Memories: October - December 2010

Here is a continuation of my memories from 2010...I finally have a free day to blog about it!!  Now where did I leave off?  Ahh yes!!  The Aunts game to visit....Onward ho!!!!!

BUT FIRST!!  I skipped a huge part of my summer in my last memories post...

I spent a couple of months over the summer playing on a co-ed softball team with my besties.  I wasn't too great, but I have some of the best memories!!  Got to hang out with church buddies every saturday over the summer, what could be better?

Columbia Saloon

Old Columbia School House

Angels Camp

Columbia Saloon

Creek at Murphy's

Old Columbia school house

Found at an antique shop.  Anyone who is familiar with The Music Man will understand why this made my sister and I laugh so hard.

So my family took a weekend of vacation and stayed in a little house in Columbia.  We love the old Gold Rush towns and visit them often.  The highlight of the trip for me was getting to see Big River.  This was the second time I saw the show, but it was a very special experience.  The Fallon House Theater in Columbia is one of the oldest in California, so this obviously has much sentimental value to me.  It was so amazing getting to see a show there.  I hope to perform there one day!

OK!  Now back to October...

The pictures above are that from Luke and BreAnne's wedding, as well as one of Bre's bridal showers!  Such a lovely wedding in San Francisco, and a fun time to dress up and be with friends.  Celebrating the marriage of two beloved (678) leaders was such a blast and an honor.

Why yes that is me dressed up as a chicken...
So Brett, Nicole and I wanted to do something fun for the (678) Costume party this year.  Nicole already had a cow suit, so I hand made my chicken costume and Brett dressed up as a farmer.  Unfortunately Nic couldn't make it to the jr. high party because she was at the hospital with her dear friend who was suffering from complications after giving birth to her beautiful little daughter.  So Brett and I were a farmer and his chicken.  This picture has been Brett's facebook profile picture for 3 months now...while I was an adorable chicken I'm a little tired of seeing myself all feathery.

Mini Kickers coaches at costume party

Over the beginning of Autumn I did a program with the church called Mini-Kickers.  We play around and teach the basics of Soccer to little kids.  Nicole directed the program this year, while Brett and I were coaches for the 3 year olds along with Nic's fabulous sister Rachel.  Our last day together we threw a costume party for the kids.  Brett and I finally got to reunite with our little miniature cow!

In October the girls of our Venture (678) middle school ministry took a girly trip to KOA for a weekend.  We stayed in little cabins, had movie nights, painted nails, laughed, told stories, but most importantly got to hear God's word from our wonderful speaker, fellow staff member and friend Leanne Gibson-Manzo.  I had a cabin of girls to myself and we stayed up late every night playing games, singing and telling stories.  It was one of my favorite weekends throughout all of 2010.

In November I got to meet Kat Von D the star of the hit TV show LA Ink.  I went to her book signing in San Francisco.  I had been counting down the months til I got to meet her, but started getting nervous.  I had heard so many terrible stories about how mean she was.  Luckily she wasn't.  She is such a sweet person and it wasn't a fake sweet.  She was 100% genuine.  I also got to meet Dan Smith, one of my two favorite tattoo artists working at High Voltage Tattoo.  Rooftop (Mike Escamilla) was also there.  He's a famous BMX rider and one of Kat's dear friends.  I also found the signed pair of headphones Rooftop had hidden in the bookstore.

With Miriam, Taryn, Tanya and the cover band inside the Hard Rock Hotel

This past November I took my first trip to Vegas.  As part of my early Christmas gift from my sis and brother in law they bought me tickets to see Viva Elvis, one of the newest Cirque Du Soleil shows.  It was absolutely amazing!  I also had the joy of having a whole set dedicated to me by a cover band in Vegas.  It was quite a memorable trip...came home with a new nickname.  From now on just call me Biscuit.

Taryn and I with our cousins Rylie, Noelle and Trevor!

Christmas 2010 was one of my favorites.  John came home from school in San Diego and was able to meet Brett for the first time...let's just say I ended up being the 3rd wheel.  Numerous Yahtzee, Catchphrase, Monopoly, and puzzle building games took place that Christmas break.  Was blessed with some great Christmas gifts and just had the greatest time celebrating Jesus with my friends and family.  Everything felt right with John being home.  It doesn't feel like Christmas without him because he is such a huge part of our family.  I really wish he was my brother by blood.

This concludes our journey through 2010....stay tuned for more amazing memories during 2011!

Music and Theatre 101, Entry Numero Un

Well y'all the 30 Seconds To Mars concert had to be re-scheduled until April, so in the mean time I'll talk about my friend Brandon Leland's group Till I Fall.  Brandon has been involved in music since before I can remember and I went and saw one of his shows earlier this month. 

Till I Fall is a duo made up of Brandon Leland (guitar, drums and vocals) and Yasmin Shirazi (vocals).  They go back and forth from electric to acoustic.  On their non acoustic album work you can find Brandon playing rhythm guitar and drums, while his friends Bo and John from Stick Up Kid take on lead guitar and bass.  Till I Fall has an Alternative/Pop Punk sound, with a little Power Pop in the mix...kind of like Hey Monday, for those of you familiar with that band.

Till I Fall performed at Nickel City when I saw them.  The sound wasn't great, but there is no way to deny the talent they have.  They performed two of their own songs as well as covers by both All Time Low and Mayday Parade.  Till I Fall is destined for some great things.  They have a show coming up again on February 11th, and their EP Release show should be coming sometime in May.  Their release show is going to be so rad!  Nothing is set in stone, but in the mix of bands for the EP Release you may be able to find Till I Fall (obviously!!), Pounders, Blood and Water and Stick Up Kid.  All awesome bands doing a great job of repping the Bay Area.  Till I Fall shirts should be coming soon too!  You can expect me to be wearing one around for sure!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1627490975#!/pages/Till-I-Fall/157920764235253?v=info
Listen to: "This One's For You" and "Photographs and Lullabies"
CHECK OUT TILL I FALL ON FACEBOOK.  GIVE THEM A LISTEN!

New Years resolutions aren't my thing but...

So I'm not really into the whole New Years resolution thing, but this year I made one.  My resolution is to go to at least 1 concert or theatrical performance a month.  After I have done so I will blog about my experience and review what I saw.  For January I have already accomplished my resolution, but won't be blogging until after the weekend is over because I am going to another show this month.  I saw Till I Fall perform this last Saturday, but this Saturday I am seeing 30 Seconds to Mars with my sister.  I have high expectations for this show.  I'll let y'all know how it goes...

Memories: January - October 2010

I have to say that 2010 may just be one of the best years of my life.  A lot happened.  Some great things came out of 2010, but a lot of sadness did too.  The summer leading into the fall and winter was by far the best part of the year.  I'm going to re-cap some of my favorite memories from throughout the year, so come along with me and take a little journey down memory lane :)

(Photo Credit: Dan Cater)

I started out 2010 by doing a little show called High School Musical 2.  I met a group of the greatest girls who have made a huge impact in my life.  The impressions they left will last a lifetime.  We laughed, we cried, we laughed a lot, acted stupid, made videos, sang, danced, and laughed even more.  These girls became like sisters.  We could finish each others sentences and could just look at each other and knew exactly what the other was saying.

Later that year in May we had 8th grade weekend.  We took the 8th graders to the Boardwalk and then had a special service for them on Sunday.  Nicole and I had to say goodbye to one of our most beloved students that year.  Kayla Gregory not only graduated, but moved to Pennsylvania.  It was a very bittersweet moment.  The group of 8th graders that graduated that May were a true group of leaders.  They are already growing so much in high school and I can't wait to see where God takes them in life.

At The Cracker Barrel in Memphis with my cousins and other family

All of us on Beale Street in Memphis

At Sun Studios in Memphis

Graceland

Beale Street

At Mr. Tooties

Blackwater Baptist Church in Manila, Arkansas.  Church my family built.

Mississippi River

Great Granny and Grampa's old house.  Hadn't seen it in almost 16 years.

One of, if not the biggest highlight of the summer was finally getting to visit my family in Tennessee and Arkansas.  I can't tell you what a blast I had with my cousins and aunts and uncles.  We stayed with my Aunt Trudy and Uncle Tommy for most of our trip and they live in Covington, Tennessee which is about 30 minutes from Memphis.  We also stayed one night in Manila Arkansas, so we could visit my Aunt Willie, and then go see my Uncle Jerry and his farm.  We also got to see my cousin Houston while we were there.  So much history lives within the city of Memphis and I feel so blessed to have been able to experience it.  All of the years I dreamed of going to Graceland finally became a reality.  It was such a surreal experience and within my top 3 memories to date.  I miss all of my cousins so much, but it was fantastic to spend time with them and catch up on the years we had missed.  Fingers crossed that cousins Jennifer, Walton and Slappy (Weston) will make it out here this summer.  While they are here I will be missing my Hatcher cousins and of course my cousin Beth Anne Caery.  I really hope they can make it out to California soon...if not I can't wait to go back to Tennessee!!

Fourth of July I spent with my best friend.  He surprised me and came home.  2010 was really hard for us both.  We had only seen each other 2 times all year long.  Fourth of July weekend I also bought my first brand new car.  A 2010 black Ford Focus which I named Dallas....of course :)  We spent July 4th in San Francisco and sat on the beach to watch the fireworks and watched some drunk people dance around in the ocean.  It was quite entertaining...

Hume Lake 2010 - Excusez-Mwa?

This may have been one of my favorite years at Hume Lake.  The cabin Nicole and I had was so fun!  We had such a great group of girls.  We came in 2nd place...again, trailing right behind Niki's team.  This week at Hume challenged the kids more than I've seen any other year.  Our speaker Chris Brown talked all about the self centered world we live in and how important it is to put God first in your life. 

Four Year Strong

Matt Wilson from Set Your Goals

Pierce The Veil

Attack! Attack!

Set Your Goals

Set Your Goals

Warped Tour 2010 was a total blast, but a little hectic because of all of the bands I wanted to see.  Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, All American Rejects, We The Kings, Sum 41, Mayday Parade, Pierce The Veil, Attack! Attack!, and Enter Shikari just to name a few.  I finally got to meet one of my favorite band members of all time, Matt Wilson.  I did however make a complete idiot of myself...typical.  Also met FYS.  They were seriously fantastic guys.  Super sweet and extremely funny.

Gramma Ginna, Aunt Mae, Aunt Loretta, Aunt Trudy, Aunt Willie, Aunt Ora Lee,

Taryn, Me and Papa Jack

I was able to see my aunts Mae, Trudy, Loretta, and Willie this summer when I was in Tennessee, but was lucky enough to see them again later in the year.  It was a very rare thing indeed considering we are lucky if we see them every couple years.  My cousin Dan died from cancer and so my aunts came out to California to be with my Aunt Ora Lee and help her through the grieving process.  It was so nice to see all of the sisters together.  I look up to these women so much.  Their hearts inspire me everyday and are amazing examples of Christ's love.