Wordless Wednesday

Remembering the beauty of Sun City, AZ today...

A Beautiful Sunrise!

So, I'm out here at 'the seaside' (:)) and this morning my dad and I got up really early and went to the shore to watch the sun rise! It was so amazing!!! The sun just crept over the shoreline and grew every second! I was snapping pictures like crazy!!! (most of them weren't any good since I was paying more attention to watching the sun rise than get good pictures! ;)) However, I did get a few good ones that I  am going to share with you today! I must say that watching the sunrise has been the highlight of my vacation so far!!! It was magical!!! Praise the Lord!!!! =D

It's starting to come up!

I love the way the clouds were in front of it!!! So beautiful!!

*sigh*

It's about to come out!!!!

There it is!!! It was so amazing to see it slowly creep over the shoreline!!!!! =D

It's getting bigger!

And it's out! And gorgeous! It was so amazing!!! =) I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed watching the sunrise and taking them!! (even though the pictures don't even come close to doing it justice!) 

I hope you have a great rest of your week!! God Bless!!!

Clouds

I know I told you I was going to take a break from blogging, well I only kind of lied, I was going to take a break but I have time today and I took some cool pictures yesterday when we were on the road driving home. I just have to share them with you! 

I really enjoyed taking them and I hope you enjoyed looking at them!!! :) I hope your next couple of weeks are wonderful!!! :) God Bless!

One Does Not Simply....

...refuse a marriage proposal from Mr. Thornton! =) Except Margaret seemed to do it quite well! 

"I do not want to marry to you posses you! I want to marry you because I love you!"

"Well you shouldn't! Because I do not like you and I never have!" 

Loooooove that movie!!!!!!!!!

Here is a link to the song, for my mobile readers! You have to listen to it!! It's amazing!!!! 

23 Things I Love About Melissa

So I haven't posted here in a while... I'm sorry, I've been really busy!! However, today I have something special to tell you because, today is a very special day!!! It's my dear sister Melissa's birthday!!! Yay!!! :) She is such a wonderful person!!! I love her so much!!! She is so patient, sweet and kind! I am so blessed to have her as my sister! So, in her honor, I'm posting a blog post for her! :) Here are my 23 favorite things about her:

1. She is a Christian and strives daily to grow closer to God.

2. She loves gardening and farming! (Because of her hard work and determination (even when we make fun of her) we have lots of delicious things to eat!!)

3. She likes playing music with Michael and I! She often is the one who says "Hey! Let's play this together!" and we always have tons of fun!

4. She buys cute clothes!! (So I can borrow them right? :))

5. She doesn't mind *that* much when I come into her room and just take clothes... :) and never give them back!! :D

6. She likes doing special things for people! 

7. She made me a special drink for me when I wasn't feeling very good!

8. She is really sweet! :) 

9. She likes playing 'big girl' dress up! 

10. She sews really well!! (She always has a HUGE pile of articles (not always clothing) that people have given her to fix!)

11.  She and I can look at things on Pinterest until midnight... and still be ready to keep looking! 

12. She fixed lasagna on Monday night!! 

13. She likes designing things.

14. If she could, she would be an amazing interior designer.

15. She is ambitious!

16. She isn't afraid of hard work.

17. She's sympathetic... when I'm not being pathetic... 

18. She has a servants heart.

19. She's beautiful! :)

20. She's really good with kids!

21. She is such a great teacher!!! 

22.  She likes costuming! 

23. She's my sister!!!!!!! :)

As you can see, Melissa is just wonderful!!!! I love her so much! I have no idea how I would survive if she wasn't around!!! Here is a song that when I asked her what her favorite song was, this is what she said... I think she likes other songs better... but I'll share this one for grins and giggles!!! 

A Beautiful Sunset

Last night I was sitting in my room reading when I looked out the window and saw a gorgeous sunset! I went down and got the camera out and took a picture. As usual it didn't look as beautiful in the picture as it did in real life, but it was still pretty!

So then I went inside and did a few things and about five minutes later I looked out the window and saw this:

It was so beautiful!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!  

"Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever!" Psalm 111:2-3

An Epic Battle

Tonight there was a battle in the kitchen. I stood there and faced my enemy, it sneered back at me. I made the first move, we struggled while I stood and eventually we fell to the ground and yet I still did not win. Sitting would just not do. I rolled on the floor and my enemy still did not give. He refuse to budge. Finally I set him upon the counter and said "my timer is going off on ten minutes. I don't have time for this." he only smiled in reply. Bracing myself I entered into the battle with all my might, grunting and protesting all the while. Finally my hands couldn't take it anymore. I needed an ally fast, Michael wasn't here, what else could I use to help me? In a flash it came to me. Mr. Green Grippy Thing. I pulled Mr. Green Grippy Thing out of his place in the drawer and he did his job. My enemy was defeated.

And what did I learn from tonight's battle? Caramel Sauce Jar > Julia.

Thunderstorms!!

Thunderstorms are so cool!! It is so amazing to see them roll in and then hear the thunder and see the lightning! I love thunderstorms!!!! If I was allowed to stand outside the whole time I would, but Mom and 

Dad (wisely) make me come in after it starts raining. There's just something about the wind whipping my skirt and my hair as I stand there watching the clouds roll angrily across the sky! Everything about it makes my spine tingle and excitement build up inside of me! Last summer an incredible storm blew in while I was fixing lunch, my nieces were questioning my sanity! It was soo cool!!!

Guess who took this awesome picture? You guessed it, I did!! :) Haha! I'm getting excited all over again just looking at it!!! It's so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I don't have a song for today, but I do still have a recipe and a song for later this week for you all!!! :) That is, if I get to writing them! Sometime, I'm gonna get you a post that doesn't have any exclamation points, just to prove someone wrong! ;)

The Hobbit

I spent my entire afternoon watching a movie with some awesome friends I've met in the past year or so. I really enjoyed it and I am so glad we were finally able to get it worked out. It was quite an adventure scheduling it, but it was worth every facepalm. We watched The Hobbit, and it was wonderful! I think everyone who was there enjoyed some part of it! Anyway, I've been super tired and had a headache all day since, but what else does watching a three hour movie do to me??? I think I can feel my brain cells dying.... I hope we can do something like this again when the nest Hobbit movie comes out!! And then the next one too!!! Well, to finish off this really short post here is the soundtrack for The Hobbit, which is amazing to put it simply. I need to own this soon. :D

Spring!!!

I feel spring in the air!! (I know there is a 'chance' of snow on Monday, but we're just gonna forget about that!) The sky is blue! The sun is shining!!! It is a GOOD day!!! And some day soon it's gonna be really warm and nice outside, and we can wear cute spring and summer dresses and go barefoot and just have a blast!!!! (Not saying that I don't like snow, or winter or anything like that, I just love variety!) 

There are some very springy pictures!! Today was even such a beautiful day!! I went walking (without a jacket!!) and Melissa worked in the garden!! Hooray!! Maybe, just maybe, spring is upon us!!! Now, here is a very appropriate song for today! Beethoven's 'Spring' Sonata for Violin and Piano first movement. 

ARIZONA!!!!!!!!!

Yep! You read that right!!! I am blogging about my awesome trip to Arizona!!! Sunshine!! Blue skies!!! And MOUNTAINS!!! I loved my trip... in case you couldn't tell.... :P

The sunset from my grandparents driveway!

Do you see that sky? We saw that every day! It was beautiful!! (Also note the paved road and sidewalks!! It was like heaven!!!!!)

Where we walked to everyday!! 

I love the American flag in this picture!

I always thought of a wonderful quote when we were taking our fill of these mountains, it's from the amazing book "Pride and Prejudice", "What are men to rocks and mountains?" And I wholeheartedly agree!!!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures... I only put a few up... we really didn't take all that many, but there were a bunch that I decided all looked exactly the same! It's because the mountains were so beautiful I couldn't stop taking pictures of them!!!!

Our trip there was nice! We celebrated my Grandpa's birthday even though it isn't until this week. A few weeks ago all of us 'kids' here made a cd of random (semi random) pieces, songs, and hymns for him and we gave him that cd and a cd player for his birthday! I think he really enjoyed it!!! I made a cake for him too, but that doesn't surprise anybody!! :) Grandpa and Grandma were intrigued with how I would get on my computer sometimes and other people would be on their computers and we would do things like the Gmail chat. Grandma just couldn't understand why we didn't just call each other! I guess I introduced them to some new technology!!! I wonder what they would think of texting... ;) All in all it was a wonderful trip!!! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I was there! I'm glad to be back home though, even the most wonderful vacations can't last forever!!! :)  (It could be a little nicer here though!!! I mean really, snow? What is this?!?!) Well, I need to move on with my day, so here is something that I've been listening to lately... 

my life is awesome

The title says it all!!!! My life is awesome!!! I got to perform "The Planets" this afternoon! I got to see my friends, and eat pizza from PizzaHut (thank you to the wonderful people that paid!!! I really enjoyed it!!) (and the pizza was amazing!! It's been so long since I've had PizzaHut pizza!) I also got to wear a beautiful black dress altered by my wonderful sister Melissa, who also did my hair! (and according to Rilla Blythe, it's always easier to be good if your clothes are nice! :))  Performing "The Planets" was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life, there were so many 'moments' that happened to me when we were playing it. One was in Mars, at the end, I felt like I'd just fought a big battle and I was exhausted, which is exactly how it's supposed to sound! I think Mars was the best that we'd ever played it today!!! Another memorable moment was in Saturn at the part when the Clarinets come in, it's so beautifully heartbreaking!!! The final moment was when I realized that we only had four measures left of the whole thing! It was a very interesting moment, full of excitement and sadness. I was so happy that we made it through the movements that we were playing, but I also realized that depending on what I do with my life, this might be the last time I ever get to play these notes in an orchestra setting. I've spent my evening half tired, half depressed because that part of my life is over. However, a new chapter is opening tomorrow with this piece:

That's right! We are going to play "Rodeo" by Copland!!!! I'm super excited!!! I can not stop listening to it since I got home!!!!! I'll be sure to let everyone know how much I love it tomorrow after our first rehearsal! Speaking of, we get to sight read Copland, and eat pizza, and play Dutch Blitz!! Does life get any better than that?!?! 

So there you have it, the reasons why my life is so awesome right now! :) 

Only the Beginning of an Adventure

This is a song from the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe soundtrack. It's such a beautiful song! It brings such a variety of images to my mind. Of course I think scenes and aspects from the movie, but I also think of other things. First things first, here's the song:

Here is visually what I think of when I listen to this song:

What do you 'see' when you hear this song???

I love how it feels like the song takes you somewhere, you go on an adventure in the song itself! Yet, it is just the beginning of the adventure, where will it take you next? 

The Phantom of the Opera

I don't even know where to begin with this post.  I could start with when I first remember Michael getting the music book from the library, or the first time I remember listening to the  first time.  Or when we bought the book for Michael, and playing and singing it with him.  According to Michael, it all started when I had to sing a solo song in a Christmas play that we did. We borrowed a cd that had the song that I was singing on it, but it also had a Phantom of the Opera song on it there. Because we heard the song on there we got the cd and the music book from the library.  However, this is one amazing musical written by Andrew Lloyd Weber.  Listening to it when you are home alone is just a recipe for singing as loudly and beautifully as you can!!  (and of course I sound just wonderful when I sing it!!!! :)) I don't even know what is my favorite song from the musical!!! They are all so good!!!  I'll just mention a few of my favorites.... ;)

"Think of me"
I love this song! It's so sweet and simple!! I love it when Michael plays it on the piano and Melissa and I can sing with him!!! So many good memories!!! :)  "Think of me, please say you'll think of me, whatever else you choose to do, there will never be a day when I won't think of you!!!" 

"Notes/Prima Donna"
I like the beginning, when everyone is confused about who is writing all the notes!!! (Firmin "...and what is it that we're meant to have wrote...  written."  But the best part of this song is when Prima Donna starts. It's such a flowing melody, and the way the parts are written on top of each other is just ingenious!!! 

"All I Ask Of You"
This song speaks for itself... just go listen to it! :)

"Masquerade" 
The coolest part in this song is in the middle when the orchestra has a part. It's like the Sibelius Violin concerto 1st movement!!! So amazing!

"Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again"
This is the most heartbreaking song in the musical!!! I could never sing this in the musical without crying!! I can hardly listen to it without crying!!!!  

Well, that's all for now! I could say a lot more, but I'm tired and I should be getting off the computer now!!! :) I hope you enjoy!!!

And I'll leave you with the wonderful Entr'act!!! 

An Amazing Weekend

Today I am having to adjust from a pure awesome weekend, into a 'normal' week. (Normal is relative) We had our best friend family over for the weekend! It was quite a bit of fun!!! We always seem to have fun when we get together! They arrived on Friday night really early!! I don't think they've gotten here this early before, it was 11 pm when they arrived!!!! So therefore we had a whole 2 hours to talk before we fell asleep!! ;) On Saturday we played many games (Scum, Dutch Blitz, Shanghai, mafia, Slap and Scream, and Guesstures.), I of course won most of them!!! ;) Actually, the only ones I really lost were Scum and Slap and Scream.  Anyway, I think the highlight of the Saturday was when we learned "The Last Dance" from Emma!! It was so cool to learn another dance, especially that one! We are quite good at it, if I dare say so myself. On Sunday we went to church, of course, and then we invited another family over! It was not originally planned to invite them but it worked out quite well!!! Everyone had fun!! We played Dutch Blitz with teams, and I must say that when you have eight people trying to play cards in Dutch Blitz things can get quite interesting!!! :) All in all, it was an amazing weekend! I was very sad and exhausted after everyone left. However, Michael and I were bored so we invented Michael's Favorite Game 2.0!!! We can't wait to share it with all of our friends!!!! :) Anyway, I must leave you now, so I will share with you the song we danced to!

Dreams

Everyone has a dream, we learned this in Tangled. :) But of course everyone's dreams are different. My dream is very special, it has some of these things in it:

Playing/teaching violin

Living in Colorado

Maybe getting married???

Well, that's all for today!!! :) Have a great week! (despite all this rain!!) 

Some interesting thoughts

While we were in Arizona visiting my grandparents last summer, we read Psalm 128. Which reads as follows:

Psalm 128

A song of ascents.

1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD,

who walk in his way.

2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;

 blessings and prosperity will be yours.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your sons will be like olive shoots 

around your table.

4 Thus is man blessed

 who fears the LORD.

5 May the LORD bless you from Zion 

all the days of your life; 

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

6 and may you live to see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel. 

After we finished reading it and we were discussing it, my grandma talked about the olive trees that grow in Arizona. She was talking about the olive shoots mentioned in verse three. The shoots kind of grow up around the trunk of the tree and are like a little bush growing there. Here is a picture of what she and the verse were talking about:

You can see that there is a nice little bush growing under that tree, (that's what I thought until Grandma told me I was wrong. :P) Actually that little bush is all of the olive shoots coming off the tree! They have trimmed them and kept them looking nice but you get the idea. When it says your sons will be like olive shoots, it means a LOT of sons!! I just thought that was a really interesting thing I never knew, until last summer! I hope you find it thought provoking too!

I'm going to leave you tonight with a wonderful song sung by Selah, O The Deep Deep Love of Jesus!!! 

Wanderlust

I've been feeling this great desire lately to go somewhere, and today I want to to go Ireland! It's so green and beautiful there with rolling hills and amazing views! I love countries over there because they have such old and interesting histories! You don't come across an old castle built in the 1300s in America!!!! But you do in Europe!!!! 

Just look at that!!!!!

It's just so beautiful!! 

I just want to stand on the edge and stare out at the water!

It's amazing, shall I say it's epic? :)

It's so beautiful!!!! I really hope that someday I can go there!!!

I'm dreaming today...

Today I'm dreaming of mountains. I've always loved mountains and have wanted to live in them for a few years now. They are just so big and majestic!!!! They make you realize how small you really are and how great and powerful God is! 

Isn't it just beautiful???

Breathtaking!!!!!

I want to go there!

"How Majestic is Your Name Oh LORD in all the Earth!" 

Anyway, I just love mountains and I wish I was there! :) 

An Afternoon Visit

On Saturday while Mom and I were making pizza, my brother came downstairs and said "Look out the window!"  I looked up and this is what greeted my eyes:

Cool right? I know, it was amazing! We all went out and it got really close to our house and I got some really good pictures!! It was so cool to see it so close!

(I told you I got some really good pictures ;)) It was beautiful, and as my mom said "If you are going to have a hot air balloon, it might as well be bright!" :)