So, tomorrow, October begins... craziness! :) It has been an eventful time since my last post.

I must first mention the first senior surprise of the year! We were sitting in English class and Mrs. Frisk said we should practice a fire drill. I just assumed it was because of the exchange students, so we all cheerfully walked outside. "We're gonna die! Where's Nick?! Oh no, the fire got him! Quick, turn away from the windows, they're gonna blow!" You know, all those mature, senior-ish comments. We all saw the mini-buses parked against the sidewalk, but just assumed that volleyball had a game or something. Then, Mrs. Frisk suddently turned toward the open mini bus door and said, "Seniors, get in. We're going to Starbucks!" We were all handed $5 and excitedly hopped on the bus. Some had their suspicions due to the mysterious comments of parents and such, but most of us were completely surprised. It was hilarious to see the faces of the baristas at Starbucks and the other customers. 23 noisy 17 and 18-year olds with money and giggles can be quite overwhelming. I had a yummy tall vanilla bean frappuchino with toffee nut flavor and a pumpkin scone. Thanks to Mrs. Frisk and Mrs. Wennersten for driving and thanks to our parents who are making our senior year so special!

A lot of this past week was spent at W-Bar-B Ranch at Warm Beach with the awesome junior highers! I had a yearbook camera 24/7 and took plenty of pictures. It was so much fun to get to be with Mr. Pearce and Miss Esp again. And the games the JH played were hilarious to watch. Go Cabin 9! I attempted to decorate with fun streamers, but the next morning, they had sagged and fallen. How sad! And our cabin was attacked on the last day by a huge spider. The girls were screaming bloody murder and I ran to find who died. Luckily another girl was willing to step in and take care of the problem. After all, I detest spiders, too!

But, the fact was, I came to the retreat, unfortunately unprepared. I couldn't believe how soon it had come up and wasn't really in "retreat mode". I still had a wonderful time getting to know my cabin girls and the other students. It was a very convicting time for us all. I even had a great time talking with Esther as well about something I was struggling with. The retreat theme was "One Another" and we were given many challenges in the sermons to put others first, love, stop gossiping and being selfish, etc... it was a blessing to see the positive responses of some, but was heartbreaking to see the hard hearts of others. Junior high seems like a difficult time to stay focused on doing what's right and not being sucked in by the world. I will be faithful to pray for my girls and the other 7th and 8th graders. I will proudly wear my spirit bracelet (awesome colored smiley face bracelet) and think fondly on my last JH retreat.

I'm excited to get back into playing soccer again. I think my injury is pretty much healed. I play on Tuesday against Arlington Christian. I hope I can do well. It was great to relax on Friday at Quake field and watch us win 2-0 over Master's Touch. Our guys finally got back into their scoring talent!

This next few weeks I have a wonderful opportunity to interview some pretty famous aviation people. The Future of Flight (where I volunteer) asked me if I could help them out. I guess there is a pretty fancy fundraising event happening on the 14th, and they wanted to utilize the opportunity to have a record of these amazing people's lives. Some are famous pilots, test pilots, authors, or have worked for NASA or Boeing. I am very excited, but will have to make many trips to Everett in the next 14 days. It will be unforgettable, though, I am sure. It was the perfect encouragement for me after getting 1 point lower then I was hoping for on the ACT. Even with that, though, I still have hope it will be enough for the top scholarship at Embry. We'll see what God has in store.

Please pray for my piloting skills. I had a really difficult time today. I guess I was tired or something, because I just wasn't doing as well as usual. So many numbers and maneuvers to memorize. I just have to learn to work hard and not give up even if I'm not automatically the best. Being a perfectionist is difficult sometimes. :)

Wow. Here I am, another Friday night before another college-preparation test. I was feeling nervous and worried about taking the ACT tomorrow when I realized I needed to make sure I was spiritually ready for the test. I've studied, sure, but it's essentially God who's taking the test, not me. If I don't give it to Him, I will fail. But first, I must catch you up on another eventful week as a senior.

On Monday night, my dad answered the phone to find it was Mrs. Weinberg inviting me to go out to Kim's birthday dinner on Tuesday and then spend the night. I had to pack for 2 soccer practices, a nice dinner, and Wednesday outfit. It was a crazy flurry of clothes and bags, but I loaded up the car ready to go. Each day of the week, Es and I gave Kim a little envelope with a different gift, but that was nothing compared to the amazing night we were about to enjoy on Tuesday! After soccer, I drove Esther and I (duh!) to the Weinbergs to get ready. We had a great time talking and fixing ourselves up :D. We looked very nice I must say... :) As we walked down the stairs, Mr. & Mrs. Weinberg were ready to snap a shot of us and we looked outside... there, sitting in the driveway, was a beautiful white limo! Needless to say, we were very excited. After taking more buddy shots (now with Ian), the four of us loaded in and took off. As we chatted away, we got to see a beautiful sunset. We even made a stop at Starbucks. Next was Daniel's Broiler. It was amazing! That was the fanciest restaurant I'd ever been to, that's for sure. I felt so out of place! :D Es and I split filet mignon (I've ALWAYS wanted to try that just because of the fun name!) and strawberry daquiri (non-alcoholic, don't worry!) and Mr. Weinberg ordered great appetizers. When the meat arrived, people came with little pen lights and shined it on the meat. I was very confused... but apparently, I was supposed to cut a slice and give my "OK" about the cooking. (We asked for medium well.) We were quite stuffed, but still had room for a delicious berry tart with caramel and an amazing chocolate cake with "molten chocolate". That was GOOD! Ian even had some... When we got back to the Weinbergs, Kim, Es, and I crashed in her room. Wednesday was a long sleepy day, but Tuesday was oh-so-worth it!

Then, on Thursday, most of the day was spent in travelling to the soccer game on Lopez. It was a very fun time just "hangin'" and "killing time". The game was ridiculous, though! You wouldn't believe how much poop was on the field. Pretty comical if it wasn't so disgusting at the same time. We never did decide what animal it was from. Gross! Anyway back to the actual game... At first, everyone was playing as if they were dead (well... don't go into the logistics of that comparison... it really makes no sense...). Then, everyone was just angry and frustrated at how the team was playing. Finally, Coach decided to adopt a different strategy to wake us up and help us find our fire for playing. He sent Danners to the front line. After we finally got over the "Danny" vs. "Annie" confusion, Danny's speed brought the team back to life! He scored a goal for us... wow... if you had been standing on the sidelines... instant deafness... thanks to Megan and I especially. You'd think our team had just won the World Cup! :D Oh, by the way, we won 3-2 finally breaking the Lopez Island curse of losing (usually in sudden death or shoot-outs). Our first and last goals were thanks to the other team. So, their mistakes allowed them to score more than us, but lose. Gotta love the irony. It was ugly, but we'll take it! The volleyball girls did a little tunnel at the end... that was a blast! After the game, we waited at a park-ish area for a half hour then in the ferry line for another hour before stopping in Anacortes for McDonalds. I killed some time studying and I used Es' new pink razor cell to catch-up with Dave. Later, Es and I wanted to change out of soccer stuff and the only place were these port-a-poties with the unfortunate name of "Wizards of Ooze". Ha! We actually sang songs at the top of our lungs as we waited for the other person. I guess you had to be there. It was hilarious! Moving on... I decided to have a dessert fast for a week because it was getting... outta hand! I had 2 pieces of Mr.Goodwin cake on Wednesday to celebrate Kim's b-day... 2 pieces of Mr.Goodwin cake on Thursday for Angela's b-day... 2 pieces of cake while waiting for the ferry ride back (because I had no dinner and the volleball team had extra)...and a HUGE waffle cone with strawberry & cookie dough ice cream at McDonalds (but I had an Asian salad too... ;)). Anyway, I decided I was showing little or no self-control and that's probably part of why I've been so tired lately. So, I had water when Ian took Kim, Es, and I to Starbucks after pictures and tomorrow, I'm not eatin' any cake! You guys can hold me to that... :D

Ok, finally, I must speak to senior pictures from today. At the beginning of the day, our plan was to head to Legion Park in Everett after the individual pics were done in the gym. But, 23 students just do not = a fast photo shoot. So, we sat in the classroom doing homework and talking for quite a few hours. It was fun and it gave me time to study ACT more. What's nice is at this point, I will probably never have to study for another college prep test again! All done with CLEP and SAT, just tomorrow morning... Anyway, we decided we were quite hungry and wanted pizza, so we sent Andy and Stu to go to Little Caesar's after getting $2 from everyone. That was tasty! I just had an apple for breakfast, so yum! I'm sure you are all so excited to hear about what I ate... good grief... I'm ridiculous! So, after Sherri finished the individual, (Kim, Esther, and I were "shot" -in Mrs. Frisk's words- last and so we were able to do a buddy picture with the fancy background.) we carpooled over to Mrs. Frisk's house since we were running out of time. It was a beautiful backyard and we all had such a blast getting shot. :) We did everything from funny to serious to ridiculous to cute to... oh it was wonderful! Circle on the ground, guys with popped collars, funny face class pics, tough guys, cute girls, back-to-back, buddy pics, guys heads on picket fence stakes, Andy with a rose and all the girls around him, original DC trip crew... man it was so memorable! We even did a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, speak-no-evil thing. And the guys did shots together depending on their shirt color. The black shirts had to pick up James to get his cooperation. Ha! I can't wait to see the proofs from all of them! Right as we finished the last thing, we felt raindrops and headed back into the cars. Perfect timing... thank you God! I LOVE being a senior!

I'm listening to good 'ol Third Day right now... I think my theme for tomorrow is... "Cry out to Jesus..there's a light at the end of this tunnel for [me]..." I can't wait to give it to Him and watch the amazing results. No matter the score, I know I will end up loving Him more, just as I had to remind myself by reading my SAT post. It's always encouraging to remember God's faithfulness. How easily we forget...

See most of you at the weddin'...
"I will extol Thee, my God, O King, and I will bless Thy name forever and ever."

Alright, it's about time for an update! Here I am, having completed four days of my senior year. Much has happened already! The three amigas + Ian have been planning and doing fun things together non-stop! Kim gave Es and I a first day of school gift of See's candy and lip gloss. Oh yeah! And despite the sad forgotten detail of a "Hollywood soundtrack" CD sitting at home on my dresser, the rest of the items made it to the high school games. I really enjoyed being MC and I was glad to see many of the students having a great time! Some moments were really quite hilarious...

Anyway, our first soccer game was on Thursday. We played Puget Sound Adventist and won 4-2. Nathaniel got 2 1/2 goals (the 1/2 is because after the goalie blocked his shot, a member of the other team knocked it in on accident) and Chris got 1. It was a very exciting start to the season! I even brought my camera, but of course, the battery went dead after 1 picture. :) Always next time I guess...

On Friday I finally took my "first day of school" traditional picture outside the front door. Wednesday was super casual and Thursday I had on a soccer jersey top, so we decided to wait. That night, Kim, Esther, Mo, and I drove together to Buca di Beppos (not Pico di Gayos! as a certain friend of mine thought... ahem!) to celebrate Keri's shower. That was very memorable, I must say! :D The ironic thing is that I had planned to take Kim to that same place that same night to celebrate her 18th birthday, but she said she was busy because of the shower and I ended up being a guest too. It was a really interesting turn of events. Not a coincidence of course, knowing God is sovereign... so instead, Kim, Esther, Ian, Dave, and I went to Olive Garden on Saturday for lunch. At 9 am, though, I was volunteering at the Future of Flight when God opened the door for me to discuss/share with a fellow volunteer. It was amazing to see my strong desire for him to see the truth because he mixed so many beliefs together. God blessed my prayer for an opportunity like this. I had been convicted because I haven't shared the gospel with someone in years! It is a tragic track record that I am very blessed and excited to have broken! Ask me about it sometime, I'd love to share more details! Please be praying for Joe. Because I was so engrossed in the conversation, I didn't leave FOF on time and so, managed to be late to Olive Garden. But the Lord knew, and so was everyone else! :) I even had time to buy Kimmy flip flops. Our time at the restaurant was a sweet time of hilarity and fellowship. We were chatting away and even crying from laughing so hard. With never-ending pasta + dessert, how can you go wrong? After that, we went to the Everett Mall to walk around and then stopped at Blockbuster to look for a movie. God allowed me to not have to do my Gap shift and continue the fun times with my friends. After all, Kim only turns 18 once! :) We went to school to help set-up for one28 the next day and we girls even made a Starbucks run with Kim taking on the challenge of DG's bug. Whee! After watching the movie, we said goodnight and set off for home. It was a glorious end to a wonderful week! But of course, we never thought to take pictures, so all we have are special memories (and I have this blog...)!

So here I am, looking ahead to a Lopez Island game on Thursday and Senior Picture Day on Friday. Please, please pray for me- on Saturday morning, I take the ACT. It shouldn't be too bad, but I am nervous because I need to get a 32 so I don't have to take the SAT again. (I'm still working on getting to the top scholarship level) I just have to remember that God brought me through the SAT and will be faithful to do so with the ACT. I must pray for peace and clarity of mind. I need Him to answer the questions, if it's just me, I know I will fail. Afterwards, though, I get to share in the exciting union of Keri & Brian. Thanks to the test being over, I will definetely have the brightest smile in the congregation! ;)

In closing, Happy 18th Birthday to my dear, sweet Kimmy!
Gotta go study for the ACT...
Love, Nanny