The One Where Summer Is Almost Over
- Ashley Lynn
- Aug 25, 2022
- 4 min read
Jeez - I've taken a break from writing since I started this blog. That wasn't the point of this. The goal was to publish something once a week. I guess a lot has happened since the end of May. Summer officially started and I was constantly on the go. No excuse - but wow, it was an interesting summer.
On June 11, my sweet Logan Marley passed away peacefully at home in my mothers arms. The day before, his vet found two small tumors. They didn't know how long he would have, but they did know if the tumors erupted, he would die suddenly. We are not sure if that is what happened or if he was so sick from the tumors themselves. Regardless, June 11th has probably been the most difficult day of my life to date. That was my little buddy. I adopted him and his brother, Leon back in 2010 when they were three years old. They're the best things that ever happened to me - truly. I miss this pup every single day.

Fast forward to summer - work has been crazy. We have our trade show coming up in September. IBIE 2022 in Last Vegas will be a fun one. It's my first and our company's third time attending. I haven't been to Vegas since 2019 - I used to go every year once I turned 21. We've been swamped with all types of orders, machines, dies, equipment, etc. All of the work put behind the trade show will be worth it, but man, it's a lot! We're super excited and I am looking forward to meeting a lot of the people that I often speak to on the phone.
In August, I turned 29. One year until the big 3-0! I feel like I should have my life more together at this point. Maybe I'm ahead of my peers, but it doesn't always feel like it. For my birthday week, (my birthday fell on a Monday this year) I took off of work. On my actual birthday, I went camping with my boyfriend and his son. It was my first time, but they had been before. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed myself. We were on a camping lot so there were other families present. We still had our space, though. We were able to walk through the campsites and we hiked the Dunes! How fun! I underestimated the difficulty of the trek and I found even though I run here and there, I am out of shape. I also realize that my shins are not fully healed from the several breaks I endured during college athletics. Damn, my shins were on fire! We did this hike twice. Once we got to the top, we were able to walk down - obviously much easier and we had the beach waiting for us once we got to the bottom. My boyfriend made the three of us hiking sticks out of birch wood. Those were awesome. We got to pick our color handle, too! It was a cool memory to take those home with us.
After less than 24 hours later, we were headed to Saugatuck to meet up with my boyfriends parents. We had an Airbnb - my first time, again! We were there for the remainder of the week. His parents got a cute little townhome with pool access - a favorite for the kiddo! We were all able to do our own thing for the most part. I was really looking forward to the Dune Ride, but we didn't make it to that this time. Hopefully the next time we go out, we can make it a point to do that!
A big thing on our list was to check out Mt. Baldhead. There were 303 steps to walk up. Again, like the Dunes, it didn't seem hard. I did think it was exceptionally easier, it was still a workout. My shins were on fire again, but it wasn't sand... The views from the top were well worth it. We also went on our own little hiking excursion and made it over to the Crow's Nest. We weren't entirely sure where it was, but we managed to find it. After climbing Mt. Baldhead, we took about an hour/hour and a half hike up a trail. Again, worth it! The boys went most of the hike shoeless. The trail was half 'normal' trail and half sand. My leg was in so much pain, I had to keep my shoes on. My favorite part, besides the views, was hearing the rain pour down, but not actually feeling it because of all of the trees we were walking within. Such a cool sound and I had never experienced anything like that before. Very cool and hope to do it again sometime!
Luckily for us, this trip was only about three hours each way. From someone who did Illinois to Texas multiple times, (nineteen plus hours) this was a breeze. This was the first time I had physically gone somewhere for my birthday. I hate when things are made about me, but it was nice to get away - really nice. I've been so blessed to be able to travel as much as I have in the last couple of years. It's a great feeling and something I've found I really need in my life. It's a great escape and allows me to travel and be myself. I'm super grateful for my boyfriend and his family for making this possible for us. It was an amazing time.
A super quick few summer months flew by and now school is back in session. The kiddo is back on his normal visiting schedule and I'm back to reality with work. I have the September work trip coming up, which my boyfriend is joining me for. We are heading to the city in October to see a broadway play - another first for me! In November, we've got Thanksgiving and December is Christmas. Time is flying and before we know, it'll be 2023. Lately, I've been thinking these days and weeks are going so slow but then I look up and we're heading into football season. Again, I'm blessed to be waking up each day and look forward to everything that is to come.

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