Life is Good

School is even busier than last year! Yesterday I had two tests and then today, a paper due. The rest of my week should be good, though this weekend didn't involve much rest. However, through all the studying, it did involve my friend Shanan's birthday. His roommate, Jordan, threw him a BBQ at Jordan's grandparents house, since it is Montecito. So, all of us found rides over there and got to gather with music, ping pong, great food and great people. It was so much fun to just get off campus for a while and be in a house. And Jordan's family was so nice to have all of us over and cook a full on meal for 20 people. We spent the evening simply hanging out and playing volleyball/soccer with a giant bouncy ball (so great!) and celebrating Shanan's birthday. Also, Brad brought his blow dart gun, which he let all that wanted to, try. On my second try I actually manged to hit the can we used as a target! It was exciting.

Other fun happenings this year have included going to the farmers market, dinner, making dinner a couple of time with Brent. We are getting pretty good at stealing food from the DC to add to our creations.

Rooming has been going good as well. A couple weeks ago the three of us stayed up till like 3 talking. I began mocking Barrett, because every night she says that she is just going to sleep on the futon because she doesn't want to climb up into her bed. I climbed on her bed and said I was just going to sleep there. Her response was to go and lay on Amy's bed and then Amy climbed up onto mine. We turned out the light and ended up talking for another while and then eventually all just fell asleep. Waking up was so confusing. Oh, the randomness of college.

Also, It has been so hot lately that Barrett and I decided to sleep outside the other night. It was really nice down on the lawn, under the stars. We woke up around 4 and headed back inside though because we didn't want people to start waking up, walking around and wonder why two people were just sleeping on the grass. So, when we went back to our room, I decided that it was too hot to sleep on my top bunk and so i slept on the futon. At 9:00 my wake up call came in the form of a heavy object coming in contact with my jaw. It was Barrett's phone that fell from her bed (she also has a top bunk) coming in contact with my face. As she searched her bed for it, I whimpered and held it up to her. We started laughing, but my jaw is still a bit bruised.

Oh, and I almost forgot. There was a karaoke night a couple weeks ago, which was really fun. Amy, Shea, John (new RD of my old dorm) and I sang "Ice Ice Baby"...pretty hilarious and so fun.

Well, as you can see, college life has been great. I'm really excited to go home for our four day break next weekend though. It will be nice to get away for a few days, have some time with my family and hopefully just relax.

Oh, speaking of family, my mom, Katie and my grandma came up to visit me last week. It was really great; we went to the zoo, had lunch and dinner and just drove around Santa Barbara. It was really fun to see them, although I was sick, so that was kind of a bummer.

Anyway, I'll update soon about some deeper stuff going on in my life.

Over and out. :)

Wacky Adventures at Westmont

Being back at school has been busier than I had ever imagined. I can't believe I've only been here two weeks; it feels like two months. My classes all require an insane amount of reading this semester, but I think I'm really going to like most of them. I'm taking Principles of Art, History of Western Art (which is SO interesting, but also SO much information to take in), Major American Writers (I'm really enjoying that, since I feel like I don't really have a good basis of American Literature), Christian Doctrine and Outdoor Education (we get to hike, boulder/rock climb and kayak for that class!!! how sweet is that?!?!). Despite the work load, classes are going well so far.
In addition to classes, it's been great being back and seeing everyone again. Already this year we have had quite a few memorable experiences; late night walks in the moonlight, a night hike in order to show Shanan this awesome tree house we found, cooking dinner in the common kitchen, Barrett going on a rampage, throwing things around the room and a section beach day. Barrett's rampage was initiated one night when she said she "...simply wanted people to let her annoy them, but they [were] ignoring [her] efforts." She sat down in the middle of our floor, doing Indian calls and throwing objects at the ceiling. Amy and I tried to sedate her by the method of smothering her with a blanket. It failed and Barrett then grabbed a jacket and threw it in the air, hitting a string we have going across our room with pictures hanging on it and causing all the pictures to fly every which way. Hysterical.
Another evening, Shanan made us all laugh so hard we cried. I don't even know exactly what he said...something about a cookie, but in one of the weirdest voices I've ever heard. As soon as the tears of laughter began coming to our eyes, he jumps up from the table, screaming "I made Barrett cry!" and then does a victory lap around the building, which only made the three of us laugh harder.
But, I think so far the most embarrassing moment of the year goes to me (surprise, surprise). One afternoon I decided it was necessary to build a contraption that would allow the hot water pot and i'ts heating base to stick to the desk for easier access. I was quite proud of my invention, despite my roommates unsupportive comments. Later that evening a wire rack that was holding pictures falls off the wall and crashes down. As I was trying to stand on my desk, putting the thing back on the wall, Amy and Barrett start making fun of me, sarcastically saying how great my handy work is. I retort "Well, my hot water heater contraption has stayed so far and it's been all afternoon...and it will be there forever." Just then, I stepped to the left onto the edge of my desk, hitting the hot water pot, causing it to fall and spill all over Barrett and the futon that was underneath it. Luckily it wasn't hot, but it was full and she was completely soaked. We all couldn't breath for the next ten minutes because we were laughing so hard. Then Barrett thought it would be good punishment to tackle me, but she forgot to move her bowl of coffee ice cream, which my face went into. She saw that it was already ruined and proceeded to smash my face into it even more. Our suite mates actually came over to see if we were okay because they didn't know if we were all laughing or crying. They probably think we are insane...not too far off either.
It's been different being back with college students all the time, but I'm loving the randomness that college life brings. It was so much easier to adjust this year, coming back to something that is familiar. Living in Armington with Amy and Barrett has also been great thus far. We have been having a lot of fun and not getting much studying done...kidding, of course we are getting our school work done.
Anyway, I'll tell more about being back at Westmont soon.
Ciao!

And Just Like that Summer is Over...

Man, am I slacking on the updates or what. I am back at school now, but before I get into that, I'll briefly say a few things about the last weeks of my summer.

-I was able to high jump once this summer! It felt so good to be back out there and reminisce about my track experience. It was also a lot of fun to see Coach Jim and to be able to take a few jumps that kind of just clicked in a way.

-I was able to spend some time with some people that are important to me before the summer ended. Amy, August, Grace and I got to have a last hang out and we tie-dyed, which was quite the experience. We also made smores, which was even more of an experience as you can see... haha . August pulled it out of the broiler and flames were everywhere...it was great.

-I went on a series of adventures with Amy (from college Amy) and Shanan throughout southern California. It included getting lost many times, an awful cop giving me a parking ticket, but also many laughs.

-I was able to go to the beach one night with Amy (from home). We had lots of fun taking pictures and having some good conversations.-August and I painted another picture. It included things from our lives that we like and yes, there is a cemetery because we like them :). August also taught me how to make yogurt, which turned out delicious!

-My parents went out of town as well, so I got to hang with Katie for a couple days. We had fun and even went to the candy store and to see Despicable Me, which is an awesome movie if you were thinking about seeing it.

Well, that was a quick overview of the highlights from the last few weeks of my summer. Oh, and did I mention that Justin got an internship in LA, so he is now back, living with my family. They gave him my room too. :( haha, i'm kidding...it's not a big deal. He keeps joking he is going to paint it dark red, which i said would be cool, and add shag carpet. haha