The past few days have been a lot of fun. Yesterday, I grabbed Skylar and together we pulled out the Christmas stuff from our storage space. After dragging it all into the house, we proceeded to set everything up with some help from the youngersters. After an hour or so, Sky went home, and it wasn’t 10 minutes afterwards that Jack accidentally knocked our tree over. My first ornament from when I was a baby broke, along with on my dad gifted by mom a few years back. It was pretty sad. BUT at least my unicorn ornament survived. Whoo!
(Just to clear any possible confusion…that is not my unicorn ornament. That is just a random ornament that was in the right place at the right time.)
That night, Joe and I went over to Skylar’s and hung out for a few hours. After we watched the rest of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Joe and Gunnar played this NASCAR game that was entirely too boring. Sooo Sky and I just messed around with Harleigh. And then did logic puzzles. It was all cool.
Then, today, we went to the zoo for 4 1/2 hours. By the time we got out of there at 2:30, I was STARVING to DEATH. The restaurant we planned on going to ended up being to expensive, so Mom and Dad decided just to get some meat to smoke themselves(as we were at a BBQ place) and stop somewhere else on the way home. By the overwhelming consensus, we agreed on Sonic.
Also, I must say that Sonic lost some of it’s amazingness in my eyes today as the removed popcorn chicken from the menu. This made me very, very, very, very sad. BUT I still go mozzarella sticks so all was good. And it was food. That was an excellent plus since my stomach had begun eating itself in desperate need of sustenance.
So we finally got home close to 4:30 and gorged ourselves on deliciousness. It was so good…
Anyway.
I got some fun pictures at the zoo today. In case you read the last post about us being at the zoo…
Yeah that picture of the bird didn’t come up. BUT! Worry not. I have one for you right here.
It looks like a Griffin or something. Weird…
Anyway. Here are some other pictures I got.
Right now we are at the zoo. We’ve been here for about two hours and I swear, my stomach is caving in from lack of sustenance, but its been fun! I, of course, brought my new, possibly temporary camera, and have been snapping away. I must say, some of these pictures are awesome. I’ll definitely be sharing them when I get home. But until then, enjoy this picture of a weird bird I stood about 2 feet away from.
WOW. What an awesome Thanksgiving we had this year! Our amazing friends came over once again and we celebrated together in our own crazy fashion. After a depressing mishap that changed our original plans for this year’s turkey day, everything became happy again when Taylor and I managed to scheme and get our two families together. Yay!
So Wednesday night at around 10 o’clock, the Johnsons showed up on our front porch. We hung out until close to one before hitting the sack. Taylor and I woke up early around six the next morning and hung out on the back porch for a while before the kids started getting up around seven thirty. The moms were already up and at’em, preparing food in the kitchen. After that, things just went uphill.
Mom and Mrs. Johnson were in the kitchen constantly, while Mr. Johnson and my dad sat at the table discussing helicoptery things and such, the boys played games, and Taylor and I played card games.
It wasn’t too long until it was time to feast. The food was AMAZING…an outrageously awesome meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry salad, stuffing, homemade rolls, and gravy to top it all off…literally. 
YUM.
After stuffing ourselves as full as we could, we all relaxed and waited a few hours before digging into the pie. Taylor and I purposefully waited until hours after everyone else had had some, hoping to make as much room as possible for the deliciousness.
Sadly enough, I wasn’t able to eat more than a few bites of mom’s amazing pecan pie, but oh well. What I did eat was scrumptious.
On Friday afternoon, we all went to the beach and enjoyed a nice walk in the cool weather. It was really nice, though a bit windy. We had a lot of fun.
Then, after staying up forever late Friday night, Taylor, Wesley and I hung out with all the boys Saturday morning while the parent’s went out to breakfast and did a bit of shopping..
After that, we went to the Gator Park and messed around there for an hour or so. Taylor and Wesley climbed a tree.
Gabe and Taylor kicked a soccer ball around and chased each other around the park while Wesley and I sat down and played a simple game of tag.
And following that, we went to the beach again to get pictures of the family and such.
Wesley and I continued our game of tag while we waited. And for the record, y’all, I’m winning.
Sadly, this morning came the time for them to leave. 
But we had so much fun these past four days…it was a blast.
Overall, it was an amazing Thanksgiving that will not be forgotten. We all had SO much fun! Time went by way too fast, and already we are looking forward to the next time the Johnsons visit, or vice versa. Thanks so much for coming, Johnson clan! That was an amazing holiday! 
I’m eating popcorn right now. It’s heavenly.
Like I’m not even joking. This is the best bag of popcorn I’ve ever eaten.
This is me on January 9th of 2010, almost two years ago. And also my professional photo-bombing friend, Danny.
This is me about 3 hours ago.
Yep there’s just a bit of a difference there. I mean hardly noticeable…
Nope.
I don’t know if you can tell from the pictures, but the entire shape of my face has changed. It’s been a pretty crazy experience, and if you’ve ever read any of my other braces-related posts you’ll know it wasn’t exactly a pleasant one, but still! My teeth are straight and I am happy.
Me in March of 2010
Well…mostly. I have to wear this retainer for a while and it makes me have a lisp at first. Buuuut supposedly I’ll get used to it and will be able to talk normally within a few days. But for now, my parents are getting a good kick out of it.
Me in February of 2011
It felt pretty weird, and I’m still getting used to it. But I’ve been debrace-ified so all is well! Yay!
Hello peeps. I’m not really sure what I’m blogging about. I just had nothing better to do, the internetz is slow, and this blog was calling my name. So…ta-da!
I just finished video chatting with two of my awesome friends, Chaise and Savanah. It’s was pretty awesome. I even got to hear Chaise introduce us to Japanese flavored coffee. Oh yes people. It was pretty awesome.
Like a boss.
I also was likened to Brittany Spears. I found this to be interesting. I did have this headset on because my laptop has decided to be dumb and have it’s mic not work, but I personally thought I more resembled the drive-through lady at McDonalds.
Hmm. I’m trying to decide which is more insulting.
Either way, it was awesome.
Before that, Savanah was sharing awesome videos. And when I say awesome, I mean “OHMYGOSH I ALMOST DIED LAUGHING.”
That kind of awesome.
Right now I’m on the back porch. I’m recalling last week when the Johnsons were visiting and we would sit out here in the freezing wind, discussing everything from The Office to Apple products to movies(yep we’re all kinda geeks). And now I’m sitting here psyched because they’re coming AGAIN next Wednesday for Thanksgiving! Woohoo! We haven’t told the boys yet so the only one I can get excited with is my mom. And oh yes. We got excited.
It’s supposed to be in the 80s while they’re here, which is a guarantee that it will be 20 degrees and raining. Err…snowing.
And probably a tornado.
Yes.
Because that’s just how we do things down here in Florid-ia.
Also, Lucy is already doing a great job at getting into my stuff. She is EVERYWHERE. And if I put her down in my room to play piano or read or anything really, she’s getting into my stuff or eating my carpet or trying to tear up my Spanish notes…that little monster.
Cute as a button.
Wait. That wasn’t very nice. Buttons aren’t cute. So really, that’s insulting.
Cute as a chinchilla. In Spain.
Yes.
And she is already beginning her job as a little sister.
Joy.
Dang she is cute…
So anyway. It’s like 10 o’clock. I Am Number Four is waiting upstairs, along with Inheritance. I’ll probably have to submit to the book’s call and go read them here pretty soon.
‘Sides. There’s nothing much more for me to say.
So.
Bye.
So this past week has been completely awesome.
First off, I’m going through old seasons of The Office lately, so laughter can be heard coming from the spare bedroom, my hang out place, throughout the day.
And then something even more awesome happened.
Johnsons got here! 
Whoo, what a fun weekend we had with our amazing friends, the Johnsons. It had been way too long since we’d last visited, and all of us were so excited to see them again.
We had so much fun! Taylor and I, sometimes joined by Wesley, had epic conversations on the back porch in the freezing wind. Since we don’t have wi-fi ourselves, we spent a lot of time on the porch picking up the base’s local hotel’s internets. It was frigid outside most of the time, but when in good company it’s easy to forget about. Well, almost. Sometimes we just had to go inside. 
On Saturday, I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and after stuffing ourselves with deliciousness, we watched a movie and relaxed. Mom, Mrs. J, and I went to the thrift store, and after returning we chilled for a while before Taylor, Wesley, Joe, and I went to the bookstore, dollar tree, Wal-Mart, and Chic-fil-a. It was awesome. The peppermint milkshakes we got at Chic-fil-a were AMAZING.
And the balloon guy there made us an Iron Man balloon. It was awesome.
Of course, the bookstore was fun. Books always equal awesomeness.
They are gone now. *sniffle* Life has returned to status: boring. We eagerly await the day they return. Or we go there. Either one.
Hopefully it will be very, very soon.
Very.
Because the Johnsons are awesome.
Taylor, me, Skylar, and Wesley over at Skylar's playing the Wii
And that sums up just about all the excitement that happened in the past two weeks or so. The next two weeks are going to be awesome…but information on that will just have to wait. Until next time.
So I haven’t posted a cool post here in a while. I’ve been busy, okay? But shoving all that aside, I thought I’d write something and get y’all all caught up. Sadly this will not include any of my amazing drawings. Okay maybe just one. BUT there will be pictures. Oh yes. There will be pictures.
- We moved. Yes. It’s true. We moved a whole 15 miles away. Onto base. Can I just say that this place is totally AWESOME!? I absolutely love it here! The beach is one street away and I walk there daily. It is SO totally epic.
- Umm…oh! We has friends! There will be pictures below but trust me they are awesome and you should be jealous.
- Some old friends of ours from P’cola are coming to visit in a few weeks and it’s going to be four days of PURE AWESOMENESS. Just saying. There will be s’mores, dutch blitz, movies, and fun involved. And also NASCAR.
- Apparently I need to eat more cotton candy and play with more baby animals.
- I smell fish. And it doesn’t smell good. But it’s from the really cool shells that we brought home from yesterday’s exploration at the beach with our friends down the street so it’s all good.
- We’re going camping next month! YEAH! Our church and another church get together every other year and go camping for Thanksgiving. It is SO much fun and I am uber excited. Sarah, one of my bestest friends, is going and I can’t wait to spend a whole weekend with her. We’re both very outdoorsy and are sure to be found hanging from trees or climbing rocks or throwing dirt at each other or something.
I’m sure there is a lot more going on, but I can’t think of it all right now. So too bad for you.
Something I absolutely must point out right now is that WWZ could be right around the corner and y’all need to be prepared. Make to to visit Taylor’s blog and read about preparing and strategizeing.
Also, I learned yesterday that Skylar, my friend down the street, has some pirate in him. This simply makes him all the more epic.
Annd….Oh! Two weeks ago my bestie, Savanah, stayed here for a whole WEEK with me! It was so much fun! We went exploring around the base and found stuff I never knew was even here, hung out with Skylar and his family, and chilled out at home, being our normal crazy selves. I miss having her here. She did our dishes. Twice. Dang I really miss her. ;P
Nani, Gabe, and Skylar
Nani, me, and Skylar
Me and Skylar, arguing about texting as he texts on my phone with my friend, Taylor
It was pretty darn awesome. Since then, me padre has left for two weeks on the ship, going to fly in formation and blow stuff up to practice for something or other when he goes out to sea next year. You can see how much I know about my Dad’s job. It’s awesome. He gets back on Monday, so perhaps I shall be able to ask more about what exactly it was he was doing then.
Lately Gabe and I have been going to the beach to watch the sunrise with Skylar and sometimes his sister, who is Gabe’s age, Harleigh. There is something indescribably awing about a sunrise as it peaks over the horizon. Gabe and Harleigh will be messing around with shells while Skylar and I doodle in the sand, but we all stop to watch the golden orb rise from the waters. Breathtaking.
Plus, I got this cool picture of Skylar’s shoe next to a bullet shell we found.
Also, look at all these sunglasses and goggles we’ve found on the beach in the last week. Seems crazy huh? Well get this: I took this picture 4 days ago. Since then, 22 more have been added to our collection. That’s a total of 37 sunglasses in the dunes. It’s so awesome.
I just gotta say that I love living here.
I get to walk to the beach and watch the sunrise every morning.
We have friends down the street who we hang out with every day after school. If one of us is missing, we’re probably at the other’s house.
There is an awesome park down the street and we have to go on this path through the woods and it’s pretty much totally awesome.
The neighborhood is awesome. Everything is on base. I can just go down to the mini-mart and get a soda if I want, or walk with Joe down to the Subway to treat him to lunch.
And I just gotta say, I have never felt like I could breathe this good. The air is amazing here. And yesterday Sam and I managed to squeeze in our, most likely, last play-in-the-rain of the year.
I stepped outside about 20 minutes ago and I thought I’d stepped into Antarctica. Okay not really. But it was COOL. Like Dang-I-need-a-jacket-right-now cool. And all of the sudden, too. Today it was in the high 70s or so and then all the sudden BAM it’s cool. I don’t think that we’re going to have anymore days of warmth and rain. The Cold…it’s bound to hit any day. And then there’s no going back. That’s seriously how it works here in Florida. It goes from broiling hot to perfection, which lasts for about 2 or 3 weeks before you wake up one morning and it’s freezing. There’s no warning. No nothing. Just COLD.
It’s sad.
I’m going to miss the warmth.
BUT.
There is nothing better than curling up on the front porch with a blanket, a good book, and a mug of hot tea. Oh yes. Perfection.
And I won’t be missing this.
Because this has been my life for the past 5 months.
So as you can see, I am both dreading and awaiting the cold weather.
I just remembered something. I turn 17 in 3 months. 15 didn’t seem anything. 16 was a fun birthday but I didn’t feel like it was any huge age leap thing. 17 though? 17 just seems WOW. I don’t know why. It just does. That means I’m only 15 months from being 18. And then 3 years and 3 months from being 20. That’s nuts!
Sorry. I digress.
In fact, this may be the ultimate digression because this post is already like a mile long so I should probably stop now.
But.
Just one more picture. I drew it. For you.
So I have six brothers. Six younger brothers. Yes. Six. That’s a lot. And with a lot of boys comes a lot of noise. [Hey that rhymes...] Clanging stick swords, banging of whatever drum set they have made of random objects around the house, plastic guns making their little “click” sounds, and of course all their screeching that goes along with it. Its annoying quite often. But sometimes we just have to sit back and listen…listen to their squeals, their giggles, their noises. For someday they will be gone…and I know life is going to sound awfully quiet.
Cherish each moment.
You see them all the time. Especially if you’re a nurse or doctor or just dressing up for halloween. Or maybe you just like the style and wear them around like a normal outfit. Sorry y’all, but if you do that you are weird. Just sayin…
I’m not sure how many of y’all are nurses or doctors or halloween dresser-uppers or just weird people, but you can buy scrubs over at this place here — http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/
It’s true y’all. You can buy em. I mean, come on. You know you want to. That weird person who likes to wear scrubs just for fun is hiding somewhere down deep inside. I’m not sure why. And it is pretty weird. But yeah.
So yep. Do it.
Guest post from: Kent Lara
What in the world did we do before the internet? When my daughter was born last year I had two options: either quit my job or find a way to work from home so I could take care of her during the day. They weren’t the most attractive options but my boss agreed to let me be here and work remotely and it’s actually worked out really well. I started by looking into Satellite Internet Broadbandfor the house and I set myself up a little home office in the spare bedroom so I’d have a dedicated space to work in. My daughter loves being home with me all day and I’m just happy not to have to put her in day care…I think what my husband likes most is that we didn’t lose my income when we became parents! I thoroughly recommend to each of you to look into the work from home option if it’s something you’re considering…most bosses are more receptive to the idea than you might think they would be in the long run.
