got lucky because it was restaurant week, so we got a little break on the prices. The steak was SO delicious. We somehow ended up staying there for over 3 hours. It was the last time we got all fancied up and went out for a team dinner, so it was a really good night. 

8/22- we worked and then I was a huge bum. I was super tired from the week, so I layed in bed most of the night and slept. So much fun, I know!

8/23-  I drove back to Annapolis to go to church with the Napppiers'. Then afterwards we went to the grocery store and hung out at their house for the afternoon. We played catch with the lacrosse sticks and swam, and they took me to get the famous Rita's frozen ice. It was delicious! Then we enjoyed some food on the grill. It was such a lovely day and it was nice to be out of a hotel and in a good church and home for the day. The kiddos are so adorable and so much fun. They're just overall the most incredible and sweetest family. At a random Embassy Suites in Jacksonville, FL I just so happened to talk to them at the pool, and I would have never guessed that I'd have just met a family that'd welcome me into their home and make me feel at home when I was so far from my real home. It was nice nice though and I'm so thankful to have gotten the chance to spend some time with them again. 

8/24- Marie and I went to downtown Annapolis. We walked around the Naval Academy and the downtown area. She hadn't been there yet, so we of course had to make a stop at my favorite Chick & Ruth's Delly. I may or may not have eaten there 4 times in total. Okay, I definitely did. The crab meat was the absolute best, so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to go back! That night we took our final trip back into DC for a drink at the city's oldest bar, Old Ebbitt Grill. It's been around since 1856, so it was neat to see it. Then we went and said our goodbyes to the beautiful monuments. I felt like I lived there for a while since I was in driving distance of it for 3 weeks, so it was a little weird having to leave!

8/25- I went and grabbed some coffee and then stopped to see the kiddos before I headed out to New York. Their family is the absolute sweetest and it was hard to go! After a few hour drive, I was finally in Newark, NJ. It was as if I came full circle. I flew into the Newark airport at the beginning of the journey, and I ended up in a hotel in the same area at the end of the tour. We didn't do much that night, just hung out in the lobby then Marie and I watched a movie and fell asleep. 

8/26- I was a big bum most of the day and laid around. Then in the evening, Brian took me into the city. We rode the Staten Island Ferry in and that goes past the Statue of Liberty, so that was awesome to see. We hit up all of the obvious touristy spots since I was a first timer. The Rockefeller center, Radio city music hall, NBC studios, Times Square, Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Broadway, and Wall Street. Good thing he knew how to maneuver around the city because there's no way I would have been able to do that. There was alot going on everywhere, alot of interesting people to see, and people who walk so incredibly fast. People SPRINT onto the metro.. It goes through every 5 minutes, but you'd never guess that.. It's like it only comes once every hour the way they hustle through everywhere. Brian kept getting on my case because I'm not one for walking super fast, I like to enjoy the scenery and ya know, just stroll through, but he told me I had to walk fast in the city. One tip I'll definitely remember next time.. Wear tennis shoes when you're going into NYC. I made the mistake of wearing flip flops and by the end of the night, my feet weren't happy campers. We ended the night having a drink with his two friends, then took a few metros and the ferry back to the island. It was a fun time and I'm glad I can finally say I've been to New York City!

8/27- Event and then we drove to Queens to our next hotel. I could never live near this city. Too. Much. Traffic. The drive was awesome though, the sun was setting and we had to drive over the George Washington Bridge, so I was able to see the skyline with a pink sky background and it was pretty incredible.

8/28- Event and then we had our final team dinner. 

8/29- Final event and then we had to say our goodbyes to one another because the guys were all dispersing. I probably got a little emotional. Four months ago, I flew into an airport where I knew absolutely no one. I was paired with 8 other people from all over the place. We had one of the most diverse groups- LA, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas, and Connecticut.. We were literally from everywhere. We always compared it to the Real World. We get thrown onto a team and have to work together for 4 months. We should have had our own TV show, because it was one of the most amazing time, and some of the things that happened to us.. Well, you wouldn't even believe it if I told you! We started as strangers but from the first night in the hotel lobby, I knew we were going to mesh well. We might be from different states, but as I hugged everyone goodbye, I knew it wasn't really goodbye. I'm stealing this quote from Brooks' insta because it's so true.. "40 cities, 50+ events, and 5000 miles later, we started out as strangers and today.. We fly home as lifelong friends. #thedreamteam" Now I just have an excuse to travel to all over the U.S. :) 

After we got all the emotional stuff out of the way, Marie and I took our last drive together in the convertible to dinner. Then we just hung out in the lobby with our product facilitators. 

8/30- I had to depart with my 650 convertible and hop in an Uber to the airport. I flew from NY to O'Hare, had a 2 hour layover, then a quick 30 minute flight to Peoria. My parents were waiting right outside security when I got there. Best feeling ever was wrapping them in a huge hug for the first time in 3.5 months!  They were waiting with me to get my luggage when I saw my dad wave at someone. His best friend had came with his wife to surprise me. Then when we were walking out to the cars, my brother popped out around the corner. He told me he had to work and wasn't going to be able to make it, but I should have known he was foolin me. We went to eat at BWW (yes, I did jokingly nag my parents for making me eat out again.. The airport is 45 minutes from home and I didn't arrive until 6:40, so it was understandable. She made up for it with dinner tonight ;)) 

Today I definitely binged watched all of the Catching Life episodes I've missed this summer and did a few loads of laundry. Just trying to get unpacked and settled in and caught up on my sleep before the busy time of Hog Days arrives. Woot woot. Mom cooked me steak and twice baked potatoes, corn and watermelon for dinner so my belly was especially happy. 

It hasn't really officially hit me that I'm done and back in Illinois. Driving down Main Street last night was all sorts of weird.. My brain can't process that I'm actually here yet. I'm happy though. I've missed my family and friends and the calm streets where I don't have to pay for parking. Being able to see the stars and hear the crickets at night.. Oh, the country life. 

School is beginning.. Oh, wait. I kind of forgot that I actually don't have to go back this year and I don't really know how I feel about that yet. You mean I don't actually get to move all of my stuff to a house and live near my friends and see them everyday? Even better, I don't actually have to go to work and then come home and try to work out and study for a few hours?! I might be a little overjoyed by the second statement, but I think it's still going to be weird for awhile. I'll definitely get used to it though.

What's going to take some getting used to is in two weeks not being on the road anymore.. Living out of a suitcase, eating the most amazing seafood, going on random [incredible] adventures with the dream team and seeing this beautiful country. I can't talk too much about that yet because we're already starting to get a little sad here in room 321, so we'll skip out on that for now. 

I know in a while, i'll be able to look back on these posts and reminisce on all the good times, so for now I'm just gonna fill you all in what's be going on in this crazy beautiful life. 

8.3- Took a drive to the Arlington cemetery and walked around. I didn't know the John F. Kennedy is buried there, so that was a neat little surprise. It was surreal to see so many graves lined all around me. After that I just drove around some nice neighborhoods and looked at all the houses. They're crazy big and beautiful, and looking at houses is one of my favorite things to do soooo thats what I did.

8.4- We had an event then we went to a crab house for dinner. It was my first time eating the whole actual crab and having to crack it open to get out the crab meat. It was delicious!

8.5- Drove to Dover, Delaware. I didn't know what to expect, but it was adorable! The downtown area was a little street that was a few blocks long. Marie and I went to lunch at a little restaurant on a pond, then walked around. Our hotel was incredible and had an outdoor patio with not one, but TWO grills, so we definitely took advantage of that. Not just the first night we were there, either. Whenever we get the chance to grill out, you'd definitely think we haven't eaten forever judging by the amount of food we have on the tables. It's insane, but we love home cooked food. So we grilled out that night and hung out on the patio. 

8.6- Event dayyy! And then some more good food. It's funny to watch people walk by when we sit outside.. I'm sure people hardly ever use these grills, and then there's us. Plates of side dishes everywhere, both grills covered in cooking meat.. And us looking so happy and content with what's in front of us. Who goes out to eat when you stay at a hotel with a grill.. Oh yes, you people on vacations.. I would too, typically. But not anymore. Yes, we might be scavengers at this point!

8.7- I went and walked around the main street of Dover, visited the Governor's Cafe coffee house (which was super chill) then drove to Alexandria. Bri and I went to some Spanish place for happy hour then walked by all the shops and hung out by the water for awhile. 

8.8- Another day, another event! Then we decided last minute to take a trip to the Nats stadium for the Nationals baseball game. We were going to buy tickets at the door but they were $40, and we weren't about to spend that much because we didn't really care that much about going. Some guy had been saying "section 105," which was the section Bri had bought his ticket in, so we went to see if he was selling some tickets.. Well, he just so happened to be giving away 3 free tickets, so we gave him a couple bucks for a pop and the tickets were ours. There wasn't a better feeling then getting through the security gates and the tickets actually being legit. So that was a cool experience. We went to a little brewery afterwards to grab some food and called it a night. 

8.9-I won't tell you how lazy I was that morning, but it was pretty lazy. I layed around until about 2 when Cherie and I went to grab some brunch. We ate at Gatsby's, the same place that George Washington once ate at. It's in an old house that just looked really historic, so it was neat. Then we walked around Alexandria for awhile, then went down to DC for awhile. We walked around all of the monuments again. I can see them so many times, but it really never feels real that I'm actually here and seeing these sights. It's pretty incredible! 

8.10- Grabbed some coffee at a local coffee shop then walked around until we found a spot to have lunch outside. I got a crab salad, and lets just say it was amazing! After that I hopped in the car and made the drive to Annapolis. I didn't really realize that this was the capital of Maryland until I was there, but it was one of my favorite towns. Okay, so maybe alot of these towns I've been to are my new favorites, but it was really cool. I drove downtown that night to check it out and drive around. I wandered aimlessly on the main street and had walked past an interesting food place called Chick and Ruths Delly that had orange paint and posters hanging all over it. I decided on my way back past it to go inside because I was a little hungry and could use a bite to eat, and it looked like a place I wouldn't look totally weird eating at by myself. The waitress told me what was popular there so I went with it and it was the best decision ever. It was a lump of crab meat with 2 sides (mashed potatoes and these delicious onion rings). I definitely had leftovers after that. This place has been featured on Man vs. Food and there's a few different challenges people can do. Alot of different people have eaten there, so theres newspaper articles and pictures of all the "important" people that have been in there. There was article that even featured someone getting married there.. I guess they really loved it! 

8.11- {Event} and then the guys and I headed back to the delly because they wanted to check it out. I had eaten my leftovers so I opted naturally for the "award winning milkshakes." It was a cookies and cream peanut butter combination, and it was the most amazing milkshake I've ever had ( and thats saying alot, because I eat ice cream.. Alot!) They loved it just as much as I did. The picture on the left is a building on the main street.. I loved the clouds so I had to stop for it!

8.12- I drove around some random roads and made my way to downtown Annapolis again. I walked along the streets, checked out the State Capitol building (which was once the capital of the United States for a few months!), and toured the U.S. Naval Academy. I had stumbled upon the entrance (I didn't even know it was there), so I decided to go in and check it out. I arrived at the right time because I got to see everyone getting ready to go to lunch. A group had been coming to the area and they were chanting and singing songs. They all have to report in before they go inside, so there's a band and everyone reports in. It was a pretty neat thing to see! Then I met two of the guys for lunch at.. who's gonna guess it?! Chick & Ruth's! Can you tell I'm in love? I got the crab meat again and I'd told one of the waiters I was going to try the pie the past two days, so I just had to get it that day. I got a piece of strawberry rhubarb and like everything else, it was great. And of course I had to get another milkshake. I walked over 20,000 steps that day, so I tried to justify all the bad I'd been eating ;) There was a couple there that was doing the milkshake challenge.. It's a 6 pound milkshake in a huge glass.. Dream date? Yes, please. After that I made the drive to Sterling, Virginia. The hotel had an outdoor pool so I took advantage of that and sat by the pool for most of the night. 

8.13- Work, work, work, then a drive back to Alexandria. 

8.14- Event take 2. Then we went to Top Golf that night. It's like a driving range, but it's electronic, so it can tell you how far you hit it, etc. It was so much fun and their food was pretty tasty. 

8.15- Event #3! An ice cream truck stops by this center everyday. One of the client advisors said that he needed to find someone who likes ice cream because they have a banana boat sundae that no one can ever finish. He said whoever can finish it, he'll buy it. Little did he know he was talking to the ice cream queen over here so of course I told him I'd be able to do it. When it finally arrived in the afternoon, he went out and ordered it. It didn't take me long to scarf it right down. He was pretty surprised, but hey, I love my ice cream! After the event I went to dinner with a family I'd met in Jacksonville, Florida. They live around the Annapolis area, so we met up and enjoyed a nice dinner at Olive Garden. The kids are all soo adorable, and they're such a sweet family, so it was a great evening with them. Afterwards, the team and I went out to a few spots in Alexandria. One place had this amazing band and the woman singing was incredible. It was alot of fun!

And so now it's already August 16 and in two weeks from now I'll be done. Where is time going and can we please slow it down? Today we had a lovely girls day. We went to brunch and enjoyed some mimosas and walked around downtown Alexandria again. We had the most amazing cupcakes and then had some pad tai for dinner. We've just been relaxing and preparing for our busiest week yet!

I heard this song a few weeks ago on the radio called "I lived" by OneRepublic and every time I hear it, it just hits me. It reminds me so much of this summer, all I've gotten to see, all I've gotten to do, the people who've become my little road family, and the people I've gotten to meet along the way.

I've gone places I never would have probably ever gone, I've fallen in love with city after city, driven on the most random streets that I'll probably never drive on again. Even if I tried, I probably won't because they're often so random and I decide to turn at the last second and see where it takes me. 

{Hope when you take that jump, you don't fear the fall} I've climbed a ladder in a river and jumped 30 feet into the water. My heart was racing, my mind didn't know how to respond, but when I went in and came above the water, it was exhilarating. I've sat in the front seat on roller coasters that terrify me, I've ziplined, kayaked, paddleboarded, watched sunrises and sunsets in the most beautiful places. I feel extremely blessed to have done all I have done, and I won't give up there. I believe the best is still yet to come. It might get hard, I might be afraid, but I'll embrace everyday with all that I can. Every day is the best day, and I tell myself that every single day. I take advantage of the moment and live life, because it's definitely worth living. It's worth forgiving. It's worth being a bigger person. It's worth telling someone you love them because you never know when God could need them back. Being happy is 100% a choice. You can hold a grudge against someone, but why? Those moments and the energy you spend doing that will only take away from your happiness now. You can't get that time back, so make the most of it. Don't sit and wait for your moment to forgive, to love, to take a chance because there's only so much time. Don't wait for someone to make plans with you, just go. Go alone, go with a friend, but just go. There's nothing wrong with doing things by yourself, it makes you more comfortable with yourself. You learn things about yourself when you spend time alone. Love with everything you have, give to those who don't deserve it, and be kind. Everyone you meet could be fighting some type of battle, even if you can't tell. You never know how you could impact someone's day. Whatever you do, be happy. It makes a world of difference, not only to you, but to those around you. 

 It's a crazy, beautiful, incredible life and when you take the time to sit back and reflect on it, you'll realize just how precious it really is. 

{I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did}

Greetings from Washington, D.C! (Well, 13 miles from there if we're being precise). 

With two and a half months down, it's hard to believe that one month from today will be our last event already! Time sure does fly. Thinking about being away from our little dream team family can't be had yet because then I'll get sad, and there's no doing that with time to go! So we've been to North Carolina, Virginia and now I reside in Maryland since my previous post. 

7/22- Trip to Duke's plantation. Can I just get married there? It was honestly one of the most beautiful places we've been to. All of the flowers and scenery was SO green and bright. We walked around there for awhile then headed off to a girls lunch and then made the drive to Lynchburg, VA. 

7/23- This was a B event, so I had the day off. We were headed out that night for the next stop so I headed out early and finally found a decent chiropractor so I took care of that. I headed downtown for lunch at the downtown area with Bri, then we just took it easy at the hotel. There was free laundry there so obviously I had to do laundry that day before anything else. We stayed right down the street from University of Virginia, so I walked down there and explored their campus a bit. Then I went to a jazzercise class with Debra, which was a whole lot of fun! 

7/24- Event at Charlottesville, then drove to Richmond, VA. Gotta love all the driving we've been doing! The land is more interstate and less green, so I'm already starting to miss the south! We were lucky enough to be at this hotel for a few nights, which was a good change of pace. 

7/25- Event at Richmond, followed by a team dinner at a nice place in the downtown area. We were able to treat ourselves to a nice dinner, so that was awesome. I ate so much, so as soon as I layed down I was out that night.

7/26- Yay for sleeping in a little bit. I woke up and went to church, then Marie and I went to Carytown to explore. There was a bunch of little shops with cute things and a farmers market. Then we plugged in a random point on the map to take us to the river one of the client advisors had suggested. Parking was at the top of a hill and whatnot, so we parked in a random spot that looked promising and started walking. There was a random guy walking to his car as we were leaving and he said hey to us and offered to show us where to go. Well, good thing he did because we had to walk down some winding road, climb over a siderail of the road, hike down a dirt path, turn at some railroad tracks, then climb through some more trees to get out to this spot. Once we got out there, it was like a whole new world. There were lots of rocks in the river that you could walk out on, so we hiked out to the middle of the river, then swam out to a spot where a bunch of people were hanging out and jumping off this little platform thing. I wasn't going to do it, but after watching Marie and Daniel and a bunch of other kids jump, they finally convinced me to climb the ladder and go for it. and that was the most exhilarating moment. ever. It was probably a good 30 feet in the air, and my body didn't even know what to do as a free fell through the air. So I guess you do gotta live on the edge a little sometimes. Opens your eyes to life! If anything, this life is way too short to let your fears determine what you do. That night, we grabbed some dinner and walked around a bit.. and yes, of course we got the homemade ice cream. 

7/27- Marie and I met Daniel at the Midlothian Apothecary for breakfast. The hole-in-the wall places are always my favorite and this was a little diner in the corner of a pharmacy, served super cheap and amazing breakfast! I had to get one of the cars serviced so we dropped it off after and Daniel chauffeured us around to the mall and a coffee shop to kill some time. Then we ventured back to the river for a few hours. We had a little picnic on the rocks and floated in the river, so that was nice! We went and checked out the graffiti on the walls downtown Richmond and walked on this pipeline by the water, so that was really cool! Then we grabbed some dinner again and walked around and wound up at a park sitting and enjoying the night. There were these huge rats that kept running around the fountain, so it was like being out on the farm again (except these were alot bigger!) 

7/28- EVENT & then some 2 hour travel to Virginia Beach!

7/29- EvEnT! Casey was back as our athlete for this event, so it was fun to hang out with him one last time! Can't wait to (hopefully) watch him in the Olympics next year! If you're feeling super kind, go vote for him on teamusa.org/awards as male athlete of the month!! I promise he deserves it! That night we drove down to Virginia Beach for dinner. The place we went to had super good food & there just so happened to be a bikini contest there, so of course we had to stay and watch that. Then we walked out on the beach for a little bit before heading back. It was a pretty standard place, I've liked other places better, but it was nice to at least see it.

7/30- super duper travel day of driving around 5+ hours to Silver Springs, MD ft. a pit stop in Richmond because why not?! I already love the traffic and the way people drive in this area, its wonderful! (Heavy sarcasm noted)

7/31 & 8/1- Woah, is it really. August already? I couldn't believe it when I had to write 8/1 on the sheets at the event.. Where is the time going and can it slow down, please? I'm in a wrestle with time right now. It's going way too quickly and I'm already dreading having to be away from my teammates in a few weeks.. After four months together seeing each other nearly everyday and making so many memories, it's going to be so weird going our own ways. 

On the other hand, I got a phone call at work on Saturday that my grandma was being airlifted to Peoria hospital because she had a stroke. There's nothing worse than hearing that and not being able to be there for her and for my mom. She is doing okay, but she has a long recovery ahead of her. They're still waiting to do tests on her, so my hope's just been going up to God and trusting that He has it under control. My mom skyped me yesterday from the hospital, so it was so nice to be able to at least see my grandma that way. Thank goodness for technology, especially when I'm states away at a time like this! My family was also supposed to arrive on Saturday to spend a week out here with me, but that's been canceled, so it's been tough thinking of that too. But, it's another day that I'm alive and I'm just trying to stay positive in that. It's insane how quickly time can change things in the blink of an eye. One minute things may be fine, and the next a life could be changed forever. Over the past few days, my mind's been full of thoughts and memories. I was going through pictures on my computer tonight and I found some from back when I was messing around with the photobooth app on my computer and found a picture I'd taken of grandma and I. I can remember her, never understanding how technology works and thinking how crazy it was that I could take a picture with it. She's a riot!

 If I can tell you anything, let it be this. Life will not always be easy. No one ever promised it would be. You're going to go through things that will feel like the worst thing in the world. You're going to cry, and it just might bring you to your knees. You'll be flooded by thoughts and wish you could change things. Time will keep passing, though. And you will get through it. The challenges make you who you are. Times may get tough, but we can't give up hope and we can't get defeated and worn down by the trials. I know that things will never be the same as they were before, but we can't focus on what won't be any longer, but only be thankful for that which remains and that which we did have. It might take every ounce of patience, tears, and a million prayers a day, but at the end of each day, I know that God will be there every single step through every single challenge and every single happy moment, He'll never let go, through every high and every low, and sometimes that's all we can truly depend on. I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future, and for that, I am forever thankful. 

Saturday night I had my first time ever experience in DC! We went and walked around the Washington monument, visited the Abraham Lincoln statue, and went to a yummy pizza place. 

8/2- Today I woke up feeling like I didn't really have a voice, so I ate breakfast then laid in bed and watched one of the sermon's from Eastview then fell back asleep for awhile. It's insane how much I miss going to church there every week! I worked out and drove to DC again. Rob and I walked around the city and saw the White House and all of the monuments again. It feels like such a dream! Seeing all of these places and thinking of the history and just the people that are in this city and all of their responsibility makes it all seem unreal, but it's been incredible. I drove around aimlessly for over an hour tonight just looking at all of the houses in the neighborhoods, they're all so beautiful. 

I've been sitting outside on the patio of our hotel for about two hours now, just working on things on my computer and taking some time to do some writing. It's such a nice night! The stars are out & I know that wherever I am, I'm always under the same stars as everyone that I want to be next to right now! Four weeks from right now I will be back in the lovely countryside. Four weeks too far yet four weeks too soon-- making the most of it! Cheers to August!