Blog

A Diamond Head Kind of Day

You’ve all waited a week for this and here’s day two of my Hawaiian adventure! We started Saturday morning off bright and early, since we were still on our clocks back home to hike Diamond Head. For those of you who don’t know, Diamond Head is the crater of a former volcano. The hike was kind of challenging, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Except for the stairs. Oof, there’s one way you can hike which consists mostly of stairs, and that just seemed awful, so I recommend taking the other path if you ever decide to visit Oahu. The view from the top and also on the way up was stunning and quite peaceful, considering the masses of people that had also joined us to hike that morning. Next on our agenda was Hanama Bay and the blowhole. We drove up to a scenic stop to see Hanama Bay from above and I’ve never seen bluer water in all my life. Wow was it beautiful. If you’re looking for a good, safe place to snorkel, I heard that Hanama Bay is the place to be. The Halona Blowhole, which isn’t too far down from Hanama Bay, is a spot where water sprays from this hole in the rocks and the views there are stunning as well. Watching the waves crash on the rocks and just looking out at the gorgeous, blue water made me so happy. Traveling out to these spots is definitely a longer drive from Honolulu so if you plan to visit, be prepared for a long car trip. To add on to this already amazing day, we saw even more beautiful sights at the Byodo-In Temple. This place was my favorite by far. The Byodo-In Temple is a replica of a temple built in Japan and the atmosphere and beauty of this place was just surreal. The overall vibe there was peaceful and serene and it was so wonderful. We had a chance to walk around the gardens and ponds there and also head into the temple. There we lit some incense and viewed the massive Buddha statue. Being in the temple was so calming and it’s a feeling I never want to forget. Unfortunately, we had to leave the Byodo-In Temple at some point, and we did. Now it was time for some Dole Whip. Yay! There was another somewhat long drive ahead of us and then we arrived at Dole Plantation. We were on a mission and our mission was accomplished when we sat down at our table and snacked on Dole Whip. There really is no way to describe how delicious or refreshing Dole Whip is. If you haven’t ever had it, please do at some point. I had an idea of what it would taste like, since I had some at Disneyland when I was there two years ago, but Hawaii didn’t fail to disappoint. There were little chunks of pineapple in the Dole Whip which made it even better. I also got to see how pineapples grow, which is not at all what I expected. They grow from the ground and when farmers want to plant pineapple, they cut it in half horizontally and stick one of the halves back in the ground and voila, more pineapple! Dole Plantation offers tours of the fields and has a train ride around the whole place, which we didn’t do, but if you’ve got kids and are looking for something fun to do, this might just be it!

See you all next week where I talk about my history day in Hawaii. Have a beautiful week you beautiful people! 🙂 Aloha!

June 3, 2018
Aloha Oahu

As of today, I have been in Hawaii for three magical days and before I get going on what I’ve been up to, let me clarify a few things. No, I am not seeing lava anywhere, that’s on the Big Island. I am on Oahu. Also, continuing on the topic of the volcano, the entire island of Hawaii is NOT covered in lava. It’s just a small portion of the Big Island that is directly affected by the lava. My prayers and thoughts go out to those affected by Kilauea’s eruption and the lava flow. Vog can be seen from Oahu and it’s somewhat hazy here, but other than that it’s perfectly fine here.

I left for the Hawaiian islands on May 25th, which was this past Friday. Before leaving for Hawaii we stayed in Arizona for the night. As far as I know there aren’t any direct flights from Denver to Honolulu so yeah… When we left on the 26th, we were welcomed to Honolulu with a traditional lei greeting and then left to get our rental car. Following that, we went to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is where we are staying for the next week in the Grand Waikikian and grabbed some lunch. Funny story with that actually. My aunt, uncle, and I ordered our meals and the waitress just kept coming back and saying, “Your meal will be out shortly. I promise.” Yeah, shortly, as in 40 minutes later. She felt really bad and we ended up eating for free there. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant, but they had really good chicken tacos which was great. After getting settled into our room, it was time to do some grocery shopping. This was where my aunt and uncle introduced me to my new addiction: Maui Sweet Onion chips. Oh, they’re so good! We bought some stuff for sandwiches and a wide variety of fruits and headed back to the hotel. By this time, it was around 6 o’clock Hawaiian time and we were all exhausted because that’s 10 o’clock MST.

We ate a quick dinner, took our first walk along Waikiki Beach and then waited for the firework show to begin. Every Friday night, Hilton does an AMAZING 4-minute firework show on the beach, which is pretty cool. We caught the firework show and once that was done, we crashed. Adjusting to the time difference has been one of the toughest things, but we’re all managing, and I seem to be adjusting quickly.

I’m currently three days into this trip and I know I’m gonna have A LOT to say about it, so I will be posting each day as a blog post, so if you’re all up for it, get ready for a bunch of travel blog posts. Good night from Honolulu!

May 27, 2018
A Graduation Celebration

As I celebrate my high school graduation with friends and family today, I can’t help but feel so happy and loved and supported. And of course, SO HAPPY TO BE DONE! WAHOO!

My school held our ceremony at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado which was a pretty cool venue considering that some pretty famous music groups and artists have performed there including Lorde and Bastille. It was kind of chilly yesterday morning, but nothing we Coloradans aren’t used to. I had to be at the 1st Bank Center much earlier than most of the soon-to-be graduates because I got to speak at graduation. As one of the student council co-presidents I had the honor of starting graduation off and giving the big welcome speech. From what I heard afterward, my speech went well and I didn’t trip or fall going up to the podium or walking back from it, so yay!

The ceremony was very nice and when we finally got to chuck those caps in the air it finally set in that I was done with high school. High school was so much fun and I met some truly amazing people who I’m happy to call friends. 🙂 The rest of the day was spent with family and we ate way too much food, but it’s all good. It was totally worth it.

It was no easy feat to go through 13 years of schooling. From my small charter school to the gigantic public high school (well at least it seemed that way as a freshman) I just graduated from, I put in many, many hours to get to where I am today. I remember my first day of kindergarten and being left with my giant box of school supplies. We immediately started coloring and getting to know one another. I also remember my last day of high school at our goodbye ceremony we call Eagle Flight. As I walked down the lines of teachers I hugged some, said thank you one last time, and definitely cried. I’m going to miss the fun-loving, amazing people that teach and work at BHS. They helped make my high school experience the great experience it was. I am so proud to be a Broomfield Eagle and so glad for the many wonderful opportunities and experiences Broomfield High School has given to me. It is truly a special place.

I have to leave pretty soon here to go get ready for my graduation party, so I’m going to have to end this blog here. To those of you that also graduated yesterday or earlier on this month, congrats! And to those of you still waiting for that glorious day, you’re so so so close. Congrats to you as well. Just in general, congratulations class of 2018! We made it!

Me, my mom, and my dad 🙂

May 20, 2018
Hasta La Vista High School!

This is my last week of high school. AHHHHHH! I’ve never felt so many emotions in my life. One day I’m sad the next I’m super excited and the next it’s honestly who-knows-what. The end has come real quick and my last day is this Wednesday.

My school has this ceremony known as Eagle Flight and that’s the school’s chance to say goodbye to the graduating class. As one of my school’s co-presidents for student council, I get to hand off one of the executive board items to one of the new co-presidents and I just hope I don’t cry in front of the entire school. Knowing myself, I probably will though, haha.

I’ve finished most of my finals already and somehow managed to get a 100% on my AP statistics final. Literally did NOT see that coming. I have two more AP tests to take, with AP Bio tomorrow and AP Stats on Thursday. I just hope that I pass because it kind of sucks paying about $100 to get no college credit. We’ll see how those go.

Graduation is next Saturday and I have family coming in from New Mexico. I’m so excited for them to come mostly because it’s been about 4 years since they came up to our house. I just know we’re going to eat so much food. It’s gonna be great. In addition to that, I get to go to Hawaii with my aunt and uncle five days after graduation so I’m a very happy person right now.

There’s going to be so many grad parties to go to and so much to do this last week. High school came to a very rapid end and it’s bittersweet. I’ve built so many close relationships with classmates, teachers, coaches, and administration and I’m going to truly miss high school.

To those of you with graduation already passed, congrats! You’ve made it! And to those of you graduating this week or in the weeks to come, you’ve got a little longer but you’re basically at the finish line. Enjoy your last days of high school or college.

Have a beautiful week you beautiful people and congrats to the class of 2018!

May 13, 2018
The Ending of My High School Tennis Career

Regionals finished this past week and for the first time, I’m not going to state. Some of you might think, “Yeah, whoopee, big deal,” but to me this is a huge deal. Since before my freshman year, I told myself that my goal for high school tennis would be to qualify for state for all four years. Despite my injuries, I worked my tail off to get to where I wanted to be. After some reflection, here’s what I wrote as my last entry in my tennis journal for high school season. It’s honestly pretty sad, but it’s how I was feeling.

I honestly prefer not to comment on this match like I usually do. (Sidenote: I usually talk about what I did well, what I need to work on, and my opponent’s playing style.) After hoping I’d get a playback match, I sadly and unfortunately write that I will not be going to state this year. After all my hard work, I missed my dream and goal. Gone. Finished. After losing, I needed some time to think, and clearly even a day or two after, I am really still not emotionally ready. My dad tells me I was “this close” but for something like regionals, “this close” doesn’t cut it. What did I do wrong? Did I not work hard enough? What could I have done to actually make myself proud? I really didn’t want my season to end this way, nor did I expect it, but it is what it is now. I really saw myself going to state one last time. I really pictured the next patch on my letterman jacket. I really saw myself walking into Gates Tennis Center ready for another fun time with my teammates. I know I can’t take it all out on myself and I truly do recognize that she played phenomenally. I guess she wanted it a little more than I did. I guess she’s just a little more in shape than me. I guess that’s just how it was meant to play out. My high school season is over, and yes, it SUCKED, it watch the rest of my team play at the second day of regionals. I felt that I belonged out there with them. I wanted to go to state with our 2, 3, and 4 doubles as well as my sister. Everything happens for a reason and I hope that I’ll eventually see the good in me losing this match. Thank you to everyone who made my high school tennis career what it was. I’m sorry it ended this way but thank you for making it what it was, regardless. Thank you for making me the player I am today and thanks for believing in me, even when I didn’t. Goodbye high school tennis. It’s been a wonderful experience.

After reading over my own writing, and taking some time to think about it, this experience was very humbling. Regardless of what my results are, I’m SO incredibly proud of the girls on my team that did qualify for state. I know they’re gonna crush it this next week. I’ve also learned that there’s just some things and dreams you can’t completely control and you shouldn’t destroy yourself over things like this. If things always worked out the way we want them to, we’d never become better people or learn from our mistakes. I’m going to miss high school tennis a lot, but I look forward to all of the other opportunities tennis has in store for me. It’s a lifelong sport and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

Picture credits to Cliff Grassmick at the Daily Camera

May 6, 2018
Saved the Best Dance For Last: Prom 2018

So, I’m exhausted, but was it worth it? Absolutely!! Last night, was my senior prom and I’m so glad that I went with the people I did because they made last night really fun. Here’s how it all went down.

I was in a group of ten which included myself, my sister, and a couple of both of our friends. Although it had been snowing all night and part way through the Saturday morning, that didn’t stop us all from taking pictures outside and refusing to wear jackets the entire night. (Sorry Mom!) After pictures, we had dinner at Old Chicago and we were all successful in not getting pizza sauce on our dresses!

Prom this year was at the Children’s Museum in downtown Denver. At first, I thought this was going to be ridiculous. Prom at the Children’s Museum? We’re all dressed up and you expect me to be running around in heels and a long, expensive dress?! These thoughts didn’t even cross my mind once while we were there. We had SO MUCH FUN. There was a water room and a bubble room and a supermarket and a little art studio. Not to mention there was a coffee bar with handmade, fresh donut holes that you could decorate with sprinkles and whatever else was available. The dance floor was pretty small but still, there was great music and fun dancing, so that worked out. Right outside the dance floor, there was also a beautiful view of Denver at night. Oh, and there was also a firetruck that you could play around in and turn on the siren and flash the lights. This was a great place to entertain my inner child.

Once prom was over and my feet were dead, we headed back to one of my friend’s house to get ready for JAM. For those of you who don’t know, JAM stands for Just After Midnight, and it’s my school’s after-prom party. And it’s absolutely, THE BEST after-prom party. There’s always a theme for JAM and it’s never revealed until you get to the doors of my high school, which adds to the surprise and fun. From midnight to 4 am, there’s food, bouncy castles and inflatables, caricature drawings, airbrush and Henna tattoos, card games like Blackjack and Craps, prizes ranging from stuffed animals to printers and mini-fridges, and so much more. At JAM, you play games and do activities to earn JAM bucks that you can spend at the store and get sweet prizes for. With all of the things I did, I bought this giant gray teddy bear which was totally worth it. My sister got the same teddy bear and so now we have matching giant teddy bears, and it’s great. It’s weird because I was still very awake at like 3 am, and I expected to feel wiped out and ready to fall asleep at any chance I had. That wasn’t the case this year!

After JAM, whoever was left awake in our group finished our night out with IHOP and then called it a night. Haha, unfortunately, Allyson and I both had to be at work this morning and worked until lunch and then went home and crashed. That was the first all-nighter I’ve ever pulled and I hope I never find myself awake for 32 hours again, haha. After a great winter’s nap, here I am writing this blog so happy that I don’t have school tomorrow. Yay for senior ditch days!

To those of you who had prom already, I hope it was a magical and fun time. To those of you who haven’t had prom yet, I hope it’s going to be a wonderful time. Have a beautiful week you beautiful people!

Me and my beautiful sister. XOXO

April 21, 2018
A Little Adventure in Downtown Denver

It’s honestly been a while since I visited Denver and I live like 45 minutes from it. So this weekend, my family and I took a little day trip to Denver and caught up on our history at the Colorado History Museum, saw the work of Edgar Degas at the Denver Art Museum, and then wrapped up our day with burgers and shakes at BurgerFi.

I’ve never been to the Colorado History Museum, but I’ve walked past it a bunch. It was awesome to finally see the building from the inside, haha. The Colorado History Museum covers everything from Colorado before it was a state to Colorado in the Civil War to Colorado now in all of its glory. The museum was extremely interactive and a lot of fun to mess around in. Allyson and I played in this little barn and went down a couple of slides. (Yes, I’m actually five). We got to “drive” a Model T around which was really cool too and watched a short documentary about Colorado during the Dust Bowl. The special exhibit they had this time around was about baseball and its beginnings. They had Babe Ruth’s bat and some of his merchandise as well as Jackie Robinson’s bat and some of his stuff. It was pretty cool to see. This museum is very hands-on and so much fun so if you’re ever in Denver and wanna learn about Colorado’s history, please come visit!

Now it was time for the Denver Art Museum. Personally, this was my favorite part. Currently on display, they have the work of Edgar Degas, a French painter, sculptor, and just brilliant artist in general. We a lot of his pieces including “The Star”, “After the Bath”, “Dancer With Bouquets” and much more. In addition to Degas’s work, we saw a lot of abstract and weird art as well as some really pretty and just amazing work. That’s the fun thing about art museums, all types of art and every medium is covered. I really enjoy being around art because it’s very peaceful and calming. It makes you think about all types of things and you come out inspired.

After all of this, my dad took us to this AMAZING burger place that’s maybe five minutes from the Denver Art Museum called BurgerFi. Honestly, just sitting here and writing about it makes me hungry. BurgerFi is an all-natural, grass-fed beef burger and hot dog restaurant that I also think has the best fries ever. Their food is just so good I can’t really explain it. What’s cool too is that they “brand” their burgers with the BurgerFi logo. I also got an Oreo milkshake and that was very yummy as well. The service was great and the food was even better and this was a great way to end a very fun day.

April 15, 2018
I’m Competing in Miss Colorado!

Not too long ago, I received mail from Future Productions and the Miss Universe Organization, which are the companies that put on the Miss Colorado, Miss USA, and Miss Universe pageants. They wanted me to send in my pictures and information to see if I could compete in the Miss Colorado pageant. I am very excited to announce that October 26 and 27th, I will be competing for the Miss Colorado crown in Greeley.

For those of you who didn’t know, I used to compete in pageants. When I was in 3rd and 4th grade (I think) I participated in the National American Miss pageants. My second year, I got the Spirit of America award, which had something to do with my performance in multiple divisions. That was cool. I never finished top 10 but I always finished very high in each of the categories which was exciting for me and my family.

For the Miss Colorado pageant, there will be a swimwear, formal, and interview round and we’ll just see how it goes! I’m definitely going to be on the younger end of this pageant since the ages range from 18 to 28. It’ll be fun to see the different levels of experience and the different girls and women that are there in general. I’m also very excited to see how my experience from modeling and acting will contribute to this experience. The Miss Universe Organization lives by their motto, “Confidently Beautiful” and personally, I’ve struggled to like my body and its image. I hope that through this experience, I build confidence and figure out how to love myself a little more.

I’ll keep you all updated on how this experience goes for me and I’m so honored to have been picked to fight for the Miss Colorado crown. I honestly never thought my pageant days would make a return, but haha, here we are. If you’d like to stay updated with the pageant and other pageants under the Miss Universe Organization, click here. Have a beautiful week you beautiful people!

April 8, 2018
Happy Easter 2018
This week, I’m not going to actually post an actual blog but I’d like to wish you all a very Happy Easter. Today He is risen and it’s just a great day. I hope you all enjoy time with your family, whether that’s at church or at a brunch or at an Easter egg hunt. For you kids out there, I hope that the Easter bunny brought you some goodies this morning. That was always a fun part of Easter morning for my sister. We always enjoyed hunting for eggs and then also hunting for the gifts the Easter bunny left hidden around the house. Have a beautiful week you beautiful people! 🙂
- Romans 6:8-11 8. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
- John 11:25 25. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
- Colossians 1:13-14 13. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14. in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
April 1, 2018
Oh the Places I Want to Go…

While I’ve only traveled in the States, I’ve found that I love traveling. There are so many places I plan to visit and I also hope that I can study abroad in college. In my bullet journal, I’ve kept a list of places I’d like to travel to and here are some of them!

In the country I’d like to visit:
– Jackson Hole, WY: My dad used to teach a platform tennis clinic up there every year and I’ve heard it’s beautiful.
– Disney World and Universal Studios: Yeah, I have yet to go to Disney World. Disneyland was a blast and I can only imagine how much fun Disney World is. I also would love to visit Hogwarts and all the other wonders of Universal Studios.
– Oregon: I have some family in Oregon and I’ve heard it’s also just a beautiful state. The weather there sounds wonderful too.
– Alaska: Alaska would be fun to travel to because it’s so different from the rest of the states, at least from what I’ve heard. I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights too. I know that Alaska is also known as the land of the midnight sun and I think it’ll just be a cool experience.

Internationally I’d like to travel to:
– London: I really want to see Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and drink tea. London also just has so much history and I want to see it all.
– France: Like London, France has so much history. I’d really love to visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa and other art.
– St. Petersburg and Moscow: My uncle and cousins live in Moscow and I have a bunch of cousins in St. Petersburg so it would be wonderful to see them in person. Russia also just has so much history and I know I’d enjoy seeing that country.
– Greece: One of my friends traveled to Greece for his senior trip and that instantly made me want to go. It looks gorgeous and the food sounds amazing. I’ve also always wanted to see what the ancient Greeks left behind and see all of the history there.
– Sydney, Australia: Australia just seems like a very fun place to visit. There are so many different animals and I’d like to go down under and see what it’s like.

Traveling is so much fun and there are so many opportunities to learn new things about the places you visit and the cultures that exist there. I hope you all have a chance to explore the world and have a wonderful week!

March 25, 2018