My Semester in Stuart

Howdy folks.

I've been in Tallahassee for a little over 48 hours. During that time I've made two trips to Walmart, shopped at three different Goodwills, and sat on the couch for about 18 waking hours. In all seriousness, I've had a pretty nasty cold since July and I'm finally taking the time to get healthy.

Although my interaction with Tallahassee has been pretty limited so far, I am so happy to be back. But that's not to say I didn't cry pulling out of my driveway, because I totally did. I was home for almost four months (April 27 - August 18). Which is essentially almost a whole semester.

And in case you didn't know by now, I love my hometown.

Stuart, FL.

Some highlights, in no particular order:

(Sidenote: If I didn't get the picture off of my camera, I got it off of Pinterest.com.)

Coming up with every excuse to eat at Chipotle as often as possible.

Mom and I had a system where we could share a meal for under $10.

Finding random artifacts in my room.

I wrote this piece of art in English class of my senior year of high school. Some would say it rivals that of Emily Dickinson. Kidding, it's awful. Feel free to laugh at my immaturity.

Seeing Corey Smith perform (for free!) in City Place with some gal pals.

What country lovin' college student doesn't love Corey?

Receiving this picture text from one of my best friends.

"I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!"

Running with these lovely ladies a couple mornings every week.

Cheesin' hard with my mom and Harriett (Sara's mom) after running our 5k.

(Try not to be jealous of how tan I look in this picture....It's the lighting...I promise....)

Watching the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights.

I may or may not have cried throughout the last fifteen minutes of the last episode, ever.

Boating.

And overplaying the song Knee Deep by Zac Brown Band/Jimmy Buffett. Like overplayed it to the point where I change the station when it comes on.

Taking advantage of fun Stuart things.

Erin, my family, and myself attended the historic Lyric Theater's free viewing of To Kill a Mockingbird.

(PS. Can the man that directed The Help PLEASE direct a remake of this movie? How great would that be?!)

Spending all kinds of time with my brothers and cousins.

Not sure if this is illegal or not in the state of North Carolina.

Falling in love with both Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina of American Idol.

Hoping they get married one day in the distant future.

Hanging out with my mother 24/7.

Miss her already. Thank goodness we have at least four different modes of communication.

And the list goes on.

I live a blessed life indeed.

Summer Camp: The Final Weeks

Welp, it's Sunday night and I don't have to report to camp in the morning...Wierd.

For the last two months, my life has been that of a camp counselor. 40 hour work weeks in the hot Florida sun. Fighting off sticky, grabby, germ infested hands. Trips to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Appeasing hysterical children with band-aids and ice packs. Evacuating the pool due to some floating "doo-doo". Opening Gatorades, Lunchables, and stubborn Tupperware. Putting children in timeout for throwing pinecones again, again, and again.

But its also watching the pure joy in a kids face when they finally score a basket. Spending hours in the pool accompanied by counselor friends, country music, and the lifeguards' watchful eyes. Being equipped with an arsenal of hilariously corny jokes. Raiding the snack closet on a daily (sometimes hourly...) basis. Making a new group of friends in a town where I thought I already knew everyone there was to know. Being told "I love you" by children day in and day out.

And now camp is over and done with, and it's all pretty bittersweet.

Because camp was awesome.

I'm going to miss my new friends and all of our shenanigans.

Pajama day/movie day/the most chaotic day all summer. We took all of 20 seconds to take this picture, which was the perfect amount of time for all hell to break loose among the campers.

Youth large t-shirts or YMCA UnderArmour?

Mr. Nick and I celebrating YMCA's transition from Pepsi to Coke.

And it was Crazy Hair Day, which explains the Lady Gaga wig and Princess Leah buns.

I'm going to miss the daily dance parties.

I'm going to miss the crowning of the new Counselor of the Week every Friday.

I'm going to miss the pure chaos of containing 100+ hyped up kids in one place.

The visual is enough in and of itself, but listen closely to the dialouge for even fuller imagery. (Obviously I felt like we had control over the situation or else I wouldn't have been messing around with my camera. Safety first, y'all.)

I'm going to miss the low-budget brilliance of the YMCA.

"Camper's Choice Awards"

Throughout the last week of camp the campers voted on the Funniest Counselor, the Friendliest Counselor, and the Most Helpful Counselor. On Friday, the three winners were presented with a $10 Steak-n-Shake gift card and a recycled trophy. I don't know about you, but those trophies made me laugh out loud.

(PS. I was shocked and honored to win the Friendliest Counselor award because most days I felt like a total grouch. Guess not.)

I'm going to miss pranking the campers.

But mostly I'm going to miss the precious little faces I fell in love with.

Some of my little Red Group on the last day of camp.

We're not really supposed to have favorites, but this guy was one...

...and this little guy was the other.

I have so many memories to be thankful for.

And if this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will...

(PS. If you can't get these videos to work, please let me know. But hopefully they work, because they took f o r e v e r and a day to upload and I'll cry if they don't.)

There's a cabin in a valley

my grandpa built on your land,

Your mountains are a canvas for the Maker's hands

(Carolina - Eric Church)

My family (minus my dad, who wasn't able to join in on the fun) road tripped to Hayesville, North Carolina in a typical Bowers fashion:

 Junk food indulgences, country music singalongs, Chick-fil-a pit stops, handwritten directions, paper maps, and a relatively few meltdowns. 

We've been making this trip every summer since my birth, so a 12 hour car ride ain't no thang for JB, Stevie Boy, and I.
(Based on the prescense of Summer Dog and Steve-o's braces, you'll notice this picture was taken a couple summers ago.)

Tucked in the Blue Ridge mountains of southwestern North Carolina, Hayesville is a little slice of heaven. And a true Small Town, USA. Like, there's not even a Walmart folks.

Upon arriving to my grandparent's elegantly rustic riverfront cabin, we were joined by my uncle, his girlfriend, his three kids, and his dog. 

Dalton (age 9), Erica (age 6), and Ethan (age 11).
I have worked with hundreds of kids over the past two summers, so I think that means I'm qualified to say that my cousins are the most precious children alive.

My cousins, brothers, and I all shared evenings of catching fireflies, nights of sleeping on the back porch, and days full of singing, dancing, and laughter.

(Baby lock the door and turn them lights down low/ cream cheese and a bagel, glass of milk and an ego/ dance until the world ends/ like SpongeBob stackin' krabby patties/ SHAWTY GOT THEM APPLE BOTTOM JEANS...inside jokes.)

We were eleven people 

and two dogs

under one roof. 

And man, was it fun. 

We played on the lake:

Uncle Ric tossing children overboard.

You'd be hard pressed to find anything cuter than these little blonde, freckle faced 'Bama boys. 

There is never a dull moment with Jeffery Allan Bowers II. 

We thanked Papa for his captainship in the hot sun throughout our days on the lake, and his response:
"What, you don't think I'm having fun watching my grandkids having fun? I love this."
He is so great and I love him dearly.

Ethan and Dalton both learned how to wakeboard on this trip.

 Dalton grinning ear to ear. I would too if I could ever get up on that darned old thing.

Tara and Erica, teamwork.

Stephen being...Stephen.

Catching rays, not wakes. 

We played in the kitchen:

Learning everything there is to know about frying okra.
My Nana is the queen of down home Southern cookin'.

The first (and only) cup of coffee I ever drank. Maybe I'll try to start liking coffee when it isn't six thousand degrees outside.

We played on the river:

Skipping rocks behind the cabin.
A precious 15 minutes that I stored away in my memory banks.

"Now THIS is my speed." - Mama

My Nana. How cute is she?!

Team Shred.
(Yes, Dalton is holding up a squash.)

We played at the running trails:

Mom is training for a half marathon and I was happy to join her on these picture perfect trails. 

Lake on one side, valleys on the other.
I must have said "Mom, I feel like I'm running in a dream! This is SOOO gorgeous!!" about a hundred times. 

We pretty much just played the whole time:

We may or may not have scared the children with ghost stories about the Banjo Man. If you have ever seen Deliverance you would know what I am referring to...

Rockin' out to some Josh Turner...with zucchinis. Normal.

Dancing 'til the world ends, B-Spears style.

Papa has cut a "golf course" in the yard for the past few summers.  Always a crowd pleaser.

Now can you see why I'm so obsessed with my family?

Gosh, I love them. 

And the mountains. I love the mountains. 

As much as I adore my little fishing hometown, I don't know who I'm kidding saying "oh, you know, I'll probably just live in Stuart my whole life..."

Because, to me, it doesn't get much better than the sprawling countryside of the Carolinas.

Eric Church says it best:

I hope you all were able to enjoy a relaxing and wonderful vacation this summer!