All Work and No Play...

That's definitely NOT how I am spending my summer! In fact, Ashley and I are trying to make sure we do something fun each week (a necessity since I am averaging about 70 work hours each week!). This summer is VERY different for me, as its my first one without the girls. Usually, I am planning trips to Hershey Park and the beach for at least 3. Now, its just me, and almost always Ashley. Its definitely a bittersweet time as I am having a good time, but something is missing...

My new favorite "get away" activity is going to the drive in!! Delsea Drive-In (the only drive-in inNJ), is about an hour away from Philly, and provides the PERFECT night away!! Every Friday and Saturday night, they show double features for $8 per person (and they are all new releases). In addition, they have an incredible concession stand that is actually reasonably priced, with TONS of options! You can get cotton candy, pizza, slushies, fries, burgers... they even have sundaes and chocolate dipped strawberries!! Its a really easy drive, and then we just relax in our car enjoying movies and the clear night sky!! We LOVE it!!

Of course, I can't afford to go to the drive-in every weekend, so we are getting creative. July 9th was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A, and Ashley, Lindsay and I decided to go! On C.A.D., Chick Fil A provides a free meal to anyone who comes to a store dressed as a cow. So....

Yup! We made our own cow costumes and got our free meal! We also ran into another family from church, and enjoyed eating with them! It was a lot of fun!

Cow Appreciation Night has motivated us to have more theme nights. :) Last night, Ashley and I hosted our own Fiesta night! Unfortunately, we didn't have sombreros, but we did have tacos and guacamole dip! And, thanks to Netflix instant being available on the Wii, we had endless movie options. It was fun!

We are hoping to make it to Dorney Park sometime this summer, and are looking into a possible cruise in the fall (saving my pennies!). But, for the most part we are spending our time being creative and thrifty! We have gotten a few fun coupons for meals out and some birthday gift cards have allowed us to get away as well. As busy as the summer has been, its definitely also been a lot of fun!

The best weekend yet, however, came on my birthday. It was an AWESOME birthday! On July 3rd, I turned 30 years old. I know that isn't old, and I don't feel old. However, it is a milestone and one I'm honestly not too happy about it. I really thought I would be in a different place by the time I turned 30.. but that's for another post.

As my birthday approached, I had no idea what I was going to do. Its 4th of July weekend, and since I hate crowds, my options were limited. I was also warned that my new block tends to get a little rowdy on the 3rd, so we were looking to get away. I started looking at what beaches were nice (the Jersey Shore is close, but CROWDED), and everything that came up were beached near my parents! So, Ashley had the genius idea of taking a road trip to see my parents!! They live an hour from several great beaches, and my brother and his fiance said they would come to hang out too! So, that's what we did!!! It was awesome!!

I had a mission team meeting until 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd, so we left really late and drove through the night. My GPS took us in a really ridiculous route, so we didn't arrive until almost 5 a.m. on my birthday. My parents just left the door unlocked for us, so we went in and went straight to bed. We both slept in (which was so nice!), which was fine because Jack and Suzanne didn't arrive until around 4. So, on my actual birthday we relaxed, and then went out to eat at a restaurant by the water. It was very low key, and absolutely perfect.

On the 4th; Ashley, Jack, Suzanne and I packed up the car, drove about an hour and spent the entire day laying out on the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with absolutely awesome people. We all got pretty burnt, but it was totally worth it.

We drove back to my parents house where they had a bbq dinner ready for us. Yum!! Then my dad, Ashley and I drove into downtown Washington to watch the fireworks. And, we got there in time to watch the sunset over the water. So beautiful!

Unfortunately, Ashley and I had to go back to Philly the next morning, but it was still a great weekend. It was short, but very refreshing!!

So, that's the fun times of a single, 30 year old missionary in Philadelphia. I've also had a sleepover with some of my God's Girls and a few Wii competitions with some of the teens. In all, its been a lot of fun. Not what I thought my life would look like at 30, but its still pretty fun. :)