Today I feel like embarrassing Ali, because that's what sisters are for, right?

I found this on Facebook a while back.

Hehe... I love you, Ali. :)

This is where I've been putting my dorm stuff.  Considering I still have about six weeks before I move out, perhaps I should find a different spot.  What do you think?

When I go to college, not only will I eat in the cafeteria, but I'll also have a kitchen to share with a few other girls.  I went ahead and bought a few things I'll need ahead of time.  Here's what I chose to purchase.  I'll be sure to share links and prices with everyone.

I'm a smoothie fanatic.  I love ice cream, fro-yo, and pretty much anything cold and sweet, so smoothies are also something I love.  At my house, we have a giant blender and we make fruit smoothies all the time.  Since I do NOT want to gain the typical "freshman fifteen," fruit smoothies will be a healthy snack while I'm at college.

Obviously, I needed a small, easy to store blender.  At Kohl's, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond, the prices seemed to be fairly identical.  Bed Bath & Beyond was perhaps the most expensive.  The neatest-looking blender I saw was called the Magic Bullet.  It was little and snazzy and came with several different portable cups that you could carry around with your smoothie.  Perfect, right?  Unfortunately, wherever I went, it was priced from $50-65... wayyy out of my college student price range.  I also found a tiny blender for $15.99, but it looked too poorly made to even work right.

I decided to go with the Oster Personal Blender.  I found it at Target for $29.99.  You can get it here for the same price.  What I love about this blender is that it becomes a water bottle with a lid and everything so you can make your smoothie and take it with you wherever you go.  The perfect breakfast.  The Oster blender comes in several different colors, but the light blue was my personal favorite.  Super cute.  I love this and cannot wait to use it all the time in college.

I found a great deal on a kitchen set at Target.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the set on the Target website, but I'm sure you can find something very similar at the store.  For about $19.99, I got a thirty piece set of all sorts of cooking utensils, while I was looking at individual utensils for a few dollars each.

Even better, all of these utensils come in black and white, my favorite colors!  Yes, you can get adorable lime green and bright pink rubber utensils from Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, but this set is only twenty dollars and it comes with SO much.  See the list for yourself.  If you're moving or need to replace some of your kitchen utensils, this may be a great find.

Finally, I'd like to share how much I love making quesadillas.  I love Mexican food.  (You can tell I live in Texas, can't you?)  I can make quesadillas with veggies, chicken, and a couple of tortillas.  They're a frequent quick lunch at my house.  I use a George Foreman Grill, but I couldn't afford one of those to take to college.  I instead found something aimed more specifically at making quesadillas. 

I found the El Paso Chile Company Quesadilla Maker at both Bed Bath & Beyond and Target.  At Bed Bath & Beyond, it was $19.99.  At Target, it was $17.99.  It's about half the size or less of the George Foreman, which is nice for my small living space, and it's a bright and cheery red color.  You can find it online here.

These were my finds.  I recommend all three items.  Enjoy your smoothies and quesadillas. ;)

Today I'd like to talk about bedding.  Thankfully, I was able to fulfill most of this kind of shopping at the very beginning of my senior year. 

It started when my mom and I were discussing how I'd like to decorate my dorm room.  "Black and white," I said, like always.  "Those are my favorite colors.  I'd really like a black and white comforter." 

Mom chuckled and said, "Emily, they're only going to have a few basic prints to choose from.  The options for dorm beds aren't going to be that cute."  In fact, to emphasize her point, she took me to Bed Bath & Beyond so we could look at the available options.  One of the first bed sets we found for a dorm was black and white print!  I was so excited.  Even better, it was early September, so all of the dorm sets were about 50-70% off.  Nice, right?  We were able to purchase my bedding for around $70. 

Unfortunately this means that I can't still find the bed set on the Bed Bath & Beyond website.  (Although I did find a matching shower curtain.) However, I was at the store today and saw the same Twin/Twin XL bedding for $109, so they still may be in some stores.

I love black and white.  (Thanks, Mom, for the photography.)

For a better glimpse at what the design looks like, here's one of the decorative pillows included.

My favorite part about the bedding is its sturdiness.  I've nearly reconsidered and purchased other black and white bedsets over the last several months (because there are actually TONS of different styles), but I keep turning back to my original choice.  The comforter is sturdy and thick, which I need since I'm so cold-natured.  It also comes with several neat features. 

Let me share an interesting tale with you.  On the outside of the bag, it says:

Notice that last point.  A free tote bag.  "How fun!" I thought to myself and then proceeded to examine the picture available of the bed set.  At the foot of the bed was a matching bag.  At that, my heart swooned.  "This must be the free tote!" I thought to myself.  "How adorable!"

Wellllllll, the bag in the set isn't exactly the same as the bag in the picture.

But no worries.  I definitely did NOT buy the bed set for a bag.

Today I purchased a twin sheet set from Bed Bath & Beyond.  The sheets are VERY soft and only $24.99, which was better than much of what I saw in Kohl's and Target.  There was a sample sheet out and I couldn't stop touching the soft material.  I forgot to take a picture with my real camera, so I thought I'd take a quick webcam shot.  Check out the sheet set here.  I chose black because it would match, but there were several different colors available.

I also got a mattress pad, which is highly recommended for dorm beds.  This one was only $11.99 at Kohl's.  Online it's $14.99, as you can see here, but if you go to the actual store, they'll have sales consistently throughout the week.  (Random note, but I look much younger than eighteen in this picture, don't I?)

So yes, today was filled with shopping for the remainder of my bedding.  I thought it was quite successful, if I do say so myself.  I don't think I'll need to purchase anything else for my bed unless I'll want to grab an egg crate to make my bed extra comfortable.

Oh yeah.

At the end of my dorm room shopping trip, I may have found something a little... extra. 

Today I'd like to talk about towels.  Wow, right?  This sounds like a strange thing to discuss, but today I've looked at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Kohl's, and I found very different prices at each place.

I happen to be very particular about my towels.  They have to be a certain size or they won't work for me.  If they're too small, I can't do "the wrap."  Reference the webcam shot I literally took a few seconds ago to display what I'm talking about.  (I don't know if you can tell, but I'm completely dry here.)  If I can't hold my hair in a wrap like so, then I won't use the towel.  I'm quite picky. 

I was given two towels for graduation and they both happened to be great sizes for my hair-wrapping needs.  Whew!  For those of you who are still looking for gifts to give to a new graduate, towels are a great idea.  They can be fairly inexpensive and they're very much needed.  Today I bought two more towels, so I will bring four to college in total.

I bought both new towels at Target for $4.99 each.  They're very, very soft, which was what drew me to them in the first place.  They're also big enough to suit my needs.  See how big?

They had several different colors available, but the blue one immediately caught my eye.  (It looks green in the picture below, but it's actually a teal-blue color.)  They also had hot pink, bright orange, gray, and black.  On the Target website, they have even more colors available.  I chose blue and black.  You can purchase these super soft towels here at Target's website, although you'll need to buy them in a set if you order them online.  Good news is that the set is only $11.99 for four towels. 

Before I bought the fast drying towels, I searched at Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond to make sure there weren't any for a better deal.  Kohl's tended to be in the more expensive range.  It even had some towels for $14.99.  I finally found some for $5.99, but they were thin and rough.  Bed, Bath, & Beyond seemed to offer towels for mostly $8.99 each.  I'm sure Wal-Mart would also have great deals on towels, but I was still thinking about my soft $4.99 towels back at Target (and I also have gift card money to Target), so I got these.  I'm very satisfied.

And just because I was in a picture-taking mood today, here are the other two towels I was given for graduation.  Cute, right? 

As you can see, my towels as a set won't match perfectly, but I don't care at all.  They're towels.  They'll fit my needs just right and I love them all.  And like I said before, if you're looking for a soft and inexpensive towel, try Room Essentials Fast Drying towels at Target.  They're VERY soft. 

I hope I haven't thoroughly put you to sleep with this entire blog post about towels.  Man, I think this dorm shopping is getting to me.

Lately I've been busy shopping for my dorm room for college.  Even though it's a little stressful trying to pick out cute color schemes while not overloading my room with too many accessories, shopping for bedspreads and dishsets is so much fun!  My sister Amy is fifteen and she keeps saying, "I can't wait until I get to shop for my dorm room!"

The hardest thing can be deciding what to bring, what to get rid of, and what to leave behind.  I don't want to bring too much stuff to college, but I definitely want to bring everything I need.  I thought I'd share what I've been buying recently to give you guys a glimpse into my future room (:D) and also to give tips on moving into a brand new apartment.

Today I'll show you my dishes.  My favorite colors are black and white, so my dish scheme will black, white, and red.  The red idea came from a gift that a sweet friend MADE for me.  Look at this beautiful cross!  It's one of a kind and I hope to hang it in my kitchen area.  If not, I will give it a place on my bedroom wall.

I bought all of my dishes from Target.  I saw them several months ago and immediately ran to my mom and said, "These are MINE."  Black and white and then red as well.  Perfect. 

It was a weird feeling to only buy a few of each item.  We have a lot of bowls and a LOT of cups at my house because of everyone in my family.  There are five of us, but when I move out, it'll be only me.  I only had to buy a few of each item.

I decided to buy three big plates.  These will be for a big dinner.  They're sturdy and I don't think they'll break or chip easily.  You can purchase them here from Target's website in a set of a big plate, little plate, and a bowl, but when I was actually at Target, they were available for about $2.99 each, which I thought was a pretty good price.  I was trying to pick a favorite, but I really can't decide.  I love the bicycle one... and I think the one with the stripes looks so tribal... but I love the crazy flowers too.  Augh, I just love these so much! 

I also bought three smaller plates.  You can see the size difference in the picture with me.  The smaller bowls will be perfect for a small lunch or a snack during the day.  I went with the same theme.  A giant red flower, the tribal marks, and then a new triangular tribal-looking design that I perhaps love most of all.  Again, at the Target website, you can purchase a set for $21.99, but at the store, I got these smaller plates for $1.99 each.  I can't find the red flower designs on the Target website.

I can't find the red bowls on the Target website at all and the black ones come in the same types of sets.  At the Target store, I was able to purchase the bowls for $1.99 each.  I chose to buy four: two red and two black.  I eat a lot of cereal, soups, and canned food, so I thought I might want an extra bowl.  The wheel design would have to be my favorite.  These bowls are a good size, as you can see from the picture where I'm holding them in my hands.  Perfect for a can of Ravioli or a bowl of cereal. 

My cups match these dishes.  They're somewhat clear with the wheel and triangular designs you can see on the plates.  I thought they were very pretty.  Plus, they're made of a durable plastic material, so even if they're dropped, I don't think they'll break easily.  I chose three cups: black, red, and white.  Perfect.  They were also $1.99 each.  Unfortunately, I can't find them at the Target website.

Finally, I got a twelve piece set of butter knives, forks, and spoons for $10.99... also at Target.  You can get'em on the Target website for the same price.  I chose red handles because they'll match the rest of my dish set. 

So these are the dishes I've bought for my dorm room so far. (:

We had to wake up very early this morning, as we had to get off the ship by 8:30. I woke up at about 6:30 and got ready for the day before packing the rest of my things in my carry-on bag. By seven-thirty, we went downstairs and had our final breakfast at the Windjammer, which is the buffet for when you don't feel like going to the fancier diner, Galileo's.

We said farewell to Antonio, our very friendly housekeeper. He's done such a great job all week. It's going to be strange going back to average hotels with housekeepers who don't learn our names and greet us personally each day.

When we arrived back in Orlando, we left our things at the front desk and took off for Downtown Disney. For those of you who don't know, Downtown Disney is kind of like Disney World, but it's composed of city streets with restaurants and stores and shows, all Disney themed. We rented Nawnie a wheelchair and began to explore.

We ate at a sandwich joint called the Earl of Sandwich. I personally can't stand sandwiches, but according to my family, it was very good.

We were delighted to find that Downtown Disney wasn't very crowded. In fact, we were able to make our way around the area with little difficulty.

We stopped in World of Disney, a store full of absolutely everything you could imagine (with a pair of Mickey ears somewhere on each item). I bought a shirt with Mickey Mouse on it, of course. Everywhere we went was blasting a Disney song. Since I love the music from my childhood, I was very excited (and sang along... a lot).

We also dropped into a little magic parlor, where a magician showed us all sorts of card tricks. The one that shocked me the most was when he had me place my hand on a nine of spades and then I picked a king out of the deck without him seeing. In a few moments, he pulled a nine of spades out of the deck and flipped the card that had never left my palm... and it was a king! For any of you who know a bit about illusions, you probably aren't impressed at all, but I was amazed.

Lego World (or is it Lego Land?) was amazing too. Outside, there were all sorts of intricate sculptures and statues made up entirely of legos. Inside the building, there were scenes from movies and real life, such as railway stations and a garden. I'm not much of a lego person, but I was very impressed with how much you can do with a few legos.

For a few hours, we went to Disney Quest, which is a five story arcade. Once you buy the tickets, you get unlimited access to all of the games for as long as you want. We are staying at the Hilton and they gave us all free tickets to Disney Quest. Luke was obviously very excited.

My favorite game was Pirates of the Caribbean. It was 3-D and took place in a pretend ship with fake cannons and everything. You'd shoot at and try to sink sea monsters and other ships until you won treasure. It was great! Some other cool games were Aladdin's Magic Carpet, a raft ride through the jungle, and Mighty Ducks pinball.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. We had planned to eat somewhere nice for dinner, but we barely managed to get back to our hotel rooms and crash into bed. We ordered pizza, which tasted good.

We've been watching the Casey Anthony trial like crazy every night. It's kind of funny that we happen to be in Orlando at the same time as all of this is going on.

I cannot wait to get some rest tonight.

Today was a very, very lazy day. It may sound boring from an outsider's perspective, but it truly was not. After a hectic last four days of excursions and appointments and adventures, it was so nice to be able to sleep in and read and nap.

I woke up around ten in the morning and walked into my parents' room. Their room was empty. Confused, I went ahead and got ready for the day before heading up to the Windjammer to see if I could find them there. Just as I was about to give up, I saw Mom walking towards me. “We went back to the room and saw that you were gone,” she explained. “I thought I'd come back and sit with you while you eat.” That was nice of her, so I got some breakfast and we chatted a bit while watching the ocean waves beat each other from the window.

I literally do not have much to share. I took a long nap. I read “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis for the hundredth time. I sat on the balcony and watched the waves.

When it came time to have a late lunch, I went downstairs to grab some pizza from Sorrento's. Much to my surprise, the chefs were all out in the royal promenade, showing off exquisite fruit carvings and ice sculptures. They were making towel creatures for everyone to see. The best part was the desserts. Pastries, chocolate covered fruits, meats, mousses... and they were all free for anyone to take.

I filled up several plates with the desserts (and a few slices of pizza from Sorrento's) and then headed back up to the rooms. I coaxed Nawnie from her room and we had lunch together on the balcony. It was nice to spend time together.

The waves and wind have been crazy all day. It's not storming, but the waves seem to be so much higher and more powerful than they have been this entire trip. I can hear the wind whistling and howling around our cabin. At night, it sounds like some sort of crazed demon. For one of the first times, we can feel the ship truly rock. It's not terrible, but we can feel movement. It rattles the hangers in the closet and causes water to move back and forth in my glass.

The captain told us over the intercom that the wind is going steady at about fifty-five miles per hour. See, I should be used to such wind. I live in a city in Texas that was once listed in the top ten windy states of the United States. Some days we get gusts of wind up to seventy or eighty miles per hour. It's insane. But the difference between there and here is that our wind comes in GUSTS. We'll have a huge gust of wind and then a quick moment of peace and etc. This wind doesn't change. It's a constant fifty-five-mile-per-hour wind.

Because of this crazy wind, I haven't bothered to go out on top much today. I don't feel bad about it. On the first day at sea, I sunbathed for a few hours, but I'm already a little sunburned, so I don't feel like I need to do that. I'm not much of one for swimming, so I don't want to go to the pools either. There isn't much need for me to go up on the top anyways.

The balcony is sequestered behind a few low walls, so I can sit out on a deck chair and have lunch or read without having my hair blown off my head. The only difficulty is that I can hardly hear anything because of the loud blasts of wind.

We all got ready for dinner and were dismayed to find that for the last night of the cruise, we weren't seated in our normal waiter's section. However, Faycal came to us and said he would still be our waiter. It was our last night, after all! It was sad to hug goodbye and take our final pictures together. We also said goodbye to Odalis, who chuckled and hugged us all, asking us to have a picture with the entire family. All of the waiters were told over the intercom to sing us a farewell song, so they did. After that, we all shook hands again. Dad was sure to tell Faycal and Odalis, “God bless you,” to leave a final seed for Christ, and then we saw them for the very last time. It was sad.

As we were eating, we caught a glimpse of Miami. It was only a small silhouette in the fading night sky. We rushed to the top of the ship and I managed to catch a photo of the sun sinking behind the buildings in the midst of a beautiful sunset.

Before we went up to our rooms, we decided to take a family photo. We didn't really have many of those from this trip. We were already dressed for dinner, which was a nice bonus. Unfortunately... my camera was in an accident that involved a long fall and a hard tile floor. It did not survive. The image you see below was the last photograph that camera may ever take. The picture was taken right after the accident and you can tell the camera was already broken. As soon as we get home, my camera will be sent to the shop. I am praying desperately that it will recover.

We spent much of the evening packing our suitcases, since we had to have them set out in front of our rooms for a certain time. We laid out the toiletries and clothes we would need for the next day and set everything else outside of our rooms.

Tomorrow we'll be getting off the ship. I don't want this trip to end!

When we finally got off the ship onto Cozumel, Mexico, a fat Mayan man dressed in colorful paint and a loincloth grabbed me and said, “One photo. Pose for one photo with me.” I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity to buy the photo later or what, but it was sure interesting.

A man named Santiago—or Santy, as he preferred to be called—stopped us and offered to drive us to a nearby beach. “I take you to the beach for one or two hours and then to a shopping area. It will be nice. Very nice. Good price.” So we all climbed into his taxi and drove for about fifteen or twenty minutes through the hectic Cozumel streets while he told us about the city and life in Mexico.

The beach was beautiful.

Nawnie, Dad, and Amy crashed on some of the chairs in the shade and took naps. Mom, Luke, and I went to a small, private part of the beach and waded in the cool water as the tide came in, bringing hundreds of shells along with it.

After a little while, Mom and Luke got out some snorkeling equipment and found a few flounders and several other kinds of fish.

I enjoyed sunbathing and wading knee-deep in the water. It was HOT outside, probably the hottest island we've visited, but the ocean cooled me off. When I finally returned back to the chairs to relax, I was sweaty and worn out. There's something about being under the hot sun that is absolutely exhausting.

I relaxed in the sun for maybe twenty minutes and then I was overwhelmed by the heat and shared Nawnie's chair in the shade.

We finally packed back up and Santy took us to a small area of shops. He drove by his casa and honked loudly, making us all laugh. We kept passing iguanas along the side of the road. “Delicious,” Santy said. “They are white meat, like chicken. We call it Kentucky Fried Iguana. You cannot get THAT in your restaurants. Only in your home.”

In the shopping area, we got some Mexican vanilla and Coca-Cola, which is amazing since it's made with sugarcane. I also got a t-shirt, a necklace with a charm of the Mayan calendar's October (the month I was born), and a bracelet.

Santy took us back to the pier after proudly showing us pictures of his grandchildren. He was a very sweet man. I'm glad we got the chance to meet him.

We began to wander down the pier. Dad and the kids went onto the ship while Mom, Nawnie, and I stayed behind to shop for a while. We all bought another t-shirt. I loved the shirts at Cozumel! They're all so colorful and bright.

After getting back onto the ship, Nawnie, Mom, and I went to Sarentto's Pizzeria. We got to meet Julio, one of the chefs. He's from Peru. He told us about how he stays on the ship and works seven days a week for seven months straight and then gets a few months off with his family. He says he gets to get off the ship for about an hour after five o'clock. His girlfriend also works on the Royal Caribbean ship, so they go on dates together on the islands.

Julio was a very sweet guy. He told us a little about his life in Peru. Then he asked me why I was still pale if I'd been out in the sun all day. “I don't tan!” I exclaimed. “I could be out in the sun all day, every day, but I'm still just as white as before.”

“Nice for you!” Julio exclaimed. I'd like to have his perspective!

The little towel friend that we found in our room today was a monkey, hanging from the ceiling.

We woke up very early this morning to hurry and eat breakfast so we could shop a little before we went on an excursion. We were at the Cayman Islands today. Even from the boat, the island looked absolutely beautiful. We could see the reef and the fish from our seventh story balcony on the boat! It was amazing.

To get onto the island, we had to take a tender (a small boat) from our ship to the shore. Our tender was called the Carib Temptress. Interesting.

We shopped around a little. For the first time all week, it wasn't at all cloudy, which was nice at first because of the difference, but then we realized how wonderful cloudy weather actually is. It was HOT on that island. Beautiful, but very, very hot.

After we bought a couple of t-shirts and a flute for Luke, we got on board another boat which took us a couple of miles away from the shore. The water was perfectly clear. Even from the third story of the boat, I could see straight to the ocean bottom.

I'll go ahead and admit that while we were on an excursion to go snorkeling, I didn't snorkel. I think I could have if I had really gotten up the courage, but I know I wouldn't have enjoyed myself. For those of you who are regular followers of my blog, you know that my worst fear is deep water and the ocean. I hate the look of it... and I'm also very freaked out by fish. So being right in the middle of it all is not my cup of tea. I was content to look at the ocean from the boat and watch my family snorkel.

At first, I was feeling a little bored and dismal because my family were out having a great time and I was on the boat, but the captain was a very sweet islander who was eager to help me have the best time possible. He gave me a couple of small loaves of bread to throw into the water. Literally hundreds of little (and fairly big) fish would swarm around the tiny pieces of bread, fighting each other for it. Not only did I help people get to see a lot of fish because they all came up to the surface, but I got to truly enjoy myself.

The captain also showed me that on the bottom story of the boat there were several clear panels of glass that showed the coral reef and all of the fish, so I got to see as much as anyone else, whenever I got up the courage to look. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal was. They were... fish. But I was glad that I got to see everything. I even saw a few jellyfish!

One of the best parts about the captain was his accent. He literally had an accent that sounded like Captain Barbossa on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was very difficult to understand at times, but it was quite entertaining. I loved it.

While I was sitting on the bottom deck, feeding the fish, one of the crew went up to me. He looked about my age or maybe a few years older. He was very tan and his hair fell down to his shoulders. “Hey,” he said, “why don't you snorkel with the others?”

“I don't like the water,” I explained. “I'm having a great time right now. I know I wouldn't have fun if I was in the water with them.”

“No, no, get in with me. Just right here on the ladder. We could have fun together right by the boat.”

“No, thanks. I'm really fine how I am,” I insisted.

Pretty soon, the boy climbed out of the water and leaned on the rail next to me. I kept feeding the fish, but I noticed that he continued to gaze steadily at me. “How old are you?” he finally asked.

“I'm eighteen,” I replied.

He looked surprised and then delighted. “Not so young.” Several people I've met on this trip have thought I was younger than I am. I know I look young for my age, in part because of my short stature. The boy smiled widely at me. “You're old enough to drink here, you know,” he said.

Although I'm not interested in drinking, to make conversation, I said, “Oh, really? It's illegal for me to drink in the United States.”

“In all of the islands, it's legal. You can drink as many beers as you want.” He grinned at me, as if that would be an extremely enticing suggestion. When I didn't say much after that, he tried again. “After this is over, how about you and me go to a bar and have a few beers together? We could talk and hang out.”

Great, I thought. What's an excuse? I glanced over at my family, who were preoccupied with the reef. “I don't think my dad would be very happy if I did that,” I finally said. I wasn't lying. If I went off into the Cayman Islands with a strange native to have a few beers at some bar, I'm sure my dad wouldn't be all that happy.

“What?!” the islander scoffed, looking shocked. “Your dad is here? Where is he?” When I pointed out my family, he chuckled and said, “Well, then, your dad can come to the bar with us... but only for a little while.”

I finally managed to escape from the persistent islander and resumed conversation with the sweet old captain of the ship, who told me all about the different kinds of fish and even dove under the ship to try to stir up some more kinds of fish for me to see.

As we left the boat, I again came across the young islander. At this point, I had already told my family about my conversation, so they were all poking me and giggling. He very gladly took my hand as I started to cross the gangplank (isn't that what it's called?) to get off the boat and said, “There you go, beautiful.”

Oh, man.

I finally turned around and offered him a smile. Even if I was uncomfortable, I was flattered with his advances. He was a sweet kid.

Again, my mom and I stayed behind to shop. We went to a place called Del Sol that had some of the most amazing t-shirts I've ever seen. They start out in black and white or in a few light colors and then when you put them out in the sun, they burst into a rainbow of bright colors. It's amazing. The store also had nail polish, sunglasses, headbands, hair clips, bags, jackets, and more that all did the same thing. I was astonished.

We finally returned to the ship. Mom and I stopped at a pizzeria, where we had a couple of pizzas and some delicious white chocolate and strawberry mousse. After that, I took a long nap and then Mom woke everyone up. She was going to attempt to scale the rock wall and she wanted everyone to be there cheering for her. Sure enough, she succeeded! She made it all the way to the top of the wall and got to ring the bell.

After that, I decided I wanted to attempt the Flow Rider, which is basically a surfing machine that makes waves. Instead of an actual surf board, I opted for the boogie board so I'd only have to sit on my stomach.

The man running the Flow Rider was... let's just say... very good looking. He was tall, bronzed by the sun, muscular, and English. I was awestruck. I was already dreading the moment I knew was to come—the wipeout.

I climbed onto my stomach on the boogie board and surfed down the Flow Rider. Almost immediately, I wiped out, doing a flip and falling hard onto the bottom of the machine while my board shot out from under me. Even worse, as I got up to walk away, I slipped on the slick rubber surface and fell backwards onto my back.

I was flushing and totally embarrassed... and then I saw the cute guy, motioning for me to try it again. I shook my head frantically, saying, “No, no, no...” but he insisted. So I found myself again getting onto the boogie board while he gave me instructions in his thick British accent (which I loved).

This time, I did better, managing to stay on the board for maybe fifteen seconds or so, which is impressive for that machine. And then the British man came down next to me and said, “Try to get on your knees!” Feeling semi-confident, I did... and wiped out. Bad.

I literally did about three full flips in the water, nearly losing my shorts. For a moment, I thought, “This is it. I'm going to drown in this awful machine,” but I somehow made it back to the bottom.

I was so embarrassed. Words cannot even describe my mortification as everyone laughed and laughed. I know it was all good-natured. After all, when many of the others wiped out, I laughed too. It's funny to watch. But I fell and flipped and floundered far worse than anyone. I got several comments like, “Did you enjoy doing a 360?” and “Wow! That was the best show I've gotten all day!” And again, they weren't mean-spirited at all.

But I was still embarrassed. I still am a little embarrassed. And seeing the look on that cute guy's face was the most embarrassing part of all.

Dinner was formal night. I had salad, roasted peach soup, lobster and shrimp, and ice cream. It was all wonderful.

Dad had taken a Dramamine right before everyone went snorkeling, so he was groggy all throughout dinner.  He could hardly keep his eyes open!

When we returned to the room, we found another little towel friend. It was a sting ray!

I'm in bed now, relaxing. I'm the least sunburned out of all of us ladies. Amy's the worst. Her back is as red as the lobsters we had for dinner. I'm thankfully only burned on the tops of my shoulders and my knees.

Tomorrow we will be in Cozumel, Mexico. It will be our last excursion on this cruise. I don't want to go home!

We got onto the shores of Falmouth, Jamaica bright and early this morning. It was a lot how I expected, with men in dreads and brightly colored outfits walking around with their ukuleles, singing, “Don't worry 'bout a t'ing.” Seriously—that was my first impression of Jamaica.  We shopped for a few minutes and then boarded a bus and rode for forty-five minutes to a river further into the island. I loved the bus ride because I got to see a little Jamaican village, where many people lived. It was very poor and rundown, which made me sad. The best part was seeing the little school children come walking down the streets, dressed in their uniforms. I also got to see a lot of the Jamaican landscape. It was nice to get to see the “real” Jamaica and not just the resort part.

At the river, we had to store our cameras and belongings in a locker, so I don't have any pictures. I wish I could have taken some, since everything I saw was very lush and green and beautiful. We climbed into the back of a truck and held on for dear life as we began one of the most scary car trips I've ever experienced—second only to Kenya, Africa. There were potholes and cliffs and deep puddles of mud everywhere we looked. The entire vehicle was rocked about like crazy. To make matters worse, the driver wouldn't stop speeding and we didn't have seat belts.

There were three guides who helped us through the river: Dennis, Thiopia, and another one whose name slipped my mind. They all seemed like best friends and constantly bantered, teasing each other nonstop and talking back and forth in their own Jamaican language called Patois, which is actually a mixture of broken English and slang, which was fascinating to hear.

One of our guides ran up to us, singing loudly and shouting, “I just listened to Bob Marley! I'm feelin' good ri' now, mon!” In fact, throughout the entire journey, the young men would frequently burst into song. They usually sang Bob Marley, interjecting with cries of, “Oh, yeah, mon! Dat's ri'!”

As we drove in the rocky car back up to the main building, several youths hopped onto the back of the car. One fell off during a particularly rocky spot, but he turned out okay.

After we returned, the kids went back onto the ship and my mom and I stayed behind in Jamaica to shop. There were many little shops with all sorts of little things to buy. I found a freshwater pearl necklace that I absolutely loved, but it was thirty dollars. I finally managed to bring it down to fifteen dollars (I have no idea if that's a good price or not, but I sure felt like it was!).

The man who sold me the necklace said, “If I sell you dis for fifteen dolla, my lady, will you t'ink of me ev'ry time you put it on?”

“Yes,” I finally stammered, unsure of what else to say.

“Promise me,” he insisted.

After I promised, he asked to be the one to put it on me and then he said, “If anybody asks you where you got dis, my lady, tell dem dat your sweetheart in Jamaica gave this to you.”

I smiled and said I would.

In fact, I seemed to be a hit with the men in Jamaica. My whole family was laughing. At one point, while Mom was looking at t-shirts, I heard a knocking on the window beside me. There were about six Jamaican men in construction hats who were whistling and waving and blowing kisses at me. “You are beautiful, beautiful!” they kept saying. I waved back. I was too embarrassed to even think about blowing kisses back at them.

The last thing I bought was a t-shirt that said Falmouth, Jamaica. The t-shirt vendor was a fairly older man and he actually gave me five dollars off, although he refused to bargain with any of the people before me. Before I left, he actually called my mom over to us and said, “You mus' tek a picture wit' me to remember.”

“O—okay,” I finally agreed. I didn't have much footage of Jamaica anyways since most of our day had been in the water. Perhaps this would be an entertaining picture... and it was, but for different reasons than I thought.

It seems that this man also liked me, even though he wasn't a young guy like the others. When we posed for the picture, he got a little... close. I'll let you see for yourself.

The man put one hand on my stomach and the other hand on my lower back. And then he was sure to get as close as he could with his face on my head. Mom later said, “I was afraid he was about to molest you while your mother was sitting there taking a photo!” Thankfully, he didn't get THAT close.

Dinner was casual, so there isn't much to report about that. I love our waiters: Faycal and Odalis. They're two of the sweetest men I've ever met.

When we got back to the room, we couldn't find a little towel friend. We were disappointed, thinking our housekeeper must have forgotten. And then Luke looked up towards the ceiling. It was a bat! Our little towel friend hung from a hanger hooked to the ceiling. We all had a good laugh about that.

Tomorrow we arrive in the Cayman Islands. It should be an interesting day.

When we woke up bright and early this morning, we immediately spotted a little wooden rowboat rocking precariously in the deep waters of the ocean. “We must be near land!” we cried out to each other, clinging to the rails and watching the tiny speck of a rowboat in the distance.

Soon the island of Haiti loomed into view, green and mountainous. Heavy rain clouds cloaked the top of the mountains.

We arrived in Labadee, Haiti around 8:00 this morning. We got off the ship around 8:30 and walked down a pristine white dock towards the island, surrounded by crystal-clear water. When we looked down, we could see coral and rocks, but I'm pretty sure the water was much, much deeper than it looked.

Nawnie was given a funny-looking wheelchair for the long walk.

We were immediately taken onto a water taxi with about ten or twelve other people. We rode the waves of the ocean for about fifteen minutes while we were taken to another part of the island with a private beach only for us and a little Haitian village.

A sweet woman named Rosie took us on a tour of the village, showing us how to make Haitian peanut butter, bread, and chocolate and how they make their houses. She even showed us a tree with a cure for insomnia, saying, “Ninety-five percent of Haitians have insomnia. The parents lay awake at night wondering how they will feed their children and send them to school since we have no public schools. The children lay awake at night because of hunger.” It put my thoughts into perspective when I realized that while I had been given the opportunity to relax on the beach with my family, there were people on that same island who were going to bed hungry.

I went to buy some trinkets from the islanders. This is the only way many of these people make their livings, so I spent two or three times more than I would normally be willing to pay. I bought a little bead bracelet, a small statue of Haitian people, two metal painted lizards, a t-shirt, and a stone heart.

Our little private island was absolutely beautiful. Amy and Luke enjoyed scampering through the waves and finding several hermit crabs and clams. I was able to sunbathe a little and even got a bit of a tan, I think.

We returned to the main beach in a couple of hours. We ate a lunch of fruit, bread, and pound cake, and then Nawnie and I sat out on the beach and waited while the others prepared to go on a zip line that was 500 feet above the beach.

It became cloudy and rainy through the afternoon, so it wasn't quite as nice as the morning, but I still liked it. At times, I hid under my umbrella as I poked in the sand with my toes. I love the feel of grainy sand beneath my feet.

Finally, the rest of my family came by on the zip line, beaming widely and waving at us. They came back to the beach with a jerk as their lines hit a spring and bounced them backwards to stop their fall. And then it was over.

Mom and I decided to go shopping in the little Haitian artisan while the others returned to the ship. The little shopping market reminded me a lot of Kenya's. Many vendors lined the roads where men would come and call out, “Pretty lady, pretty lady, come and see what I have to show you. Let me give you a gift. Don't you want something nice? Don't you want something beautiful?” It was always very difficult to say no to any of them because not only were we helping them to feed their families, but when we said no, we were also saying no to their artwork. At one point, Mom made the mistake of calling my name and after that, wherever I went, I heard cries of, “Emily! Emily! Emily, come see what I have for you. Beautiful Emily. Where are you going, Emily?”

After buying a few little things, Mom and I returned to the ship, showered, and took a long nap before getting ready for dinner. I had crab cake, sirloin steak, baked potato, steamed vegetables, berrymisu, and lemon tart. Everything was delicious. Our waiters, Faycal and Odonis, are wonderful.

Waiting for us back in our room was a little towel turtle.

I'm writing these words from my bed. It's only 8:30, but we'll probably retire early again because it's been a busy day and we have another long and exciting day tomorrow in Jamaica. Can this trip get any better?

The moment I woke up and looked outside, I was amazed. The water literally looked gold from the sun. It was so bright and beautiful that my entire family stood in awe of what the Lord had made. The clouds hung gently in the sky, only making the brightness of the water even more magnificent. Beneath us, the water was a deep blue. Churning white waves erupted from beneath the ship.

We got up around 9:30 in the morning and went to eat breakfast. I had an omelet, scrambled eggs and baby shrimp, peach yogurt, a banana, watermelon and frosted flakes. Delicious!

After breakfast, we ventured out to the poolside, where Mom and I stretched out in the sun to try to improve our very weak tans.  I dozed in the sun for a couple of hours and then we went to lunch, where we had a pretty good meal. We went back to the poolside after lunch and watched Luke and Amy both climb to the top of the ship's rock wall. It was fun to see everyone's amazement as adults struggled to reach halfway and both brother and sister made it all the way.

Not a whole lot happened today since we were at sea. No excursions or big activities. All we did was relax and nap and enjoy ourselves, which was very, very nice. I don't do that often.

Dinner was formal wear, so we all dressed up very nicely. Dad and Luke wore suits, Amy and Mom both wore dresses, and I wore a swimsuit cover-up. No joke. I got a black swimsuit cover up when I was back in Texas. When I tried it on without a swimsuit, Mom and I burst out laughing. It seriously looks like a nice dress, especially when it's paired with a black set of heels and a pearl necklace. So that's what I wore. A thirteen dollar fancy dress and nobody ever noticed anything.

Dinner was very nice. I had shrimp cocktail and even tried some escargot. In fact, the entire family tried some. I absolutely hated it, but I felt adventurous for trying. I had some prime rib for my main course and then some strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Overall, it was absolutely wonderful.

We went onto the main deck to watch the sun set, but unfortunately, the sky was covered in thick clouds that blocked the sun from view. Also, the wind was terrible on that side of the ship and tended to blow our dresses around terribly. We couldn't stand without having to hold the hems of our dresses down.

When we got back to the room, we found a few towels formed into the shape of a dog. The towel dog was absolutely adorable and it was wearing Amy's sunglasses. I skipped the show tonight and spent the night relaxing before going to bed early.

Tomorrow will be our first excursion: to Labadee, Haiti.

Today has been a long day, but a great day. We left the hotel around 10:30 in the morning. A snazzy black SUV picked us up to take us on the hour-long ride to Port Canaveral, where we quickly checked through security.  As I passed through the metal detectors, a guard stopped me and said, “What do you think you're doing? You can't get on this ship!” I froze, feeling startled and nervous. I couldn't get on the ship? What? “You're going to have to go buy a Longhorns shirt somewhere because no Aggies are allowed past this point.”

A smile broke across my face. I was wearing an A&M t-shirt. Of course, the guard was only teasing me, so we exchanged fist bumps and grins after I passed through the metal detector. “We're cool, we're cool,” she reassured me. “We can still get along.” What a Longhorns fan was doing in Florida, I'll never know.

We are traveling with Royal Caribbean's "Freedom of the Seas."  The ship is HUGE and very fancy!

Boarding the ship was a little nerve-wracking for me. I'm terrified of the ocean, as many of you know, so as I stepped over the bridge and onto the slightly rocking ship, I knew there was no turning back.

It really isn't that bad. When I walk, I can feel the rocking of the ship the most. Dad says he feels like he's drunk or something and I see what he means, even if I've never been drunk. The ship moves up and down between steps, so it's easy to lose footing. Luckily, none of us is seasick.

Our room is very small. Amy, Luke, and I all have to fit into three twin-sized beds and a bathroom that somewhat resembles an airplane restroom. However, the beds are topped with memory foam and soft sheets, so while we are in cramped quarters, we will be comfortable.

In our room is a balcony that overlooks the ocean. At first, the balcony made me a little nervous, but now it's not so bad. For a little while, we enjoyed pointing out stingrays and jelly fish that we could see bobbing just below the surface.

We put on our bathing suits and Amy, Luke, and my Dad all went for a swim in one of the several swimming pools on deck. Mom, Nawnie, and I decided to tan instead, laying out on beach chairs and relaxing. I'm not sure if I tanned at all, but the sun sure felt nice. We get complimentary ice cream and soda wherever we go.

At four-thirty in the afternoon, the ship departed, quickly leaving the shore behind us. We are now only surrounded by a deep blue ocean that tucks behind the curve of the earth. No islands are in sight at this point. Tomorrow's journey will be entirely at sea.

We took dinner at a nice restaurant where we met our waiter from Tunisia. He's a very nice man and I'll enjoy getting to know him over the next week. He has a very thick accent and it was hilarious to see him try to communicate with Nawnie, who is half-deaf and forgot to wear her hearing aids today. With everything he said, she'd smile and nod and not understand a single word until I finally tapped him on the shoulder and said, “She doesn't have her hearing aids, so she can't understand a thing you're saying.” We all had a good laugh.

We went to see a show after dinner. At first, a very corny musical group performed, which made us all cringe with dread. Was this going to be the entire hour-long program? Thankfully, a comedian came and spoke, and two acrobats performed as well. Overall, it was a great show.

Now we've returned back to the room. The door to our balcony is wide open, so a light breeze is drifting into the room where I sit. I can hear the loud sound of the waves crashing against the boat. It's a little eerie to look out into the black ocean. The sky and water are both very dark. It's a little frightening. The water is so big and deep that it could easily swallow me up and out of sight.

It's best to not think of such things!

Anyways, it's been a great day so far. I can't wait to see what is in store for tomorrow.

(I know this is a little late, but I didn't have much of a chance to share graduation photos.)

The day has finally come.  I'm a high school graduate.

The air was filled with excitement as my class got dressed in our long blue robes together in the choir room at the back end of the church.  The red and blue tassle tickled my cheek as my friends and I hugged and chattered eagerly and shared stories with each other. 

We walked into the sanctuary of the church to the famous graduation tune, smiling widely and waving at our families.  Zeek was salutatorian, Drey was valedictorian, and Andy Braner was our guest speaker.  The service was great.

We all were given puzzle pieces to hand our superintendent as a joke as we received our diplomas.  By the end of the night, he had forty-four puzzle pieces to represent our class.

After we all received our diplomas and moved our tassles to the left, we left the room together.  It was over.

In the hallways were our senior tables, blanketed in childhood photographs and memories.  My mom made my senior table as a surprise and I loved it.  It was everything I could have wanted, with some pictures of me and my loved ones, the copies of my two books, my scrapbook, and more.  Draped over the table as a table cloth was a quilt made of my high school t-shirts.

So many wonderful family and friends came to visit me and offer congratulations.  It was so special.  My pastor came and so did several family friends.  It just light up my whole day to see that they had come to support me.  My family also came.  It was so nice to get to hug on them and feel like I was truly, truly loved and supported.

My friends and I hugged and said our goodbyes.  Normally, saying goodbye wouldn't matter at all.  I mean, we'll be hanging out nearly every day over the summer, so there isn't a whole lot to be sad about.  But since I was leaving on the cruise the next day, the goodbyes were genuinely sad.  It was going to be nearly two weeks since we would get to see each other again.

After leaving the church, my family and I went to one of my favorite restaurants, where I opened some of my presents and ate some wonderful Mexican food. 

Overall, the night was a great success.

I'm no longer in high school.

When you're a senior in high school, teachers often seem to feel at a loss of what to teach by the end of the year.  At times, the faculty seems desperate to find SOMETHING for us to do.  We don't take the TAKS test at my high school because we're a private school.  Instead, we take the SAT--not the one that everyone studies so much for--but rather an SAT that simply marks how much we've been learning in our classes.  It doesn't have anything to do with whether or not we pass onto the next grade.  It doesn't affect us in any way, actually.  I know some kids who sit and doodle pictures in the little answer bubbles and don't read a single question.  It's a long test, so it lasts three or four days.  The seniors don't have to take the SAT, so our teachers had to take us somewhere else on a field trip.

So they sent us to Walmart.

I'm not kidding.  For two days in a row, we met at grocery stores and were told to gather with our groups of friends and compile a "shopping list" like we would when we were living on our own.  We didn't have a price budget.  I don't think our list was ever graded.  Basically, we were given an assignment so we would have SOMETHING to do.  Trust me--I'm not complaining.  Those days were fun.  But they did seem a little... strange.

After Walmart, we all went bowling together.  This was the best part of the day by far.  We wore our crazy-colored bowling shoes and laughed at each other under the black lights before bowling terribly... with only one bumper.  Why the people working at the bowling alley gave us only one bumper, I'll probably never know.

Some parents may have been annoyed that their kids weren't being forced to take the SAT test or do other assignments.  We were still in high school, so perhaps we should have been given assignments every day... right?  I don't know how many days we should a ctually be forced to learn things during our high school career.  I'm probably pretty biased.  All I know is that the week we went on field trips--to Walmart and bowling and a stockyard and a slaughterhouse and a park--made me think to back when I was a member of the swim team during my freshman year of high school.  Random, I know, but let me go on.

During practice, our coach would have us try to swim to one end of the lap pool and back without taking a breath.  That exercise was always incredibly difficult for me.  I would move my arms and legs frantically, trying as hard as I could to succeed.  By the time I finished, my lungs felt like they were near exploding, blood pounded in my head, and my limbs felt like rubber.  The moment I lifted my head above water and sucked in the fresh air, relief swept through my body like a cool wave.  Air... ahh...  After all that hard work, I could finally breathe again.  I could tangibly feel the strength coming back into my body as I sucked in those first few breaths.

Sometimes high school seemed like I was swimming underwater, pushing desperately for the finish line.  I had assignments and exams and essays to write.  The stress and pressure pounded in my head until I was exhausted.

A field trip to Walmart and bowling with my friends made me feel like I was allowed to finally come up for air.  During school hours, we could be kids again.  We could smile and laugh and have a wonderful time together as friends. 

Did we learn a lot that week?  No, not necessarily.  But we relaxed.  At times, after my moments of calm and relaxation, I felt like I could return to real school with new strength and vigor.  I'll miss days like those.

It's been a long day.  As celebration for my graduation, we are leaving for a Caribbean cruise.  The cruise isn't until tomorrow, which is a good thing, because it's a fairly long distance from Texas to Florida.  Thankfully, we didn't have to drive anywhere.  All I've seen today are airports and airplanes.  It's been fun, but it's also been tiring.

We got up early this morning and finished the remainder of our packing before (almost tearfully) saying goodbye to our dogs.  It'll be eleven days before we get to see them again. 

As we loaded everything into the back of our van, I was scared I would forget something important.  After all, if I'm on a ship in the middle of the ocean, it may be difficult to get what I need.  Dad reassured me, however, saying, "The ship will be like a small city.  It'll have everything we need."

We finally left our home and went to Nawnie's house.  I'm sure I've talked about Nawnie on my blog before, but she is my very cute, very sweet, seventy-eight-year-old grandmother.  Nawnie agreed to come with us on the cruise this summer.  We helped her load up all of her bags--and she had probably double the amount of all of us together, including a walker--and then stuffed ourselves into our very, very full mini-van.

The drive to the airport seemed to take forever, since we were crammed into such a small space.  But it was entertaining, so we laughed for most of the time.

The plane rides were quick, but the layovers seemed to take forever.  We went from my small Texas city to Dallas and then to San Antonio, where we stopped and ate lunch from a sandwich place called Blimpie.  I have no idea why any "health food" restaurant would call itself Blimpie, but oh well.  From San Antonio, we left for Orlando... but then had to stop halfway in New Orleans to fuel up.  According to our flight attendant, it was because: "This plane is packed full of people who decided to bring everything they owned with them."

We arrived in Orlando about two hours later than we were planning, but it was okay.  We didn't have anything planned for tonight anyways.  Tomorrow is when the fun will start.  Where I live, there is absolutely no humidity, so the second we stepped out of the airport, it was like we were dumped into a sauna.  I could literally taste the air, which is an unusual experience for me.  But I love it.  I absolutely love heat and humidity since I'm so cold-natured.

We finally arrived at our hotel--the Hawthorne--with our huge cart of bags.  We had eight suitcases, around ten carry-ons, and a walker.  The rack was nearly full to the top.  My eleven-year-old brother Luke decided to step up, be a manly man, and take control of the heavy cart.

I'm writing this from our hotel room now.  Honestly, I'm not all that impressed.  This hotel is located very close to the airport, which is why we chose this place, but it isn't very nice.  It makes me feel even more excited about our cruise.  I'm ready for some luxury! ;)  But believe me when I say that on each bed, there are literally dips in the sagging mattress.  Kind of scary. 

Can you tell?

Anyways, it's been a long day.  I'm exhausted.  It's funny how I've done nothing today but sit around in airports and airplanes and yet I'm still very tired.  Tomorrow will be an exciting day.  I'll be sure to keep you guys posted. 

Shorter school days.

This isn't so much of a shock for those of you who are home schooled.  When I was home schooled, at times I'd be done with my school day at nine or ten in the morning.  But once I started school, I had to get used to eight hour days that seemed to drag on forever.  When I became a senior, I had finished most of my high school credits, meaning I had only four classes and got off at noon.  It was an absolutely wonderful feeling.

It was so strange to look around and realize that the underclassman had to stay in school for three and a half more hours than I did.  It was strange to see everyone else studying for classes I didn't have at all (like math and electives).  It was strange to see everyone hurrying to eat lunch in forty-five minutes, while I could take as long as I liked.

Believe me when I say that having a short day of school is wonderful.  It might feel weird at times, but it's absolutely wonderful.

Senioritis is REAL.

I used to always listen to the seniors above me talk about how they had senioritis "sooooooo bad" and I would chuckle to myself and think, "Come on... that's just an excuse."  But no.  Senioritis is real.

Right after Christmas, you start to get these feelings of: I don't belong here.  All of this is pointless.  I'm already accepted into college anyways.  Why learn any more of this nonsense?  Why come to school?  I NEED SUMMER!  It's not good.  It's apathetic.  But those are very real feelings.  It was a big struggle throughout my senior year to try to overcome that senioritis and continue to work hard at school.  But I'm happy to say that I graduated with straight As, even through my senior year.  Whew!

Teachers suddenly become much more lenient.

At my private school, all throughout high school, teachers were very personal in my life.  I'm someone who tries hard to make good grades, so if I started to slip, they would immediately pull me aside and talk to me about what was going wrong.  They'd push me when I struggled and try to give me harder and harder challenges.  Once I became a senior, I noticed that a lot of the teachers would say things like, "Here, you're graduating in a couple of months, so just write me a quick paper" or "You can talk during class today. You're seniors, after all.  Have fun." 

I think this occurs for three reasons. 

One, I think teachers start to feel like they can't teach a whole lot in a couple of months anyways... at least not much that will be remembered.  This happens especially towards the end of the year.  They've already gone through a lot of the books.  We all are suffering from severe cases of senioritis.  It can be difficult to think of things to teach.

Two, I think the teachers WANT us to have fun.  This was our last year of high school.  You're only a senior in high school once.  Ever.  I could tell that teachers would go out of their way at times to make sure we were making great memories.  I'm truly grateful for that.

Three, I think everyone expects seniors to be difficult.  "They're seniors" is a typical excuse I've heard.  Seniors tend to be restless, easily distracted, and full of laughter and jokes.  We're excited for the new year.  I'm afraid that sometimes, adults use the fact that it's our last year as an excuse to be more lenient.

Emotions change on a daily basis.

I know I've written about this before, but being a senior truly is an emotional roller coaster ride.  One day, I'm on a severe high of joy and excitement.  The next, I'm scared out of my mind.  And the day after that, I'm sad and tearful because I don't want to move away from everybody I love.  There is a lot of change and anticipation of change your senior year.  It can be difficult to understand and control everything you're feeling.

Perhaps my experience was a little different than others because I went through a few extra trials and changes this last year.  I honestly believe the Lord was testing me and helping me to grow and mature so I would better be able to face the challenges I know are ahead of me my freshman year of college.  I'm truly thankful for the trials I've had so far this year.

Suddenly everyone is friends.

Especially in early high school, everyone often splits into cliques.  You have the mean girls and your enemies who you can't stand.  There are arguments and cat fights and a little drama, depending on how you handle conflict.  Senior year, it's like most of those conflicts are forgotten, especially towards the spring months. 

Everyone is "one class" and absolutely HAS to keep in touch next year and we all have the same fears in common.  I've noticed that towards the end of the year, everyone started going to lunch together and arranging pranks and nights of fun together and just making memories together as a class. 

Even if you don't know someone very well, when graduation is looming near, it seems like everyone clings to each other, desperate to make friendships during these last few months.

This has been an amazing weekend.  Nearly all of my extended family came from all over to celebrate my graduation.  My actual graduation ceremony is on May 27th, but today was the Baccalaureate, which is like a ceremony for the families.  I don't THINK I have any photos from the actual ceremony, unless my mom ended up taking some.  If I find them later, I may share a few with you guys on another entry.  I do have a video of my prayer, however, which I'll possibly share on my YouTube channel soon.  I gave the opening prayer because I was National Honor Society president this year and I was VERY nervous.

Yesterday, all of my family met at a restaurant and ate a lunch/dinner together.  It was great to see so many loved ones all in the same room.  I had a blast.  Outside of my immediate family, two grandpas, four grandmas, an aunt, two uncles, and two cousins showed up.  We all took pictures together, which I'm so glad to have.

Here are my four grandmas.  Yes, I get four because my family is crazy and complicated and wonderful. :)

God has blessed me with such a big and wonderful family. 

Today, we went to Baccalaureate.  At the end, the families of each senior come up to the front and pray over us.  My family gathered around me.  All the grandmas (and my mom) were crying.  It was so sweet.  My dad said a wonderful prayer that will stay in my heart forever.  And then it was over.  It was such a nice experience.  Honestly, I think I had the biggest number of family members out of anyone show up to Baccalaureate.  It was great.

Later today, we came to my house and had a party to celebrate my graduation.  So many amazing friends came.  The food was GREAT!  We had beef tenderloin, a huge fruit and veggie platter, chips, lemonade, tea, soft drinks, cupcakes, and a giant cake with the name of my school on the front.

Everyone decorated for the party, so the house looked super cute. :)

One of the funniest moments of the night was when my dad introduced one of my grandmas to our senior pastor (she actually goes to our church!) and she mistook him for a roof repairman, so when he greeted her, she responded, "It's so nice to meet you.  I'll be sure to give you a call the next time my roof starts leaking."  After a few moments of awkward silence, my dad said, "...what?  This is our pastor."  We all laughed and laughed and laughed.

So anyways, this is what has been going on in my life lately.  I don't know if any of you are interested in these things at all, but this is my blog and this is what is important in my life.  Starting in June, I'll get back to a more normal schedule.  I plan to begin my music artist reviews again, Jack pages, share a few more blogging tips, and I have a few devotion ideas in mind as well. :)  S if you don't like these journal-type posts, then I'm sorry.  I honestly am.  I just write about what's on my heart.  If you want me to continue with these kinds of posts, then please let me know and I might do more of these.

Oh, yes.  Look out during the next month or two for a blog giveaway that I have in the works right now.  I'll give you a hint.  Does anyone like Ted Dekker?

Hey, guys.  I'd like to let you know that I'm so sorry I've missed the last couple of days.  I have a LOT of family in town right now (and even staying at my house!).  I have Baccalaureate tomorrow at 2:30.  I got a job at a frozen yogurt place.  My life is just CRAZY with all of this graduation stuff.  I'm loving it, but blogging is getting a little hectic.  After today, everything should go back to normal with daily blogs.  Thank you so much for your patience with me this week. :)  I'll be sure to share Baccalaureate photos and pictures from my graduation party as soon as possible.

In the meantime, feel free to enjoy this entertaining picture of my grandpa and one of my best friends, Zeek.  They're both 6'6 and I'm 5'1.  In this picture, we're all standing normally.