Spazz Update

I promised y'all an update, so I am here to up the date.

It has been a crazy 2017 so far. And I have felt like Stitch for most of it. I've barely had time to take a breather. So much has been going on, it's insane. One minute I'm up past midnight visit with my cousin, and the next minute I'm at a CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENT having the time of my freaking life.

We went to the Reenactment at the end of June and it was so much fun though. I have to thank my dear friend Jim for dragging me along. I joined her, my sister Kat, and our friend Eric for some of the best days of the summer. Yes, it was 107 one of the days, and  yes I was hot and tired and afraid of bug bites, but the experience was still a blast. I enjoyed it immensely. We were able to go into the Union and Confederate camps and talk with the different soldiers. While in reality I am very glad the Union one, since that's why we have The United States, during the Reenactment I found myself voting for the Confederates more often than not. (Actually, I understand both sides of that bitter war. Most people think it was just about slavery, but it was about so much more. State rights, and citizens rights, and government rights, and the fight for America's ideals. Most Confederates were fighting for the very beliefs the Founding Fathers set down in writing during the Revolutionary War.) ANYWAY. We made friends on the Confederate side while exploring the camps, and during one of the battles I caught glimpse of this spirited soldier in a green shirt that was full of attitude. I really wanted him to survive that battle. He was so in the game, full of insults for the enemy, and plenty of lip. (Like saying "SHOOT THE ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE YOUR SISTER!!! I'm pretty sure that was him.) He was shot down during the third battle and I was like, "No, little green man! Don't die!" I actually shouted really loud too. "You in the green shirt! DON'T GIVE UP!" He died at the fence though. I was into it to, I guess, cause I was like, "YOU'RE MEMORY WILL LIVE ON! YOU WON'T BE FORGOTTEN!" I was a little extreme. But hey, it was so much freaking fun.

Unfortunately I was having so much fun I didn't have much time for pictures, but here are a few.

Old-Time Singers!

 I was like, "Those microphones are not quite historically accurate." lol

Such Canons. Wow Explosions.

When the Canons went off my whole body shook. It was exhilarating.

Guys, the Confederate Flag was cool.

Aaaaand the Union flag. AMERICA!

RUN UNION GUYS! RUN!

When the Confederates charged the Union,  it was actually kind of scary.

If it hadn't been 106 outside I might have actually dressed up. 8-P

LINE UP!!!!

I was such a nerd on this trip, lol. I even bought a fife and a tiny canon from where of their historical shops. They had all sorts of cool odds and ends in there, like wax and a candle for envelopes, old fans, bonnets, and handbooks on guns at that time. It was interesting to just poke around and look at all their stuff. I had to leave quickly so as not to buy too much. We bought a peppermint stick as a ceremonial. By the end of the second day, most of the Reenactment people knew us. They thought we were great for sticking through the heat. They'd wave and grin because we were so into it. I think it made their day. We hung around tents, talked to soldiers, asked lots of questions... I think they were happy to have people so thrilled about history.

I can't go into detail because there was so much we did... like the camping, and driving an hour to find a place to swim at the end of the first day. Or trying to find wood in 100+ degree weather so we could have s'mores.

After this great experience, I'd love to go to a Revolutionary War reenactment somehow. That would be so epic!

Anywhere, there's a fun adventure update. I hope I'll see all you again real soon, as long as no big life events happen between now and then. God Bless!

PEACE OUT Y'ALL!

*swings around cape and leaps off stage*

Bella

Oh, Hey Guys. *coughs*

It's uh... it's been a while. Yeah. It's been a while.

I wish I had a great excuse for my absence. Unfortunately I have none except that I am an exhausted pigeon with no time on my hands.

Heh.

I had thought of doing a LIFE UPDATE, but that would take way too much time tonight. So instead I'll do a quick post on the big important thing that happened all June! My fabulous sister Laura, and her family came to visit at the beginning of this month. I hadn't see any of them in years so it was great to visit with them even though it was only for a few days.

My poor sister always chooses the coldest weekend of the month to come visit my family. I don't think she's every come out when it was actually warm. She has the worst luck. It had been in the 70's for the last few weeks, but Laura managed to come up the one weekend in June that dropped into the 30/40's. With a chance of snow. Despite the random winter weather, we had a lovely time, with lots of visiting and laughter.

All Laura's kids talk sloooowly. Not as slowly as they used to, granted, but they're still slower than my sisters and I (But we talk like the conversation is a race and the first one to the finish line gets ice-cream. So....)

We were up late every night they were here, taking pictures and catching up.

Le me with adorable nephew, Charlie:

Le Tall Bro. (And and a niece Jane.)

"Auntie Bellaaaaa, whaaat are you dooooin?"

"Memories, Lilly. Precious, Precious Memories!!"

Ah yis, my fabulous family.

HEY LOOK THIS SEFLIE IS ACTUALLY GOOD! Cause Treskie took it....

Justin told us about Kentucky, where people apparently still believe the world is flat. For real. It's not a joke. And there's the whole North/South divide still. And they probably still think asbestos is rad.

It was funny to hear him talk about it. 8-D

Le Mom be like, "THE EARTH IS ROUND!"

Nieces kept asking me to take pictures with them, even though my selfies look like a walrus got a hold of my camera.

Love you, Emily <3

Baby Peter loved his little brother, So much. It was adorable. If you could smother someone with love, Peter would smother. (And Peter is ADORABLE. FYI) 

WE ACTUALLY GOT A FAMILY PICTURE. I'm prolly going to print this out for meeeeeee.

Yet another disgusting Selfie. How does Treskie do it? (Love you, my nieces. Who cares if it's a bad picture? At least it's a picture. Right? Right.)

BEBE CHARLES IS SO CUTE.

LONG GAVIE HOLDING BEBE CHARLES IS ALSO SO CUTE. D'AAAAW.

Gavie interacting with kids in general is adorable. ( all the nieces and nephews got into his nature talks. It was adorable.)

"EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeew! Sliiiiiime. Thaaat's Dis-gus-ting."

Look. A leaf! Oh my gosh!

(We had this nature walk down to this river, and Jane found these massive leaves, and she finally tore one off and did a full-on victory cry, and went charging off with it. Like, YAS, I AM CONQUEROR.)

Oooooooooh. Fish! (The one is the left. Do you see her? Do you see that girl? Do you see her? She's not mine. Not even related.)

Daddy Justin. <3

Cute Gavie. (AAAAACK.)

More selfies. Geeze.

FAMILY TREE PHOTO. BLESS.

So, that's my big story! This is a short post. SORRY!!! I'll try to do an "Update" post as soon as I have some down time. Many apologies to all my followers who watched me drop from the planet. 

God Bless!

Bella 

I took a break. I had reasons.

My blog is falling through the freaking cracks. Why do I have so much trouble maintaining this thing? I has no clue. I feel like I need one day a week that's themed towards something so I can keep myself going. 8-/ I have so many good intentions. *Le Sigh* Well, it's a new month! Here's hoping I get better.

However, I do have a good story for you! Y'all will never guess what I did last week! I went up to Frontsight with a couple of my sisters to learn about guns! It was fantastic! I haven't had such a fun four days in ages. And I mean ages

Frontsight has been on my list of places to go for quite some time now. This year, my fabulous sister Amy helped me buy a ticket, rent a gun, get ammunition, and gear up for a trip into glorious gun paradise. And it was definitely close to perfect. There is nothing quite like waking up at five thirty A.M., darning yourself with a gun and ammo, and heading out to a range full of targets where everyone around you is as enthusiastic about guns as you are, and are rather down-to-earth, conservative folk with an even head on their shoulders. My kind of people. Mhm. AND THE INSTRUCTORS. Oh my gosh! I thought I would never find a teacher as patient and kind as Mark Williams, or even my Middle School Band teachers, but wow! The Frontsight Instructors went above and beyond the call of duty! They are some of the best guys you will ever meet. Patient, gentle, encouraging, kind, enthusiastic, helpful, sweet - they are literally there to make you feel as comfortable and secure as possible. Like, one of the days I was a little emotional and each of the instructors took time to make sure I was okay and tell me if I needed anything they'd get it for me. These guys were gold. They were such amazing teachers too. They made sure you understood and respected the gun, but they also did everything they could to make sure you enjoyed your classes and had fun shooting.

"There are only three things you have to do on this range. Be Safe. Have Fun. And Hang Loose." - Tom Nott, FS Instructor.

.

Day One was mostly lectures and lessons on gun safety, and how to handle your weapon well. We all learned the different rules and such like, and the Instructors showed us how to help each other out when it came to being safe and careful on the range. Then the class was split into two Relays. Relay One would come up to the line to practice first, and Relay Two would come up second. When Relay One was on the Line, Relay Two would be behind them at an arm's length. For every one person on the line, there would be a person behind you to coach you on little things; keeping your finger off the trigger, not bending over on the line, no muzzling your neighbor, etc. They were there to help you. And when the Relay's switched the same thing would happen with Relay Two. You got to pick your coach, which was nice. The other nice thing was that having a coach didn't mean the Instructors took backstage. They would still come over and help you as often as they could. Your Coach was mostly just there to make sure you weren't being stupid. Why? Because safety is everyone's responsibility! 

On Day One we did a little bit of firing, but not much. That was also the day we learned the different between Firing Drills, and Dry practice drills. And how to safely practice without ammunition and still get good results. Day Two things picked up. We got to review malfunctions your gun could experience and how to fix it, and we also got to do more shooting. They hung up more targets. We did Tactical Reloads and learned about After-Action - surveying the scene after your attacked to make sure no one else is around to harm you. Day One and Two were fun, but Three and Four were absolutely EXCELLENT. We had all sorts of different targets to shoot out, all sorts of firing drills and tactical drills, and the best thing was when we ran a Hot Range. Meaning everyone was walking around with a loaded gun on their hip. Oh my good gravy. That was something exhilarating! Since Concealment was optional, I started to use a light sweater when we did our different drills, and I really quite enjoyed it. It made me feel like I was from a Western. You know, Aggressively throwing back my jacket to get my gun and Shoot You Down.... YAAAAAAAAAAAS. 

I really appreciated Frontsight's teaching. They teach respect for the weapon, and the ability to use it if necessary, but their ultimate goal is to avoid it's use if at all possible. And if you have to use it, you shoot to wound, not kill. Killing is your absolute LAST resort. I think that is a good way to train. It teaches your students respect for the weapon, as well as respect for life.

That being said, one of my favorite drills we did was on Day Three, when the instructors took us through a shoot house. The Scenario? You get home late and there are thugs in your house, holding your loved ones hostage. The Police are twenty minutes out. You don't have time to wait and need to take action. You go in to a House Set alone, with an instructor behind you, and shoot the bad guys but not the hostages. Easy, yeah?

Not so much. There is a funny story here. So, all two and a half days we had been doing drills on targets, consisting of Two Shots to the Thoracic cavity. That was literally every drill. And sometimes we'd have a failure to stop, in which case an instructor would shout HEAD and you'd hit the villain in the head. But you always tried to stop him by just wounding him first. Right? That is a good system! We don't just wanna go around killing folks if we can help it. That's bad!! Well, those drills completely left my brain when I walked into the Shoot House. I saw guns and I was like, Take them all out!! And I shot all the bad guys once. In the head. I still don't know why I did that. I guess it just means I need to do a lot more practicing with the shots to the thoracic so I don't do that for reals. No killing if at all possible, Bella! Isn't that what you were learning this whole time?? *headdesk*

Day Four was probably the best day. By that time we had gotten to know most of the people on our Relay, and there was a lot of camaraderie between us. Plus, we were all a little goofy because it was the last day in a long string of hours full of training and we were all a bit tired - especially near the end of the day. we had a competition of sorts, right at the end of the Day. Even the Instructors were joking about more than normal. Right at the beginning of the Day there was a skills test, in which you could earn a Certificate of Achievement, a Graduate, or Distinguished Graduate award. I'm proud to say I was a Distinguished Graduate. Cheekily keeps the Certificate of Achievement out of sight. No, actually I am proud of my Achievement. I took my time and I shot well. I didn't take the culprit down in under two seconds, but my shots were accurate and clean, and right now that's what matters. I can work on my speed obviously, but the first thing you want to have in a gun fight is accuracy. There is no good in being fast if you always miss.  But Anyway. After the test the remainder of the day was basically just there for the students and instructors to have fun. We got special targets where we had to right the name of a loved one on the hostage and shoot the two hostage takers without hitting our loved ones. We got to have targets will pictures of real thugs on them, and that was such fun! We had all these fun, challenging drills, so many that I can't remember all of them properly right now.... Oh! And we got to compete. The Instructors put everyone's name in a basket and shuffled them, and then they'd choose two people at a time and you'd compete against each other. Each person had a hostage and a hostage-taker target, and behind those two 'Dirty Skanks,' that you had to take out. I got to round three on accuracy. I beat a cop!!!!  (The cop shot very well. She was a Distinguished Graduate . But I was happy I beat her in the For-Fun Contest.) It was rewarding to see my improvement from Day One to Day Four. Day One one of every three shots was outside the intended target. Day Four I hit a tiny slip of White paper sticking out from a Gray Target, representing Hostage-Taker, and Hostage. I hit that White Paper THREE DIFFERENT TIMES AND DID NOT HIT THE HOSTAGE AND I WAS SO HAPPY!!!!! :-)

Of course, it was really, really sad to leave Frontsight. I got very emotional. We all did. It was hard saying goodbye to the Instructors. It was hard leaving the Range. It was hard returning my gun. It was very hard getting into bed and thinking, I can't train tomorrow. I won't shoot. I won't see any of those fabulous people. I won't see my instructors. It's... It's over. 

It felt like that end of a great adventure. It was sad. 

It was fun, Frontsight. I'm coming back. 

Do any of you like guns? Would you consider taking gun classes? Do you like Self-Defense?

*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