*~Nashville~*

We just got back from a wonderful road trip to Nashville, TN.

It was short, but sweet, and just what I needed.

I had a wonderful time hanging out with Beth, Emily, Rachel, Katelyn, and Emi.

We were only there for two days, but we were able to visit the

Country Music Hall of Fame and Opryland Resort.

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Have you ever been to Nashville?

What did you do there?

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Also, there is a new post on my art blog. :) Check it out!

High Hopes and Big Dreams

So like I said, I'm home....but not only that:

I'm GRADUATED!

Our homeschool graduation ceremony was yesterday.

It was a perfect day for a picnic celebration!

How we did it was each graduate would go up with their parents to give a little

speech and receive a diploma.

Here I am delivering my little speech. I'm pretty much thanking everybody in my life.

I believe I was the only graduate not to cry during my or my parents speech.

I have a heart of stone. ;p

Afterwords we took pictures with alot of people.

Here I'm with Beth and her sister Emily. This is my familia!

Here is us five graduates. All girls. The 5 amigas.

Now we are acting all gangsta and cool. Time to partayyy!

Us in our pretty dresses.

Pop the foot! If any guys had graduated with us we couldn't have done this!

My table where my senior pictures were set up and such.

Beth wanted me to open my gift there. It ended up being a picture album full of

photos she took while in Summit, since I lost all of mine.

Such a sweet idea. :)

Me, Rebecca (r), and Megan(l) who are also graduates and really good friends of mine.

We are wearing our class shirts...which I designed!! How cool is that?

This is the back of the shirts.

After most of the people left, we went to go play on the playground.

Yeah, we are cool like that.

So yeah, we had great time together. It was a great day full of friends and family, yum yum food, fun pics, great weather, pretty dresses, big accomplishments, high hopes and dreams.....and playing on the playground.

CLASS OF 2011 BABY!!!

Ah! Speech Competition!

I'm such a dum-dum. As you all can see, I have been making changes to my blog, making it all christmasy and all. I put it to where only I can see it so that it wouldn't look wierd while I was redecorating. I forgot to change it back to where you can see it though! Whoops! So, sorry about that. Anywho......... As many of you know, two Saturdays ago was the long awaited/dreaded speech competition. I had 3 speeches to give, and it turned out there were two rounds, so I had to give them twice. (I spoke 6 times for those who don't feel like doing math in your head right now.) It started at 11:00 in the morn and ended at 8:00 in the eve. A loooong day, let me tell you! There were probably around 50ish kids there to compete (so I think.....) And as far as I know, they were all homeschooled. The thing that had me the most flustered about the competition was what to wear. (yea, I'm like that) I was just gonna wear a nice sweater, but my teacher thought it not formal enough. So, below is what I wore

I blurred my face because it looked really fat. (yea, I'm like that too) I borrowed my mom's suit jacket because it looked somewhat right, and was purple. :) I have decided that suits are not my thing. They make me look fatter than I really am, and like I have football player shoulder pads on. ick This is what my sister wore. She looked really cute. :) At the end of the day they gave out awards for each category of speeches. I got third place (out of 20 something kids) for my Original Oratory speech. (in this one you can research/write about whatever you want in order to make a 10min speech) I was so excited! I did not expect to place at all!

My two friends got 4th and 2nd place too. So cheers all around! But in my other two categories I didn't place. :( All well, I still think I did well. I just think of it this way, 2 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to stand in front of anyone and give a speech, let alone be judged! That shows you how far I have come over the past few years. Praise God. :) Getting out of your comfort zone little by little really works. Trust me! But I would not have been able to get through the day if it wasn't for my friends. We had a great time together. Here is a video clip of us playing the card game Speed during a break. It helped us relax and not focus on what was to come. :)

~Friendship~

"The only way to have a friend is to be one." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

One who looks for a friend without faults will have none. -- Hasidic Saying

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.-- Walter Winchell Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.-- Swedish proverb

Plant a seed of friendship; reap a bouquet of happiness. -- Lois L. Kaufman

photos found via: #1http://.targophoto.com/private/hamilton/index.html #2http://audreyhepburncomplex@tumbler.com #3http://ache@tumbler.com #4http://ericasergio.com/home/category/anytime

Fun With Friends, Summer Days, and New Experiences

Yesterday was a day full of new experiences. My friends invited me to come on a mini vacation with them which included renting a party pontoon boat (with a slide!) and going jet skiing. It was my first time being on a boat...and being on a jet ski. I even drove it!! It was a great day! :)

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~Celia Thaxter Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more? ~ Bev Adams What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. -Gertrude Jekyll