Saturday, September 5, 2009

Baltimore and Washington D.C.


I am such a lucky girl! I began my summer with an amazing senior trip to Baltimore and Washington D.C with my wonderful parents and Alexis Flake. 

First Stop: BALTIMORE! 
The adventure started in the airport... I had been singing the song "Good Morning Baltimore" from Hairspray, for quite a while because I was so excited to go! SO, Dad told me that If I sang it right when we got off the plane in Baltimore then he would give me TEN dollars...Well I am not the kind of person to get embarrassed, so of course I was willing! I started kinda singing it as we landed, not many people heard, but my dad was starting to get really embarrassed (which or course made it SO much more fun) As we walked off the plane I sang it louder and with more excitement...then I turned to my dad and said, "K now you owe me ten bucks!!" and a lady that was also on  the plane with us blurted out..."I'll pay you to stop!" I was definitely caught off guard so I asked her to repeat it..yep same result! Oh I laughed so hard! This is when I learned that people in Baltimore are a little different then in Arizona! ...on the other hand, maybe I am just different :) and I'm perfectly happy with that!

That was just the beginning of our many adventures! I LOVED seeing Uncle Justin in Baltimore, it was great meeting his girl friend, seeing where he lived, and getting the local's perspective of the city. We did some shopping of course, walked around the city, ate at an Afghanistan restaurant (which was great at the time, but I'll explain later how it wasn't such a good idea), and just enjoyed the city.

Next stop: WASHINGTON D.C.
What an interesting city! There are so many beautiful monuments throughout the city. It is so full of amazing history of our beautiful free country. It gave me an even greater appreciation for our founding fathers and the veterans that have made such great sacrifices they made to give us this country. Alexis has a lot of hooks up in this city since her father is a congressman. She got us into some V.I.P tours and told us many stories that she has learned throughout her many visits to D.C. growing up. We were set up to go on a tour of the upper part of the Capital dome, where we could walk up to the very top and look over the beautiful city. On this same day, I woke up with the flu :( I DO NOT like missing out on anything! Even when I'm throwing up...SO I decided I would still make it on the tour, with a throw up bag in my pocket. Great! So we had to walk hundreds of stairs. I was doing pretty well for quite a while, and was very proud. As we reached the top I began to feel a little nauseated, but I made it!!! this excitement didn't last too long, the bag came out of my pocket and Yes, I threw up! ON TOP of our country's CAPITAL building! Alexis said, "Well, I think you are the first one to throw up on the top of the capital!" ...I'm so proud of my accomplishment!
Luckily I was only sick for a day, I went back to the hotel and slept while Mom and Alexis did more shopping and went to the Holocaust museum, which I was sad I missed . Good news, The rest of the trip was full of energy, and I was able to see everything I wanted to in the city. I loved going to all the museums, paddle boating in the lake in front of the Jefferson Memorial, taking lots of picture, and enjoying time with Alexis and my parents. It was a wonderful trip, full of many memories, fun, and learning. 

Friday, September 4, 2009

Highland High Graduation!

Graduation: The Beginning and End of something AMAZING!

Wow, I definitely lived up every minute of high school! I loved every part of it, and have no regrets. It was such a fun four years of my life. I loved being at Highland, especially being involved in Student Council as the Student Body Vice President, doing Cheer for three years, and pretty much anything involved with school spirit. I made so many wonderful friends throughout the years that have truly made me the person I am today. It makes me sad that after graduation day, life tends to get in the way and people move on and lose contact, but I will always have those memories. Honestly, I was not really looking forward to this day (I am probably one of the ONLY people that felt that way) But I just loved high school so much, and wanted to hold on as long as I could, I just wasn't quite ready for a change. It turns out, it isn't so bad. I've still been living up every moment of life, it is just different. New people, new school, new activities, I know I'll grow to love this stage in my life just as much...life's an adventure, I'm really just beginning.

Baccalaureate and Graduation were absolutely wonderful. It was such a happy time knowing what we had accomplished and anticipating what we had ahead. I had the opportunity to speak at Baccalaureate AND Graduation! It made the experience so much more memorable because I was able to be involved and make it the way I wanted it to be. 

To make the night even more memorable, It RAINED!! This is very rare for Arizona, so we were very blessed. I think us graduates enjoyed it more than our friends and family on the bleachers! I will definitely remember this day forever. 
I felt SO much love and support from all of my friends and family! I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many incredible people. Thank you so much for making my life so great and always supporting me in the choices, experiences, and stages of my life! Now, on to bigger and better things! I can't wait to see what life has in store for me :)