Surprise! Happy Birthday!

Friday, I had a surprise birthday party. I had been at the store with my dad getting charcoal for smores that I thought we were supposed to roast with the Hardy's. When I got home I was met with a loud chorus of "Happy Birthday to You!" Almost all of the Mormons in my middle school were there (including boys.) There was Mikaela Sircable, Nicole King, Destiny Seraudi, Landon Hardy, Preston Shumway, Joseph Whiting, and Tyson and his friend Miller Hardy. The party went from 8-10 pm. We played water balloon volleyball (nobody was sure who won, but since it was my birthday party, I'm going with the girls.) We then did cake and smores. My mom made a really yummy two-layer yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and we roasted marshmallows over our fire pit.  Next we played Capture the Flag two times (sadly, the boys won both.) And finally we played Kick the Can a few times. I had a lot of fun and am very grateful to my mom for being thoughtful and willing enough to do the party. 

Girl's Camp, San Antonio, Utah, and Birthday's

It has been a long time since I've posted because I have been gone a lot. June 7, we went to San Antonio. We went to Sea World, first, and that was a lot of fun. There were some really neat animal shows, and a cool water park, but the best part was that it was rainy in the morning, so it wasn't crowded at all, but it cleared up in really quick, so it turned out to be a nice, crowd free day. The next day we went to Schlitterbahn, (the world's biggest water park.) It had rained 11 in the previous day, so only one small part was open, but the tickets were under half price, so we went and ended up having a lot of fun! We also went to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and did a few rides, but mainly spent time at the water park. We all really enjoyed the water park, and I had a blast on the rides (I was the only one tall enough to do the fun rides, disadvantage #1of a short family-amusement park height limits.) We got home that Friday, and I left for Girl's Camp at the New Mexico Mountain Retreat Monday June 15( My mom's birthday was the 17th so I missed it.) I LOVED girl's camp. I had a lot of fun, met new people and felt the Spirit more strongly than I had anywhere else. I had the opportunity to bear my testimony at our campfire testimony meeting the last night. It wasn't until I got up, that I realized just how wonderful the gospel was and how strongly I had felt the Spirit that week. We arrived home Friday afternoon. I then got one week of rest before we headed off to Utah. We got there Friday the 25. We went to Beaver, Utah first (a tiny town in southern Utah where my mom grew up,) where we stayed at my grandparents house on my mom's side for about a week. We had a fun time with cousins and grandparents. That Friday, we went to Centerville where we visited my great-aunt Marie and my cousins the Keddingtons. We celebrated the 4th that Saturday (the 3rd) because the 4th was on a Sunday. We went to the parade, went swimming, and had a picnic (no fireworks ahh.) That Saturday night we drove up Syracuse where we visited my mom's sister (my aunt) Andrea and my cousins. Me and Lindsey had a great time even though it was just for a day. The next day we went to Provo where we were attending camps at BYU. I went to tennis camp (5 days, 7 hrs a day.) Tyson and Justin went to soccer camp (4 days, 4 hrs a day.) We stayed at a hotel. I had a lot of fun at tennis camp, and really feel like I improved. I was one of the youngest there, one of the only was not staying overnight at the dorms (I'm way too chicken to do that) and one of the least experienced. I did pretty well though. I was ranked 15 on my team out of 18, but I won all of my singles matches but one (I tied that one) and won about 2/3 of my doubles matches. In my tournament I finished third. I also won most improved out of my team (I'm still debating whether I should be proud or embarrassed about that.) I had fun, but I do wish I could have gone with a friend though. I didn't know anyone there, most of the socializing was in the dorms, and I'm very shy to begin with. I didn't make a single friend. I really don't care too much, I'm perfectly happy to sit by myself and think or read, but when the coaches come to sit by you, you don't feel to hot. It really was fun though, and my family and I did stuff in the afternoons. We went to Seven Peaks (a water park,) went to visit Greg, Leanne, and their kids (my uncle, aunt, and cousins,) went hiking with the Anderson's (our other cousins,) and went swimming. We left Friday afternoon, stopped for the night in Grants, New Mexico, and got home Saturday afternoon. Today was my 13th birthday. I got a lot of books, some clothes, and a huge make-up kit. My mom had to show me how to put on the make-up, but hopefully I'll get the hang of it. We had dinner at my Grandpa Cluff and Annabelle's house (Annabelle's 87th birthday was yesterday). We also had cake there. I think it's safe to say that so far, it has been a GREAT summer!