waterpark fun...

This past weekend my sister invited my mom, dad, chase, and I to come with her and the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC. I had been once before and knew just how much fun it was so I jumped at the chance to go again. From the time we arrived late Friday night, to the time we left Sunday morning we played hard nonstop. I absolutely love my niece and nephew and getting to spend that rare quality bonding time with them is something I always look forward to. I unfortunately did not get to take any pictures of the trip. The water park itself is wet from one end to the other so I was NOT going to take my camera in there. But if you have never been to Great Wolf Lodge you really need to consider going. Most of the water park is geared to smaller children and pre-teens, however there are about 4 water slides that are especially for older kids and adults. We tried them all and believe me when I say one or two of them really had my heart pumping.

I also wanted to update everybody on my Bible reading. That is the entire reason for starting this blog and I have not given an update in a while. Since the beginning of school about 3 weeks ago I have finished the books of Luke, 1st Chronicles, Amos, and Ecclesiastes. It has been kind of slow going while I'm getting settled into the new school schedule, but now I am back in the swing of things and loving my time with the Lord every morning.

Other than that not much is going on in the life of Sara. School is school and homework is homework. Labor day weekend is coming up and a good dose of relaxation will be on the way. Who knows what kind of adventures I will get myself into!! I hope that everybody is doing well and I always pray that your journey is blessed!!

a whole lot of living and a little bit of love...

Sunday August 21st marked a special day in the lives of Chase and I. We were excited to celebrate our three year anniversary together! Although we have known each other since sophomore year of high school, I am blessed to have been able to have the opportunity these past three years to grow and nourish our relationship together as a couple. A lot of people say high school relationships don't last. However if you have God firmly rooted in that relationship, the tables are turned and anything is possible :) I am so glad to have Chase in my life. For our anniversary we celebrated Chase and Sara style...simple yet full of surprises. The pictures below will give you more insight...

We went to a soccer game after church (I meant to get a picture of us looking cute but I totally forgot) and it was so terribly hot. I got sun burnt pretty bad. But it was still a whole lot of fun being with friends.

Then we went back to Chase's room to cool off and rest before our adventures that night. I indulged in some Little League World Series...

...while Chase worked on a little bit of homework that needed to be done.

After a quick change and some much needed "pampering" from being all hot and sweaty we headed out to dinner. Before we ate we traded gifts. We only really do gifts on our anniversary, birthday, and Christmas (although Chase likes to break the rules sometimes and surprise me...but hey I'm not complaining!!!) so I was really looking forward to this. I had been thinking a long time about what to get him. But first it was my turn. Chase got me tickets to the Brad Paisley concert in September. I have been a little down recently because I have not had the chance to go to a concert in a long time, so this was the perfect gift.

I got Chase a SPROUT watch. If you have never heard of them you should really check them out. They are made out of all recycled materials and they come in all sorts of different colors. Chase had been wanting a watch for a while but couldn't make up his mind, so I took charge and picked one out for him. Needless to say he loves it and it looks really good on him.

We then went out to eat at our favorite place in the world...RUBY TUESDAYS!!! The food is so good and relatively cheap which is perfect for two hungry college students.

After a little shopping for Chase to get some new athletic gear we made a trip to the frozen yogurt shop. Can you say Yummy? I could eat this stuff all day long.

We finally finished up the night with a movie together. We chose Captain America. Yeah I know its not an "anniversary type" movie, but Chase and I had watched a few chick flicks together recently so it was time to change it up and little and watch something with some action. It was very good I must say.

I loved our day together and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us. Chase is such a great Godly man and I am honored to have him in my life. God sure knew what he was doing when he sat us down next to each other in class that day in high school. Sorry if you are sick from my sappy post, but I just had to share. That's what blogs are for right? Stay tuned in the next couple of days for what went on this past weekend. The adventure and fun never stops in the Bumgarner household!! Until then I pray that everybody is doing well and that your journey is blessed.

i am alive, well, and back on track...

I am ALIVE...
Yes I do realize that it has been 15 days, and little over 2 weeks since I have last posted. And yes if you truly know me you would know that bugs me. However, these past two weeks have been so jammed packed full of "stuff", I have had little time to do anything extra with my time. I finished up the summer with a trip to Alabama with some of my passport friends and others to a retreat to wind down the summer. It was simply amazing and loved every minute. I also learned that I can drive absurd long amounts of time on the interstate without getting tired. It is something i thought would never happen since whenever I am a passenger in a car ride longer than 30 minutes I am out for hours on end. Two days after the retreat I moved into my apartment in Raleigh where I will be residing for the next two years while I finish up school, and four days after that I began classes. I love it here in good old Raleightown and I am so glad to be out of the dorm. Here are a few pictures of the place...




the dining room space

the kitchen (my favorite spot in the apartment :) )

bathroom

crazy colorful bedroom which I love

...side note : those wall hanging were handmade by my mom and I. I saw some like it on Pinterest and fell in love. They were super simple. Get canvas and put painters tape down to make a design then paint over it. So simple and so cute. I love them.

I am WELL...

I am well in the sense that I am content with life and have succeeded in integrating back into the real world. I still think about camp from time to time, and I really cannot wait until this summer rolls around, but right now I am in school mode and that is a good thing. I am proud to know that I can shift from one life mode to another without any big problems. Yay school and yay camp...just not at the same time.

I am BACK ON TRACK...

How am I back on track you might ask? I am finally getting into a normal schedule and routine again. That is one of the big things I love about school and camp both...schedules!!!! I love to know when and what I am supposed to be doing. It makes me feel...I don't know...important, or in charge. Anyways, the past couple of weeks have had no real routine to them. Wake up whenever, do whatever, make it up as you go. I am not that kind of person and I am so happy to be back to a time when I have a schedule of classes and work in front of me. It makes my OCD a happy camper!!!!

That is all for now. I have a special post coming out in the next couple of days that is really near and dear to my heart...so be on the lookout. I hope everybody is doing well that your journey is being blessed daily. Love yall so very much!!!!

a simple friday...

Yesterday was a special day in our family. My niece turned 6!!!!! Bryson and Bailey are two wonderful kids and I am so happy to be able to help them grow and learn. To celebrate we ate pizza (cheese of course!!!) and ate chocolate cake. Presents were also in the line up. She received many gifts but her favorite had to be her easy bake oven. Who knew something so simple could keep a child entertained for hours on end. It was so cute to watch her do her thing.

After all the festivities ended at her "party" we cleaned up and headed back home. However we came home with two more passengers than we left with. That's right, we got to take the munchkins with us. They were so excited, but truthfully I think I was the person who was most excited. I love these kids and they always make me laugh. Mom and Dad had to work so it was just me and the kids for a fun filled day. Thank goodness the weather was not scorching hot like it has been the past couple of days. After some cartoons we decided to venture outside and take some pictures with my new camera. This one below ended up being my favorite. Just look at those smiles, I love them so much.

We have a creek at our house that is not too deep, but perfect to walk around and explore in. When I was younger I would spend hours in there just looking around and playing. Now I get the opportunity to watch the kiddos do the same thing.

After lunch we had a special treat. We had been cooped up around the house all morning and we were itching to get out. So off we went to the main street ice cream parlor "Good Ole Days". This place is cheap but oh so good.

Finally, we rounded out our afternoon with a good long stay at the park. Between the giant slide, swings, another creek, and the play set everybody was greatly entertained. It was so relaxing and i laughed so much at all the stuff they came up with to entertain themselves. My personal favorite was "who can make the biggest splash in the creek" contest. Good thing I have leather seats since I drove home 2 sweaty and muddy children.

We are now all back home cleaning up and resting. I believe a dinner outing is in our near future and then a nice movie on the couch cuddled up with my two favorites. I love how some of the most simplest of days can turn out to be the most fun. I would not trade this day for anything in the world. Did I mention how much I love these kids already?!?!?!?!?! Anyways...hope everybody is enjoying their happy Friday and I wish you all a great weekend. Love you all and I hope and pray that your journey is blessed :)

hello real world...

So this post is long over due. I have now been back home from camp for almost a week now. I got home Saturday night and have been enjoying family and friends ever since. I also have been catching up on all things real world such as sleep, news, pop culture, and books. I must confess, while all of this stuff is great and I enjoy getting back into the swing of real life things, I find myself often thinking about camp and the summer. Like Tuesday night I was watching TV and it dawned on me that I should be dancing to Firework or the Cupid Shuffle. Or yesterday I had a burger for lunch and I found myself thinking about how I should be having a sandwich. It makes me laugh every time something like that happens. Camp really did change my heart and perspectives on things. It was such a great experience and I am already looking forward to next summer and all it has to bring. I have one more camp thing to do before I am totally thrusted back into real life. It is a program called Seh la Vie. It is a "detox" of sorts for all people who have worked in missions or camp this summer. It helps you take in and process all you have learned and experienced this summer and gets you ready and prepared for life outside of the camp bubble. I am really looking forward to it. It should be a lot of fun and I think i will learn a ton. I leave Sunday and will return Wednesday so please keep me in your prayers.

On another slightly related note I wanted to give you a quick update on Bible reading. I was not able to get a whole bunch of reading done at camp, but I got a good bit done so i am proud of myself. I am now finished with 2 Samuel, Colossians, 1&2 Kings, Jonah, and Philemon. They are all superb books and I am really enjoying this entire process. If you have never done this, I highly recommend it.

One last note before I leave you for today. Yesterday I made a big purchase with part of my summer paycheck. I gave in and bought myself a "big girl" camera. I have been wanting something more than a point and shoot for a couple of years now, but never had the money or the nerve to make that expensive of an investment. However yesterday I had both(along with some Target gift cards) and I finally got what I have been wanting. I love my new Nikon and I am sure it will get used enough to pay me back over and over. To test stuff out, Chase and I had a mini photo shoot in the front yard yesterday evening. Mom and dad bought me mini tri-pod that can bed around things and I LOVE it. It is going to come in handy I can already tell. I will leave y'all with a couple of my favorite photos from yesterday. Enjoy and as always I pray that your journey is blessed :)

on the glider...like the barn in the background

my favorite of the day I believe
just me being me