golf pics from mammoth and a surprise

these are the last pics from mammoth... jenny and i went and hit a few golf balls at the driving range in mammoth... what a view, eh? it was amazing hitting golf balls into the mountains... ok, maybe not that far, but in the direction of the mountains.
now for the surprise: i found a new home for my bunny (we've been trying to find a place for her where she can get lots of love and attention). i have been dreading the task, but when i heard that friends of mine from house church where going to get a bunny for their kids, i knew that it was meant to be. oreo (the coolest bunny in the whole entire world... and the cutest) went to a new home today, and she absolutley loved it. the boys loved her too, and oreo was really chill... she totally let the boys hold her and pet her. i was soooo happy that it worked out, because i still get to see her every now and then :) the last pic is a pic of the boys and oreo together.
hooroo

sweet moves and yummy fish

so we ate the fish we caught in mammoth... they were delicious... yum yum. but before we ate, me and jenny (i mean, jenny and i... school is starting soon!) tore up the street with our sweet moves. nobody can shred like we can... check out the air i got! and look how low jenny can go! ya, we're amazing.
on another note, after filming a... well, lets just call it long... wedding last night, i started to see that this could be a side job for me. so far, i've been getting the weddings through the referals of friends, and it's been working good... i have one more to do for sure in december. but, as i was talking to irene (the gal that uses scissors to change the length of my hair) she was saying how it was hard for her in the real estate industry because she can only get referrals or people she knows. i told her i about my wedding videography, and she told me i should make business cards. i laughed at first, but today, i laugh no more. i have decided to make business cards, and after much speculation, i have created a company name along with a clever design. my company name: well, i can't ruin it for you... you have to recieve an official business card from me... i will be making them tonight. i have also come up with the idea of having assistance while i do my job... yes, i have created my aid, Techy Jenny. she'll hold the camera bag or something. i have also decided to save all my earnings from the weddings to go towards a new video camera. the one i have and use now has "used for family vacations and baby's first steps" written all over... you know, the kind that people uses when they catch "america's funniest home videos" moments. well, my next one will be a bit more professional, hopefully. so, hopefully this wedding thing will become a little more serious.
yup yup, the company is growing. lots of decisions...
check out the sweet pics below!

gone fishin' (for the first time)

ok, so lets tell this story from beginning to end.
today was my first time going fishing, and by golly i started fishing in style. we were out on the lake, finished eating our lunch that we packed, and prepared for a day of fishing. we rented a pontoon (what a weird word) for half day, so we got out on convict lake at about noon. so, after eating, i cast out for the first time... i waited, i was bored. cast again, waited, bored again. after ten minutes of this cycle, i cast out again, but this time, different result. all of the sudden, i felt a really strong pull. at first i thought my line was stuck, but then the fish started running away (or swimming i guess). i can't even find a way to acurately put into words what the next 10 minutes were like... i'll have to act it out for some of you guys when i get home, but for now i will try to describe it. the fish (which i later neamed 'spike') was going hard and fast away from me. i was reeling him in but he was pulling line out faster than i could reel him in... my pole was bent into a complete semi-circle (is that an oxymoron?). i thought my pole was going to snap, and my arms were hurting like crazy. i was putting the fishing pole in my stomach so that i could have some stability and extra strength. however, all my reeling, pulling, and holding on proved to be useless... he was going too far, too fast, and too strong. next thing i know, SNAP! i ran out of fishing line and the last piece of line snapped of the reel. spike had gotten away. we concluded that spike was at least 10 pounds, no joke. look at the pic of my pole bent, and i think that'll support our guess. i know fishing stories tend to be exagerated, but this one is so not. and to prove that i don't exagerate fishing stories, i have one more, and it's not as exciting.
below are two pics of me holding my first fish... unfortunatly, he wasn't spike (i was so mad he got away), but that didn't take away the feeling of catching my first fish. he was about a foot long, and the fight to get him was pretty good. he jumped out of the water a few times, but otherwise, it was a good catch. it was also my first time ever holding a fish, hence the weird look on my face.
so, since the showdown with spike, i have been addicted to the routine of casting, waiting, and reeling in. i never really understood fishing before, but now that i have seen that there is a challenge, and a possible fight to be had, i have been hooked (wow, i have just been doing well with these puns these last few days :) my competetivness with slimy things that swim has brought me to add another hobby to my list.
jenny caught a fish as well... it was funny, cause i looked over at jenny and her slightly bent fishing pole, and all she said was, "uh, i think i caught something." everybody caught one fish today. it was fun.
right now, after spending 8 hours on a pontoon, i am really feeling like i am still on a boat and it is making me sick.. so i need to stop typing...




this is the pic of the spike showdown!

more pics

gull lake... beautiful

by the way, i changed the post with the tree pictures (it was two days ago i think).. i added some words of explanation/clarification :)

yay for kayaking!

ok, so i love kayaking.... i absolutely LOVE TO KAYAK. when we come to mammoth is the only time i get to kayak... once a year. i make sure to enjoiy it as much as i can. by the way, did you know kayak is a palindrome? well, it is.
every year we go to gull lake because we have made it a necessary part of our trip. we have to go kayaking at gull lake, and meanwhile the rest fish in a little motor fishing boat (psh, forget the motor, it's all about manual labor).
so yesterday was gull lake day; jenny and i kayaked and paddle boated. normally we have a two seater kayak, but that one was broken so we each rented a one seater. it was a bit of a bummer because the two seater helps with teamwork. however, the seperat kayaks proved to be VERY fun. we kayaked for two hours and paddle boated for one hour. what a work out! that paddle boat was impossible to get moving, it was crazy! i have never felt that kind of burn in my legs before. the paddle boat was red and glittery... it looked like an oversized version of dorothy's red slippers. : ) in the kayaks we had a lot of fun... we even went backwards for a while. we crashed into eachother quite a few times, and the wind was SO strong. kayaking (an paddle boating) was so hard going into the wind. the water was super choppy and we got soaked. i made the mistake (twice) of turning my kayak sideways so that the waves in the water nearly tipped me over. one time, a little water got in when i almost tipped... anyway, towards the end of our kayaking sessions, we just laid back and floated around in the kayak (that's what the pic of me laying in the kayak is from). and of course, being on a lake for multiple hours means multiple tan lines, including the sunglass tan. jenny got some good shorts tan lines, as did i (mine was on purpose though, you know, with tennis season coming up). after we got back from dinner, we looked for a few shooting stars. i found that the best spot to search from was from atop my car, even though i didn't see any.
so today, we will be going to convict lake where i will be fishing for my first time ever... yup, never even held a pole.

dress-up and climbing

i see things, and i want to climb them. i saw a tree with a branch that was extending over and across the path about 15 feet above the ground, and i wanted to climb it. so i did :) the very bottom picture (haha, no pun intended) was when i first got on the branch. i was stuck for a bit just hanging there on my stomach, but i eventually made it into the sitting position, and then the laying position which was most comfortable. it was so much fun!
the pics from the post before this are from me and jenny dressing up in this one store. don't we look awesome? speaking of stores, on of my favorite things about the stores out here at this time of year is that everything, EVERYTHING, is on sale. i got some shoes that were on clearance for $25, and they are normally $60. all clothes and jackets are on sale too, it's crazy!
so ya, that's it for now! enjoy the pics!

i'm growing

this is totally unrelated to mammoth, but i figured i would just say it anyway... i am totally growing taller. i'm having growing pains like crazy... it doesn't really hurt, it's just an ache. anyway, i am growing.
we just got back from dinner. we ate at this place that's on a ranch where they have a petting zoo and what-not. we didn't pet any animals this time, but jenny and i will definitly go back and pet a few goats. while we were eating, i happened to turn and look out the window only to see a guy 20 yards away relieving himself in a bush. not exactly what i wanted to see while eating dinner. it was really embarassing. otherwise, the food was great, and the atmosphere was fun. unfortunatly, i didn't have my camera at dinner tonight.
here are some pictures from earlier today... we got to ride a trolley for free!!! isn't it great when things are free? especially things like trolley rides.
Jenny thinks the sky is falling.

made it to mammoth!

well, we are here at our condo in mammoth, and i have got to say, it's awesome to be back up here, and it's amazing how easily i get back into the swing of things here... it's like i never left. i'm sitting on my bed, watching andy roddick win a tennis match, and knowing that the mountains are outside. It is so beautiful out here.
The drive up took over 6 hours... it was my first time (and my car's first time) going that far in one day. we made a few pitstops, but otherwise, it was a lot of driving. i enjoyed it, and i got to see more than usual. it was my first time ever not sleeping on the drive to mammoth (it's a good thing i didnt sleep). on the other hand, jenny did a lot of that, and so did my dog. here are some pics. the pic of me is from when we got to the condo... i wasn't really that tired. Jenny took some serious napping time, as you can see. And my dog can be a bit rebelious. The sign was as far as he went though.

later!

last adventure

well, not the last adventure forever, just for the summer... besides, life is an ongoing adventure, right?
anyway, we will be leaving in about 30 minutes to go to mammoth ("we" being my parents, grampa, raija, me, and my frienbor jenny... that's friend and neighbor combined). this year, the traveling is being done a little differently... i think i have already mentioned it in multiple other posts, but i will say it again, cause i am excited. me jenny will be going seperatly in my car because i get to come home early so i can catch the last day of tennis try-outs. so, we will be following my parents on the way there; but on the way back, completly solo!!!
first taste of a road trip... 6 hours of driving with a few fun stops.
well, i will be posting pics and what-not while up in mammoth, so be sure to check!
did i mention that my little dog will be going to mammoth with us. well, actually, he'll be staying in bishop, which is about 45 minutes before mammoth, but we always spend a day in bishop, so we'll get to check him out and take him around town. it'll be tippy's first road trip as well (he'll be in my parents' car.

that's it for now!!!

hooroo :)

my last until after school starts...

i've been noticing that a lot of things have been coming up where i find myself saying, "this is the last time i {blank} until school starts..." for instance, today was my last guitar lesson until we start school and start playing in chapels and practicing before school. today was also my last tennis lesson until my first day of school... it's crazy how many "lasts" there are. it's crazy that it means summer is pretty much over.
here's the thing. i don't think i am too bummed summer is over; in a good way. i have had a filled and busy summer... filled with good and healthy things... not like summer homework. i feel that it has been good and i don't feel that i have wasted much time, and i don't feel that there is anything that i didn't get to do. we still have our mammoth trip yet (we leave friday) and then right when i get back, i have tennis tryouts. unfortunately, my family trip is the same week as tryouts, so i am driving home early to get back in time for the last day. i am so excited for this tennis season. then i have week after i come home, and on the 6th of september, i begin my senior year... CRAZY. I believe i started this blog back when i was a sophomore, and now i am a senior. man time flies, or shall i say the TP roll goes fast (if you don't understand the toilet paper refrence, look in an earlier post around the time of school ending to see an explanation)

now for some fun facts:
these are tennis world records... the first 4 are all held by the same guy... i believe they are up-to-date.

-LONGEST RALLY (regular tennis rules apply): 15,674 hits. it took 9 hours and 45 minutes to complete this task.
-LONGEST RALLY WITH TWO BALLS IN PLAY: 2,789 hits... it took 35 minutes
-SERVING RECORD: hit 8,017 in-serves in a row within 10 hours and 7 minutes
-MAN VS MACHINE- 5,792 shots in a row
-SHORTEST PLAYING TIME: the match was 3 hours long, but the amount of time that the ball was in play was 9 minutes. this shows that tennis isn't all about the strokes... there's a lot more that happens the other 2 hours and 51 minutes (this was a match that becker played)
-SHORTEST MATCH: 45 minutes... rod laver won in straight sets (3 sets since it was wimbledon)

well that's it for now!

time for bed!

hooroo

quick pic

my brother came home last wednesday, and he is leaving tomorrow... time went sooo fast. anyway, i just wanted to put up a quick pic from the day he came home, and i will have more later from tonight (a going away party).
i will post tonight...

bumper stickers, tee-offs, and mentos

well, the bumper sticker is from hawai'i, but the tee-off and mentos are recent. I liked this bumper sticker because "tita" is my mums nickname that her dad calls her.
I went golfing with jenny on sunday... no, it was not my putting-tribute to my nonna, but it was kind of like a stake out, you know, to see if it was a good course for it... and it definitly is. so, i believe this sunday will be the day of my putt-putt challenge. anyway, these pics are from the 18 holes jenny and i played... twas quite fun :) my caddy wasn't pleased with my club choices i made at times...
now, these last pics... well, it was the first time i have ever done something after the tv told me "do not try this at home". it seemed harmless enough, so i did it. you all should try it some time... buy a 2-liter thing of DIET COKE... must be diet... and a box of original mint mentos... not the fruity kind. go home, go on your lawn, open the diet coke and quickly drop in two mentos ( i prefer to use more than two, but the pic is from when i used two). the result will be awesome (as it was on tv :) less than half a bottle was all that was left...