Katie's 99 in 999 (currently 55 in 555!)

Before Liz's wedding ceremony in July (see previous post), Ricky and I had some time to go into D.C.  I was eager to see the National Museum of American History--it was the only Smithsonian museum I hadn't seen, since it had been closed for renovations almost the entire time I was living in Virginia. So we finally got the chance to go!  I don't have any pictures of the inside, but I think it's just because I wasn't thinking about it and not because they weren't allowed.  You'll just have to take my word on its awesomeness.  We didn't have time to see the entire museum--I didn't realize how big it was!--but the parts we did see were absolutely fabulous.  The Museum of Natural History is still my favorite of the Smithsonians, but this one is a close second. It was SO BRIGHT outside!  Ricky's squinting because of the sun, not because he's holding my purse.  He volunteered for that job, ok? I left my sunglasses in Florida, so I had to im...

A few years ago, I had the most wonderful experience of being a summer camp counselor for a group of 16- to 18-year-old girls.  I went on to have different groups of amazing, beautiful, talented girls each week for that summer and the next, but I'll never forget how I felt on my very first day with that very first group.  Those girls changed my life! So that's the backstory.  Near the beginning of this year, I was thrilled to receive a wedding invitation from one of those fantastic ladies, but I was also sad because I was sure Ricky and I wouldn't be able to make it to Maryland for the ceremony.  Then, I was able to get the time off work (I had just finished the 60 days I needed to be officially "full-time"), but I was still sad because Ricky's internship would keep him from coming with me.  THEN, the state prosecutor that Ricky was interning for in Miami gave him the week of the 4th of July off, which just happened to be the week of Liz's wedding, so the...

Can you believe I'm actually making this post on the SAME DAY that I checked off the goal?  I can't.  I still haven't blogged about things I did over the summer, but I made my last goal the "document everything" kind so that I would ensure that I would, eventually, get them all covered. Living so close to the Everglades, Ricky and I have some pretty amazing parks and reserves nearby.  We don't take advantage of them as often as we should (read: never), but I'm always grateful to be in such a beautiful place!  One of the nearby state parks was in need of a cleanup, so our church organized a Mormon Helping Hands service day for this morning and extended an open invitation to the community.  There were hundreds of people there today!  Even FL governor Rick Scott showed up for some photo ops (with a lot of snide remarks between Ricky and myself about how he didn't do any actual work, of course).  The kick-off for the cleanup was at 7:00, but Ricky and I...