california: part 1

Yesterday my sister and I spent the day exploring Balboa Island!

It's probably the cutest place I've ever been to. We spent a good 4 hours just going through all the shops on one street!

If you ever visit Balboa Island (which you should), make sure to get a Balboa Bar from Dad's Donuts! So good. It's basically just ice cream dipped in chocolate, and then dipped in any topping. I got sprinkles!

Cute quote I saw on wall art in a shop yesterday: "You are the sprinkles on my ice cream."

pacific coast.

Saturday afternoon, this gal will be headed for sunny Southern California.

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My school's spring break is April 2-6, and I will be spending this time visiting my sister in SoCal.

When I was in middle school, it was my ultimate dream to visit Cali! Five years later and that dream is coming true. We're going to visit Balboa Island, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, and many other places. So excited! (I also think I'm going to get my tragus pierced. But don't tell the 'rents.)

And we thought we wouldn't have enough things to do . . .

I arrived in Nashville last Friday. My flight went smooth, and there were no bumps!

My sister just quit her job recently, and we weren't sure how many fun things we were going to be able to do while I was here. Well... that wasn't something anyone needed to worry about.

When I came Friday, I spent the day with my (other) sister and her husband, and my nephew Owen. :) When my brother in law came to pick me up, (Josh) I was greeted by this in the guest room:

Saturday, my sister was working on a conference she had gotten hired to do. It was fun, but also very tiring. We were on our feet a lot, and more than ready to go home when we did.

Sunday was pretty much a relaxing day. We both were very tired from the conference (she worked 3 10+ hour days) so we just chilled. For dinner, we sat out on their patio and ate dinner. We grilled out and had chicken, squash and zucchini grilled, baked potatoes, and bread. It was delicious!

(the patio lights added a nice ambiance to things. Plus the relaxing music!)

On Monday, my sister and I ran errands. We didn't do a whole lot this day either. For dinner we went to my other sister's for my OTHER bro-in-law's birthday.

When we got home from the dinner, we (Ashley, Josh, myself) started playing Scrabble while watching the Yankees play the Kansas City Royals. Josh mentioned that they were playing a game on Tuesday, and jokingly said we should go. Then, Ashley mentioned how she thought the drive was only about 5 and a half hours. We decide to go. What the heck? Josh is very detail oriented, and is so excited about going to see the Yankees (his favorite team) that he doesn't even think twice about checking the driving distance. As we check Google Maps just to see the route...we realize it's 9 and a half hours. Oops. Tickets already bought, hotel booked.

We arrive early for batting practice. This was my first major league game!

Sister and I

On our way home, we have to go though St. Louis so we decide to stop at the Gateway Arch.

View looking down

They say you can see for 30 miles on a clear day.

On Thursday, Josh and Ashley mainly played catch up.

Ashley and I swung by Sweet CeCe's to grab some frozen yogurt. It was my first trip, so I went all out. :)

My bro in law Josh is the road manager for the band Hawk Nelson. They had a show in Leitchfield, Kentucky on Friday, so Ashley and I decided to drive up and see the show. We hung out on the bus a lot, and this sign is in the bathroom:

I'm sorry. It's funny.

Then, the show.

PHEW! What a whirlwind of a week!

I think we're ready to take it a little bit slower this week. We're planning on going to the zoo, a museum, painting, and playing Scrabble.

How was your week?

Tomorrow I'll be 20,000+ feet in the air.

That's right, friends!

I'm going to Nashville.

This town:

Yay.

This is my second time flying ever, and I can happily say that I'm not too nervous.

I'm staying for 2 weeks with the infamous Ashley and Josh, sister and brother in law.

What's different about this trip though, is that my sister just quit her job! So she'll be home a lot. Haha! I'm really looking forward to it, like always.

The next time I post, it'll be live from Nash!

See you then!

Depression. (More like mild sadness)

Leaving Tennessee every time I visit gives me a little bout of depression.

We are in Arkansas now. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see the family that lives here, but I feel like my heart is always back in Nashville. There's nothing I love more than staying with my sister and brother-in-law, even through all their barfy newlywed-ness.

(Aren't they cute?) :)

They are the funniest people I know, and some of the greatest as well.

There's nothing I can think of better than staying with them. 2010 was actually a great year as far as going to Tennessee, with a whopping 3 times. That's definitely a record. 2 is the norm.

Let's keep our fingers crossed though, that my parents will let me come down for spring break. :D

In other news... I will be ringing in the new year at a youth group lock-in. My parents are dropping me off straight after our road trip. We won't even stop at home. It's gonna be a long rest of the week, folks.

Here's a couple more photos I want to share taken by my new camera:

Vacation schmacation.

I love visiting my family here in Tennessee.

In case you didn't know, my two sisters and their husbands live here, including one nephew of mine.

I typically get to see them about 2 times a year (or 3 if I'm lucky, like this year). It's so sad, because I love seeing them so much!

This year, I have to say that this trip hasn't quite lived up to all of the hype I have gave it.

My sister, A, got sick the day after Christmas. She barely left my other sister, N's, house before she threw up. (Gross... i know.)

Good news though, she feels a lot better now. My parents and I are going to spend the day with her. We're gonna go to Franklin, and do a little shopping there. A works there, so she knows a lot about it.

Hope everyone's holidays are going a little bit better than mine. :)

Merry Christmas to all - and a snowy one at that!

Merry Christmas everyone!

In my family (which consists of me, mom, and dad) we opened up presents yesterday.

I got a camera!

It's obviously just a point-and-shoot camera, which is what I want and needed. The main thing I wanted in a camera was high megapixels - and it has a whoppin' 14.

joy.

Here are some of the first photos I've taken with it:

We left at 7am this morning, and got to Tennessee not too long ago. These are photos of my nephew, O. Ain't he cute?!

Well, I'm gonna go chill with family for a couple of days. Post if I get a chance. :)

Have a great holiday season!

Fill in the Blank Friday #4

1. If I didn't have to work anymore I'd... actually, I go to school. If I didn't have to go to school anymore, I'd still go to school, because I have to get an education. And if I didn't get an education I would go nowhere in this world; I wouldn't be able to get a job, no one would marry me because I didn't have a job or a life, and it'd be a mess.

2. My favorite thing about a vacation is experiencing new things. Visiting places I've never been; I love traveling. It's also fun to meet new people, and see what things are like over in their little nook of the world.

3. When packing for a trip I usually forget something. I've been doing better with that lately though. A lot of the times I wait until the last day to pack. Bad idea. :)

4. If I could go on a roadtrip with anyone (dead OR alive) I would choose besides Jesus, I would pick John Mayer, because he seems like he would be a great person to go on a roadtrip with. He's funny, a spur-of-the-moment sort of guy, and we would go... where wouldn't we go?

5. My top 3 absolute travel essentials are... 1) snacks, 2) a person who will let me go to the bathroom whenever I please, and 3) reading material. Books, magazines.

6. Vacations are great! Something my family doesn't do nearly enough.

7. On vacations you must always have fun. Make it a vacation worth remembering. After all, how often do you take them?

From:

Go Midwest! (What?)

When my friend Lindsey Phillips originally asked me to go with her, her mom, her grandma, and Jenna Hetmansperger to Mall of America for a few days, I was pretty much thrillled. I mean, Mall of America! This was going to be one awesome trip. Me and two of my best friends, on a road trip. Final destination: Mall of America.

It's Sunday now, and we left on Thursday. Thursday was pretty much just getting to the Wisconsin Dells. We got stuck in a TWO HOUR traffic jam in Chicago! It wasn't too bad though, considering I was with two awesome people and the movies Rumor Has It and Toy Story. It went a lot quicker considering we were watching movies and talking a whole lot. Anyway, after we finally got through the traffic jam, we got to our hotel a few hours later and didn't do a whole lot that day. Friday, we spent the day at the water/theme park, called Mt. Olympus at the Wisconsin Dells. That was so fun! Although I was a little paranoid about getting my sunburn even MORE sunburned. I had to walk around all day with my towel over my shoulders. But hey. They have one awesome indoor waterpark. I'm talking like 6 or 7 water slides, a couple of pools and a few lazy rivers. The outdoor water slides sure were fun too. That was a good day, definitely one I won't forget.

On Saturday, we drove the rest of the way to Bloomington, Minnesota, to spend the rest of the day at Mall of America. That was fun. There's 560 stores, and 4 floors! It's a good thing we planned on staying the entire day at mall, because we definitely needed it. And honestly... despite all the hype it gets, it really is just a MALL. A big one. I really was expecting a little more than it had to offer, but it sure was fun anyway. But boy, did we do some walking! Friday we had a little run-in with a mall cop... it turns out that on Fridays and Saturdays after 4pm, kids 15 and under have to be with their parent or guardian. We, however, did not know this. So... that was probably one high point of the trip!

The other high point of the trip was DEFINITELY going to the home furnishing store, IKEA. I saw it on the side of the road, and started freaking out because I've wanted to go to one since forever. My sister originally introduced me to it by buying me an alarm clock, a throw pillow, and a couple storage containers that she knew I would love. She also got me the catalog, which was the icing on the cake, what really made me fall in love with IKEA. Unfortunately, we don't have any near us in Michigan. So we spent a few hours browsing, and I definitely got my imagination going. I can't wait to be a homeowner!

All in all, we had a fantastic time. I really enjoyed it, and definitely plan on coming back in the near future. Thanks, Mall of America!