Devil's Chair

I love hiking! 

I went hiking with my friends, Leslie and Rebekah to the Devil's Punchbowl. When we went last time, we only hiked the short loop because it was almost dark. This time, we had all afternoon so we went for the gold! The Devil's Chair is an out-and-back hike that comes to 7.8 miles.

Of course, I took tons of pictures...

This is me, in the "chair" at the end of the trail. 

It was over 70 degrees, but there was still snow on the mountains!

I found the BIGGEST pinecone I've ever seen.  It seriously looked like a pineapple!

Who's king of the mountain? 

I loved the lighting in this picture...



We would not make good girlscouts...we ran out of water!

My new friend, named Sam.

Would you LOOK AT THAT!?

Rebekah and me in the creek.  On our way back, we filled our water bottles with this water.  Since Leslie and I were a little scared to try it, Rebekah was our "Guinea Pig" and didn't die, so we tried it too! 

 

Man, this is a BABY pine cone compared to my other one!

Leslie's *shocked* face

I loved hiking with my friends...

Sometimes, the desert can be absolutely beautiful.  It just depends on your point of view...literally. 

Poppy Festival

On Saturday the family I go to nursing homes with took me to the mall and then to see the Poppy Festival! Apparently the poppies bloom around this time, but this year there was a poor crop.  The Lowe's were telling me that normally, the entire field is covered in orange poppies. 

That would've been really pretty to see, but I enjoyed it even just as it was without the poppies!  It was wonderful to get off-campus and go on a short hike.

We found a few stragglers! 



Andrew learned the hard way not to touch the cactus's.  I thought this picture was so cute! 





Well, that's it for now!  Until later!

Yesterday I watched the little league baseball teams play on the field and I got REALLY sunburnt. 

The picture barely shows it, but I think maybe I got sun poisoning! 

Southern California weather...there's nothing like it!  :)  

My Favorite Animal...

Our teacher asked us what our favorite animal was, and I said, "Fried chicken."

She said I wasn't funny...

but she couldn't have been right, everyone else in the class laughed.

My parents told me to always be truthful and honest, and I am.

Fried chicken is my favorite animal.

I told my dad what happened, and he said my teacher was probably a member of PETA.

He said they love animals very much.

I do, too.

Especially chicken, pork and beef.

Anyway, my teacher sent me to the principal's office.

I told him what happened, and he laughed too.

Then he told me not to do it again.

The next day in class my teacher asked me what my favorite live animal was.

I told her it was chicken.

She asked me why, just like she'd asked the other children.

So I told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken.

She sent me back to the principal's office again.

He laughed, and told me not to do it again.

I don't understand.

My parents taught me to be honest, but my teacher doesn't like it when I am.

Today, my teacher asked us to tell her what famous person we admire most.

I told her, "Colonel Sanders".

Guess where I am now?

---Thanks to Lauren and Flynn Hartley http://bhartley.blogspot.com

Easter Pictures a little late...

I finally got around to putting my pictures on my computer. We took these pictures on Easter Sunday.

Right before heading to our ministry: Ashley, Regina and me

Then Leslie, Lena and I took some Easter pictures before the Easter musical started.

The fountain is always the place to take pictures. :)

When it Rains, it Pours

That is certainly true in Lancaster...

Yesterday we had the biggest rain storm I've seen since being here.

I was only able to catch this one picture of the foreboding clouds when I was headed to class.

Youth Conference just finished here...it was really really good and many teens made decisions for God.

Until later!

Gotta love dorm life!

I don't just live in a room with three other girls, I live in a dorm with about a hundred other girls.

Life gets crazy in the dorms sometimes...like last week, when my roommate strained something in her knee and had to wear this brace.

This isn't my roommate, but she lives down the hall and is practically a roommate: haha!

Studying much?

Nah, probably not! :)

Anyway, dorm life can be pretty interesting sometimes!

I'm Thankful for...

Things that made me thankful TODAY:

1. Having a friend like Rebekah who would get me lunch when I couldn't go.

2. Getting an A in Christian School Music (I had to conduct a choir rehearsal)

3. Getting my absentee ballot in the mail finally

4. Finding out that there is no class on Friday

5. Finishing my homework for tomorrow

6. Singing in Voice Class and getting a good grade

7. Sitting in chapel with my friends

I had never thought to do this before, but just this week, I began listing the things each day that made me thankful. These are just a few of the things I came up with. I think doing this will help me to be more thankful in general, and also cause me to think about the things God does for me.

He is not here, for He is Risen!

Happy Resurrection Day!

I remember when I was young, I was part of a play at my church. I was an angel along with a girl named Lindsey and my speaking part was "He is not here, for He is Risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay." I was just thinking of that today and remembering how excited I was to have a part in the play: a speaking part at that...

If I got so excited about having a short speaking part in a play THEN, how much more excited should I be now about that very famous line I had?

It is amazing to think that I am "risen with Christ" into the newness of life.

I was recalling a verse today and just thought I would share it on here:

"Believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." - Romans 4:24b-25

Sometimes I forget that the symbol of my faith is not ONLY the cross, but the open tomb that proves I serve a God who is ALIVE, not dead.

When I think of the many tombs in the world, several come to mind. The many Egyptian Mummy pyramids, and numerous cemetery's where famous people are buried.

The thing that sets Christianity apart from all other religions is what the grave does NOT contain.

I just thought of all of that today and though it is scattered, I wanted to share it.

Hope you all had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday!

What bored college students do...

10 Things I will Always Remember about my Childhood...

1.
Eating frozen Whoopie Pies in the summer time

2.
Jumping on hay bales in the barn

3.
The smell of cedar on my pillow when I would go
to sleep (from the cedar chest)

4.
Playing dutch blitz with my whole family

5.
Riding in the back of our old blue pickup,
singing.

6.
Harvesting potatoes by hand behind the tractor
plow

7.
Having sour-grape eating contests with my
siblings

8.
Writing letters to my dad every night he went to
work

9.
Memorizing Bible verses as a family, using
Memlock

10.
Playing Hide and Seek inside the house with my
Dad and siblings.

These are only ten of the things I will always remember. As I started thinking about my childhood, so many good memories came to mind. I had to limit myself to only 10. So many things change as I get older, but one thing that will NEVER change is my love for my family. Things are different in many ways, but it doesn't take much thinking to just go back to my childhood days and remember all I have to be thankful for. It's more than I can even express.

More of my New Favorite Store

My favorite store now sells clothing. Who would've ever guessed that the 99 cent store sold brand new clothes for 99 cents...

I was shopping for note cards when my roommate brought this shirt to me and said it was "me."

Obviously, for 99 cents, it IS "me"...

haha! I was so happy about the deal I found.

Can't beat 99 cents...that's for SURE! :)

Video

A Momentous Moment in my life:

YAY! It's APRIL... FINALLY