The Beach (Beaches)

Jeez, it's almost 9 and I haven't eaten yet. The family and I have been at Newport beach since Thursday. We have some friends that live down here. It's really great. They have a house right on the beach. But it's not even a crowded beach. It's like they have their own little cove. So we've been relaxing and being a family and stuff. They have a son that lives in Switzerland with his family, and they're all down to visit. It's really cool listening to Tim talk about all of his stories. Like the wedding he went to in London, or the trip to Vienna. But another cool thing to hear is his two daughters talking to each other. They speak Swiss- German, along with some english. So I'll try to get some pictures up here later. However, this isn't my computer, so there's not much I can do.

We went camping last weeked, at yet another beach. My aunt and uncle came, as well as two of their daughters, Jessica and Ashely. Then their aunt, uncle and cousins came. Also their other cousin, Hailey (the one I consider my cousin) and her mom... I lost track... I think that's everyone. So the total was 16, I think. It was a great time. My cousin Haley from Maryland told us to use Reese's instead of chocolate with our smore's. I think my mom said it best- "It'll be hard to go back". It was really good... I went on at least 5 bike rides on a path along the beach. It was really refreshing. I think I'm addicted. I'll get some pictures of that trip up later too.

Mark went home on So You Think You Can Dance. It's depressing, but I'll get over myself soon enough. The finale is next Wednesday. And then no more of that show until next year... Too bad.

I have a cousin that's on semester at sea. I don't know if anyone cares, but her and her boyfriend started a blog. The only thing that I think any of you would want to see are the pictures of these great places. They've already been to Canada, Italy, Norway and Russia. Pretty cool stuff... So it's pseurotrip.blogspot.com.

I'm going to go play Nerts. (I know, obsessive.) Still waiting for dinner...

-Julia

Weddings, Parties and Socializing... Ew

Last Saturday I went to my first wedding ever. It was a friend's- Alex. The whole thing was really sweet. It was a relatively small wedding, compared to what I imagine a wedding to be. I saw an old friend from middle school there too. So I sat and talked with her. Which was hard, but I guess I pulled it off. So weddings are nice, and now I can't wait until my sisters.

Right afterwards we went to a party of another family friend. They are insanely rich, so the party was amazing. They had at least three different caterers, a wait staff and a drink bar. I was telling my cousin Hailey that I felt bad when the waiters came to take our cups and plates and things. I wanted to stand up and say "I can do it myself you know...". And we both agreed that one of the waiters looked exactly like Chase from the TV show House. One of the guests there was the writer and director of the show Gilmore Girls. Susan, who was throwing the party is her sister-in-law. Pretty crazy stuff... Yea, good time. I had some Crush soda...

Yesterday I went bowling with a mass of clarinet players. It was fun, and I sucked. 80 was my highest score. Yea, it was frustrating. Especially with John at some 150. I had a strong urge to kick him after he got his 4th or 5th spare. I should have... And then today I went bowling again with family including Haley from Maryland. (Not the same Hailey from the party, if you care.) And I bowled worse than the first time. Oh well...

I'm going camping tomorrow... Doheny. Even though I went to the beach 2 weeks ago, I'm still excited for it. I can't remember the last time I went camping. Oh, and we're bringing lots of cards, to play Nerts. Hopefully we'll get more of them hooked. And maybe Hailey can beat us this time. Okay, I'm off to Costco...

-Julia

I Love Juice

Sudden realization the other day as I was getting ready to eat my breakfast-for-dinner: I love juice. It's great stuff. I had some Strawberry Kiwi. And then some Orange-Peach-Mango. It was delicious. You guys should all go drink some juice now.

I've figured it out that I don't have a free day until school starts again. Wait, take it back- I have two. Yes! The 21st and 29th of July... Oh yea... That's exciting. Between babysitting, school and family I have no extra time. It's pretty crazy and really tiring.

Earlier this month, my cousin Haley flew in from Maryland. Last time I saw her was two summers ago, and she's changed a lot. It's been really cool spending these past couple of weeks with her. But now my other cousin stole her, and I won't see her as often. Here are some pictures of her and me, when we visited the Devil's Punchbowl this morning.

As most of you know, I have a slight obsession with the show So You Think You Can Dance. Last week we got tickets to see a taping of the Thursday night show (the vote off show). So last night, my mom, dad, cousin and I went to the show! We went inside the studio and everything. It looks so big on TV, but it's tiny in there. We got to see two dances, plus some solos. We saw all of the dancers and I was close enough, I could've touched Mark and Gev. You could see both of my parents on the TV screen a couple of times, because we were in the spot that the camera goes to the most. It's amazing being there, and so much fun. Oh and I also learned that Mary Murphy smiles, even off-camera. Great, great time, and I hope I get to go to another taping soon. After that we walked around in the Grove for a while. We went through the Farmer's Market and I got some Coca-Cola from Mexico, with real sugar, instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup. So much better... Then we kept walking until they started complaining about their feet. Come on, 7 hours standing up- no big deal.

Last Wednesday I went to Terra Nova at my church and they showed this video of Rob Bell. One part I'd like to show you, if you want to see. It's really funny to me. It's about the naming of the animals in Genesis. He does some more with this, but I can't find a video that has it.

The new Relient K cd is out and I just got it in the mail yesterday. The Bird and the Bee Sides. It's 13 of their new songs, and 13 older ones. Sadly, it's not as good as their last album- Five Score and Seven Years ago. But hey, that's just my opinion. I'm still a huge fan of Relient K, I'm just a little disappointed right now. Some of the songs sound a little country-ish to me and one of the few genres of music I cannot stand is country. But I like the rest of the album, and I'd recommend it.

I'd better go watch Hatari. Finally, now that I have a free moment. Enjoy summer.

-Julia

Murderous, Thieving Drunks

Finally, a social life during summer. Well, sort of. I guess not considering most of it was with family... Yea, never mind. But I'm still having fun, so that should count for something.

Last week I went to Priscila's Quinceañera. It was a great time in my opinion, and Priscila looked amazing. I had fun, even if I didn't dance. I got called the party pooper of the night, and I was told I "pulled a Kevin" just standing on the dance floor. But I won't go there. Thanks Pris for inviting me, and I'm glad I could be a part of that night with you.

In the last couple of weeks my family and I have been going movie crazy. Last Sunday we went to see Get Smart. It was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be. Everyone that went said that the laughed a lot more than expected. It did get a little sick at times, which got annoying. But overall, decent movie. I've grown to like the TV show too. Then a couple days later we saw Wall-e, which was really cute. They did a good job, especially with having little to no dialogue in the first half hour or so. Then some of us went to see Hancock. Some of the scenes were really intense, and actually made me jump. So I think that's a good sign.

I missed a band practice last Wednesday because I had another nerdy band class to go to. But somehow, I got the music anyway. Marcea came over that same day, and we had our own practice. It went pretty well, until we both got sick of playing. Then my family convinced her to stay and watch So You Think You Can Dance with us. (Another amazing show.) That was all fun, in a sort of last-minute way. I notice Marcea is one of the few friends I can do that with. Just say "Hey, come over now." And it's not difficult to find something to entertain ourselves with. Also, one of the few friends I can just talk to, and keep talking to. Not even remembering what we were talking about. Just rambling on. That's always nice...

Last Thursday I went to Camille's, this restaurant in Lancaster. My sister decided that they were going to cater her wedding. The serve sandwiches, and chips and salsa, and chicken and tuna salads. It's really exciting that we have that finished. One step closer. And we also bought the Bridesmaid's dresses. And on the 18th a few of us plan on going up to the Punchbowl again, where their wedding is going to be. Okay, enough of this rant.

My 4th of July was really fun. It was one of the biggest parties we've had in a while. There was family, future family, church friends, family of church friends. It was cool. Sadly, the only age group close enough to me was in the 18- 21 year old range. But I was told I wasn't a bother, which was a relief. I like hanging with them. They're entertaining. Oh, and I killed them all at a game of Nerts. That was exciting... And I also heard some horrifying stories about my ancestors. On my dad's side, I have some Scottish. Apparently, we were part of the Campbell Clan. Pretty much all of our surrounding neighbors hated us. So we invited the McNab Clan over for a feast or something like that, to make up for everything. So they were all having a swell time, and they all got drunk. So while all the McNabs were sprawled on the floor, us Campbell's killed them all off... That's awful... And then I hear some of my ancestors on my Mom's side were Italian pirates. And then someone made some comment about us being Irish, and Irish being drunk. So that's where Murderous, Thieving Drunks comes from. But other than that disturbing news, I had a great time. Fireworks were pretty and we had a handful of illegal ones in the valley this year. Here are some pictures.

I've been reading Romans in the handy-dandy Bible lately. And sometimes I get a little confused. But we have this really cool book, called the Message. It's pretty much paraprashing the Bible, and helping people understand it better. I think it does a really good job, because it helps me a lot. I'd suggest it to anyone struggling through the Bible like I am. I'd just say make sure you read the real verses along with it. To get the details. Cool stuff... Oh, and then I was also looking through the Old Testament, looking for the story of Samson. And I read all of these titles I'd never heard of before. Like: Nahum, Haggai, and Habakkuk. I have no clue what's in any of those chapters... I felt kinda bad for not knowing. Well, I guess I'm off to bed, and I think I'll go read Romans now.

-Julia

Happy Belated Chocolate Pudding Day

Yes, that's right. June 26th: National Chocolate Pudding Day. I discovered this in May, and spread the news to the rest of my family. By the time the day came, we were all pretty excited for it. So we went to Albertson's and bought some pudding (chocolate, of course) and sat together and ate that after lunch. Then my mom and I made the best chocolate pudding we've ever attempted to cook. Then, once again, we sat down together and celebrated National Chocolate Pudding day. It sounds silly, but my family is silly. So it's justified. Fun time. I'm glad we all get along...

My avc class has finally started, with our real teacher deciding to show up. In Jamaica? What kind of an excuse is that? (Kidding... By the way... I understand sarcasm is hard to translate over the computer...) It's a pretty easy class as of now, but I know it will get harder. And the review is good for me anyway...

I have this babysitting gig set up with my best friends parents. I get up at 5, go to her house at 6:15, entertain the boys until 4:30 and then go home... It's horrific and extremely tiring. One of them is 9 and the other is 6. The older one is actually pretty obedient and he helps out with the little one... But it's tough. And it wears thin on my patience. But it's worth it, and I only have 7 full days to go...

So You Think You Can Dance is just as amazing as any other season. I'm really enjoying it. By the top 16 it's already tough to watch some of the dancers go. Mark and Chelsie H. are my favorite couple as of yet. Kherington and Twitch are an extremely close second. Joshua and Katee are high on the list. Kourtni and Matt are worth mentioning as well... I could go on with the dancers I love, but it's almost all of them. Here's Mark and Chelsie's "Lyrical Hip-Hop" routine... Whatever that means...

A couple hours ago I finished my latest book "Shadow of the Hegemon". I really enjoyed it. In my opinion, Orson Scott Card is an amazing author. I've only read 3 and a half of his books, but I really liked all of them. I've read Ender's Game, followed by Ender's Shadow, then Shadow of the Hegemon. Next comes Shadow Puppets. This last one was really political, and hard to follow at points, but intense and entertaining. I like the way this critic put it- "The novels of Orson Scott Card's Ender series are an intriguing combination of action, military and political strategy, elaborate war games, and psychology." Plus some historical references. It sounds just nerdy enough for me.

I finished my first summer reading book a while back "The Curios Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime". I'll try not to be to negative about it. I can't say I liked it, but it interested me. I liked seeing the way he thought things out, even if it was perversely wrong. I think the author relayed some emotions well. Decent book I guess, but some of the images it gave were just too creepy for me to enjoy the book completely... Just my opinion.

Well, I should get to bed, I suppose. Have a great weekend.

-Julia

Movies, Fathers, Music... and Movies.

Summer is still boring, so I don't have so much to blog about. Eh, all just fill in all the blanks with random topics. Sound good? (My introductions here are getting worse and worse.)

So, I've certainly kept up my movie marathon. Since my last post I've watched 11 and a half movies. I think... I lost track. So I might be missing some. This time they were mostly reject movies that came on the TV at midnight. I tivoed them anyway. A lot of them were bad, but I watched them. I had to finish them once they started...

• Yours, Mine and Ours- It's about two people that get married and bring together 18 kids. It was cute, I guess. Some of it was funny. Them playing off the whole huge family thing...


• Underclassman- This kid cop goes to a high school to solve a murder. It was an action movie. But I think it was supposed to be a comedy too... They weren't so good with that part...
  
• The Circuit- ABC Family original movie. Enough said?


• Mission to Mars- These astronauts go to Mars, but something bad happens while they are there, and most of the team get killed. So they have to send up a rescue team. So the movie is basically them getting up to Mars. I was kinda disappointed when I found out it was all about aliens. But they put a twist on it, so it was almost satisfying...
  
  
• Sabrina- The 1995 version with Harrison Ford. I can't tell you which I liked better. Probably the version with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. Black and White. Pretty much classic. But it's a tough choice. I liked them both.


• Jumper- We actually rented this one and Sabrina. It was a decent movie. The action was actually entertaining. It wasn't just- car chase, shooting, fighting, more shooting... It went places, and was somewhat fun to watch.
  
• RV- Awful movie. Please don't watch it.


• Herbie Fully Loaded- Possibly even worse than RV. Hard to tell.
  
• Sleepless in Seattle- Personally, not my favorite Meg Ryan/ Tom Hanks movie. It was too easy to tell where the plot was going.
• Clueless- Stupid high school movie. Not as bad as Can't Buy Me Love, but it's pretty stupid. I don't think I finished it... It was just on.


• Local Hero- I only watched half of this one. It's about businessmen that go to Scotland. It was hard to hear and I got tired of turning the volume up. So I just stopped watching it... My tolerance level was low that day...


• Kung Fu Panda- Yea, again. Not the type of movie I would have thought to see again, but I did.
• The Abyss- Really, really intense. It makes you so anxious it's crazy. It's a really great movie I guess. But I can't say I liked it. Because it made me so frustrated and it was hard to watch sometimes. But it was good. I can't really describe it, so I'll stop trying.
  

The second Monday we were out of school, Marcea and I went to Hillview in the morning. We went up to the band room to help our old band teacher, Mr. Farris. I think it was some 2 hours that we spent organizing and filing all three bands' music. It was fun though. And now I've practically memorized the order they go in: Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet... Something like that... And then we took down everything on his walls. That took a couple more hours. With breaks here and there that is. Then for the rest of the time the three of us just sat there and talked. That is, until those stupid brass players came in. (Just kidding.) Yea, three other Hillview alumni came in, and it was pretty cool to see them again. Then Marcea and I ate at Carl's Jr. and watched a movie. Good day.

For Father's Day we went and celebrated with my cousin's family. (Cousin's cousin... Whatever.) We had lunch and then we were all family-ish and stuff. My uncle, my cousin and I had a deep conversation. Well, I guess I should say my uncle and my cousin did. I just took it all in. They would look at me sometimes and say "Do you have anything to add?" I don't even notice, that I'm not saying anything... I just listen... It's what I do. And on the topic of Father's Day: I personally love my father. He's great. Oh, my band dad isn't too bad either.

My avc class started this week. It's pretty easy so far. But it'll get harder, I know. I have way more people I know in that class than I expected, so that's a good thing. Well, I think that's a good thing. It also means I have to try to make small talk during break. I hate small talk...

A happy belated birthday goes to Josh. We went to Dennys and a movie for this "celebration of life". That's when I re-watched Kung Fu Panda. I think we all had a good time.

I still have way to much free time. You can tell by my progress in Kingdom Hearts 2. 25 hours... I find that upsetting/ pathetic... But I'm having fun with it. I kinda screwed it up, because I went backwards in a way. But I think it's back on track now. I'm revisiting worlds now, and I've beat most of them. Beauty and the Beast, Olympus Coliseum, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pride Lands... I can't remember them all. But it is fun. Every time I do something exciting, I run and tell my brother about it. Then he just rolls his eyes and says "Wow... Good Job...". (He's beat the game twice.) I like it though, and I'm actually getting somewhere with it.

So You Think You Can Dance is back on. Good show. It's one of the ones my family and I wait for all year. And the judges actually know what they are talking about, and give advice. Great dancers too. They get better each year. Twitch is my favorite as of now. Here's one of the better dances of the night by Joshua and Katee. Background story: The guy has to go to war, and his girlfriend just found out. It's cute. America's Best Dance Crew is coming on soon too. It's not as good, but I still enjoy some of it. Tomorrow is the premier I think...

Enjoy the rest of your week. Summer starts Friday. The AV is so screwed up. It's been summer for too long already here...

-Julia

5 days down

Summer is boring... I want to actually have something to do. Something productive. Well, I shouldn't complain too much, because I have been filling these past few days with stuff. But still, soooo much extra time. In fact, enough extra time to fit in 11 movies. In the past 5 days... 11 movies... Yea, that bored...

Well I might as well talk about these movies, no? A list should suffice. I like those.

• Once- About undiscovered Irish musicians who run into each other and have a week to record together. Great music. At least I think so. I love their accents. You can hear it in some of their songs. It's rated R, but just because they use the F word about 10 times in the first 30 seconds. They're Irish... It's what they do... Here's one of their songs. This one actually won an Academy Award for best song this year.
  
• Secondhand Lions


• Artificial Intelligence:AI- Weird, weird movie. Didn't really like it. Spielberg kinda freaks me out sometimes...


• The Sixth Sense- I was having a Haley Joel Osment marathon, if you couldn't tell... I can't really talk about this movie, because I'd ruin it if I tried. It's good though. I don't normally like thriller/horror films, but I really enjoyed this one.



• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian- One of few I saw in theaters this week. I think it was Tuesday we went... Can't remember. But my family and I ran into some familiar faces while we were there. I liked the movie, mostly. More than I thought I would. Liked the actors a lot. (Right Sheena?)



• Edward Scissorhands- Strange movie. I bought it myself a little while ago, but I just watched it again. And the whole time I kept saying to myself- What a weird movie! Some things he did were just creepy... Ugh, ew. But it's still good.


• 27 Dresses- The character was just too dramatic. Everything that occurred, she had a problem with. Even if it wasn't a big deal. That was the only problem I had with the movie though...


• The Bourne Ultimatum- Action movie. I guess it was good. I liked a few of the scenes. It kinda sucked that you didn't really know what the plot was until the last 3 minutes of the movie.


• The Hunt for Red October- History geek movie. Only got to watch half of it today though.


• Kung Fu Panda- Saw it in theaters today. Actually ran into Anthony from Clarinet Choir there. The one who played Bass. That was pretty cool. He recognized me too. It's not like I had to walk up to him and explain myself. Anyways, about the movie. It was funny when it was trying to be funny. But when they tried to be serious with it, it wasn't very good. Normally, Jack Black drives me crazy. But I was okay with him being the voice of the Panda, because I couldn't see his face. That helped.


• Can't Buy Me Love- Quite possibly the cheesiest high school film I have ever watched. My family and I just finished laughing at it. It was really stupid, and really predictable. It bothered me. But I started it, so I had to finish.
  

So my total is 11. Ten plus the half of Once I watched again, and the half of Hunt for Red October. Yep, that's bored I've been.

I'm gonna go backwards, back to my cousins graduation in Stockton. She showed us this short film she had to do for one of her classes. It's pretty funny to me, just because I know the cast/ director/ setting. So I liked it. Here it is.

Okay, back to my boring summer. With this free time I've decided to take up knitting. Well, re-take up. I started a scarf a while ago, and I'm trying to finish it. I sit in my pool room, listen to vinyl and knit. Pretty lame, I know. But that's me.

This last Wednesday Marcea and Priscila came over. That's when we watched Edward Scissorhands and 27 Dresses. (Thanks for bringing it over Pris.) Then we played a couple of board games, including Life. I lost miserably. Some $400,000 while Marcea was in the millions. Those arrogant rich. Priscila was rich to, but she was still nice. Our kids have play dates together. Then we had some dinner, and I had to make Priscila Mac and Cheese, because she's so difficult like that... Then she left and Marcea and I made brownies and played the 5th grade version of Brain Quest for 2 hours. Good times...

Off track again- My sister showed us this new band today. It's called Vampire Weekend. I'm debating if I like their music or not. It's kinda strange. Their songs are really short, and repetitive, but it's still okay. I'll put up a song, and gather opinions? Here's "Campus".

Just to prove my band geeky-ness I went to my old middle school last night for their final concert. It was great. I came early, brought my tuner, and was put to work. Well, basically. I got to talk to some kids before that. Ones coming to QH. A trumpet/ french horn player I'm really excited about. Because he really likes band, and he's good, and he started talking about band camp and asking questions and stuff. So I think he's really gonna like marching band. I hope he does. Hope he sticks with it. I like this kid! So yea, they sounded really good. Jazz band honestly was sorta falling apart during a couple of songs. But you could tell the ones they rehearsed, because they sounded great. Cadet band was.... ehhhh, it was cadet band. Concert band sounded really good too. They played the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, (Still have to see that. I've seen 2010, so I might as well see that one) and Indiana Jones something. I thought that was kinda ridiculous, but I guess it was fun for them. And then they played some other songs. It would've given me goosebumps if they filled the room more. They almost did though. It was good. Then I was very proud when they all decided they were going to Coldstones afterwards. They said it was "tradition". I was glad. So the whole night I felt like a loner and a nerd, but I guess it was worth it. Again, lame. I know.

Okay, that's it I think.

-Julia