And finally. . . California!

First of all, if you are a follower of this blog, my musings, or are just randomly reading it, or whatever, I would love for you to become a follower and reader of my creations blog as well.

In order for you to fully appreciate my account of California, you must know what happened the day before we left.

You see, I have this stomach problem which I won't go in to great detail about, and I was in pain all day the Saturday before we left. So I was really anxious, nervous, and stuff, and my mom wanted me to go to the emergency room, but I didn't. I did, however, go to Sheralee's wedding reception!


It was beautiful and she was beautiful (though the photo turned out pretty awful) and she and Casey were really cute together. I also got to see Jami,

an old high school friend. We were in Madrigals together and I hadn't seen except once since we had graduated, so it was really fun!

After the reception, I had a blessing and we knew I would be ok. I remembered that the medicine I take (which I was out of and the pharmacy was closed, blah blah blah) was available over the counter so my dad took me to Wal-Mart and bought it for me. It was lovely! Then I slept a little and got up bright and really super early to begin our adventure! It was a beautiful day:


Once we got there that afternoon, we first found our hotel, then went to Newport Beach. It was really a fun little place. Finding parking wasn't, but the colorful houses were. Then we took a hike and found ourselves a little spot to play in. We had a blast! We collected a bunch of shells and buried John in the sand. Carl had to rescue him from certain death by drowning afterward, but it was fun anyway.





I could have stayed all day in the sun playing with the sand in my hand, but that wasn't an option :(

After we had all showered we ate at Wendy's and went to bed.

I woke up feeling a lot better than I thought I would and was very grateful. My mom was looking out the window and told me there was something I HAD to see. I thought she was being silly, but just to be a good sport, I went and looked. And I had a freak out moment. Because, you see, in the parking light right below our window I saw this:


Hee hee. Sheralee and Casey were staying in the same hotel as us! After a few minutes of crazy giggling, I got ready and we went to breakfast. We wrote a note to put on their car that said "Happy honeymoon from room whatever we were in" and put it on their windshield. It was awesome.

Then we boarded the shuttle and met our awesome, friendly shuttle driver. Then we got to Disneyland! It was such an exciting moment. We got there just before opening so were a part of the waiting at the gate and big opening announcement moment. Oh, here's a picture of us - dad just inside the ticket gate:


That day we pretty much rode everything in the park. Michelle had to use the bathroom a lot during the day. I took the picture during one of the first of many stops:


Soon after that, some rode the rockets:



We rode one of my dad's favorite rides and I took lots of pictures. Know what it is?





Here is a picture of the pirate ship we rode on, a picture of the view from it, and then a picture of me and my sisters with Princess Tiana!





That night we went to Fantasmic, which required lots of standing on my terribly sore feet, and a fit from my dad. But I really liked the show. And the fireworks afterward.

We saw Sheralee and Casey getting ready to board the shuttle at the end of the day. They didn't know for sure that we were there yet, so it was a fun moment. They told us about their couple days adventures, such as getting stuck in traffic in their just married car, and getting on the wrong shuttle. We saw them one day at the pool and a couple times at breakfast. It was so fun. Me and Sheralee had gone to Disneyland together our sophomore and senior years of high school:


Tuesday was another long, fun day. We rode lots and lots of rides in CA Adventure, including the Grizzly River Rapids, where I saw this sign that made me laugh:


That night though, we learned that Carl was going to leave our trip early to take care of a house he was in the process of buying and his stressed fiance. And my dad was going with him. One of those things disappointed me more than the other. I was sad they were both leaving but tried not to show it too much.

Wednesday was fun, though it was kind of harder to have fun. We went to Disneyland and to Huntington Beach. It wasn't our favorite. It was sort of cool because there was a surfing competition going on, and we saw the dudes doing their thing now and then. They were kind of far away and far out though. We also saw a dolphin and were very excited, much to the amusement of the locals. Yes, they thought we were funny being all excited over a dolphin. I suppose it would be like someone coming here and being excited over seeing a deer. Anyway, after that we went back and got food from the Bengel Barbecue and fruit from a store around the Tiki Room and put our blankets down for Fantasmic. My mom loves the shows, but we learned the hard way that all the standing waiting for it was misery. But this time was a lot better since we were sitting and riding rides while we waited.

On Thursday we decided to get our fast passes to A World of Color. (I don't really know if I have the days right though). That required us to get to the park at opening and wait in a line. It was John's second chance to ride the California Screamin', which he didn't and was a total grump about. He truly was AWFUL. But anyway, here is a picture of Em and Michelle on the ride. Good luck finding them:


We went back to the front of the park to eat and saw a string bass in the little nook. And then, wonder of wonders, a band came out and played! They were called the Miner 49ers. We all loved it! Michelle and I had a blast watching the fiddle player, and afterward he talked to us (catching on to the fact that we were violinists due to the rather creepy staring). He asked about what we were studying and we talked about my senior recital pieces and he congratulated me and graduating. He was very sincere and kind and truly, it may have been the highlight of the trip for me. Ok, maybe not. Well, maybe. Anyway, it was really really high up there. A was a big pick me up for the remainder of the family. A picture:


We played around in the brother bear treehouse thing for a while:


We rode the carousel on Paradise Pier. It had cute sea creature things like this one:


That day we also had fun "trying on" dresses at a really cute princess store:




That night we went to A World of Color, the big fountain and sometimes fire show in California Adventure. In one of the photos below you can see how they project images onto the water:







That was it for the day. It was the most fun so far, I think. While waiting for the shuttle, we made a list of what we wanted to do most on our last day, and based on that, we made a game plan for the day.

We went to Toon Town for John and got to see Mickey Mouse:


We got ice cream at the Tiki Room, and me and Michelle rode Pirates of the Carribbean more times than is healthy (not just that day, but I think we rode it like 8 times because we found the line short a lot. I decided I wanted to be a worker on the ride and creepily sing the Pirates Life song at the very beginning. We splashed each other and blew at the steamy Davy Jones head and were very poorly behaved but it created the best memories!)

We got to the park semi early, rode some rides, then left for the beach. We went to Crystal Cove State Park and it was absolutely beautiful. I found a bunch of mussel shells. My siblings couldn't figure out how to find them like I did. Pictures:







After getting cleaned up a bit, we went back in to hit the last things on our list. John kind of hurt my feelings by saying Peter Pan wasn't worth waiting for, but it was one of my top 2 things to do again. I know it was silly to be hurt over that, but I was. Michelle cheered me up by helping me stalk the sweeper man:




He went all the way through the line and didn't get to ride the ride! It was tragic.


We got almost everything done that day, except my mom didn't get to see the fireworks again. I felt really bad but she was a good sport. At the very last minute before our shuttle we ran into the park to buy souvenirs. I bought a Beauty and the Beast rose.

On Saturday we just drove and drove. We did stop at Alien Fresh Jerky which was kind of fun. Other than that, the drive was long and boring.


The end!

A Spazzoid Update

Well, one of these days I will get to some of my more exciting summer adventures. But that day is not today. Sorry! Part of the problem is that my computer won't connect to my parents' internet, so it's hard to upload pictures. But today I am going to skip my summer catching up and describe the now.

The biggest news I have to share is this. . . Go check out my Etsy shop! I have most of my necklace designs up and a few of my better photo prints. So, go look! And tell your friends to look! It's the only way I can get the word out about my little shop. www.etsy.com/shop/HeatherRaesCreations You can also follow my blog for updates on things I have made, parties I have hosted, and on occasion, some tips on making jewelry.

I am playing in the community orchestra. On the first day back to rehearsal, people are excited to catch up after the off season. Of course, the first thing they ask me is "Are you in school?" After I tell them I have graduated, they ask one of two questions. Can you guess? If not, let me give you a clue. Usually they ask "What are you doing now?" and sometimes they skip right to "Are you dating anyone?". I know they mean well and are curious and just want me to be happy and such, but it sort of bothers me that people just want me to get married. Not that I am against marriage at all. It's just that there is a lot more to me than my dating life, and I am involved in several interesting things that make me happy, but nobody even asks what else I may be doing after the dating question. But now you will know!

I am playing in a quintet that was started last fall. We had some problems getting a cellist, but now we have a very talented one. The music is top notch. It's the Shostakovich Piano Quintet. I have blogged about this before, but it's just so much fun to make music with people who love being able to make music, and who are dedicated to putting out a good performance. It's almost always the highlight of my week, and that's a positive thing!

Despite the nosy, out of practice musicians on the community orchestra,
(all of whom I still enjoy seeing every week) I really enjoy playing there. I feel like I get to expand my skills while helping out the group in a small way. And that feels good.

I enjoy making my jewelry and working on my photography skills. I have lots of ideas for photos that I need to figure out how to actually do, because they would be really cool. Hopefully with some trial and error (and a cheap pedestal) you will see some of those ideas come to fruition.

I have a great bunch of students. I can say that all but a couple put in their very best efforts to learn. They have great parents and families and I love being a part of their learning process.

I hang out with my family and watch movies with them a lot. It's always a good time. They are my best friends. I have some good friends my age too and am starting to become a part of a good social circle. Life's good!

Also, I have committed to go to China with OSU in the summer. I am excited for a great adventure! (This, by the way, gives me more reason to get word about my etsy shop out there! Every little bit will help.)

So now you know.

Summer Adventures! Yay!

I will give you a really quick rundown of my summer, then a few more details about California and Carl's wedding!

To start off my summer, I went to my friend Mandy's wedding reception. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the picture I took there. Once I get it, I will post it!

I went on several very fun photo adventures. I went to Cathedral Gorge, and several places up Cedar Canyon, where I was for the most part, lost. Here are a few photos that came of those adventures for your enjoyment:







I went to Zion with my family once in the beginning of summer. Here are some photos from that adventure:





Michelle and I took some cute pictures with umbrellas in the rain. They weren't quite what I had in mind, but with a little editing, they were pretty fun. I also got a good, and rather moving shot of a Veitnam soldier statue. More pictures!







(P.S., as always, there are more where these came from on my Flickr account.)

Next (I think) I spent some time in Orem to go to my friend Megan's wedding reception. It was beauitful, with the pink and black decorations, low lights, and candles on the tables. She was very happy and excited and seemed to be having a blast at her reception. Her husband was so nice and didn't shove cake in her face, but she did it to him! And he looked super embarrassed at the garter part, ha ha. Here we are:



The next day, we went to Thanksgiving Pointe. I hadn't met Carl's fiance yet, so she came along. Here are some pictures I took there:







I went on a really fun campout with some of my friends for girls' night near Navajo Lake. I can't even think about giving you those details! Just kidding, mostly we just played games and did a little hiking. As with last year's campout, I came home desperately wanting a dog! Photos:





After that trip to Orem, I started my summer math class. It was a pain, but I got an A! My teacher let me miss a whole week of class to go to Disneyland with my family, which is basically unthinkable. I did go back to Orem the weekend of the 24th of July to help with some engagement photos (which was pointless in the end, but I don't regret going). I went on a date with an old friend, which was pretty fun. Next time I blog, you will get to hear all about my grand adventures in California!