balloon fiesta '12

Last Wednesday, my family and I went to the ABQ balloon fiesta!  We weren't able to go last year, so I was so excited to go this year!  Hope you enjoy the pics. :)

* credit for all the pictures goes to Rachel

 That's my college's balloon in the bottom right!

apple picking

Last weekend my family and I went to visit my grandparents.  They own a cattle ranch, and we had a great time hanging out in the pastures.  There's a ton of pics; I couldn't choose! :)

*credit for most of the pics goes to Rachel

On our way to Ruidoso we came upon an abandoned building that we decided to get out and look around.

On Sunday we went to the church my grandparents normally go to.  As Ruidoso is surrounded by farms and ranches, it was kind of a cowboy church--called the J Bar J.  Rachel, Ellie, and I were by far the youngest people there.  We got called out, by the worship leader/pastor, during worship, because we were "young and beautiful and lowered the average age of the church by about 30 years."  And then a lady asked if Rachel--my twin sister--and Ellie--my 16-year-old sister--were "mine".  When I told her no she said she didn't think I looked "quite old enough."  Gosh, thanks.

We got to go apple picking at the orchard that my grandparents own.  I had such a good time just hanging out with my family, and now we have probably a hundred apples to eat!

Chloe got a slingshot, so Daddy had to show her how to use it.

weekdate #016

1. All day Tuesday I crammed for my anthropology midterm.  I finally finished around 10 PM.

2. Wednesday morning I went for my second day of classroom observation.

3. Then, Wednesday afternoon, I went for my midterm.  I think I did pretty good.  I felt I could have been a bit more prepared, but at least it's over with!

4. Then, Wednesday afternoon, Rachel and I were rear ended for the first time.  There's no damage to our car or anything, but it shook us both up a bit.

5. Thursday, I spent all day doing classroom observation because I'm a bit behind on my hours.  I was able to observe the math and social studies part of the kids' schooling, which I hadn't been able to see before.

6. On Friday Rachel, my mom, and I went to register for our passports.  Rachel and I are planning on going to Mexico for a weekend in November, so we needed to have our passports ready.  It took forever, but at least it's over with now.

7. Saturday morning, my whole family and I left to go visit my grandparents in Ruidoso.  We spent the weekend with them and came back Sunday night.  Hopefully I'll have a post with more pictures and stories up either tonight or tomorrow.

20 random posts : : what do people misunderstand most about you? + describe your personality

This is number 6 and 7 in my 20 random posts series.  I couldn't write enough about the first one, so I just decided to combine these two.

I've been thinking about posting this all week, but to be honest...I was stumped.  I mean, it's not like people just come up to me all the time and freely express what they don't understand about me.  I'm kind of glad about that, actually. :)

Anyway, I finally came up with something that I think most people don't know about me.  It's not really the same as don't understand, but really, how am I supposed to know that?  I think most people don't know that I have a temper.  I usually hide it pretty well, but sometimes I just get really angry.

~*~

That was so short.  Sorry. :) I just couldn't think of anything.  Anyway, number 7 is "describe your personality".  So here goes.

I'm generally pretty quiet, and I like to keep to myself.  If I feel like I need to express someone, I'll usually either talk to my sisters, or write about it.  I'm pretty empathetic--I cry when other people cry, I feel happy when they're happy, etc.

I am very happy.  My personality is such that I'm just generally a really happy, optimistic person.  I can see a silver lining in just about anything.  I smile and laugh a lot.

I bond really easily with certain people.  I also really bond to my pets--I love my turtle, my fish, my cat, and my dog.  I feel kind of sad when I find myself talking to my beta fish sometimes.

~*~

And here's a nice picture because I just felt like this post was incredibly boring.  Sorry. :)

weekdate #015

1. This week was pretty exciting!  First off, on Wednesday I had my first day of classroom observation!  I'm going to an elementary school just a few minutes away from my house, and am with a second grade class.  I had such a great time!  The teacher I'm with is amazing, and not only was I able to watch, I was also able to help some of the kids with a reading assignment.  It was such a blessing; I can't wait to see what happens over the rest of the semester!

2. Also for my intro to teaching class, this week I had to write a paper about my experiences in school: the good, the bad, etc.  I only had three years to glean from--first through third grade--but I really enjoyed writing the paper.  I wrote about a lot of memories from those years that I want to remember for years to come, and it's nice to have that preserved now.

3. On Friday, I left for Inlow with Rachel, Morgan, and the rest of the BSU group I've been attending for my first BSU conference and retreat!  The speaker was Jeff Lewis, and I so enjoyed hearing from him.  Through his teaching he reminded me of my identity in Christ, and how precious that is!



4. While on the retreat, I was introduced to this song by the David Crowder Band.  It's called "After All (Holy)", and I absolutely love it.  I've been playing it on my guitar ever since we got home. :)

5. Today and tomorrow I am in midterm mode!  Huge, nasty, wretched anthropology midterm, here I come! :D

6. I can't believe it's already October!  I love it though--autumn's my favorite season. :)

"The love of Christ compels us"

2 Cor. 5:14 NKJV