Whirlwind of a Summer

Now that I am beginning to be able to let me feet touch the ground again, i thought it would be a nice little treat for EVERYONE to enjoy a little Sunday night leisure read--

So what exactly has happened in the last few weeks? That is a good question.
1. I finally have a sister!!
2. My best friend is moving in tomorrow.
3. I made some killer homemade clif bars.
4. I have roadtripped, seen, hiked, and cliff dived all of the beautiful Marquette, MI
5. Met up with the "International Cool Kids Club" in Wisconsin Dells
6. Watered Walter, my cactus (or whats left of him)

Lets talk about #1 b/c its my favorite :)
My brother and his fiance finally had their ever so classic "Slattery/Orlando Upper Peninsula Wedding." Melissa had been doing most of the planning about a year and a half and it couldn't have turned out any better. They used the Simpson Place (our family cottage).  The set up for the ceremony was in the front yard amongst all the gorgeous and green trees. Let me just say that Milwaukee/Southern Wisconsin was hitting some of the hottest weather I have ever experienced, and all the brown lawns and lack of rain we didnt have, the U.P. received. I can't remember it ever being that green and lush that far into summer. It added a beautiful ambiance to the whole weekend. The bride walked down the aisle to "I wanna hold your hand." All the monarchs were flitting amongst the set up. Let me just say, I don't think i've cried that much in a long time :) especially joyful crying. I am so proud and happy for my big brother. The other thing that was absolutely amazing about the wedding was the feeling of having Rob alive within the nature of the wedding because of location. My mom carried a white rose and placed it on the chair next to hers. I have soooooo many fond memories of my little brother at the cottage, its basically where I grew up with him half of our childhood, there was just this aura in the sunshine that made it feel like he was present. It was amazing having so many close friends and family for such an event.

It was so cool too standing up in the wedding because it was like you looked around, and so many of us were friends for so long- its so cool to watch where life takes all of us next. One of my favorite parts of the night was sitting by the fire with my parents and few cousins reminiscing the good ole Berth Farm days as kids. Corn fights in the hay mow, Aaron crashing the 3-wheeler into the side of the barn, good old Grandpa Berth and his german nature :) ohh the memories.

The next day after gift opening and clean up, Joey and I took off for Marquette MI for a mini vacation overnight. We ended up getting there around 11PM eastern time, which meant we ate late and found ourselves staying at the historic "Land Mark Hotel" in downtown Marquette. We were even able to talk our way into knocking off $40/night with our fine Wisconsin charm ;) I love yoopers, probably the friendliest group i know!

We took off late morning, hit up the co-op, got coffee, and found ourselves hiking in the rain up to Hogback Mountain. Holy beautiful!! You could see some glimpses of the Huron Mtns.  We ended up packing a loaf of bread from the local bakery and making pb&j up top the mountain. Haven't had a view that good to dine to since watching "The New Girl" last spring! The chipmunks were hilarious up there. They would scamper up one side of the steep rocks to snag the little pieces of bread we left them. We took a bunch of pictures and my favorite one was one with me in the top corner of the pix with God's Country all around me. It was a very uplifting moment for me because times like that i always feel so fortunate to have the health that i do. Part of it is drilled into me that this is my small contribution to Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness. Ain't never gonna tie me down!!

The next segment of the day dealt with cliff jumping at Presque Isle. It has always been on my bucket list to jump into the water from the historic black rocks in upper Michigan. I was nervous for this all day because I wanted to feel out the situation and make sure it was "safe" first. We went around 6PM when the work day was done and all the locals were around doing the same thing we were, dip into Lake Superior. There were approximately 10+ other jumpers. After i watched a little 5 yr old kid jump in twice and decided it was safe, haha. Joey and I jumped at the same time. Talk about exhilleration! As if the excitement of the jump isn't enough, you then get to figure out how to get yourself out of the alcove. I ended up swimming down a little ways to the shallow water and climbing out about 100ft down. Surprisingly, the water to very warm for being Lake Superior. I haven't even felt Lake Michigan down near Milwaukee that warm! Also, there is some ensured safety when your boyfriend (who was on the college swim team for 4 yrs) jumps before you. To say the least it was an amazing experience and something to cross off my bucket list.

Last night we met up with our friend, Amy, from Canada who took an exotic vacation to Wisconsin to experience our way of life. It was so much fun, but far too short lived. Especially when we were spoiled back in the winter with a weeks vacation in London, Ontario. We hit up Moose Jaw Pizza in the Dells and talked about life and laughed a lot. I can't remember the last time i giggled that hard. I love those girls and the wild conversations we have :)

It was a fabulous little week spurt of vacation. I am probably going to be missing that a lot this upcoming week when i am back to getting paid to creepily watch patients sleep while i save their lives. Thank goodness this full moon was over a wk ago... the lunar effect is no joke in a hospital. ha!

I hope everyone is staying cool and soaking up summer. I really feel like it is slipping away waaaaaaay too quickly. Then again, give me a time when summer wasn't fast!