An American In The UK…

So it’s been a LONG time since my last post…life gets busy! But boy, has it been fun. I’ve officially wrapped up my first year at Corban and am now officially Junior status, I turned 22, and I went to Great Britain! Traveling to the UK has been a lifelong dream for me, so I was THRILLED the entire time. It was amazing…I want to travel everywhere now! Here are some of the highlights (if I were to post them all, this post would never end…):

This is Highclere Castle, A.K.A. Downton Abbey. The grounds were BEAUTIFUL!

Me in front of the London Bridge…seems pretty sturdy to me… 🙂

One of my favorite moments in London was taking a spin in the London Eye…the views were SO beautiful!

This is Jane Austen’s home in Chawton…I could see how someone could write so many lovely books here.

This is part of Oxford’s famous university. I believe some of Harry Potter was filmed here.

This is Blenheim Palace, located just outside of Oxford. DEFINITELY a highlight of the trip! One of my favorite movies, The Scarlet Pimpernel, was partly filmed here.

See why I love this place? SO beautiful! PS…I totally fried my straightener here, hence the half-straight-half-not messiness…needless to say, make sure to bring the correct power adapter if you travel outside the US.

Loch Lomond…had to hold back from singing the song. Despite the clouds, Loch Lomond was absolutely gorgeous! I can see how so many poets wrote here to gain inspiration.

A guard at Edinburgh Castle…we saw the changing of the guard ceremony, and it was quite the ordeal!

These are the ruins at St. Andrew’s cathedral. Our tour guide told us that historians believe the highest point of the cathedral was three times higher than that tall tower pictured here! What an amazing sight that must’ve been…it’s amazing still, despite its ruin.

My lovely roommate for the trip, Haley, and me as we set out on a boat trip touring the Firth of Forth! A firth, as it turns out, is actually another name for an estuary…this firth connects the Firth River to the North Sea.

St. Giles Cathedral…John Knox preached here! We attended Sunday Service here during Pentecost…quite the experience. It’s about 900 years old!

A panorama of Edinburgh from Holyrood Park…I love this because you can see the entire Royal Mile from top to bottom. The top, being Edinburgh Castle, and the bottom, being Holyrood Palace.

This is the ruins of St. Anthony’s chapel. This chapel dates back to the early 1300s. After the Scottish Reformation, it fell into disuse and disrepair. Quite an amazing view, up here, too!

Paradise…

I know, I know…long time, no post…the last couple of weeks have been C-R-A-Z-Y-T-O-W-N. But amazing, nonetheless. I got the opportunity to go to Hawaii with my family! Because of that, I had to get two weeks of school done in like three days…but it was totally worth it…I missed music Monday this month, so I wanted to share a few photos from our trip and give you a few new tunes to check out!

This might be one of the greatest photos of Casey ever…

 The gorgeous view from our hotel in Oahu…that’s the Gilligan’s Island marina, by the way!

 It’s not every day you see a real life flamingo…

 Absolutely gorgeous.

 Exploring the North Shore on Oahu…

 Gorgeous Waikiki sunset #2…no filter.

 Good morning, Ford Island! We got to visit the USS Arizona memorial, the USS Oklahoma memorial, and the USS Missouri…every time I visit a US memorial, it ends up being one of the more moving experiences of my life. I am so incredibly grateful for men and women like those who were killed in the attacks at Pearl Harbor. I’m thankful that there are still men and women serving our country with such valor today.

 I didn’t realize until I went to the memorial that one can still see the USS Arizona in the water…quite incredible.

 The massive gun turrets of the USS Missouri, or the “Mighty Mo”. The USS Missouri is a symbol of the beginning and the end of WWII. It began construction in 1941, and finished in 1945. It was on this battleship that the treaty that ended WWII was signed. She was decommissioned after Desert Storm, but is ready to be recommissioned at any time the US needs her.

 Even battleships need wiper blades…I don’t know why I found that funny.

 USS Oklahoma memorial…

 This is amazing to me…aerial shot of the USS Arizona and memorial…

(via Google Earth)

 This is an aerial shot of the USS Utah where it lies today…this memorial is only available to Naval personnel, as it is on a military base…but this ship is also very visible from the surface.

 Then there was the Dole plantation…mmmmmmm…

 Then it was on to Maui! Hello, Lahaina…

 Exploring the road to Hana…

 Visiting my first black sand beach!

 While the boys went scuba diving, us girls got to horseback ride through the mountains of Maui! My horse’s name was Frieda…she was part Clydesdale and Pinto…SO FUN!!!!!!

 These ducks let us get SO close to them! I’m literally inches away from them, here. That doesn’t happen in Oregon…haha!

 We were there during a pretty intense storm, and there were many, many boats that ran aground, like this one…

 I loved every second of my time over there…and someday, I want to go back. But for now, I’ll simply say, “Aloha”.

Looking for some music??

1. I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston (Rest in peace…)

2. Desert Soul – Rend Collective Experiment (GREAT ALBUM!!)

3. Bette Davis Eyes (Live) – Taylor Swift (I really loved her Speak Now World Tour CD/DVD)

4. Hurt – Johnny Cash (So good.)

5. Thinking of You – Dierks Bentley (Such a cute song!)

Two A’s and a C…

I love Christmas. I love Christmas break. I love the fact that I passed math, and I never ever have to take another math class again in my life. I love  the coast. I love it all. I got an A in US History (which is good, considering I want to teach it…:-))!!! I also got an A in Geology, which I’m extremely stoked about…This term was HARD…but in the end, it made my GPA go up by .23 points! So it was worth it. This has been a great weekend. I’ve realized that I LOVE taking evening classes at PCC for two reasons…parking isn’t NEARLY as bad, and the sunsets are amazing…

On Sunday, “A Christmas Together” came to our church for a fun night filled with Christmas Music! This tour, which featured Jadon Lavik, Evan Wickham, Tyrone Wells, Molly Jenson, Roy Schenkenberger, Drew Bray, Tim Timmons, and the PawnShop Kings, was purely amazing. I worked the mercahndise tables, and in doing so, was able to meet most of these incredible people. You know how a lot of musicians get the “snobby artist” stereotype? NONE of the people I met this weekend were like that…at all. They were funny, talented, Jesus-loving people who wanted to spread some good-old Christmas cheer. It was great…plus, working merch was a fun, experience, too. 🙂 I HIGHLY encourage anyone to check out any and all of the artists above…they all have incredible music. 

On Monday, I got to go to Seaside for a fun day trip with my family and friends! It was a cold day, but dry! We walked down to the beach for a bit, and just enjoyed each other’s company. The sunset was beautiful…

I think the bottom line is, God is amazing…and it’s because of Him that my life is good…and it’s only going to get better.  Colossians 3:2

Happy (belated) music Monday!

So the last couple of weeks have been so crazy (in the best sense)! The last few days have involved old friends, new friends, family, ocean, camping, swimming, biking (or in my case, sag-wagon driving), beautiful views, hippies, good food, great fellowship, and the ever present smell of campfire. I have been in the San Juan Islands up in northwest Washington for the last week! Those islands are absolutely beautiful. Some of the most beautiful views in the United States are in those islands. We camped at Lopez Island. The  funny thing about Lopez is that while you’re driving, everyone that drives past you waves hello. I tried that earlier today as we were pressure washing our camp equipment, and about half of the drivers waved, and the other half looked at me like I was a creep. It’s kind of fun…:-) Anyways, I was driving up there last Monday, which is why I missed Music Monday this week! So, without further ado, here are my August picks…hope you enjoy this beautiful day!

1. Waking Up – OneRepublic (Waking Up)
2. All My Fountains – Chris Tomlin (Passion – Here for You)
3. Ours – Taylor Swift (Speak Now [Deluxe Target Edition])
4. Honey and the Bee – Owl City (All Things Bright and Beautiful)
5. Riot – Tedashii (Blacklight)
6. Our God is Love (Live) – Hillsong Live (A Beautiful Exchange)
7. Clipping – Mutemath (Armistice)
8. Drive My Soul – Lights (The Listening)
9. Awakening – Casey Darnell (Coming Alive)
10. Holy – Matt Redman (10,000 Reasons)

Also, here are some pictures from my trip (yes…I’m a huge fan of instagram…) 

Chillin’ in the Big Easy…

So, I haven’t blogged in a while…oops! 🙂 A lot has been going on lately! My brother graduated, and then we threw his party, I finished school for the summer, and then I went to New Orleans! My family and I went for a few days to visit some good friends of ours that recently moved there. New Orleans is a super fun city on a lot of levels, but it is also very worldly…it’s just a good reminder to continue to pray for those who don’t know or don’t want to know about the Lord. A lot of areas are still being repaired from the damage that Hurricane Katrina caused. Slowly but surely, the city is continuing to rebuild. We were able to explore lots of cool areas!  We went to the french quarter…  This is the St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest operating cathedral in the United States… And we went to Mother’s! I tried  gumbo, and a po’ boy, and sweet potato pie for the first time…oh my…so good. We had so much fun! It was such a blessing to be able to go and chill in a place I’ve never been before for a few days. The Lord is good!

Summer, Summer.

Happy April! Guess what? The last couple of days, it hasn’t rained! And I could see blue sky! It was pretty exciting. I started school again this last week…busy busy BUSY!! I haven’t gone to school full time for almost a year…I forgot what studying was like…:-) Anyways, all of this makes me so excited for summer!! My dear friend Haley and I already bought tickets to the Newport Aquarium (thanks to a fantastic deal from groupon…)! I want to go to the beach, and take random trips to the river and jump in, and take pictures, and make a smoothie and not be freezing after drinking it…oh, summer, I’m so excited for you to get here! Hurry up, please? 🙂

One Hand in the Air for the Big City.

I’ve been thinking a lot about travel, lately! My brother and sister get to go to sunny southern California next week…I’m so excited for them! Anyways, it’s been making me think a lot about the places I’ve been…so I wanted to write about some of my favorite (super touristy…) places in New York City!

 I got to sing at Carnegie Hall! It was pretty incredible…

Have a happy St. Patrick’s day, y’all!

A Walk in the Park

Today, I went for a walk with my mom’s camera…here’s what happened:

I went to the Oregon Korean War Memorial…

  Then I went to the Wilsonville Memorial Park, and saw this barn!  And some cool roots…  And this sweet creek… And this tree… And the pristine Willammette River…  Then I went on a walk in my neighborhood with my sister, Casey… Oh, snap! All out of green eggs… Gorgeous day… And then we saw this cool old building… And then we saw the MAX!  And then Casey ate a sandwich. The end.

…And the Home of the Brave.

So, this may seem a little random, but what about this blog isn’t? 🙂 A couple of years ago, I was able to go to Washington DC with my family…all I can say is that it’s probably one of my favorite places in this country that I’ve traveled to. I love this country so much, and I had many relatives that have fought for the freedoms we enjoy today. It was such a blessing to see a lot of those rights in action, and the memorials of the wars that they’ve fought in. I wanted to show you pictures of some of my favorite places in DC.   This is Arlington National Cemetery…hundreds of thousands of men and women who fought for our nation, as well as many other historical figures are buried here.  The Jefferson memorial…I want to go back to Washington DC in the spring so I can see everything with all of the cherry blossoms!   The Vietnam Memorial…there are so many names engraved into this wall.  This is the National Archives building. It’s one of my favorites…it’s HUGE! Way bigger than it looks. Also, it contains so much history, which I think is awesome.  The capitol building…I got to tour it! It’s just as cool on the inside as it is on the outside…  This is the World War II memorial. My great grandfather served in World War II! I think this is my favorite of all of the war memorials…is that weird to have a favorite memorial?? I think it’s just all of the sentimental value involved. I remember going fishing with my great grandfather early one morning, and he told me the story of his time serving the country…it was really the only time that he opened up about that part of his past. He had a pretty incredible story! So for me, I saw this memorial, which is physically beautiful, but also a beautiful picture of my great grandfather, and the thousands like him, that fought for the United States in WWII.

“Oh! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”

-The Star Spangled Banner (Final Verse)

Ahhh, Sunshine.

Yesterday, I saw such a beautiful sunset! It was all pink, and orange, and crisp… It made me really excited for spring and summer…here are a few things that I am looking forward to:

Cherry blossoms, and…

going to beautiful parks, and…

roses, and…

sunsets along the Oregon coast, and…

warm drives through the country, and…

FLIP FLOPS!!!