Beach w/ Cari & her dad

Red tide during the day... 

Cari & her papi 

Me & Cari @ the beach 

Cari's leavin for Africa...

It's amazing to think that these people I didn't know 3 years ago have come to be such a part of who I am... Cari is such an incredible blessing in my life... my gentle, yet firm beacon of truth... she loves with sweet, yet tough love... not afraid to tell me what she thinks, but gentle enough to hug me when she tells me... :) heehee Even over the last 3 years, she's grown up so much... To know her now is to know a slightly different, improved, growing up and mature-of-character person. She's one of the funnest people to be around - always giggling at something (even if it's really not funny) and yet one of the deepest, most profound people I know. Chrystal and I hung out with her for the last time today until she comes back from Africa in mid-August, and it just made me think how much I value her friendship... you always do that, ya know? When you realize you could lose something/someone, you reflect on the impact it/they have on your life... I pray the Lord brings her home safely to us, which I really don't have much doubt of, but she's so precious to my heart... :) I think I have a vague picture of what my parents must feel sending me to Costa Rica! :) How in the world I got blessed with such incredible people in my life is beyond me... Maybe the Lord just knew I'd need some extra help to keep sane on this earth! :)

This makes me start to kinda think of how I want to live my life... which is something I've obviously been thinking about a lot lately... I definitely want it to be one characterized by love, loyalty, hope and adventure. But I also want to live a big life - big as in impactful. When we die, we don't take our silly treasures or toys... we won't care what car we drive or where we live or how cool people thought we were... heck no. We'll care about people - did we have a good influence on people? Did we love? Did we get loved? Did we do something that meant more than fulfilling our own happiness? At least, that's what I'm pretty sure we'll care about... so I want to look back at my life and see my investments in people - I don't need recognition, I just need assurance that my life made a difference in peoples' lives... that the love God blesses my heart to hold wasn't squandered on my own selfish desires, but rather was used to bless other people... that the joy God knit into who I am made a sunnier day for someone hopeless... that my silliness let someone forget their sadness... that the essence of my being - the Lord at work in me - was so obvious to people that they couldn't help but wonder why I was different... That's what I hope for...

I finished "Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel today and it was SO awesome, cause I'd just been talking with Jonathon about religion and Christianity and sorta wondering if it REALLY had a huge impact on peoples' lives... it does. It changes your life, and you don't even have to do anything, because the Holy Spirit guides your steps. Praise the Lord that I didn't have to fix myself up after making stupid decisions... God just graciously helped me back and purified my heart in a way like no one else can or ever will... He really did change my life... it's about time I realized it... Oh my goodness... such an excellent book... He's a reporter that basically interviews all these top scholars about the normal arguments against Christianity and God... and they refute most of them (I think all, but I don't remember for sure). It's just... amazing. :) (that's my new favorite word, can you tell?) haha

Okay... so I'm going to bed now... but I needed to journal my thoughts... :) and post my pictures!! :) Mwa!

Angie's Bridal Shower

Our old High School group... awww... and our silly Angie... getting married! :) 

Pam's cute little party favors! 

Group Pic! (Sue, Mom, PamH, Margo, Jane, Iris, Alice, Jessica, Traci, Jen, Shanda, Em, DebbieS, Terri, DebbieC, Ang, PamA, Me, Holly) <--from left to right 

Traci, Ang & Pam Higgins 

Shanda & Holly... my lovely little redheaded friends... :) 

Angie's getting married!!!

So... we had her bridal shower this past weekend which went SO perfectly! :) It was a little stressful in the morning getting everything together, but way fun after that... I was def. bummed I didn't get to see Angie before (cause I was running around everywhere) but it was fun just to be with her there and everyone else too! In the morning I hung out with my mom and went shopping for Angie's present which was fun... and then ran a bunch of errands and then headed to Pam's apartment for set-up. Holly was a doll and helped keep my head on straight... :) heehee I love that girl! Pam had made amazing Italian food with her husband, Ken... Mmmmmm... yay for authentic Italian food! Everyone got there around 6pm (along with my little mom, Jen, with our ice and candy we forgot!) and talked a bit... It was a perfect balance of games and chatting and stuff... My favorite parts were definitely the scrapbook we made for her during the shower and then the game of "How well does the couple know each other?" where Angie had to put a piece of bubbalicious gum in her mouth for every wrong answer... I was laughing hysterically along with everyone else... a perfect topper to the evening - then we prayed, ate some incredible cake and then cleaned up! It was a busy day, but so much fun! I spent the next day with my family which was just really nice. It was cool to have some good conversations and see what's going on in their lives and have them see mine as well... fun times, fun times. :) Holly took me back up and then I just chilled the rest of the night! :)

Fourth of July

Fireworks!! 

My silly friends... They keep me laughing :) 

Paul & Chrystal watching fireworks 

Chris & Tina (and Rachel sleeping in mommy's lap) at the stadium 

Jonathon & Jason bein' silly 

Tim & Kenji chowin' down 

Chris & I chillin... 

Paul... passionately flipping burgers... 

Independence Day

So, Pablo, Chrystal and I got off work at 5pm & then we decided to have a BBQ in the Hart courtyard. :) We got some burgers and rootbeer & ice cream (for later) and then cooked some yummy burgers. Chris came and joined us which was fun... then Jason and Jonathon and Kenji & Tim & Yemesi (sp?) which was funny, cause we definitely didn't know more than Jason was coming, but it was fun anyways... Then Chrystal, Pablo, Chris & I drove to Cerritos college for fireworks which was SO cool! Oh my goodness. Chris's dad was working security, so he got us right in front on the field with his family (Tina) and it was AWESOME. Miles McPherson spoke which was okay, I guess... I def. don't agree with some of the ways he put things... but I know he had good intentions... just came across a little weird. But my dad always says, if even one person got something good out of it, don't toss it... I guess I'll do that. :) The fireworks were AMAZING! They had this one that was like an ocean wave and then these other ones that kinda went in a spiral... SO much fun - I LOVE fireworks. Yes, I'm 21 and I get THAT excited about fireworks... I'll never grow up in that respect. :) haha Then Chris went home and Pablo, Chrystal and I had yummy rootbeer floats... and then I typed an essay (oops!) for my class (which is FINALLY OVER!!!!) Yay for fun times with fun friends... :)

Jen's Bday

At the beach...  

You can't see it, but where those scratches in the sand are, it's glowing neon green!! :)  

Suckin' it down... :) heehee... not really... :) She's so adorable 

Em & her nasty coffee 

Holly, Me, Jen & Em @ Olive Garden for her bday :) 

Jeffrey with his army men :) 

Jen's 22nd Bday

So... Holly and I decided to randomnly drive down to San Diego for Jen's birthday (which, by the way, was the same 4th of July weekend...hellooo traffic!). But... we thought it'd be fun. :) So, after 3.5 hours of driving, we finally got there and hung out a bit with the Sanderson clan and then left with Shmem for the Olive Garden. We had lotsa fun and caught up and relaxed... then we went to La Jolla to see the ocean in red tide! It was AMAZING! Oh my goodness - we were having SOOO much fun! Whenever you walk in the sand, it glows neon green because of some plankton/bacteria thingies... I don't know what the biochemistry is behind it - I just thought it looked cool! :) haha Anyways, we had some good times with that... we walked along the coast and had good conversation, which is ALWAYS my favorite part about people... it's what makes us unique - what we think about the world, how we process things, what we think is right or wrong and the reasons behind our thinking... People fascinate me - and I love that my friends are still growing and changing enough that I'm still fascinated by who they're becoming... what a privilege to be a part of watching them get older and getting older with them. :) There's still that sweetness of good 'ol friends, but each of us has grown up and changed in little ways for the better... how fun. :) We talked about goals and dreams and ideas... I loved it. :) Gosh, I love my friends...