A Hike is Worth a 1000 Words

Saturday I had the day off but that definitely did not mean I got to sleep in. After setting my alarm for 7:30 am I drifted off to a short but pleasant sleep while watching Paris Je T'aime. Dad and I grabbed Starbucks before heading over to the Haley's to meet up with the rest of our happy hikers. After an intertaining 2 1/2 hour car ride out to Leavenworth, the 4 Haleys, 3 Evans, Brian, Sara, and Adrian commenced one epic day hike up Mt. Stuart. Andrew made delicious sandwiches and pleasant conversation was fluid as we ascended some 3500 ft. The final destination was simply stunning--an alpine lake surrounded by the largest open face of granite in the lower 48 states. Everyone took a dip in (time actually spent in the water varied) the lake and I myself was launched in by Andrew and Aidan. Once I was in the air there was absolutely no turning back. The frigid water definitely rehydrated and cooled me off after a long couple of hours of hiking. We re cooperated up at the lake for an hour or so and began the descent back down to the trailhead. After all meeting up back at the cars we made our way to the Heidleburger to regenerate the lost calories from the hike :) I cannot remember a time where I wanted to consumer a milkshake more than anything...but due to my lovely lactose problem of late, that desire was quickly squelched. After dinner, the "kids" aka under 30s of the group decided on a whim to try out a mini golf course across the street. 18 holes later, Andrew came out victorious however I was a mere 8 strokes behind him! We finally left Leavenworth a little after 10pm and were all sunkissed and misquito bitten on the way home. Car games and music kept us all awake and Andrew and I enjoyed a brief but much needed night's sleep at the Forier's. Sunday afternoon Lauren and I finally enjoyed our first tubing session together of the whole summer! I think this was a record in late starts for tubing. Less than 4 years ago we were chomping at the bit to get the boat in and tube attached in May...how times can quickly change. I went for a quick run before working Sunday evening. I was pleasantly surprised by a short shift! I was able to make it home in time for Sunday Dinner with Jan and Cathy (something I haven't attended for several weeks on account of work :/) which was a nice way to end the weekend.

Today, I babysat in the morning then went straight to work until 4pm. After work I met up with Lauren and Linds and we laid out and enjoyed the incredible weather down by the lake. Dad and I had a late dinner followed by a relaxing evening. I have another early morning tomorrow--I honestly can say I do not remember the last time I slept in was...not okay considering the way summer tends to go for me but oh well! Preparation for my early lab this fall every Tuesday I suppose.

As I was driving home from work Sunday evening I came across a quote on a bulletin board of a business near by my house. "Listen and silent have the same letters." I found this to be a very curious observation. While it typically takes one to be silent to listen, I had to slightly disagree with this quote. One does not always have to be silent to listen--isn't there such thing as "active listening?" I find myself never truly being silent but instead formulating thoughts and ideas based on what I hear in conversation. While someone may externally appear to be silent, I believe listening is not defined by silence...just a thought I wanted to share :)

In summer, the song sings itself

Last night I was spoiled enough to be taken out to dinner by one of my best guy friends, Connor. After a long day of playing "Cinderella" at work I was exhausted. I buzzed over to Megan's house for a couple of hours...it was a gorgeous day so we soaked up some rays :) Meg and I paddle boarded around American Lake for some time, catching up and enjoying one another's company as usual. I got to catch up a little more with Lauren--there was so much she hadn't known about from the Fall when she was abroad--but more catch up is definitely in order. After that I managed a quick but satisfying Kickboxing workout before getting all spiffed up for my dinner date! Connor took me to the Lobster Shop down on Ruston Way. We had a late dinner and attempted to fill one another in about the last two weeks or so. Both of us have been super busy this summer so our Ruston date was long overdue. We watched the sun set as we finished our delicious meals (Halibut topped with fresh King Crab and a super delicious Mexican Shrimp Cocktail!) and then we went for coffee at Bertillino's in order to continue our conversation that really could have been never ending. Overall, an amazing summer day and I am looking forward to cramming in as many of those days as possible in the next 7 weeks.

Summer is where the girls go barefoot and their hearts are just as free as their toes.

The summer night is like a perfection of thought. -Wallace Stevens

Almost a Month Later...

Apparently summer has captivated me in ways that had been unimaginable to me a mere month ago. Time has flown, as it always seems to do, and I sure have been having a lot of fun. From a spontaneous outing with friends up to a Mariner's game, to days spent lounging by and in the lake, to a quick jaunt up to Seattle to spend some time watching the World Cup final and go boating with friends from school, I have been full speed ahead for some time now. While a lot of this summer has been centered around the "play" aspect, work has definitely come to the foreground more recently. Last week I started nannying for an almost 1 year old. He is absolutely adorable and I get to spend one more week with him. We have fallen into routine--eat, sleep, walk, and play. On top of morning/afternoon sitting (in three days I clocked in 24 hours of baby time!) I have been hosting at Red Robin as well. Lets just say I miss Starbucks...a lot. I have had several rough days at the "home of the smiling burger" and continuously remind myself that I am refinancing my upcoming year and am home for only two more months. However, I have never felt incompetent and idle as I do at this job so we will see what happens in the weeks to come.

Mom left for Africa last Sunday and will not be back home again until after our little family reunion in Bethany Beach in August! She will have left our nest for a total of 5 weeks before returning back filled with amazing memories and experiences I am eager to hear her share. Aunt Ann is with her as well so I am 100% sure we will not miss any important details in their recounting of their trip come mid-August. Speaking of trips, CASEY COMES IN 13 DAYS and MARIAH COMES IN 20 DAYS!!! I cannot wait for the two of them to be here and to show them home :)

I am sure I'm not the only one of my high school friends who feels this way but this first summer back is definitely a transition. There is no longer that ease or expectation of hanging out every day and knowing what everyone is up to. While I feel like it has been nice to get away from a lot of that unnecessary involvement in some people's lives it is also rather isolating--a feeling that has never been present when I have been home. I guess this is a sentiment of growing up and having "split homes" now and various worlds that make up my own. As one of my all time favorite movies says, "Seasons may changeWinter to Spring"--I guess what I have always taken from this is that time is inevitable and constantly melts and falls around us but there are some things, like love and friends, that never change simply because they are deeply rooted within us.

Catching Up

First and foremost a belated (but only by two days) HAPPY GOLDEN, 19th BIRTHDAY TO EMILY!!! I know you are holding down the fort in the Clara just fine and cannot wait to be filled in on every single detail about our new freshies :) LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH and wish I could have been there to celebrate ♥

Secondly, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there but especially my amazing father. We had a nice morning spent together sipping Starbucks and cruising down memory lane and attending our old church out in Puyallup. Dad and I sometimes do this and it is always a pleasant visit out to the very first place I called home. We had a delicious family dinner brought to us by Andrew's amazing, creative, and inventive cooking which I somehow managed to assist him with. We opened presents, Andrew and I perused through old, family photo albums and reminisced about our youth together. Overall, I would say we shared a very enjoyed day celebrating the fabulous father we share with the world.

Thirdly...catching up! Since my last post I have become re-employed, attended a moving on ceremony, and day and night with friends. Earlier last week Lauren had friends over for a bonfire. What was originally a four person get together quickly turned into a nine person rabble rousing tournament of Catch Phrase and smore roasting. I hadn't gotten to hang out with my boys from high school like that probably since Christmas so it was really refreshing to be all together like that again. Friday, Mom and I made our way north to watch Audrey (my dance teacher's daughter who is like a younger sister to me) move on to the 4th grade. I cannot believe this year she will be entering double digits, learning log division, and be that much closer to middle school! AHH I finally understand how it feels to be "old" but young at the same time. We had a lovely day up in the Renton area enjoying each other's company and going to the Microsoft campus for lunch. On our way home Mom and I stopped in at Red Robin (I turned in an application the day before) so I could try and connect with the manager. Long story short, I walked out 45 minutes later with a hostessing job! I am eager to start the job and on Saturday I had orientation with another new member and get this...he is going to SCU in the fall! Later that day Lauren and I made our way back to Puyallup to Meeker Days where my dance school was performing. It was unfortunately rainy (as it has been for what seems like forever!) but we still had a great time. That evening Mom, Dad, Andrew, and I went to Toy Story 3 and then to Red Robin for dinner. The movie was soooo cute and dinner was delicious. My AGM gave us our meal for free and brought out those huge but delicious Mile High Mud Pies to "welcome us to the family." This job is looking promising already :)

Missing everyone from the Clara as always and loving being around everyone at home ♥

One Year Later

HAPPY GRADUATION CLASS OF 2010! YOU MADE IT! ♥

So a little more than a year ago, one year and four days to be precise, I along with 81 others made the leap from high school to the real world. Tonight, I sat in the audience as an Alumnae of CWA and watched some more of the people I have grown up with join me in the "life after high school" realm. I experienced a variety of emotions prior, during, and after graduation; anxiety, fear, excitement, nervousness, happiness, and nostalgia. I couldn't believe it had already been a year since I had reached this milestone and made the drastic transformation from youth to adulthood. I was overcome with such joy and pride to see some of my friends such as Megan receive their diplomas (and awards in Meg's case!) and cross the bridge and leave Charles Wright. That very feeling still felt so fresh and apparent in my own being so it was quite the experience watching it happen to others.

I have been home and done with my freshman year of college for 3 days now and I am still not fully transitioned. I have spent every waking hour with my best friend, Lauren but have tremendously missed all my closest friends from the Clara. I believe I still feel as if I can walk down a couple flights of stairs or phone them up and be able to see them in less than a minute. I truly do not believe it has sunk in that I will not be seeing the majority of them for quite some time. Wednesday night, Lauren picked me up from the airport, I had dinner with my family and friend Laurel, and then I went and saw Lindsay and met some new people as well. Lauren spent the night and we talked well into the night and it felt like I had never left home. The next day, I had a dentist appointment, had lunch with a friend two years older than me, and went back to Lauren's to hang out some more. Around 4 o'clock, my good friend Matt picked me up and we went to the Sounders game up in Seattle which was a blast! I missed the city so much and we had a fun night of catching up, eating hotdogs, and watching a sad game that was only action-packed the last three minutes. Friday morning, Mom and I hit some sales at the mall and came out with a few bags to say the least. Lauren got her wisdom teeth out so of course I spent the rest of the day with her watching movies, napping, etc. That night, I hung out with Andrew, watched a World Cup concert and Chicken Run, made Whirly Pop, and crashed at his place. I woke up this morning, went for a much needed run, and picked Megan up for a Graduation morning coffee/catch-up sesh! It was so good seeing her and finally catching up. The phone just does no do our conversations justice. When I dropped her off I saw her sister Lauren who it was so so good to see! I cannot wait to see more of them both this summer :) I proceeded to head to Linds', lay out with the girls, then start getting ready for grad. Overall I feel as if I have accomplished a lot in the short 72 hours I have been home and I already have a feeling (knock on wood!) this is going to be a great summer. With a sunny forecast for the next week, I can predict many lazy days on the lake missing my Clara girls like mad but soaking up every second with those I love at home ♥

Final Countdown

What a week. First off it flew by seeing as it was only a four day week. Time has literally been passing like the speed of light and I have no idea what I have been doing with the spare time I have been lucky enough to find. Friday marked the end of Freshman year classes, such a weird thought. I cannot believe an entire year of classes has come and gone and only a mere few hours separate me and SUMMER 2010! I have a final Monday morning, Tuesday morning, and a website due before I leave on Wednesday. I started packing to try and minimize stress during finals week and it is seriously such a weird feeling. My bed had to be lowered, I have a huge suitcase of clothes, boxes filled with items I'm planning on storing at Nana and Gaffers, and all my photos and wall hanging have been taken down. But enough about that, Casey and I already had a mental breakdown about leaving for the summer haha. Anyway, yesterday we celebrated the end of Freshman year as well as Samantha's birthday. Her birthday is technically Monday but due to the fact that is the start of finals week we decided to celebrate early. We had a "Rep Your Roots" party at a house called Happy Hour and everyone either dressed up and repped their hometown or heritage. I chose the heritage route and wore a plaid kiltish skirt along with my shirt that says "Made in America from Imported Parts" and has a Welsh, Irish, Scottish, American, and Union Jack flags. Everyone looked absolutely adorable! Needless to say breakfast this morning was filled with fun and hysterical memories from the night. Everyone is trying to get motivated for studying for finals so I decided to self-isolate and do work. I typed out all the text for my final website but tomorrow I am in desperate need of actual study time. As a reward for a hard days' work, the girls and I walked to Chipotle...some place I had never been. It was about a 2 mile, 40 minute walk but the weather has been amazing so the air was still pleasant even at 8 o'clock at night. I had a chicken burrito that was to die for but now I feel as if I'm housing a small child in my stomach! We had a relaxing evening and I decided to call it an "early" night.

Wishing I was home to watch my brother's reproduction of ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR but sending him positive vibes. I know he has invested so much time into this so I hope everyone appreciates his hard efforts as much as they should! Break some major leg and cannot wait to see the film!!! LOVE YOU ANDREW!

Cannot believe this time four days from now I will be at home...definitely bittersweet and not looking forward to saying all my goodbyes. xo

Memorial Day

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY JAKE! I cannot believe I have known you for fifteen years now...what a thought. We have been through so much and share so many memories together and you are seriously one of my best friends of all time bud :) Just like you said earlier today, the next time you're "something" will be when you're 30 so here's to the next 10 and many more to come ♥

This last "relaxing" weekend of school before the final's cram begin was indeed relaxing. More than 8 hours of sleep every night and each and every hour spent in good company was the best weekend I could have asked for. Friday night we went out simply because it was one of our last nights to really go out with carefree spirits. We hung out at the Bellomy Ghettos where the boys will be living next year which was super fun. It's hard to imagine that next year that will be a legitimate hang out and somewhere where we will feel at home. Saturday there was one final big day party that we went to and it was an absolute blast. We had a slow start in the morning and didn't make it out until 2pm. However, festivities were in full swing. Before we knew it we were thrown in the pool...not so sure how sanitarty that was but in the hot, hot, heat of the weekend it felt amazing :) I left early and was picked up by Gaffer for a belated dinner with the grandparents. I packed a couple of boxes up to store in their garage and it finally began settling in that I am leaving here in less than two weeks. My room is slowly emptying and I wanted to get a head start so finals weekend isn't too rushed. It was such a surreal feeling knowing those things I packed up wouldn't be coming back to campus for another 3 months. Seeing Nana and Gaffer was a nice break from campus an Sunday was another opportunity for escape. You may wonder why we're all trying to get off campus so close to the end of the year but seeing as we will be cooped up for the next week in final classes and final studying in the library it was nice to go out in to the world of Santa Clara for one of our final times of Freshman Year. Sunday was a day at the pool seeing as we finally were recipients of that gorgeous sunny California weather we have been promised all Spring Quarter. That night we went out to a delicious dinner at Pizza Antiqua on Santana before seeing Shrek the Final Chapter with Case, Jacq, Ter, Sam, Jack,David, David's friend Jacob and his little sister Elisa. The movie was super cute and I absolutely adore Shrek in the first place so it was bittersweet to see the series coming to an end. We came back to campus, turned on Sweet Home Alabama, another one of my faves, and I was out like a light within 20 minutes. This morning we woke up, had breakfast, I attempted to go for a run, and procrastinated most of the day before finally starting homework. We ended the evening by getting dinner at Benson and froyo and finally watching Dear John...definitely put me in a physiological/melancholy mood. It is so weird and definitely bittersweet to think I will be in the comforts of my home in 9 days but leaving behind all the memories of Freshman Year and the amazing friends I have made in a mere 8 months. I know we all will make the most of the next week and half and cram in some more memories in these next couple of days. The countdown til home has definitely commenced but that also means the countdown to finals is rapidly approaching as well, AHHH!