Summer has finally come to a close. I wish I could have another three months to try to turn my pale skin into a tanner shade, or to sleep in way too late. I would be lying if I told you that I was in any form ready for the school year to start. I will never be prepared for the stress, hours of homework that makes no sense, or morning practices in the dark.

But the time is here! And as I enter this year knowing that each day is simply a different page in my book, I want to recollect all of the things that made my summer worth remembering.

Here is my list.

1. The ginormous and borderline too long Landis Family Road-trip was nothing short of epic. I like to think that my family is made up of professional road-trippers, given the fact that we drove all the way from Texas to Montana. This was by far my favorite summer vacation we have been on so far, probably given the fact that we went through 11 states, 6 of those newly traveled. If I explained everything we that did, this post would be about 5 pages long, so instead I will condense it to half of a sentence: Jackson Hole WY, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Beartooth Highway, Devil’s Tower Needles Highway, Mt. Rushmore, and Badlands National Park (yet I still feel like I am missing something). It was definitely a vacation full of unhealthy eating, sketchy gas stations, oo-ing and ahh-ing, bear puns, and far too many inside jokes.

2. To all of my ice cream enthusiasts out there: I HAVE SOME NEWS FOR YOU. Ham’s Orchard is where its at. Their peach and strawberry swirl ice cream is the best sensation I have ever experienced, so much that I still think about it every day. Every. Single. Day. My beautiful friend Liz took me on her adventure to go eat some yummy peaches and let our mouths water over all the beautiful and fresh produce. It was the perfect thing to do for a day in the Texas heat.

3. Montreat Youth Conference 2017 was an experience that I will hold in my heart for the rest of my life. I found strong friendships, strong faith, and strong love. Nine days was not nearly long enough of an adventure, but I learned so much about myself and what my faith means to me. I am forever thankful for the short time I got to spend in paradise.

4. Spending a day at Lake Texoma with my best friends was a brilliant idea… we played the same ten songs over and over again, ate greasy pizza, and peer pressured each other to flip off the back of the boat. Even though they reminded me every forty five minutes to put on another layer of sunscreen, I still ended up looking like a tomato. Oh well. Here is to beautiful friends, slipping sandals on the drowning cement, and sun-kissed shoulders.

5. Carter said his temporary goodbye to Texas and anxious hello to Missouri. It is still crazy to think that this goof is off pursuing all of his dreams and being the brilliant person that he is. The empty chair at the dinner table will always feel lonely, but I am so happy that my brother gets the opportunity to be all that he wants to. I love you Carter… Mizzou rah.

Love, Valerie x