It's Been an Adventurous Summer

I love adventures, and the last 3 weeks have been nothing short of adventurous. I got back Saturday from a week long scout camp in Idaho. The week before that was spent with friends in Lake Powell. The weekend before that was spent camping at Timpooneke campground. It's been crazy, and I haven't really had much time to collect my thoughts and write a post.

So here we go!

These trips I just got back from have been some of the most fun I've been on in my life. I'm not going to trouble you with the details, but I've been able to experience new things with good people and friends that I haven't been able to in the past. I think that these trips have made a fantastic end to my summer. I wish so bad that I could spend another three weeks doing the same things, but for some reason my parents think I have to graduate high school. Lame.

I've started keeping a daily journal, which is another reason why this blog has been so neglected. Keeping a journal has never been something that was fun for me or easy to do, but I think this time around might work out. Already I'm seeing the benefits of being able to look back on what you were thinking on any given day. It's turning into less of an obligation and more of an opportunity. 

We are closing on a house this week and we are so excited! We have had a lot of work done to it to make it our own, and it's coming along nicely. My family is tired of hearing this, but I am so excited to finally get a piano and to be able to take piano lessons. It's something that I've wanted to do for a couple of years now, and pretty soon I'll have the chance!

My record collection has grown even more. And FYE in the Provo Towne Center now carries brand new vinyls! When I walked in and saw "Vinyls" written above rows of LP's, I was in music heaven.

I've done some math. If I save all my money that I'm going to make by the end of the summer from working at the Owlz and mowing lawns, I'll be able to afford a .30-06 rifle. That's the plan!

School starts in a week from today. I am not looking forward to it. It's weird to think that I'll be a Junior. And that I'll be 17 in September. Life keeps going by faster and faster as I get older. This summer barely felt like a month. Growing up sucks, but what do you do?

Life Gave Me a Lemon

Sometimes, life comes along and says, "It's about time for me to mess with you, don't you think?" And when you answer saying, "Uh, no!", life doesn't care and does it anyway. On Monday I lost my wallet. Really lost it, as in I've called everywhere we went that day to ask for it and searched pretty much everywhere in the entire house. Nothing. My driver's license, debit card, and some other pretty important crap was in that wallet. Bummer. 

So after I'm done writing this, I get to call virtually every store in Orem, again, and then call the bank and cancel my card. And then go mow and edge two lawns. Life, one of these days it's going to be my turn to throw something back at you! Just you wait, just you wait ...

Climbing Stuff and Stuff

I got to go climb with my buddy Collin today. It's been awhile since the last adventure, so we pretty well sucked. I just like being up in the mountains and away for a minute, which means the trip wasn't a complete bust!

This is an ATC style belay device. ATC literally stands for Air Traffic Controller. Funny, right?

There's Collin!

Tonight, my sister invited some friends of ours over to watch The Village. We've seen it at least 100 times and it's one of our favorite shows. It was a pretty good day!

Tomorrow begins a three day youth conference that three stakes in our area are participating in. All the youth are going to meet together in the morning and then are sent home late at night to sleep and then come back the next day. I may or may not be writing  posts for the next couple of nights.

Amazon.com = Happiness

Over the past week or so I have received three records in the mail from Amazon. I know that way too much of this blog lately has been about records, but the excitement and newness of listening to vinyls has still not worn off. On the days that the records were scheduled to arrive, I check the front doorstep two or three times. I feel like it's Christmas Eve when you lie in bed wondering how time could possibly go by so slowly. And when I finally find a package on the porch, I run inside like a little kid and tear that box open and throw that record on the player. So much happiness!

The favorites so far: The Head and the Heart - Let's Be Still, The Head and the Heart, Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. 2, Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde, and Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

I also received in the mail a fountain pen with some ink. It is a lot of fun to write with because it has a flex nib, which means that you can create thin and thick lines by varying the pressure you apply as you write. 

Last night I went over to Mike's house with some friends to play shoot 'em up bang 'em up. Mike just bought a new house in American Fork. In his basement he has a pool table, an air hockey table, a Foosball table, and a projector set up to play on. We had a blast and were there until almost 12:30. He's so cool to let us come over and crash his house into the morning!

Cribbage

I made that board!

One of my family's favorite board/card games is Cribbage. It is a staple on any camping trip. My sister and I like to play it a lot during the summer. Today, my sister and I were playing and I got dealt this hand:

That, my friends, is a 21 point hand! The highest possible hand is 29! Not bad, if I do say so myself.

My The Head and the Heart LP arrived today. It's really fun to listen to music that you know and love in a different way. I ordered Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons just now, and it should be here next Wednesday!

Calligraphy

I do not claim to be a professional by any means, but it sure is fun to mess around! I used to write quite often with a fountain pen, but I've recently discovered an interest in writing with a dip pen. I'm going to keep practicing those alphabets until I can write something cool! I also ordered a cool/cheap fountain pen that should be here on Friday. It's clear, which is pretty awesome because you can see the ink and the piston and stuff.

Image courtesy of fountainpennetwork.com

Also, my The Head and the Heart LP arrives tomorrow! I'm so happy!

Boating

It is so nice to have such great friends like the Prestons. They invited us to go boating with them yesterday afternoon, and we are suckers for boating. We love it!