Highlights (not the hair kind...)

I am so overwhelmed by the amount of life to catch up on. It is so good. Busy, overwhelming, exhausting, sooo funny, unexpected, and full. I truly am so grateful. On this blog I feel like a broken record about this gratitude. But in real life I overlook it far too quickly. Maybe it's the sitting (laying) down and reflecting that stirs it up. Anyway... highlights:

YoungLife is back at it! Nothin' like a little team bonding with home cooked meals, beautiful sunsets, country roads, bonfires, and ten of my favorites. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

Words cannot describe how much I love these people! So thankful for them.

Few things give such an accurate "East Tennessee" picture like the Tennessee Valley Fair. Man oh man, I love this place. I used to have my birthday party at the fair. I'm not entirely sure this is something I should willingly confess, but it has always seemed so magical. I love it.

Reflection + Flashing lights + Sunset = Fair perfection

Anyone who goes to the fair and doesn't get a funnel cake deserves to be exiled. Okay, a bit harsh, but seriously- definite highlight of the night/ my life.

Hey look, it has three horns! ... Except it only looks like it has two from this angle. Whoops.

Easton Corbin. Really Kip Moore. Nathan and I are working on our ability to read poster advertisements. So there's somethin' 'bout a truck...

 BIRTHDAY FUN!
Being 23 is weird. And old. But so far so good.

My dad sent me this picture in honor of my birthday. 17 years later he's still rockin' the "Chelcie is six" shirt. Proud of him.

                           This is how we celebrate birthdays first grade style:

Of course we have to notice the short a in our song!

Amiyah and Miss Crawford have the same birthday! EXTRA special day!

Cupcakes for everyone! Shh... don't tell.

The kiddies made me birthday owls. It makes me smile over and over. I'll never get tired of seeing "I lov Mis Crawfrd" and "Hape birda to you!" written in crayon. LOVE this job!

Even Chickfila knows how to celebrate. TWO free cookies. Which are my favorite things in the world. One of the many reasons why I love this place. God bless Chickfila.

Birthday bonding with all the roomies in the Enos. Yes. Not our best look, but still... these girls are babes.

And birthday dinner time. Nothing like having your one birthday candle blown out by youngest brother. What are brothers for anyway?

 GOOD OLE ROCKY TOP!
I love fall. Largely due to college football games. And I love the VOLS. Glad we are back in action. And by "in action" I mean being on the field... we are still working on the winning games part...
GAMEDAY!

He's famous and I know him!

Stripes on stripes on stripes. GBO.

Second row (for a short time). Go Vols!

Ice cream Olympics. I love this time. What could be better than covering your friends in ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream, being in danger of contracting hypothermia, and waking up still smelling like soured milk?!! Answer: Nothing!

Halls has it. Crazy about these kids.

Love. This. Girl.

Sometimes I take my aggression out on people with chocolate syrup... Sorry 'bout it...

Note the foot holding him down. This was war people!

Photobomb of syrupy goodness.

Still teammates and bffs, despite me kicking his butt.

Might as well end this post the way I started it. These people rock.

This doesn't even deserve a title...

I've failed at this blog. In the midst of balancing the rest of my life, it has fallen through the cracks. Therefore, this is my formal apology to my mom for being mad she didn't keep up with her's (she is such a good blogger, though! What a shame...)
With that being said, lots to catch up on!
Life.
So much to say. So little time and energy.
Actually that time and energy is channeled in other directions. Sorry.
But soon, very soon I will fill the world wide web with exciting tales of my not-so-exciting life :)

-Miss Crawford
Over and out.

Catch up

I feel like I am constantly "playing catch up" with this blog. But I am LOVING my life. Man, oh man, I don't think I'll ever say it enough... I am so unbelievably blessed.
Grad school is a weirdo stage of life. Monday-Thursday I feel like I am unbelievably young. I am by far the youngest teacher in my grade level. Not that it really needs to be pointed out, but I also apparently look young for my age. Several people react in surprise when I tell them I actually graduated from college in May, not high school. So I'm the baby teaching babies at Norwood. Then in the the college world that I'm still partly in, I feel so old. I'm in between the wonderful world of college life and the lame real world. But living in limbo has it perks. It really is the best of both worlds. I am getting the experiences of teaching without the pressure of totally messing up on my own :) And I'm teaching first grade and loving it. Which is something I never ever thought I'd say. I don't have to be a real grown up adult and figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life (although I already know...) like some of my friends are having to do right now. I still get to get the benefits of being in college- the community, the freedom, the football games, embracing the young life for one more year...
So life is good. Real good.

The roomies are babes.

Rainy days remind us of great promises

And even after the crazy, exhausting, draining, funny, emotional, unexpected adventure that was the Ironman, we are still saying life is good.

I am amazed by ALL the men and women who completed in the Ironman. Especially these five guys! Cheering them on from 4am to midnight was so fun! Seriously.

 

For example:

 And my favorite athlete. What a stud. So proud! (Does this count as PDA again? Who have I become?? Whoops.)

I'm thankful for a day spent cheering for strangers 95% of the time. Thankful for athleticism at its finest. Thankful for whoever figured out how to let spectators track athletes on their phones- genius. Thankful for new friends. Thankful for old friends (aka great neighbors) who know me and keep me calm and drive me 4 hours home at 1:30 in the morning. Thankful for mentor teachers who can see exhaustion and take it easy on me. Thankful for EMTs who pay attention. Thankful that 137.4 miles out of 140.6 is something to be incredibly proud of. Thankful that I know a guy who doesn't find his worth in completing an Ironman. Thankful again for those neighbors who make not funny moments hilarious. Thankful that not being remembered by someone who should definitely know you doesn't last forever and is a little tiny bit funny. Most of all thankful for good friends and good times and that Ironman side effects only last a week. 

After a slightly less than perfect week, this weekend was awesome.
On Friday THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS WON! More than just won, they dominated. I am SO pumped that football is back. GBO.
Saturday I spent the day watching football and parties for friends' birthdays. So thankful to have friends that I love celebrating.
Boomsday was last night. I'm pretty sure it was the most memorable Boomsday of all time. We went to the lake. And got hit by a giant storm. But that was only a short delay in our lake fun! Napping on the ride home was the perfect preparation for the real event of the weekend. I totally forgot to mention that my bff came back from New York this weekend and completely surprised a whole bunch of us. He was nice enough to invite Becca, Nathan, Grant, and me out on his boat to watch the fireworks from the water. Which is hands-down the best place to watch. It was perfect! ...Until the monsoon started. We did the best we could to squeeze together under the tiny boat covering. We laughed and shivered and sang Rocky Top at the top of our lungs. Then power walked back to the car afterward. Although my runny nose and sore throat aren't fans of last night, I've got to say that it was memorable night and so very fun!