The First American Homecoming

I just wanted to share a couple pictures of Anh and Julian 

all suited up before their first American high school homecoming!  

They looked so handsome!  I was one proud older sister :)

-A

August Adventures (& Labor Day Weekend)

I am finally getting around to updating this thing about all the fun that happened in August (and the beginning of September).  It was probably my favorite month of summer...probably even the whole year.  

Hannah came home for a visit.  We played at Graffiti Falls.  I finally stood on top of Pikes Peak for the first time (and I've lived here for 8 years!).  We went to the State Fair where I fell in love with some adorable animal babies.  Brandon and I went white water rafting (and Brandon pulled a lady out of a Class Four rapid after their raft tipped).  Aunt Kathy, Mel, Jamie, and Uncle Tim came over for .  Anh and I made some delicious Pho.  We were finally able to take updated family photos.  Dad and I took a last minute road trip to California so Hannah and Arthur would have a ride to the airport (literally woke up in the morning and decided we were going to go).  I went to a pig roast at Brandon's friend's house for Labor Day weekend. And I watched some motocross racing at Aztec, including Brandon's pit bike race.

But instead of writing about it, I'll let my iPhone show you.  

And heads up, you are about to scroll through a ton of pictures.

And today was the first real rainy day in a very long time.  Love it.  I love the rain.

-A

Eleven Years Ago

I can tell you almost every detail of what happened, where I was, and what I was doing eleven years ago exactly on this day.  I couldn't tell you what happened the day before or even a few days after, and the phenomena that I still remember little details blows my mind.  It's a day that I will never forget.

I remember I was living in Virginia Beach.  I was in fifth grade at Thalia Elementary School.  I remember waking up and saying goodbye to my grandparents, as they were going to get on a flight and fly back to California that day.  I remember going to school and it being a pretty normal morning.  

I will never forget knowing something was wrong when we were walking in line to PE class and we passed by a distraught teacher, sobbing and saying "he's in the Pentagon and I can't get a hold of him."  Shortly after that, kids from my class started getting called out of class to go home early and us kids were confused as to why so many kids were getting to go home.  That was when my teacher, with a look of absolute grief on her face, told us that planes had hit the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York.  I remember being frantic because my grandparents were supposed to be flying around that time.  It was the first thing that crossed my mind.

I remember wanting to go find my sister and make sure she was okay, but then teachers telling me they were only telling the fifth grade classes what had happened, even though we were barely old enough to process what was happening.

I will never forget my history teacher's voice when she pulled down a wall map and started showing us Iraq and talking to us about the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.  She was trying to explain an unexplainable concept of terrorism to us, trying to make sense of a senseless act.  In the middle of her explanations, I was finally called out of class to go home.  

I will never forget sitting in the living room of our apartment, watching images of the planes crashing over and over and over again on TV and the tone of the reporters voices, trying to make sense of what was happening.  I watched on TV as heroes ran into buildings to save lives.  Images of horror-struck onlookers are still burned in my mind.  That was all I watched that day.  I remember not wanting to sleep in my own room and sleeping in my parents room that night because I thought Osama bin Laden was going to come and kill me.  It's a day of horror and terror that I will never forget.

But even through all the horror and confusion and chaos, I will never forget how America, having been knocked to its knees, rose up and united, stronger than ever, and continued to in the days and years after.  I have never been prouder to be an American.

Lately...

I have been so freaking busy lately (and I don't even have a job!).  Between getting back on track with school, cleaning (there should be a more extreme word for the cleaning I'm doing) out pretty much every corner of my house (well, my basement, ha), and trying to keep a social life, I haven't had much time to write.  In addition to those things, here's what I've been up to lately. 

Watching:

Brandon and I always try to find a good show to get into on Netflix, and this is the most recent good find.  I am so bummed this show wasn't picked up for a fifth season cause it is really good and different from a lot of shows out there.  Although I have heard that the series finale is very disappointing, so I'm kind of nervous to watch it and be pissed, haha.  Brandon has already started watching ahead of me (I hate when he does that) so he's on Season 4 and while I'm writing this, I'm watching Season 3 trying to catch up.

Reading:

Twilight for grownups!

Drinking:

Most of the time, I really do love the taste of (good) beer.  But when I'm not really in the mood for full-on man-beer taste, I've started to turn to this one.  It is GOOD.  And it seriously tastes like I'm drinking berry juice.

Missing:

Senior year of high school.  I went to Julian's soccer game with my parents and it was at LPHS field.  Sitting in the stands gave me a pang of nostalgia.  Senior year contains some of my most cherished memories so far in my 21 years of life, and sometimes, I wish I could go back and replay some of those memories over and over.

Laughing:

Anh and Julian are seriously so funny.  Anh walked up to me today and said "I think I lost my age."  I was really confused, so I repeated it back to him.  He reiterated that yes, that is what he said.  I asked why he lost his age and his reply was "because I watch Power Rangers" (he had been watching it on the computer right before he walked in to the kitchen, where the conversation took place).  Maybe you had to be there for this one, but he obstacles the language barriers bring up make for some pretty funny conversations.

Creating:

Oh man.  I should probably stay of Pinterest for a bit while I catch up on my projects I want to do...

I'm finishing up the rest of the recipes I want to add to my recipe scrapbook.  I'm only adding recipes that are really good so I don't have to spend time flipping through a huge cookbook when I feel like cooking.

I picked up a pallet today and I'm still trying to decide what I want to do with it.  Maybe a coffee table, or a swing, or a day-bed hammock type thing.  So hard to decide...especially since I don't have my own place at the moment. 

Canvas projects.  I went a little crazy at Hobby Lobby and bought like, 20 canvases, a few of each size.  I've been scouring Pinterest for some neat ideas with canvases to make.  There are a lot.  I think I should probably narrow it down...

Bottle lamp.  I finally figured out what I need to be able to drill a hole in the bottle without shattering it (let's just hope I still don't end up shattering it).  I saved the bottle of the first bottle I bought on my 21st birthday and I'm going to use Christmas lights to make it into a lamp.

Learning:

Everything happens for a reason.  I know this is true because every time I have been in a situation where I feel like darkness is consuming me, I've always been able to look back on it and say "oh, okay so that's why that was happening to me."  But still, I am reminded every day that it is so true.

Playing:

Yup, this game is addicting.  I think I have like 40-something games going on right now.

Thankful Moment:

God finally showed me some direction.  I finally can say, with certainty, what I am going to go to school for.  Whoo!

Thinking:

I might apply for Semester at Sea.  A few of my friends (the picture is from their semester) have done it and they all say it was amazing and one of the best things they've done in their lives.  With my love of travel, I would literally be crazy not to do it.  The only thing I think I would have a hard time with is being away from my friends for such a long period of time.  Which is why I'm thinking I need to start convincing some friends to do it too.

Excited For:

Fall!  It was hoodie weather today!  We're a step closer!  Not only am I excited for fall fashion (I already have a whole drawer in my dresser for sweaters and cardigans), but I'm also excited for pumpkin spice drinks, pumpkin ales, and fall show season premieres!  I can't wait for new episodes of Castle, Law and Order: SVU, How I Met Your Mother, Criminal Minds, Gossip Girl, Dexter, Amazing Race, and I'm sure there's other shows that I will be watching but just can't think of at the moment (yeesh, I think I might watch a little bit too much TV...).

-A