[a u f d e m f e s t]

Party... yes, Maggie likes to go to parties... or perhaps I ought to use party as a verb.

I like to party.

It only became a verb in the late 60's.

So perhaps I shall just stick to the pre-1960's way...

I enjoy going to parties.

I enjoy hosting parties.

Oh what a lot of fun, a party! a party!

My oh my, shall we have some crumpets at the party dear mumsy?

Anyways, I wanted to see everyone before I left.

WAIT, not wanted to... I NEEDED to see everyone.

And still I can't.

But anways, on Tuesday, I had a load of people come over.

And they were wonderful.

Pretty much the people who I wanted to see before I left came... and if they didn't come, well. Um. Nevermind. But it was amazing. I've never seen people from all my walks of life interact like that before. I had school friends with square dancers with church friends with family friends with my family. All walks of life!

And it was just a grand old time.

I got lots of orange stuff.. it made me oh so happy.

And thank goodness I didn't buy TOO much underwear and socks... my friends took care of that. Specifically Jenny, Callie, Ashley, Lorilee, and Elisa. And one pair of underwear came presigned.. it was amazingly orange and striped and I love it. With green sharpie. So I have to set it with an iron tomarrow. I think I shall wear it on the airplane. I'm sure you wanted to know that.

SOCKS!

I'm in love!

Gracias to all who gave me socks...

One group covered the realm of orange socks... they were amazing... AHHHHH!
Callie, Ashley, and Lorilee - thanks be to you!

And Elisa covered the fuzzy and yummy smelling sock arena.. YUM!

I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life.

But saying good-bye... is it all that hard? Yes, and no. When you're surrounded by your friends, it's hard to picture not seeing them for 11 months. I didn't really think about it. And I was in such a good mood that crying didn't really seem like an option. But it's hard to let go. I mean, the final good bye. Few people know what I'm talking about. I mean college kids, they come home for Christmas, no biggy.. but I won't be coming home. When I say I'm gone for a year, I mean it. No breaks. And that makes everything 2.46 times harder.

To all of you who came, this is for you. Thank you so much for joining me. It meant the world to me. So much to me. I am absolutely greatful. And I feel so blessed by God, so greatful to him, that I have gotten to know you through the years... and of course we'll still keep in touch.

But of course things won't be the same the next year - I need to face that one fact.

• No sleep overs on the deck underneath the stars, making wishes.
  
• Afternoons in Seattle.
  
• Runs through the fountains.
  
• Tea outings.
  
• Mornings before school out front.
  
• Lunches in the courtyard.
• Wagon runs through the town.
• Long waits for a bus that's 5 minutes late.
• Mad dashes through Grocery Outlet.
• Chicken, bagettes, and cake in the grass.
• Bike rides on the trail.
• Walks at sunset.
• Worship together.

And I better stop there before I start crying again like a sillly little baby.

Truth is... I'm not scared.

Honestly, I'm not... or I'm in serious denial or something.

I feel like I'm ready to go, ready to take over and I'm sure my favourite youth pastor could say something funny here in a blog like this.

Switzerland - brace yourselves... cause in 5 days, someone's coming over like you've never, ever seen before....

MWAHAHAAHA!

Heheheh, that acutally felt kinda good.

Strep

It was only two days before the party... well, it was still night.

Sunday/Monday Night.

I wolk up in the RV in the backyard at around 4:00 and felt horrible. Walked in the house, and pretty much collapsed in the front room armchair. Not collapse collapse... I just fell asleep.

I wolk up and felt absolutely awful.

Temps up to 103.1 degrees F.

Soar Throat
Head Ache
Stomach Ache
Sore Muscles
Excessively Tired
Boiling Hot
Freezing Cold
The Works

Anyways, God really is cool, I had to go to the doctor for various problems I had (what can I say? I'm a problem child) and so I got diagonosed the day of my party.

[s t r e p t h r o a t]

Awful diagnoses.

But luckily, I got on antibiotics and was feeling better.

Krispy Letter Center [it's the KLC]

[oldish pic of epic proportions]

I got a letter from my sister.
I am happy.
She said they have snow gear for me.
That saves me in the packing process.
And they go to church.
And I can go Blauring[!]

Yesterday, I went to Echo Glen.

There were quite a few of us [?] including....

Me, my dad, Bill, Emily, Nate, Bethany, Isaic, Nathan, Steven, Aaron, Hannah, Steve, DeAnn, and Kirsten.

For those of you not with CCB, Echo Glen is a youth detention center.

Anyways, the kids were pretty responsive which is snazzy.

And one of the guys who works there, Greg, gave Nate, Kirsten, and I a campus tour on a golf cart!

It was quite amazing.

And on the way home, we stopped for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts... which always seems to make me happy.

Wake Up Call

[My father and I
in our snazzy coat
or blazer thingy]
Click a pic to make it bigger.

Today was hectic. Today was busy.





But it ended fantastically.

[I love the word fantastic, it sounds crisp in the mouth and explains exactly what I want to say]

Anyways....

My day went something like this:

Prepare Breakfast and Lunch for 24 people --> Orthodontest --> Dentist --> Orthodontest --> Rotary Picnic!

Anyways.... I could go on and on about how my mouth is crazy now. Been open for hours.

But that's not what about this blog is about.

Wait a minute?

Oh my goodness... this entire blog.

Have you yet looked at the URL? Zahnpaste.

Zahnpaste ist "toothpaste" aus Deutsch.

So I guess I have the right to ramble on about my toothly matters.

but would that interest you?

Will any of my day interest you?

Well, the blog is to document my life for me.. and I just give you guys a look at it to amuse yourselfs. That's why I don't care about boring you all to death with my droning blocks and walls of text.

We were about to leave for the park when we got a call from Gabby.

Gabby: a ninja who is going to Ecuador for her exchange.

Anyways, she needed a ride. So we picked her up. And off we went to Lincoln Park.

It was beautiful there! Seriously. I never lie. Ever. You have to trust me here. Ok? Babysteps. Just believe me. It was beautiful.

It's a bit of an eye opener.

There were some rebounds there who had just gotten back from their excahnge.

(Before you leave for your exchange, your and inbound. While you're on it you're an outbound. And after you come back home you get the term rebound. If it's your second exchange your a yo-yo)

Anyways, we were able to ask them variosu questions.

Later it came to "advice time." Essentially, they told us stuff that we may have heard before but never listened to. And just coming from them, I took it more seriously :P It was so much more real coming from them. Or perhaps it's just that I'm leaving in 18 days.

18 days?

Whoa.

That's soon.

Anyways, there's just a few general things that I need to remember in Switzerland to maintain my sanity.

I don't know why any of you would care? But I'm putting them here so when I'm getting all sad and emo on myself in my bedroom in Switzerland, I can look back, read this, and shape up.

• Be open. Be open to their culture. Be prepared to change. Be prepared to be laughed at as you goof up the language... and be ready to laugh with them and try again.
• Keep busy. Get a hobby. Stay active. Empty time leaves time for time to miss home. But if you're busy, it's not so hard. (Note: I've taken care of this already by getting myself into a drama and music program in my town... but who knows what else I might do. Yodeling?)
• Make connections. Make relationships. This includes friends, family, and Rotarians. Let them know your needs. Be prepared to throw yourself out there and be the first to talk.
  
• Accept invitations. How else do you get to know someone?
• Keep moving. Don't get stuck on the little things.

It all may seem simple... yet I'm guessing that after days of constant German, simple things like that may be forgotten. And it's while I'm still sane (that may be debateable however) that I need to go over these things.

Be prepared!

Hey! I could be one good boy scout... er, or girl scout.

I got to say my good byes today as well.

Good bye to Kenzie, Hilary, Jacob, Andrew, Kelsey, Taylor, and Lillian.

I'll maybe see Gabby tomarrow.

I'll see Nelly at the airport.

Thank goodness.

And Nelly - you'll probably be reading this. Maybe not.

But anyways.

I'm so glad to have someone like Nelly going on this adventure "with" me. Sure we won't get to talk as much in Switzerland.. but knwoing that there's someone else who knows what I'm going through will be great.

Plus... it could makes those long airplane flights a bit more enjoyable.

Until another snazzy day...

-Maggie-

[I love Seattle skies..]

One Would Think...

One would think...

That as time goes by, I get more and more nervous about Switzerland.

And... they're, well, not entirely right.

It's one of the hardest emotions or feelings to convey. Okay.. not the hardest, but it's difficult to explain.

I have moments every once in a while, where I think, "Oh interjection, Maggie, what have you gotten yourself into?"

but mostly I just want to go.

Now.

Leave.

Yes. It's true.

Why?

I don't want to say good bye. Those words will be so hard for me. Why do you think I didn't go to school that last day? I didn't want to go through that. I just avoided it. So to all of you who I missed... well, good bye.

July 31 - it's supposed to be a grand old happy day.. but it's going to be pretty sad. So you all need to come and cheer me up eh? Yes. You do.

It stilll seem surreal.

Am I really leaving my mother? father? brother? church family? friends?

all.of.it

Behind.

I'll come back, sure I will.

And I'll grow, and, um, mature? But I will change. Undergo an adventure many people can't even imagine. Hopefully most of you reading this can.

Anyways, while I'm learning to live in a new way, being stretched in all directions...

You'll be at home. With the same poeple. Just furthering the development and depth of your relationships with each other.

Getting to know each other.

And while I will think of you each day, not a day will go by without me thinking of you.

You won't miss me.

Sure, you'll have dates or moments when you'll think of me... but each day? Of course not. You'll get used to it. You're in your safe little home. Safe little school. Safe circle of friends.

But.

I'm not.

New food, new culture, new language, new people, new family, new friends, new church, new school, new traditions.

I'm not complaining, I assure you I'm not.

I brought this upon myself.

And I'm excited.

I feel so privliged.

I feel so blessed.

Ready to jump in, experience life, live life.

Not just think about it.

Here I go, like when you get strapped into a rollar coaster.

I always have that moment of dread and I realize I'm in for the full ride, no turning back.

22 more days till I'm gone for 340.

Summer Beverage Guide

Just telling you what I've been consuming lately during the hottest days of the year...

Pay attention.

Heed my advice.

Head out.

Treat yourself right.

You deserve it.

It's a good thing.

---

First, I love Jamba Juice. It's like a lifeline. Couldn't live without that stuff and don't know how I'll survive without it next year.

Today me and mi madre went out to Jamba Juice.

What to get?

I like Tea so I got the....



I don't know how to describe it. It's amazing with so many flavours in one large cup. I guess they say it best.

Dazzle your palette and fuel your active body with this zesty blend of red tea, raspberry juice, strawberries, sorbet, frozen yogurt, soymilk, raspberries and ice. The only thing you have to lose with this energizing mix of fresh berries and rich source of vitamin C is your mid-day doldrums.

So true.

My pallette has been dazzled :P

---

And what's Seattle famous for?

What can be found multipul times in every city in the area.

You gotta love that place. Seriously. If you don't like it. Get away from my blog. Right now. Shoo! Yes. I mean it. You don't even have to like coffee to like Starbucks.

I myself am not a huge coffee fan... but I love mostly everything else that place serves.

Such as the drink I got the other day when it was very hot and I was tired in Seattle.

The perfect pick-me-up.

Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino® Blended Coffee



There it is. Packed with flavour. A subtle but very noticeable (if that's possible) taste of raspberry in each sip.

And raspberries are refreshing.

So this is refreshing.

A delicious combination of juicy raspberries,

chocolate and the finest Latin American coffees,

blended with ice, topped with whipped cream and raspberry drizzle.

As it said. It is delicious. So I advise heading out to your local Starbucks and grab one of these. It really is good.

---

Annie Waits

And so

Annie waits, annie waits, annie waits

For a call

From a friend

The same

Its the same

Was it always the same?

Annie waits for the last time

The clock never stops, never stops, never waits

Shes growing old

Its getting late

And so he forgot, he forgot

Maybe not

Maybe hes been seriously hurt

Would that be worse?

New hair cut + Messy Room = My Life Right Now

[this pictures is in black and white as that is how we do pictures at my church when we get our hair cut :P]

A Day Away

I had just gotten back from camp and was a wee bit exhausted.. but more than anythingI just wanted to see the kids aagain. They were so sweet and life just felt incomplete with out a hand to hold all the time or someone to sing with me. I just wanted to be there for them. It was hard to release them into the care of their guardians... until you realize that you can hand them into God's hands. Now I feel a little bit better. God's up there watching over them and he was smiling down on us that entire week of camp. I know already some campers from last year have gone to heaven, but at least they heard the message of Jesus and recieved his love before he went up there. Now we have his sweet little sister to care for as she makes her way through life and it just breaks my heart to hear what all these kids have gone through.

So Emily and Hannah planned out a "weekend" of action. On Sunday, we were picked up without any knowledge of where we were going. We refers to Jenny, Caitie and I. Well.. I did know a bit only because I wasn't sure about going. We were whisked away to Seattle to stay in a snazzy hotel.. wow. I was so happy. Thrilled. Excited. Joyful.

This is what I need. An older "sister" to get me through things. Emily watches over me. Takes care of me. She makes sure that I'm okay. Megan does that too which is such a blessing. With both of them there for me ready to listen or answer questions with me, I feel a lot more prepared for life. They are both Godly women and by watching their lives line up with the Bible's teachings, I know that their advice will help me live a life like God would want for me. And I'm encouraged to check what they say in the Bible... and it does line up.

So anyways, Emily was loaded, loaded with food. It was insane. And she even brought pickles and snap peas just for me. Yum. I love those things. But also there were cookies and dove chocolate and lots of fruit. Ahh! I love dove. So I melted the dove and dipped strawberries in it. That was quite lovely.

We headed out pretty soon to walk around town... and eat. We had a couple choices on where to eat but naturally the Old Spaghetti Factory was the chosen place. Who could not love spaghetti? The wait was around 15 minutes outside.. but they give you this snazzy buzzer/beeper that tells you when it's your turn. It was in my lap and it went off and I screamed and jumped and I started the group.

Waiting outside for the spaghetti.

It wasn't a long wait and as usual, I made a friend.Little Miss Scarlet was an adorable little 2 year old who gave us the biggest smiles. We headed in to a room that looked like something of a pirate.

Each of us ordered a bottomless strawberry lemonade, which means we had free refills through the night. Our servers were Kirsten and some other person. It was her first day ever and she was really sweet. Since she wasn't bored of her job yet, she was really fresh and enjoyable. I wish all servers were like that. But I guess eventually they just get sick of the job and it's not as exciting.

For the meal, most people got the managers favourite, which is spaghetti noodles with two different types of sauce on two sides. But I got my favourite, the Spaghetti with Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese. It leaves little to be desired. This was a commen way for the Italians to eat their pasta. Not to heavy or anything. If you haven't tried Mizithra Cheese, you haven't lived. It's like mozzerella but entirely new demensions are added in flavour. It's a lot more strong and it's a hard cheese. It's flakey and has so much flavour. Mmmm. I love it and order it every time I go to the Factory.

Bathroom break at the Factory always involves a stop at the phone booth.

The Factory is great in their prices. It looks expensive at first, $9.25 for my meal, but then you look at what you get. First you get a soup or salad. My salad was amazing with pesto sauce. I've never had pesto sauce before so it was love after first bite... not that unsimilar to the love of a vampire. Okay. Bad joke if that even was one. Anyways, it was really refreshing. And you get loaves of sour dough bread to share with fresh, creamy, whipped butter. It's really satisfying.

Troy Bolton: Oh What's that?
Zeke: Oh, it's a creamy custard like filling with a caramelized surface, it's really satisfying

Hhaha.. sorry, couldn't help that. My blog though and I can quote High School Musical if it seems to fit the blog. Anyways, after the salad, the bread, and the noodles you get one more treat. Spumoni ice cream. We even got an extra one cause they had one melting that they needed to serve. Wow. I love that stuff. Jenny and Caitie got vanilla ice cream which I couldn't even comprehend. It's like Neopolitan on steroids. It's got pistachio, chocolate, and cherry. Now I hate pistachios and any sort of nut thing... but I love this. It's one of my favourite types of ice cream. All those flavours together in one bowl ready to be mixed at the command of my spoon. Such harmony. Such beautiful. Spumoni. It's also a fun word to say. Scarlet the baby stopped by our table as she left. There were plenty of left overs that we took home to eat at midnight later that night.



We headed out towards the waterfront to the new Olympic Sculpture Park. The Olympic Sculpture Park is a new park that was opened by SAM (Seattle Art Museum) that is pretty snazzy. I guess it's pretty self explanatory. But it's fun to just hang out there. You've got a perfect view of the water front and it's pretty peaceful... until the train comes. Anyways, we had a seat in the eye benches, benches shaped as eyes, to get a lovely, er, view of "Father and Son." A scultupre of a father and son.. lacking clothing. Whatever. It's art.

Poor Emily... I seema bit too excited about the statue.

Jenny and the lovely statue right on the waterfront.

Then there were some Puzzel Men I chatted with. I don't know who they were. But they were playing Sudoku and Scrabble at the same time.. the epitome of nerd-dom. And they were my heroes. We talked only a little. I learned what a spat is. And after one person finished his turn on the Scrabble, they'd switch game to book. It seems a good way to live life as an adult. They were about 25 years old.

We headed up the steps behind the eyes and men to the terrace, deck, raised level overlooking the waterfront and the view was amazing. God is so good.

Pic by Caitie. You can't tell, but there are some snazzy mountains in the distance.

I took this pic, I guess. I thought the color scheme was snazzy. But if I had done it again, I would have straightened out the horizen.

Jenny, Emily, Caitie, Hannah, and I.



Some more sculptures.

After all that, we headed home. Even with six of us, Seattle isn't the safest place in the world.

We got to the hotel, went swimming, talked, ate, talked, ate, talked, slept, got a bloody nose, slept, got up, got dressed, got in the shower.

Then we went to the Science Center and met Dr. Sean who was amazing.

Butterflies at the PSC.

And then of course, what do you need to do when you're at the Seattle Center? The fountain of course. We came prepared in with swimsuits and food and headed to the fountain. I love that fountain. It's an icon of Seattle and really represents it well. It's the International Fountain... built for the world's fair. There's usually music playing. The water is clean, you can tell because of the chlorine, and there are kids, teens, and adults running around everywhere. It was the perfect ending for our trip. Really wonderful. And the perfect way to cool off. Not as many kids this day as it wasn't as hot, but stay tuned for the next entry where there were a whole lot more kids.













And that was pretty much my day. Afterwards, me and Jenny hung out a bit at her house. Went to the park. Kicked around a socker ball. Played on the play ground. Played catch with a tennis ball. Just all easy stuff... the way summer is supposed to be.


Life is good.

Sachseln?

Yes.

It is true.

I know where I am staying in Switzerland.

God has amazing ways of working in my life. When I first heard where Nelly was going, Bern, I have to admit I was a bit dissapointed. Why? It's Bern. In going to Switzerland, I knew that I had to remain active to keep myself from getting to homesick. Keep myself busy. Get plugged into different activities. I knew that while there I could do square dancing and curling. And which city had both these activities? Bern. Yep. And I was left not even knowing which city I was to go to.

But then I realized that God knew where I was going already. God knew what would be perfect for me. He knew which family would work for me. School. City. He had a plan for my life. And then things were okay. I decided to give the entire matter over to him and not worry aobut it.

And I'm glad I did. There was nothing to worry about. God blessed me again and I am so thankful that I am going where I am going.

My new town is quite cliche.

It's in the very center (literally) of Switzerland. In the moutains. In the canton of Obwalden. On the lake of Sarnen. In the town of Sachseln.

Yep. I will be living in the moutains. I looked up my house on Google Earth and it is amazing. I am right next to (litterally - only a small road seperates the house and lake) Lake Sarnen. It's absolutely beautiful.. and as I said, cliche.

As Nicole (a Swiss exchange student) put it, "Of all the places *laugh* Obwalden? It's the most Heidi-like."

You know Heidi, that story of the little girl in the moutnains? Well. That's where I'm headed. But Nicole did proceed to tell me how much fun I would have there and how it's a wonderful place.

What about my family?

I'll be staying with the Hinters.

[hinter means "behind" when translated from German to English so many
websites have confusing text when I search their name and translate them to English]

The Hinters have three kids.

Anita - 17 years
Sandra - 15.5 years
Phillip - 12 years

So I'll be the middle child... I guess.

I'm really excited to have some siblings.

I've done some searching on the internet and found them on several sites... and I'm so thankful to God. Just from the little information I have, it seems like they will be the perfect family for me.

School?
I will be a student at Kantonsschule, Sarnen.
Sarnen is the town right next to little Sachseln. It's quite a bit bigger.

The school looks quite snazzy, there's a link to its site over there ----->


On the left is the school. On the right is a hospital.

Church?
I could use some prayer here. I'm really dependent upon my church family and enjoy all the fellowship I get with them. Thankfully, I have a church. It's a bit different though, Catholic. But I am quite greatful to even have a church.



There was a patron saint or something, Brother Klaus, who did something major over here. I have to do more research. But anyways, it's large enough to put it on the map. Lots of folks to pilgrimages here.

I'll put up a blog of just pictures of my town below this one... so go take a look if you like... I guess.

It all seems unreal.

Sachseln/Sarnen Pics

The mountain range behind the town.

Near the outer edges of town.

I Don't Like Butterflies

Yeah.

I'm mowing the lawn like a good girl (yes, I even volunteered to mow the lawn.. I enjoy doing it).

So I'm cruising along.

Listening to the Who.

Mowing.

Mowing.

*INTERJECTION*

There was a butterfly.
It was hobbling around.
So I didn't want to kill it.

Cause killing butterflies is like the epitome of cruel eh?

I mean - who wants to die between the horrible blades of the lawn mower?

Being smashed between them?

Those delicate wings...

And it looked like a freakin' cripplie.

So I waited for it to go on.

I sat with the lawn mower running for a minute.

*fly little butterfly - fly away!*

[I would have stopped the lawn mower but the thing is I can't start it. Don't know why. It jerks my arm and never makes a sound. So I get my dad to. I love to mow the lawn, honestly, but I can't start it]

And then I went around it.

I came back to the same spot... there it was.

Sitting.

Hobbling.

Looking pretty.

*interjection*

So I waited.

Waited.

I move closer.

Now the butterfly can feel the whirring blade's wind blowing towards it.

Grass particles pelting it.

And it didn't move.

I waited.

And went around it.

Now our lawn has a big patch where the grass is tall.

"Um Dad.. sorry about the square. Yeah. There was a butterfly... yeah. It's now called Butterfly Land. Yes. The butterfly has a name. I named it Fredrick."

So I figured, why not get a picture of it?

I grab my camera.

I figured, it didn't move when the lawn mower was inches from it roaring horribly... I'll just sneak up.

I sneak up so slowly.

Aim.
Point.
Shoot.

*interjection*

It was a fraud.. no cripple.

It could fly.

I was sad.
Angry.
Frustraighted.

So I mow next to it, and it stays. I sneak up on it and it flies away.

What?

Yes.

And now our lawn has a square.

I think that I'll say that aliens landed... but instead of a crop circle where the grass is cut in a circle and lower than the field.. well, the grass is higher, not cut, and in a square, not circle.

The End

Update That Covers a Month

Well, I haven't blogged for a while.

This can be explained for various reasons.

1. I'm taking my meds... which means that I want to be on task more. And I feel quite gulty when doing stuff such as blogging when I should be cleaning my room.
2. There's been little to blog about. It's an exchanging blog and I'm not on my exchange yet.
3. School is coming to an end but not without first making a huge impact on my life. I've never gotten this little sleep night after night ever before. I think I'll go insane. I'm ready to slow down.
4. My entire hand was caught in a fire and I can't type now without pain.

Okay, so 1-3 were true. The kids are down for 30 more minutes. The littles baby girl is asleep until 3:00 and the toddler boy is allowed to arise at 3:00 as well. This is my fourth babysitting job of the week. Here's an overview of the week:
Monday - Maia
Tuesday - Jack & Wyant
Wednesday - Hannah and then Janelle & Joannah
Friday - Curtis & Carrisa
I guess I ought to feel blessed to have so many baby sitting jobs.. and I do! But combined with homework and life is getting to be too much.

Walking with my dad last night was great. Just a reminded that it's okay to take a step back in life. Rely on God. He should be the first one I call on when things get rough. He's gonna be there for me. Watching my back. He won't give me nay more than I can handle.

Yesterday, I worked on a Spanish project with three other girls from 2:00 to 8:30... without any breaks. Just working constantly. It was fun though. I enjoyed the product that we made. Itwas a snazzy video. But when I finished I still had 4 assignments to do. Well.. two assignments and two tests to study for. I decided to rest my eyes from the computer for just 10 minutes. So I laid down with the lights on on the floor of my room. Next thing I know, it's 5:20 in the morning and time to get up. But, I think I needed that rest more than anything else.

Recently I got to go to St. Edwards park with Jenny, Caitie, Nate, Hannah, Emily, and Ian. That was a great time. It just seems to feel so relaxing with them. We all know each other and there's no pressure in anything. We just are. Are. We are friends. And nothing is going to stop that. We've been together long enough that life is good.

We hiked around a bit. Wandered through the woods. Sat by the lake. Sat on a log. Jumped.

Then we headed to QFC for some picnic fixings. Our picnic consisted of a bagette, baked chicken, and a cake. Cake and chicken and bread... can't beat that.

The music department of my school also recently went up to Vancouver for the weekend. I could go on about how snazzy it was and what a blast I had... but that could take pages. Which normally I would do. But there's so much. And only 18 minutes left. So pretty much I'll tell you this. We won. Everything. Everything we entered or attempted to win.. we won. We swept the competition. We were the champions. They ran out of trophies. I guess I sound cockie.. sorry. But I was quite pleased. We've been working so hard for this. Just our sophmore orchestra was able to beat the orchestras for four year high schools. I feel so blessed to be able to go to such a good school that supports its music department.


There is so much more to tell. But I'll save that for another day. Time to do a blog entry exclusively on my information on Swizterland.