Oh Dear

  So I realize this is my third post in the last few days, but i do actually have another P.S....I suppose that should be called a "P.P.S"...if I am correct.  Well in my post about THE trip. I forgot to put in anything at all...at alllllllll about Oakhurst. It seemed so seperate from the rest of the trip excepting that I still wanted to get home.  Don't get me wrong, I had a very good time. But I was READY to be home...like HOME not my old home but my current one.  The Cox family was gracious enough to house our family.  We carried on our tradition with Emilie and Hannah by making some weird creation. This time we decorated cupcakes by directions and put them out in the formation of a crocodile.  Read Emilie's blog for more on that. WE played Scrabble and listened to music and had a grand time catching up:) We stayed up very very very late talking as usual:) One thing I very badly miss about Oakhurst-conversations with people who have known you since you were 7.  Really those are the types of friends who know all of your bad and all of your good. Well I was in a bit of a cranky mood...well I felt kinda cranky because it was so hot. I do not like the heat at all, as most of you are well aware. Sooo it was a big relief to go to our favorite swimming hole in Wawona with the big jumping rock. The Beyers, Mayers, Varners, Rileys, and Huckabones came and we had a grand time.  That night i went to The Golden Chain Theater for the first time in 8 or 9 years.  My dear friend Karah was doing a play there and I got to sit through a nice long rehearsal...it was a blast. Karah happens to be a very good actress and she had the main female role. Several of my old friends were in the play as well. Namely Jesse...so it was awesome to see him again after forever.  After play practice was over Karah, Mrs.V, and I terrorized the mostly empty Raley's market by dancing and singing. It was the best part of the trip maybe because I wasn't hot, there were no lack of words, and we were free to come across however we wanted without judgment(except for perhaps the cashier who seemed a little....I don't know, but pft..who cares I don't live there anymore). Karah and I listened to music and talked and talked and talked...it was great. Then in the morning, we rolled straight out of bed and went to meet the Cox fam and my fam at Jamba juice. Yes, I realized I was wearing my running shorts and a dirty shirt, but that's just life..sometimes we don't have time NOT to wear Pajamas out in public. I will try harder next time. :)  Then I have no idea what happened...I can't remember at all.  HEY!! So guess what!??!!!???? the Cox family is coming again to visit us!!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeeee! I'm trying to think of something creative for us all to make...we did doughnuts last time. We actually did it the time...but we had to borrow shortening from the neighbors which ended up being reallllllly foul...so naturally Sophie and Sean threw them over the fence...literally. I don't know what possessed them to do that but, they did. I could go on and on about memories with the Coxs but I don;t have time for that:) Ok The end.  AGH I tried to find a picture of their family, but they are alllll on the other computer. Oh well. You know I rally don't like not having at least one picture on each post. 

Oh! And P.S...

    Happy Fall! Isn't it so exciting! Lovely colors and crunchy skies and contented smells of apple pie, pumpkin, stew, and every other good thing that comes with the season! Welcome yellow misty Aspen hikes and cold noses and finger tips! I am excited can you tell!!!!???  Even school doesn't sound like a drag when you toss in the exultant feeling that Autumn gives. Huzzah!  Now I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas in a legit way.  Amelia. She must be feeling it too. She is an interesting being.  Today she walked around the house with a handful of salt "sprinkling magic in the air" as to enable us all to do whatever we were doing. In a British accent, though. The threw salt all over my Literature book as I was figuring out what to do my essay on:"Sprinkle some magic in the air so your paper gets decided on"! My school is salted. Sophie was eating something:"Sprinkle some magic in the air so you can swallow that"!Sophie's whatever it was is salted. Emma is having a hard time with a class she is talking because of homework assignment confusion:"sprinkle some magic in the air so the email gets sent to the right place next time"! The computer and Mum are salted.  She kept doing this until we told her that enough salt had been had.  Hey at least she was cheerful! :) We all do spontaneously weird things when Fall comes around, I suppose. It just hit Amelia and i first. I with my babbling and Amelia wih her salt.

This is Fall in Oakhurst.

 

I will post a Flag Fall picture when I find one.

THE Trip and Other Things.

 



I said I would eventually say a few things about our trip this summer. So that is what I am doing. But first, about lists. I am a list maker. I have a few list making buddies (just in case you thought I was alone), the main one being Haley:). I could make lists alllll day. Lists about the top 5 most amazing songs in the world, lists about my favorite ice cream and where to find it, etc. So, that being said. I am now going to make a list about my thoughts on trips. It isn't going to be a very organized list.

1. I do not love trips. Particularly ones that mean leaving the monsoons.

2. Every time I go on a trip I try to micro-pack. Some times are more successful than others.

2. Always bring Good&Plenty

3. Always have good music to listen to and good books.

4. Visit a chiropractor after all the driving is finish and you are finally home. Having good posture in the car is not possible especially if you have a book or are trying to sleep. It is painful to move afterwards.

5. On our trip I found that Utah's country is lovely. Lots of cows and trees.

6. I do not like anything else in Utah besides the country. The cities are not pleasant in any way.

7. There are a stinking lot of Mormon temples in Utah (duh)...it's really sad. Salt Lake City was a less than desirable place. Full of LDS this and that...all the people looked the same and it was terribly sad how misled they all are and how much they desperately need Christ.

8. I had never been in Utah before

9. I have never been to Idaho either.

10. There are also a lot of Mormons in Idaho.

11. Our good friends the Roughtons live there and we had a great visit with them.

12. I have yet to see a pretty place in Idaho, since we didn't do any tourist wandering.

13. Oregon is so beautiful.

14. I have the best cousins in the whole world. I only got to see 2 of them though...the other two were not present nor was my uncle. I did get to see my Great Papa, though. Which was an immense pleasure. He is full of history and stories of his life.  He is so cool.

15. Don't ever tell your cousin about your bucket list, because he will help you check some stuff off of it. This is good in a way, but...well you will see. We got desperate in Eddie Bauer.

16. We went to my Papa and Helen's wedding. Now I have a ton of new cousins and aunts and uncles.

17. I really don't like trips. Do you know how hard it is to get to sleep in hotel rooms night after night? We stayed at this terrible place called "Roadway Inn"...it was just that bad. I will say no more.

18. Always put sunscreen on at the beach especially if you plan on gluing your eyes to "The Book Thief" for 4 hours. The sun is so brutal. My back and legs got burnt like never before. I will never be that stupid again.

19. Elsie, Oregon is my new favorite destination. The forests are so thick and the little romantic paths wind in and out of them and the cows look so pleased with life.

20. Santa Clarita is....I seriously can't think of one particularly good word for it. Heat has to do a lot with it. Let’s just say I was in tears of anticipation at the thought of being back under a purple cloud in Flag. I did have some good conversations with my cousin though....till 4 am, but who cares!

30. I'm surprised they sell clothes at all in SoCal, as it is way too hot for the wearing of them.

31. Paul Washer has some darn good sermons. I recommend them. I also recommend not listening to Celtic Rock (I’m really not at all sure that this is the genre) music all the time in the car...it makes you insane.

32. I am never leaving Flagstaff. Just kidding, but really I guess it depends on where you go and what the purpose of your trip is. I had some good times on our trip, but overall, I was so relieved to be home. In my corner reading, eating chocolate, running down the street soaked in rain and barefooted and NOT hot and not as sunburned.

 

This video is of my cousin, Jared, and I in Eddie Bauer. On my bucket list was "do a flash mob"...this hardly counts as anything at all besides foolishness , but it is the best we could come up with in 20 seconds.  Why am I sharing this...? This is something cousins do to make memories when they haven't seen eachother in a long time. 

 



This is a typical minute of car riding with the Gindys.  We were on our way back from the beach in Oregon. We are all singing some Celtic Rock type song...loudly...can you hear it?

Scary Things...

So I'm scared of a few things....some of them are just plain weird...Here they are(by no means, in order):

-The Ocean. I am so scared of it. I really enjoy being scared of the ocean is what's weird, though. It's just so....vast..so powerful and it makes me feel tiny and helpless. I can stare it and sob while I'm smiling and I'm shaking for fear of it with my eyes wide.(I pray I will be like this more in terms to God) Also tsunamis have something to do with my fear of the ocean. Every time I am at the beach I think of that song by Leeann Womack, "I Hope You Dance". It is one of my favorite songs ever.

-Space...see above..it's kinda the same.

Storms...see space it's kinda the same, but way less dramatic.

-Not being able to smile. Yep...for real. Like when I'm crying over something the idea will strike me that perhaps I am so sad and upset that my mind will not permit my mouth to smile...so I run to the bathroom and smile amid my tears...I even try laughing just to be on the safe side.

-heights


-Brown eyes. It depends on the brown eye, actually(to you Shaws and Beyers and Coxs they are defined as "Selkie"). Not all brown eyes make me scared. The dark, melt-y ,bore-holes-in your-soul kinda unapproachable, eyes. The ones that stare. Now the weird thing is that brown eyes are also my favorite, but nonetheless...they are scary...I guess in a good way, but really it's sorta odd.

-The end of the world. My dad likes to talk about prophesies being fulfilled from the Bible and wars and us escaping and having to survive. Well, I don't. Not in the slightest. Of course I know that we who are Christians are not destined for wrath and that God is sovereign. I know I should be sooo excited to see this stuff happen in our world, but really it just kinda creeps me out. It does excite me yes, but I get really scared.  Then I start thinking about Ian and Amelia who have not been saved by God yet...or at least no profession has been made.  If we get raptured they are going to be here on Earth alone...Again, God will do what he wants with them, but I love them and want our family to always be together.

-People...a combination of sooooo many things..I won't even explain it. I do love to be alone, but on the other hand...another fear is:

-Being lonely. I need people...it's all a circle. It's better to be alone, but know that there are people to talk to if you need it. 

-God. This of course is a a good type of fear. I know He loves me and I trust Him to do whatever He wants with me and my life..but of course...HE IS GOD....I don't even know what that phrase means is so big. It scares me. It scares me that I won't ever completely get that phrase. It scares me that I dare utter the phrase without comprehending it. It scares me how flippant I am with it. It scares me that my brain is so limited.  Everything about God scares me...but just because I am in the flesh and I can't be what I should be. It also scares me that I do not feel scared writing any of this.  But with being scared or rather, having a fear of God comes a great comfort and overwhelming thankfulness that I do not have to be scared! I can approach God boldly and offer up my heart daily.

The picture is of our family about 4 years ago...I think we were at San Louis something or other...not really sure actually.  So, these are only a few things that scare me.  The others will come with a different post. What scares you?

I Have a Follower.

   Amelia seems to be the main character in my posts these days.  I mean she's a pretty good main character if you ask me.  So recently the entire world is getting engaged...well not the entire world, but about 4 different couple that I know in the past 2 weeks.  So marriage has been on our minds...or at least Amelia's mind.  So here is our conversation yesterday:

Amelia:(comes up and holds my hand) Maddie, I wish you were younger...I really wish you weren't so old.

Me: Well, why is that? It's a good thing. There is a lot of stuff I can do with you since I am older.

Amelia: Well you are going to college and you won't be with me!

Me: I'm not going to college.

Amelia: Really? Cool...that's good. Uh, so how long exactly are you going to live here(our home) for?

Me: Until I get married.

Amelia: When is that?

Me: I really don't know. You will be older then, though. Maybe 12.

Amelia: Well, you and I are living together when you are married even. I will follow you forever.

Me: You can't do that, silly...you will be older, like I said, and you won't want to do that by the time that day rolls around.

Amelia: Too bad, I'm coming anyway. How old will I be? 11?

Me:Perhaps.

Amelia: 12?

Me: Could be.

Amelia: 13?

Me: I'm not certain.

Amelia:14?

Me: It is possible.

Amelia: 15?

Me: We'll find out eventually.

Amelia: 16?

Me: Amelia Jane, I just do not know.

Amelia: 17? Wait...that couldn't be right...you are 17...I mean isn't there an age limit?  Like if you get too old?

Me: No, just one on how young you can be..which is 18 I think.

Amelia: Well that's not happening...

Me: No, most likely not because I'll be 18 next year.

Amelia: Well I'm still going to follow you however old we are. WAIT! What about our big journey and vacation we are going to go on when we turn 10 and 20? We really should be thinking about that and where we are going to go...I can follow you then.

Me: Yeah we will have to think about that for sure. Will you empty the silverware please?

Amelia: That is Ian's job.

Me: If you are going to follow me around forever you have to always empty my silverware.

Amelia: Oh..well fine.(she does it)....

SO now that the silverware is emptied and Ophelia's(her nickname) expectations are up...I am going to have to find a way to tell her that she can't be with me forever...noooooo....:) I know she'll grow out of it, but you would be suprised by the things she remembers and holds me to now...like she used to think she gets to pick my husband and make all the arrangements...that was a mess. She insisted on "working it out" with the certain young man and I freaked out...she ended up being very hurt that I had made her think that he decision was hers and she cried for 30 minutes.  For now, though it is nice to have a loving little sister who wants to follow you and never leave you forever and ever:) This post was for sure more interesting to me than to you...but I am flattered by Amelia's devotion and had to share. :)