So Charlie Brown is pretty much everywhere because of the movie that just came out, woot woot.
Molalla has been on Peanuts-overload too, with our fall musical. Last night was our closing night of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
Yeah, I cried, sO whAT SHut up.
I was the student conductor and accompanist which pretty much means I played the piano and nodded my head a lot.
IT IS MUCH HARDER THAN IT SOUNDS.
When I first got the music, I was too overwhelmed to even explain how overwhelmed I was. THERE WAS SO MUCH MUSIC THERE WAS OVER 200 PAGES MUSIC. Along with it being a musical, a lot of the show is underscored. I didn't think there was anyway that I would be able to learn it in time AND give all the cues to the rest of the pit. I played the CD in my car until my ears bled and I cried over the fact that there were so many songs to learn that they had to make a separate book for each act. I SOLD MY SOUL TO THIS SHOW DANG IT
And I did it. I learned the entire show. And then it started to get fun. I had an amazing drummer and an amazing bass player with me backstage and we pulled off a sick performance. The cast was incredible and hilarious, every single rehearsal and show was a blast.
typical rehearsal with the guys
After Friday night :)
I loved it to pieces, and now it's over. I have to take all of my sticky tabs out and erase all my pencil marks and turn in my books. I'm not ready to part with those things.
I am grateful for every second of this experience. It was extremely challenging and crazy fun. I'm gonna miss it :)
Some pictures I took at rehearsal:
The entire cast :)
"The Baseball Game"
Schroeder and Charlie (our Schroeder was a played by a girl and she and Charlie are dating in real life aww)
Linus and Sally (our Linus was a girl too:)
Lucy and Sally
"Glee Club Rehearsal"
Lol
"Red Baron" (our Snoopy was also a girl:)
"Suppertime"
"Book Report"
Thank you, Charlie Brown, for everything. I will miss you :)
Click here to read the Molalla Pioneer article about the show...
Dear other states, You all need OMSIs. I know it stands for Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, but you guys can name them after yourselves. Make sure it's a cool acronym. I guess all you consonant states are out of luck. Especially you, West Virginia. WVMSI makes no sense. I'm sure you'll figure it out, Nicole
On Wednesday our senior class took a field trip to OMSI, the castle of my childhood.
I'm pretty sure my grandparents started taking me there regularly as soon as I came out of the womb. That place was heaven for little elementary school me, who was fascinated by outer space, the human body, dinosaur bones, rocks and minerals, electricity, light, puzzles, patterns. That place knelt down, took 5-year-old me by the hand and said, "LOOK AT HOW COOL THE WORLD IS! Learning is awesome! Look at all this stuff there is to be passionate about!" And I've never forgotten it.
It was weird to go back there and see all the stuff that's different and all the stuff that's exactly the same. The Ball Room is still there, thank goodness. They moved the foam arch-building blocks to a different area. They don't have the archaeology stuff anymore, and I'm too old to go in the sandbox.
Nostalgia is weird.
I hadn't been to OMSI since 2013 when I went with Brooke. Like the typical sentimental beings we are, we had to reenact all the photos while we were there Wednesday, because that was quite possibly the last time we will ever be there as non-adults.
Thank you OMSI, for encouraging me to love learning. You rock.
Also, thank you Schoolhouse Rock, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Cyberchase. You also rock.
So this summer. Wow. This summer has been the best summer of my life. I can't put into words how the amazing opportunities I've had in these three short months have changed me.
But I'll try, so here goes.
First adventure: Last year at Girl's Camp
I got the opportunity to come back as a 6th with three other girls from the Stake, and it was a blast. Our theme was "Embark." My testimony grew, my friendships with the other girls were strengthened, and SO many memories were made. Loved every minute. I will miss it so much ♥
"O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."
-Doctrine and Covenants 4:2
Second adventure: Church History Tour
Holy crap guys. It is impossible to explain to you how this changed my life. Studying Doctrine and Covenants in seminary this year and then being able to stand in the rooms where those sections were revealed, being able to be in the exact places where the early saints were... it was unbelievable. We went to so many sacred, sacred places.
We started in Palmyra, NY, and saw the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, and the Peter Whitmer home where the church was first organized. In Kirtland, Ohio, where we saw the Newell K. Whitney Store, the Kirtland Temple, and the Johnson Farm. The Whitney Store and the Johnson Farm are both so incredibly sacred.
Nauvoo, Illinois was probably my favorite place we went. The Trail of Hope, baptisms in the Nauvoo Temple, AND OH MY GOODNESS all the musical theater. There are performing missionaries that serve during the summers there, and they are set apart to perform! The Nauvoo Pageant was ab.sol.ute.ly incredible. Something about music just brings the Spirit.
Nauvoo was hard to leave too. We were only there for three days, and I already felt like I had a home there. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for the Saints to leave after they really did make that place their home, after they just finished the temple... I just keep gaining more and more respect for them.
Carthage, IL was very special for me. I was able to connect with the history there in a way I never could have imagined. I have a deep gratitude for Joseph Smith and everything that he did. After we visited the jail, I got in the car, and watched this video and just cried and cried and cried.
In Missouri, we saw the Far West Temple corner stones, and then Adam Ondi-Ahman, which was so. cool. I can't explain what it was like to be there. Also, Liberty Jail. That place is hallowed. I got to read Doctrine and Covenants sections 121:1-8 there, and the words just came alive. The Independence Visitor's Center was our last stop :)
My testimony of the early saints and of Latter-Day prophets and revelation has grown incredibly. I came home from that trip just overflowing with gratitude in my heart.
Third adventure: ECUADOR
Life-changing. LIFE-CHANGING. I went with eighteen other teenagers and four adults through a program called HEFY.
It was a humanitarian trip, so we had the opportunity to volunteer at two orphanages, one of which was a special needs orphanage for children with disabilities. For two weeks we worked on building a house for one of the families involved with the orphans. During the day we would take turns going across the street to work with the children. They are precious. I learned so much about love. Those kids love so freely. I made bonds with them that I will never forget. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of the children, otherwise I would have a post dedicated just to them.
We got to bond with the ward members there, too, we would go to Wendesday night activities, Sacrament meetings, firesides, and family home evenings. It was so hard to leave all the new friends we made, at the orphanage, in the ward, and in our group.
We did some adventure-y things too, boating in the Galapagos Islands, and zip lining through the Andes Mountains. I had the best hot chocolate of my life after hiking to a waterfall at 14,000 feet.
I will never ever forget the experiences that I had in Ecuador or the amazing people I met.
23 people. 17 days. 1 goal. 1000+ memories.
Here's the video. (Hopefully the church history one will be done soon!)
And now I'm back :)
Studying for the ACT, getting ready for my last year of high school. So yep. This year will be another adventure.
