The Adventures Begin

With mom being in Ohio and Kaitlin and Angelica back at college, Shannon, my dad, and I decided to take a trip down to Oak Glen, one of my favorite places in this area. Suprisingly it took us 30 minutes to get there; I never knew it was so close:) We drove past Riley's up to Los Rios; a place we have not visited in almost a year already. Driving past Riley's instantly induced me with memories from years ago when Lord of the Rings was just coming out. Shannon, my buddy Chris, and I would run around the apple orchards and corn fields pretending to be hobbets, while our older sisters would chase us as ring wrathes. It was thrilling, and we often played it on cold days. I just remember being young and running around; laughing and having a blast with no worries, (except those of running from the "ring wrathes":) But even then I saw the beauty of Oak Glen, and those well-lived memories are still a big part of me this day.
When we arrived to Los Rios, we headed off on our journey. Here is the start of our prolonged adventure:

Simply amazing clouds which had a continual movement:

"The Bridge"

Me on "The Bridge"

Shannon's turn:

Curious:

Awkward bench, looking out over the pond:

Shannon photograhed my smelling a scent-less lavender-colored flower:

Immense fog.

Trail Blazers

Accomplished.

After spending some time meditating at the vast pond, we voyaged on.

Along the way, I found a strang plant which bore something the appeared to be a cross between a tomatoe & pepper. It didn't smell like anything though.

That's a beauty:

Trail Blazing II.

We found a creek. So I played in it.

And Dad practiced his balancing:

Wild Child:

Me over-analyzing something.

The amazing, jumping, baby lizard who loved me, Manney. Along with my dirty finger nails:

So little.

One more for the road:

Picture.

Some of these photos are just so much cooler is black&white:

Curtiousy of Shannon:

I saw this...

...and decided to do my part.

I was actually very excited about this.

Walking down to my tree:

Sneaky, sneaky

We made sure add to the "creepy" effect of the bog...

...we fit right in.

I had gotten a bit too excited when I saw a hill. I ran right down it and lost my scarf on the way...

...graciously Shannon picked it up on her way down.

She is so cute when she laughs; sometimes we have faces only a twin could love.

That's right. We found flowers to match her sweater...

....and some to match my scarf.

"Go up there and look like "death"..."Stop saying that."

"I want one of me smiling for once."

"Get my Vans."

We walked on a bit more...

...and came across this sign towards the end.

We found a nice shady spot with some grass and laid down for a while.

(That is no black eye, what happend was I started choking on water and my eyes started tearing which made my make up run a bit. Thanks to Shannon, I did not die.)

This is the absolute last photo we took today. After our hike we went in the shop for some samples of jam, sauce, and apples. We came home to stew that dad made; an all-around well played day. The drive back was exactly 30 minutes. I timed it.

More to come,

-R

What I've Been Listening To.

Simple, easy, elegant, calm, beautiful.
Check them out:
http://www.azureraymusic.com/
The first song I heard from them, but they have plenty of more which are just as great.

Celebrating 17 Years...

As you well know, last wednesday was my birthday! I went to school and church, treating it like any other day. But on friday, after the bible study, we headed down to San Diego where we stayed with our sisters, and had a delicious time. Kaitlin took us out to dinner at an amazing sushi restaurant called Sushi Deli, which was the most amazing sushi I've ever had. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it was my first time. What a great first time it was.

Here are some photos from the event of the night:

First time wearing my cowboy boots outside of Idyllwild:

Twinsies: (Ironic discovery! We're both wearing heart-shaped neck laces we received from our parents. I think she got hers on her 16th birthday.)

Sometimes I'm terrible at taking photos:

Second attempt:

Kaitlin was the only one who was experienced in going out for sushi, so we ordered just a couple plates of different kinds of rolls which included:

garlic edamame

miso soup

spicy tuna roll

california roll

Mexican roll

salmon roll

It was amazing. After we left sushi, we went over to Fresh&Easy and bought tubs of ice cream/ gelato. Hmmm yumm. This wraps up night 1 of my 17th birthday with my sisters.

Summer Photos Part II

Check out her amazing work:
http://www.janellestephanie.com/

 Our attempt at a jumping photo:

Janelle was awesome and took some twin photos for me and Shannon!

Summer Photos Part I

During this summer I met some incredible people. One of my favorites were my friends Janelle and Meghan from Teen Camp. Janelle happened to be a professional photographer and set me and some ffreinds up for a photo shoot! She is fantastic might I add. Here are the results of some of the photos taken, I'll post more later:

More to come,

-R

Alas, We Meet Again.

http://www.myspace.com/theshapeoftheearth
-Here is one of my old favorite bands, back in 2008. I used to talk to these guys before they were famous.
When I deleted my myspace, the only thing I regretted was losing contact with them. Today while driving home from school, there was a car in front of us which had a sticker on their window that read "The Shape of The Earth" and instantly I remembered how much I treasured them two years ago.
It's fate.

Recently Discovered

I am loving Jack Penate's song, "Pull My Heart Away"! It has a nice vibe which is easy relax to.
You can hear more from him on his website.
http://jackpenate.com/

My Own Living Space

Well, as you all know, summer is rearing to an end. Two awesome people recently left to go back to their normal lives and I decided to claim their room because I love having my own space. I admit: I <3 IT! Everyone was content on where they were living, so I am now the owner of my very own room in our house for my last week at camp. And what a splendid way to live during my last days here. I took some pics today and decided to post!

Sleeping Area:

 

Cluttered Dresser Area:

Ariel View Of Shannon:)

Thank You John For The Dock!

Ah yes, the famous yellow hat, once was offered money at In-n-Out for this baby. But I declined; don't care too much for money, (would rather have the hat; a treasure I once bestowed upon at a thrift store.)

Can't seem to figure out how to rotate photos on this computer, but here's a view from the empty top bunk:

I'm going to miss camp, and the people along with it!

-R

From La to Carlsbad Part I

This week has been amazing! I haven't blogged in a while due to working so much, and not enough leisure time to go on the internet.
On Sunday evening, MamaLisa took me, Shannon, Peckles, and Sarah to to stay in Santa Clarita with our beloved friend, Sherry. The hospitality was immense, and the best I've ever had. I have never felt so comfortable staying at a woman's house that I had just met briefly a couple days before. While staying with Sherry, we enjoyed watching movies, eating Chinese take out, making vegetarian pizza while dancing around, and the internet at our finger tips. On day two at Sherry's, MamaLisa picked me and the girls up for an excursion at the Valencia mall. It was huge! We had a great time walking around and seeing all the different types of stores. At one store we went to, called Sidecca, MamaLisa bought us all neon colored hair extension. So we put them on and took pictures. Sadly, I can't figure out how to upload pictures on this computer....but maybe I'll figure out later on in life. So after the mall, and two visits to Starbucks later, we headed to one of my favorite places: Wold Market. World Market is delicioso! I found some things I really wanted to buy including this nifty set of chop sticks and a top ramen bowl! I'm definitely going back when I have more money...After World market we went to Old Navy for about 5 mins and bought a whole bunch of clothes because the sales prices were half off...yummm my favorite :) When we were finished there, we went  and bought the prettiest flowers we could find for a "thank you" to Sherry for hosting us for the first part of the week. We glady appreciated every part of staying with her! On Tuesday MamaLisa headed for home, while me, the girls, and Sherry met Meghan at iHop for breakfast. Sherry treated us once again, and it was a great morning to say the least. After breakfast we went back to Sherry's, packed up Meghan's car, said our last goodbyes to Sherry, and then we were off to Meghan's house in Carlsbad. Yesterday, when we arrived at Meghan's, we picked out a recipe for dinner and went grocery shopping for it. We picked out a chicken pasta blend and added garlic and cheese bread. It was superb! For dessert? Ghiradelli Double Chocolate brownies. We finished off the night with 3 movies: Take The Lead, She's The Man, and White Chicks. We finally fell asleep around 2 a.m.; all four of us slept on Meghan's very pleasant couch. And today Meghan made us amazing quiche, which we ate with fruit salad. A great breakfast I must say, but its already 1:21!!!! Time is of the essence, and I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day. I'll write soon.

-R

"After you die nothing you ever owned matters, and everything you ever did does."

I knew this was going to happen. I knew it, I knew it. I knew I was going have consistency in my posting and then bam, you don't hear from me for almost two weeks. But alas, I am here and I am well. These past days that I have not posted have been well lived. So far I have rekindled old friendships, worked at camp, graduated, started reading Jeremiah, rediscovered the world of documentaries, stayed in San Diego, and learned some new songs. I have to admit, everything that I have done has been time well spent.
So what did I do today?
I watched a movie called The Good Life, and in my opinion, it was great. I'm not one for movies, but this past week has been jam-packed with tiring activities, and I just got home last night and decided that after I worked out today that I would devote the rest of the day to relaxing. This included reading an excerpt from Romans 8, watching the movie, cleaning the kitchen, and making dinner.
The movie that I watched was interesting and filled with emotion. It kept me going because it filled me with almost every emotion. At some points I wanted to laugh, then cry; then it made me happy, then back to sad; another point made me want to get up and punch the bully in the face, (though, that would only result to further conflict within the realm of the main characters.) I would have to sum it all up by saying the movie could go either way, depending on how you look at it. Some thought it was sad and depressing, while others found the uplifting aspect of it. One thing I do love about these types of films would have to be the endings. They are more than less uplifting for they bring a positive outcome to every event that took place. I love how they incorporate meanings that can be applied to everyday life. That's just how I look at it.


-R