{Outide} It's Spring to Me!

Now that spring is really almost over (hello 80o on the forecast!) I've decided to post what speaks "Spring" to me. (I stay on top of things like that!)

Floods...
Our house is safe, we are safe. Our orchard seems to live, our goats have only been wet once. So floods, for us, are just fun. There's some sort of excitement that comes from waking up to the water rushing through your orchard and across the road. When you walk through the woods after it dries out a little bit, you can see the "waterline" of debri stuck on the branches above your head. Once upon a time, my innocent self was splashing in waist-deep, murky puddles when my older brother (not so innocently) led me to believe pythons lived in that kind of water. (Of course I believed him! I'd watched Swiss Family Robinson! And I was little! And he was my older brother!)

Blooming...
everything! Everything is blooming. In my opinion, things don't look as pretty in the summer. Plants look hot and dry. But in the spring, there's colors everywhere and all my favorite flowers are blooming.

Graduation...
These last three years, April and May have brought what we dubbed "graduation season". All the fun senior cards are hanging on the refrigerator, and there's parties all the time. And CHIEF graduation, which is pretty fun because it's all your friends in one place together!

Shorts...
Hand me winter any day and I'll take it with a smile, I might even give you a hug. But that first time I put on shorts? I'm a happy camper!

That's what I've got for now. If you wanted to just skip all that, what I said was I like Spring. :)

{Now} Around Me

I'm sitting at the computer, and behind me I hear two closer-to-big-than-little boys and one definitely-little boy stirring the boxes of legos and conversing over their projects and plans. "What should I do wiff aww of dees?" Then stir, stir, rummage. "This looks like the perfect ding for my spaceship." "Here, let me see it, you just put it on the back." They're sitting in a row, in lego building heaven.

I hear one definitely-little boy humming the Star Wars theme song, and one even-littler girl humming a tune only she knows as she clicks her spoon against a plate and watches the big boys play.

I hear one girl moving chairs and sweeping...the dust pan thumping against the floor. The little girl watches and says "You're reawy big, and I little!"

There's a momentary lull in the lego stirring and the littlest says "now can I have gum? I done with my snack!" then there's some quiet humming again.

"Abbbii!" mom says... "I tomin'!" is the reply. "Tan I get a dwink?" then the littlest reaches above her head to set the water bottle on the counter...and back to the "hm-hm-hm-hmm" of her humming.

Little feet and hair bouncing as the smallest girl with the hint of red hair goes from room to room, munching on her gum.

Then she walks over beside me and questions, "oo you wanna tee in my mouth?" (what exactly are you supposed to say to that query?)

More lego stirring, more hair bouncing, then the little face again questioning "where's your mom?" and the random, "can I see your dresses? I have pants! And I has a fwower shirt!"

Then one of the bigger boys says, "hey mom, I built the Spirit of Saint Louis and Toothless!" Then an eruption of voices talking over each other comparing movies owned and watched.

"Is that your brudder?  I just has one brudder and daddy and mommy." Then (my heart melts here) "I want to sit with oo." (Like I'm going to say no to that face!) We peruse pictures of the much loved kitty although the real life thing sits on the couch behind us, the pictures are pretty exciting.

The gang thunders up the stairs in one long procession as my mom says "alright, I need everybody upstairs"! I can hear the muffled sounds of doors and talk. Then more lego rummaging.

{Movies} The Hobbit (s)

I finally watched the final Hobbit last night. So it's now time for me to gather together my thoughts in an unorganized manner and share them.



First of all, I'm pretty attached to the book. We listened to it for the first time when I was about nine. We usually listened while we cleaned...and it was a TAPE :) I was excited for the movie.

When I heard it was going to be in three parts...I became very skeptical. Three parts? How are you going to turn that story into three parts? Are you going to ADD to the story?

Yes, you are.

I know a lot of what goes on comes from Tolkien's other works (I've never read all of the Silmarillion or the Children of Hurin). But the movie is called The HOBBIT, and I wanted it to be like The Hobbit.

Oh, well. The added story line didn't bother me that much. Except Taurie. Wasn't too fond of her. When I listened to the book as a pretty young girl I cried when Fili and Kili died, just because they died with their king, protecting their uncle. I didn't need there to be a girl in there. Was it sweet? Yes. Did I like it? No. (What happened to Tauriel, anyway? Did she just go back to the woodland realm?)

But moving on. There's two things I really didn't like about the Hobbit movies. (Then I'll tell you what I did like!) For starters, I felt like it was very slow. The last one was better, definitely. But to me, the first and second ones were very slow. I actually fell asleep watching the second movie. I have never fallen asleep watching a movie for the first time, but that one did it. The second thing I did not like was the style of the movie. By that, I mean how bright and (dare I say) fake looking it was. I know, I know, it's Middle Earth, and it's not real. But the movies were SO bright and fantastic (the river scene with the dwarves, when Bard rolled the cart down the city street over his children). Some of the colors were just a little too much for me as well, like Legolas' eyes.

But, c'mon, it's a movie! I definitely like parts of it. When the dwarves sang in Bag End. Yes, just YES! I loved that! And when Billy Boyd sang at the end. That was pretty great too (*shivers* I like his voice!) I loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo. And I loved all the first part with the dwarves in Bag End. I also liked all the reconciliations between Thorin and the company at the end.

Now, you should obviously listen to this song. Don't blame me if you cry. It's a bit sad. Good sad, and beautiful!

{Imaginings} My Colorado Adventure

I have lived in Kansas for 16 years, but I have never been to Colorado. I am one state away from it, but I have never been there. My family's not huge vacationers, so to see Colorado, I think I will need to go there myself.

I was talking about this with some friends and we decided to go on an unplanned trip to Colorado...someday. (Fine, it probably won't ever happen, that's why this is called "imaginings" not "real life happenings". But it's a fun fantasy). So here's what my Colorado adventure will look like...at least how I imagine it, with the help of pinterest. :)

(Note: This has nothing to do with geography or logic. It's based on "that looks cool! I want to do it!: :)

First of all, I think I'll study this handy little guide. I'm pretty brushed up on bear safety... but I may need to work on the mountain lion bit :)



Camping could definitely be a good option, if nothing else worked out. I did some camping in Alaska last summer, and I liked most of it. But it wasn't exactly my favorite. I think it was harder than some camping because we moved around everyday. Riding in the RV wasn't my favorite. But hanging out at a place like this would be ok:


But I found an option I would prefer. It looks practical, and easy...and fast. I can sleep anywhere, so it shouldn't be a challenge:


Now, what will I be doing while I'm in Colorado? I think there would be a lot of hiking. I love hiking.
This place looks promising (maybe a little busy, but still interesting):


I think this looks like it has potential as well:


The other thing I would like to do is some more kayaking. This picture looks great. And I even have a yellow kayak. So if I stare at it long enough, I can imagine it's me sitting on the Colorado river:


Now what are the problems with my little plan? Well, for starters, I'm a little young. I think I probably need to be an adult/have an adult with me. Secondly, I am terrible at geography. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even make it out of Kansas without getting lost. Third, I'd fall asleep in the car. Which I've heard is a big problem. There's some other big things I'll need to work out before I take my little adventure. :)

Thank you pinterest for all the pictures.

{Life} I Can Feel the End

Guys, I can feel the end of school work! It is so close, and I am so excited. It will be spectacular to have no more deadlines! But, the end of school work also means I have new decisions to make.

So, what's my plan for this summer? I have three things that are very important to me...and after that, I think I'll goof off!

-CNA class. I want to take a CNA class this summer for two reasons. First, because it opens up a whole bunch of job opportunities. Second, to see if nursing is a direction I could go and enjoy. I don't want to do something that I know I will hate. So, CNA class.

-Get a job. I plan to apply at Varsity Donuts, Paradise Donuts, all the Radinas, People's Grocery...I think those are the big ones. Possibly the library. If all of the above fail? I will be doing some serious reconsidering!

-Take ASL 2. Everyone has heard about my new found love for sign language. There is going to be an ASL 2 class at HCC this summer, so I'm hoping to continue with my little sign language adventure and take that! However, (I kinda hate to say this) taking a CNA class is more of a top priority for me.

Now, let's do what I would like to be doing:

-Going to Alaska. Don't make me think about it. I can't believe I'm passing up an opportunity to go. I mean, what am I thinking? *tears*

-I would love to see Colorado. I'm just one state away, but I have never seen Colorado. So, I'd go to Colorado and hike. Which sounds boring, but I really don't think it would be.


Happy almost summer!

{Recently} Things I Have Loved This Week

And by week, I mean an uncertain amount of time. But mostly recently.

Last night we went on a little hiking adventure with some church friends. By "some" I mean "25". Anyway, we got a little more than we bargained for. Lost kids (who didn't think they were lost), lost adults (who weren't actually lost), dead cell phones (which aren't very useful), and running through the woods in the dark (easier than I thought it would be)! Everyone was safe. We're still not sure how it all happened. But I really, really loved it!

Running with Tyler. During the above mentioned adventure, Tyler and I started running. I had not planned on running (neither had he) but once we got started he was determined to finish. And I wasn't too keen on letting him go without me OR being left in the woods by myself. We got lost. We ran for an hour. It was great. I think he's just a little bit sore today ;)

I also got to run the same above mentioned trail with Avery. Yes, I have been on that trail once a week for the past three weeks. I really, really love the terrain.

Superhero birthday party. Just to be clear, I did the most boring thing I could think of-I just wore a superhero shirt. But everyone else wasn't as boring, so it was great! Hide-n-go-seek with a bunch of people in a small place was pretty entertaining! :) (And there was ice cream. I LIKKE ice cream!)

I got to watch Cinderella in the theater. It was very cute, and very similar to the cartoon version. One change they made that I kinda liked was how "Ella" felt about her hardships. Her motto was "have courage and be kind" so she was very content with her circumstances, even when she was treated badly.

Can we just talk about spring break (even though that was 2 weeks ago)? Cause, man it was spectacular. See, I'm homeschooled, so I did school, but my classes had a break. It was the "best day ever!" But now I'll make a confession- I went to bed before 9 every night. I'm not kidding. I was so ahead on sleep, I would wake up before my alarm clock and just watch it ready to jump up when it went off. Trust me, I'm not always that much of a morning person. EVER.

That's some of the high-points of my week. :)

{Movies} Death Comes to Pemberley

I mentioned this mini-series as on the top of my "to-watch" list. My mom was my movie watching partner. It's three episodes long. We were going to watch just one episode.

When we finished the second one, we decided at that point we may as well just finish it.

At midnight it was finally over. Now I will share my two cents. I'll try NOT to have any spoilers.



This story is set post- Pride and Prejudice, the day before Pemberley's famous and annual Lady Anne ball. Pemberley is in a bit of chaos in preparation. Suddenly in the evening, there is a death in the Pemberlely woods. The movie tells the story of the death and its affect on the Pemberley household.

Let's start with what I considered to be the cons:
It was dark. Kinda a creepy Jane Eyre feel to it. It's a mystery story. I don't really love mysteries.

Colonel Fitzwilliam. I won't tell you all of it, but his character was not the same cheery, jaunty Colonel in Pride and Prejudice. I missed the happy-go-lucky Colonel.

There was a few really scary parts. Scary in my opinion. Seriously, I was afraid one part in the woods would give me nightmares.

Unfortunately, the actors were not the same. I'm partial to the old actors. I did get used to the new ones, but some of them just weren't quite right. I wasn't really in love with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, but I liked Jane, Wickham, and Georgiana.

Let's move to the pros (in my opinion)
More Pride and Prejudice, guys. Most of the characters kept their personalities really well. It was fun. I always want to know more about the characters after the book is over! This handed me three more hours of the Darcys and Bennetts. Thank you, BBC.

The story wasn't bad, I just so happen to not really like mysteries.

It had some good themes. Especially, I thought, between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. (although there was also a questionable seen. Just so ya' know)

(Okay, I've watched it, I'm writing a blog about it, and I JUST NOW learned it's a book. I didn't read the book, didn't even know it existed. But there ya' go!)



THIS IS A POTENTIAL SPOILER:

When you see that lady ^ you may just want to close your eyes and leave the room. ;)