Big Things!

I posted back in January that I felt like 2015 would be a big year. It is shaping up to be just that! The Curleys have so many exciting events, milestones, and vacations on the horizon! I find myself constantly daydreaming about all we have coming up. Sometimes it's hard to stay in the present and not lose sight of all the wonderful things happening right now! 

So, what is coming up? Glad you asked! ;)

May 30th is our 6-year anniversary and we are doing an overnight trip to Columbia, SC to visit the Riverbanks Zoo! We had such a great time on our Jacksonville vacation last year, we wanted to do another zoo trip this year. Grayson loved the zoo last year; I know he will love it even more this time! He gets so excited just seeing a bird hop around in our yard in the mornings. I can only imagine how thrilled he will be to see the big animals that we point out in books and movies all the time! :) Other than the zoo, we'll probably just walk around the downtown area the following day, get some lunch at a local place, and head back home. We're keeping it at a very reasonable budget this year so that we can afford some bigger trips later in the year (more on that to come!).

At the Jacksonville Zoo last year - May 2014

Sometime in June or July (in-laws are booking this weekend!), we will be doing our annual Curley Family Beach Vacation. Typically, we visit St. George Island in Florida and rent the same beach house every year. Last year the house had some problems, including a horrible bug infestation, and we vowed never to stay there again! It's a little sad to think of doing something different and leaving behind that familiar tradition, but I'm glad we're still doing a trip! I'm not sure where exactly it will be, but they are looking into hotel options instead of a beach house, so Scott's dad can possibly use hotel points to pay for it. Whoop! Bonus for us! :) Again, I can't wait to see how much more Grayson loves the beach this year versus last year. It's kind of funny how almost all our big plans this year are mirroring our plans from last year. But experiencing these things with a baby will be undoubtedly different with a toddler!

Somehow, this is one of the only pictures I have from the beach last year! This was the morning of 4th of July! :) Grayson was 8 months.

 

 

 

 

In October, Scott and I are going to Las Vegas for 4 nights where we will be presenting at the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Annual Conference! Scott has been to Vegas for a conference once before, but I've never been. I'm very excited! Just booked our hotel yesterday. We're staying in Caesar's Palace! Fancy! :) Any advice or tips for our first time in Vegas? It will be a work-trip, and our days will be kept busy with the conference, but I'm sure we'll have time to go out at night and do some sight-seeing!

Via

In November, Scott will be running his first full marathon! He ran his first half-marathon last September. He did a trail race in Chattanooga, TN. This race will be on the streets of Savannah, GA. He's doing the Rock 'N Roll Marathon, where a live band will be stationed periodically throughout the race. Fun! While it's twice as long as his last race, the terrain should be much easier to manage, especially because he can actually train in similar conditions, unlike last year! I'm very excited for him to tackle this, but most importantly because it's for a good cause. He's helping raise money for our friends who are adopting a little girl from South Africa. Want to be involved? You can donate to sponsor Scott in the race, and contribute to the costs of adoption for our friends! You can also follow Scott's blog, where he'll be documenting his training and other insights leading up to the big race!

From Scott's half marathon last year. Grayson was 9 months.

To top off an exciting year, in December the Curleys are going to DISNEY WORLD!!! We'll be going to celebrate my birthday and Christmas (but we're going at the beginning of the month, so it'll be decorated for Christmas, but we should beat most of the holiday crowds!). You have NO idea how excited we are about this trip! I've been living in a constant daydream, punctuated with endless Pinterest links with tips, tricks, and insights. I'm sure I'll be posting more about Disney moving forward, but so far we have booked our hotel and park tickets. We'll be making reservations for a character breakfast at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom to see Pooh and the gang (can't make those until 180 days out). We're doing 4 nights in the hotel (staying off-site, due to the budget!), 3 days in the park. We plan to do 2 full days in Magic Kingdom and probably spend the other day in Animal Kingdom. We hope to explore Downtown Disney on our arrival day, and other than that, we'll just be going at our own pace and doing as much as we can while still maintaining the magic of it all! You may think we're silly (or downright insane!) for taking a 2-year old to Disney, but I know he's going to love it! Last year we went to Gatlingburg, TN for this vacation and Grayson did such an amazing job traveling and even handled the incredibly overstimulating WonderWorks with enthusiasm. He is so laid back, I'm not worried about it at all! And he's really into Pooh these days. I know his love for Disney-related characters and movies will only grown between now and December. :)

Enjoying WonderWorks last December. Grayson was 14 months.

Enjoying WonderWorks last December. Grayson was 14 months.

Our last trip to Disney World...May 2011 for our 2-Year Anniversary

Other exciting things that are coming up:

+ Scott finishes his BA in Spanish (his second bachelor's degree) on June 18th.
+ Scott teaches the First-Year Experience class for the first time in the fall.
+ I teach FYE for the second time this fall.
+ Grayson turns TWO on Oct. 9th!
+ One of Scott's friends is getting married in Ohio and Scott may be doing a bro-trip (guys only road trip) up to the wedding! Fun!
+ All the holidays!! I look forward to them every year! :)
+ Regular days and weekends with family fun and relaxation! So important! So special! I can't forget to enjoy these in all my anticipation!!

What about you? Any big things coming up?