It's Spring!

Stoop and feel it, stop and hear it - Spring!"

Spring has finally arrived! The giant eight-foot berms have melted down to mere inches, and grass is finally peeking out from the earth. The world feels vibrant. It makes me want to adventure. So yesterday I took my backpack, my notebooks, and my books and took a walk down to the meadow in town.

Oh my gosh! The meadow was so, so alive! It was flooded with water. All the paths were streams, and little brooks ran through the grass all bubbly and happy. I could hear birds everywhere, and wind catching itself up in the sound of running water and the smell of fresh, budding air. It was like I stepped into a fantasy world. It was so freaking beautiful guys. I navigated through the water, hopping and zigzagging through dry land like a squirrel, and found a lovely tree stump on dry land, just feet away from a gently flowing stream. I perched myself on the stump, pulled out my notebook. I scribbled down ideas, I listened to the water, smelled the wind, and watched the birds. It was such a lovely time. It helped me wind down from my crazy month and just relax. I was too busy enjoying myself to take many pictures, so I think I have like, four. And a video.

Look at how pretty the Meadow looked! It's like, half glacier, half marsh.

It was a path once.....

(See the water on the left? 8-D )

Water. Water everywhere.

The further you walk out the less snow there is. It looks like winter still, but I swear there is grass out there!

Lalala, my selfies suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

It was so fun you guys. I got to rest and have some quiet time just for me. It was good to be outside. Nature helps your mind readjust and think, If God handles all this, He can definitely handle me. It helped me feel more calm, happy, and at peace. I even got some writing/plotting done, which hasn't happened in a while since I've been so busy. I think it was wonderful of God to give us such a soothing thing as nature. Our world could have been dull, but God made it interesting and beautiful. And man, it helps to be out in that beauty - and to realize you're a part of it.

Spring might be my favorite time of year. Everything is blooming and coming back to life. The air smells fresh, crisp and exciting. The wind rushes about in a great hurry, bringing all the scents and feels of Spring along with it. The trees are vibrant. Even if they aren't actually blooming yet, you can see this glow in the branches. They are brimming with life. All the little animals start coming back, the birds come home from the south - everything is so new and exciting! And right in the middle of all this new life and growth, we get our reminder of the the greatest Resurrection, the most powerful renewal of the dead. Easter Sunday, The Day Jesus Rose again from the Dead, vibrant with Glorious Life. With His new life He gave the whole world it's Spiritual Spring. He brought to life all that was dead in the world of men. With His Resurrection He poured grace into the world and made our Souls anew. He saved us from our Spiritual Graves of sin and desolation and, like well-tended seeds bursting through the earth, He showed us the sun. It is no accident that God chose this time of new life to give humanity their New, Glorious lives. It is no accident that Easter falls in the season of new hope, new chances, and new growth. God wants us to remember that, like the young buds, we have only just begun. Every year we grow anew. Every year we are given a Spring to start again. I think that's beautiful.

I love Spring.


With that said, what are your plans for this Spring season? What are your plans for Easter? I'd like to hear all about it!

*swings around cape and leaps off stage*

Bella

Glass Beach

Before I get started on anything else, here are the Official Dates for Writers Camp. You are free to be flexible with the days you post, so long as you finish by September 7th. 8-D

Day One: August 10th.

Day Two: August 12th

Day Three:  August 15th

Day Four:  August 17th.

Day Five:  August 20th

Day Six: August 22nd

Day Seven: August 24th

Day Eight:  August 26th

Day Nine: August 27th

Day Ten:  August 30th

Day Eleven: September 1st

Day Twelve: September 4th

Day Thirteen: September 6th

Random Life Update! A few weeks ago my amazing friend Jack to me and my sisters to Fort Bragg. That's right folks! I finally went to the Ocean!!!!

We drove down on a Friday. The drive there took us about five hours. We left around noon and didn't get into town until about seven. We made some stops... stops at places you should never stop at. Like the Nice Market in the Nice Town. Don't ever go there. The town looked like a zombie apocalypse had wiped out the population and left the houses to waste away. And the Market looked like an out-of-date dollar store where everything is expired and costumers get shot by the cashier. But we hadn't had water in like, two hours, so we had to stop somewhere, and it was the only place for miles. (until after we got the water, that is. Then a nice little town cropped up off the freeway about fifteen minutes later. Isn't it funny how that works?)

There was this really cool area right before we got to Fort Bragg. All the trees were bowed over a narrow, curvy road so it looked like we were driving through a tunnel made of trees. Most of the time they were so thick it looked like dusk even though it was still afternoon. Everything we be grey and quiet, then a small gap would appear in the trees and all at once there would be sunlight and you would remember it was three o'clock, not seven. It was so exciting! The air smelled like sweet pine, salt, and sea. It made you want to set off on a search for buried treasure, right-now-immediately. This lasted for close to half an hour and it was the most thrilling, fantastical drive I have ever taken. It was like a forest from a fairy tale. The forgotten road. The encroaching trees. The smell.  Perfect story material.

It was about 20x more epic when you drove through it. Trust me. Just go there yourself sometime.

When we got to our destination we had nowhere to stay. I know. Aren't we great planners? We rode into a Camp Sight about fifteen minutes from Glass Beach, and prayed there was a place open. We prayed hard. And God was very good to us. We got the last camp sight available. It was in a nice corner area, slightly away from everyone. We even had indoor facilities!! They were only about a camp sight and a small hill away, which was very convenient. And even better we had running water in our camp sight! It was a pleasant surprise. It was a very nice evening. We had roasted mushrooms and peppers and onion, and some very tasty corn of the cob, with extra spice. Yuuuuuuuuum. Then we tried to tell a creepy campfire story but somebody kept making it a comedy. *squints at person* You know who you are.

The next day bright and early we headed off to the Coast. This is when I get to the fun bit. We went to see the ocean of course, because it's the OCEAN. But also, there is this place called Glass Beach. Apparently from the 1920's to the 1960's, Glass Beach was used as a dumping ground for a lot of California's trash; glass, canisters, cooking utensils, and the like. During World War II the same beaches were used as a dumping ground for bullets, scrap metal and other such leftovers. Over the years the different debris was tossed and turned into beautiful shapes which washed up on the shore like stones made of glass.  It's also super cool because there is some things embedded in the actual rocks. Like giant bullets, and corkscrews, and bottle tops, and the other strange things you wouldn't think about. Like drinking glasses! It was fascinating!

We found a nice little cove to have a picnic in. We didn't know you couldn't bring a BBQ so we ended up having to cook our hot-dogs in the parking lot. But it was fun anyway.

It was a good thing we got to the ocean early, because by about 11:00 the shore started to feel up pretty fast. Some people even charged through our picnic sight! RUDE!

The stones were so pretty!!!!! I was irritated because I could see people carting off stones, and you're not supposed to take glass off the beach. It is against the law. A lot of fascinating glass pieces and historical odds and ends have been swept off the beach because the public won't leave them alone. Stupid public. I was so irritated I actually asked a family to leave the bag they were collecting. It was just so upsetting to see people taking what is meant for everyone to see. There are two other beaches you can take glass from. Do not take it from the official Glass Beach! It's wrong and selfish. If you ever visit this amazing sight, leave the glass and other historical stuff on the shore where it belongs!!! SPREAD THE WORD BECAUSE HISTORY IS DISAPPEARING AND IT'S SAD! #saveglassbeach

Me and my sisters on the shore of glass beach, being very tourist-like.

LOOK AT THESE JEWELS!!!!

I got a picture just as the wave hit the glass. Isn't it fabulous?

 The waves were incredible! I have come the the conclusion that the two most beautiful and breath-taking places in the world are the ocean and the mountains. There is an amazing amount of raw beauty in both those places that is hard to find anywhere else.

 We decided to dig a massive hole, and Jack and Cinta found a couple massive rocks that they just HAD to unearth. Very archaeological those two.

The ocean is so wild and amazing! Tiny and I even swam in it! It was freezing, but so exhilarating! I definitely want to try playing in it again in December, when the water is warmer. Oh, and I kind of liked the taste of the ocean. I wouldn't want a mouth full or anything, but when you get a bit in your moth and spit it out, the after-taste is rather of interesting. (saaaaaaaaalt.)

Look at us being all tourist-like. This is right before Tiny and I plunged into the waves. 8-) Even Jack joined us for a little bit!! It was loads of fun. The waves were fantastic guys!

LOOK AT THE MAGNIFICENCE!!!

Looking for treasure....

We were dopes and stayed by the water until sunset. We were shivering and slowing going numb, but we were going to watch the sunset if it killed us! It didn't matter if the wind was brisk and the air was sharp! It didn't matter that we were still damp from diving into frigid waves. We had to watch the sun dip behind the Ocean!!



The sun took a very long time to set. We stayed down on the shore for like, an hour, and then Annie sensibly reccomended that we go up a little so we'd have shelter on the cliffs. As our luck would have it, we were climbing the cliff and Cinta was like The sun is setting!!!!!!!! And we all had to scramble like mad so as not to miss it fall off the face of the earth.

It was gorgeous. The water turned violet and pink and green and silvery all at the same time.  Definitely well worth the wait.

That was my very blessed, very happy weekend. The Ocean is amazing. It's strong and beautiful and frightening and wild. It helped me remember the breath-taking beauty which God has put into the world, and I was able to lay down a good deal of my worries and just enjoy the sheer wonder of God's creation. Things like the Ocean, The Mountains, Waterfalls, Giant Stone cliffs, massive Oak Trees... They're reminders that God is an artists and an architect, and that He flooded His world with incredible sights for us to enjoy. It's an amazing thought that God made all of this for us. The animals can't properly enjoy natural beauty. Neither can insects. Only humans can see foaming blue waves crash on the shores of a wild, untamed coast and think, Wow. That is so beautiful. And God put it there just for us. In fact, while we were sitting on the soft sand, watching the ocean flow free, Cinta said something beautiful that I'm going to share with you. Because it was a very lovely thing. She said,  "Just think, Bella. God made this moment just for you. Every time something makes you feel joyful or excited, every time something puts a smile on your face, just think... God made that moment just for you. Just because He knew it would make you happy."  It was such a lovely thought. It made my heart ache a little.


There's my story. I have lots of others, but that is all for now. Peace out y'all!!!

*swings around cape and leaps off stage*

Bella

We did a thing and it was fun.

I've realized something about my new home. I've realized that if you live fourty-five minutes away from the nearest snow-covered peak, you are stuck with lots of buildings and no snow.

This is distressing to me because where my folks live, they are finally getting dumped with snow after several years of dry, depressing winters. My sisters are making snowmen men and snow-angels and running around in deep snow-drifts and I'm stuck here. In the city. With no snow. 

I miss snow guys. Never thought I'd say it. But I do. 

But....snow.

That's why it was so exciting to wake up yesterday morning and see that the world outside had been covered in white! 

There were real, honest, fluffy white flakes of frozen, frost-covered rain drops falling from the sky! It was so exciting! Gooooodbye green grass! *dances everywhere.* 

Mai two little nieces, Chloe and Sammi, they really wanted to go out and play. Unfortunately, I have no snow-clothes. I have this fuzzy brown jacket that looks like a feminine version of Ten's trench coat, but that is as close to a coat as I have. My only boots are dress boots, so not good for snow. But Chloe and Toink wanted to go so badly I couldn't disappoint them. I'm too much of a softy I guess. I told them to get on their snow stuff, I put on some gloves and a scarf for extra warmth, I pulled my FemTen jacket on, and outside we went! 

The whole world looks nicer when there is snow everywhere. I don't know why, but I feel safer when there is snow all around me.

We didn't do anything normal of course, like make a snowman. Mai little nieces wanted to go to the park. It was snowing and it was cold, but they really wanted to go to the park. It was a *thing.* And when they look at you with those big eyes full of hope, how can you say no? So we walked down the street in the cold and the wind and the snow, and we went to the park and we played on the slippery, wet, cold slides, and we had a grand ol' time. It was fabulous.

IS THAT SNOW RIGHT THERE? IS THAT SNOW ON THE PARK RIGHT THERE?

Such fun. Wow Snow.

Yay slides!!! Fun! (I slid down a snow-covered slide guys! It was like a canon of cotton. It just spat me out - woooooooooooosh!) And look! My bangs are everywhere!here!

*Why is my jaw go crooked when I laugh?? It's weird!

We're cold. It's cold. This is fun. 

Because nothing says snow day like a slippery slide.

We found a teeter-totter. I played on this too. I just didn't take any selfies. Selfies on a teeter totter seemed like a bad idea.

When we finally headed home our hands were numb and our feet were freezing. We practically ran back to the house, and as soon as we were inside I put water on to boil. The three of us had tea and watched My Little Pony and let our poor, wet bodies thaw. It was nice. (I am almost positive I am the only aunt who has tea time with an eight and a five year old. And they actually like it!)

There you go. My own winter-wonderland adventure. That's all I got, but I hope it was fun. I'm gonna introduce some book characters soon. Stay tuned!

PEACE OUT Y'ALL!!

*Swings around cape and leaps off stage*

Bella