Closing a Chapter

It's amazing how fast time flies by isn't it? I mean, it seems like only yesterday I was just starting high school--and hating every minute of it--and suddenly here I am...a high school graduate! Funny thing is I always thought that I'd be excited to end high school. But now I'm actually kind of sad to see it go. I mean, the first two years stunk as far as social stuff, but the later two years were amazing!

I've never really given much thought as to how close I was to leaving high school behind. I mean, I always thought that I'd be SOOOOO happy to leave it...but now it's more a kind of semi sad farewell. It's sort of sad--like any closing chapter of your life...but it's also exciting! This means that I'm starting out on a whole NEW adventure! The College Chapter of my life! WOW!! That's pretty exciting! And while I will be sad to see high school go...I know that I've had an amazing past two years and I hope that my next four will be just as good! :D

But before I go any further, I'd like to take this opportunity to make my appreciation known to some of the people who have impacted my life over these past four years!



Mom: Thank you for your unending support and love--and also for the extreme sanity raising me required. You've impacted my life in so many amazing ways, and have provided strong guidelines for me to live out the rest of my life! You've taught me to work and work hard. You've taught me to take care of myself and plan ahead. You've done so much for me without a second thought. And I know it seems sometimes like I don't appreciate it. But I really do. I'm sorry for all the times I screwed up, or made your life more difficult than it had to be. But thank you for showing me through those difficult times how to get back up and keep on going! I'll never be able to fully thank you for what you've done for me, and even now 'Thank you' seems too little to say--but I guess what I'm trying to say is--that even though you'll never know how much I appreciate you or how much I love you--always know that I do. And I'll never forget the things you've done for me, and the sacrifices you've made throughout my 17 years. I love you mom, more than you will ever know!

Dad: A lot of people don't get very good fathers, but I'm happy to say that I'm not among them. You've always been a strong leader and someone that my siblings and I respected. We respect how hard you work, and how you refuse to live off of others. We respect how you never back down and how you always give off the aura of strength. We respect how you don't take crap but wouldn't deliberately hurt anyone for the world. We respect the fact that you're tough, and don't need mom or any of us to prop you up. We respect the fact that you are you're own man. We respect the fact that even though you work hard, you always have time for us and are always there for us and are involved in our lives. We respect the fact that even in tough times you're calm and manage to carry us through. We respect you Dad! And while I'm sure we often tried your patience...I know that you love us more than anything else. You've trained us the best you know how, and that means more to us than you will ever know! I love you so much Dad! And even though I may not say it as often as I should I really do mean it! You're the best father anyone could as for. Thank you seems too little to say I know, but always know that we appreciate you and that you're a really wonderful dad! :)

Jackson: You've always been right behind me. And even though we fight, and pester each other--I think we know each other better than we know anyone else. We're close, and we look out for one another. You're always there when I need somebody to talk to and you always manage to make me laugh. And even though I don't say it much, I love you. And even though I may fuss about your flaws sometimes--you're an amazing brother and are turning into a really amazing person. I just hope you know that! :)

Joanna: You may not know it, but you've really impacted my life! From the very first time I saw you I absolutely adored you! You are a very VERY important piece in my life, and even though I'm not very good at showing people how much I care for them--always know that you are a vital part of my life and I love you very VERY much! And even though we pester each other, always know that I love you, more than anything in the world.

Papa and Grandma: You've both affected my lives in so many wonderful ways! Ever since I was little, you both have always been there for me, supporting me and encouraging me! Papa, I've always admired how hard you work, and how much you care for you're family! Grandma, I've always admired how caring and sweet you are and how you've always cared for you're family! I've never heard you say a bad word about anyone, and I only hope that I can aspire to be just like you! You're the one that inspired me to sing and keep singing! You both have always been a vital part of my life, and have encouraged to be the best that I can be. You've both encouraged me so much, and I love you both so much! :D Thank you for always being with me, and helping me through my bad times. Thank you and I love you more than either of you will ever know.

Aunt Gigi: A lot of my fond childhood memories are formed around you. You were always the cool aunt that we got to hang out with sometimes. I remember cuizing around town in shades in you're jeep. When I was little that was some of the best fun I'd ever had. :) I remember you taking me shopping and showing what clothes look good and what clothes don't. You've always got such amazing taste, and you're the one I go to when I need clothing or decorating advice! :D You're also the one who helps me move out of some of my nerdy moments! Thanks SO much for that! :) You've always been the life of any party and can make anyone laugh! :D All in all, thanks for being there and letting me pick you're brain all these years.

Mrs. Rita: You always astound me with how caring and talented you are! And how you are so willing to share you're amazing talents with everyone! You've always treated me just like a daughter, and have always gone above and beyond the call of duty! Thank you so much for sharing your talents, time and friendship with me! :D You're such a wonderful lady! You're always willing to help others. You're always there to help people through their rough patches! You are kind. You are caring. And we all love you very much! You're one of the sweetest people in the whole wide world! :D Thank you for being a part of my life! :D

James: I know you better than I know anyone else. You've always been there for me, like another brother. You were my friend when I had none, and you never let me down! You're kind to everyone. You're very intelligent, but unlike a lot of people, you use your intelligence to help others. You're able to do just about anything you set you're mind to. You're always ready to help others. You have a love of learning and exploring new things that is admirable. We grew up together, we've been there for the good times and the bad. So I guess what I'm trying to say is--thanks for sticking with me these past ten years! You are and always be my oldest and truest friend! :D

Jacob: You're like another little brother to me! I've known you since we were little kids! And I think we are about as close to a brother and sister as you can get! We've made a lot of memories, and a lot of laughs! :D You can always make me laugh. You consider other people's feelings. You watch out for your friends and for you're family. You're always so polite to everyone. You're extremely patient, and understanding. You make people feel appreciated. You're fun loving and won't turn down a good time! You make us laugh so hard sometimes we just can't stop. You're an amazing person, Jacob, and don't you ever forget it! You're a very special and a very dear friend!

Jessie: You're the person who cheers me up when I'm down. You always can make me laugh. We've had so many amazing times together! Some of the most memorable times of my life you've shared with me! You're adventurous and you encourage others to see the world and try new things. You bring people out of their shells and help them realise who they can be! You make others feeling comfortable and happy. You consider other people's feelings, and you can turn a frown into a smile in seconds! But most of all you're a dreamer, and you encourage others to dream and to make their dreams into a reality. :)

Hannah: You are one of the most admirable people I know. You've got a leader personality! You've got a strong sense of self, and that means a lot! You know who you are and what you are and you give that feeling to others. :) You make people feel comfortable and confident! You're kind to others and are in tune with their feelings. You stand up for people and you don't let anyone tell you you're something you're not. You've got more talent in you're little finger than most people have in their whole bodies! You can do anything you set you're mind to do! You're level headed, but still love adventure. You're going to be a very fine young woman someday, and I'm proud to be you're friend! :D

Ganmama: My grandmother, or Ganmama as I used to call her, died when I was 10 years old. I miss her everyday, and even though she was only part of my life for 10 years--she still shaped my life in unmeasurable ways. She was always there for me, always supportive. She believed that I could do anything, and that I would become someone very special. She never gave up on me. And even though I never got to tell her how much I loved her, I always hope that she did. Because I loved her more than anything, she was my best friend. To me she is synonymous with happiness, peace and the simpler, happier times of my childhood. When she died a lot died with her. I will always miss her, especially on my graduation day. I kinda thought she'd be there for that. I know she would have wanted to be there, things just worked out different. But she did leave me a graduation present. It's a necklace she bought for me when I was little. It's very special, and I will treasure it always. I know she would have wanted to give it to me herself-- but it will still be given to me on my graduation.
I hope that she's proud of me, I hope that I'm turning into the kind of person that she'd want me to be. I know I have many flaws...but I'm hard at work on them.

I couldn't make this list without including her. She's been so important in my life. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. She was such a special lady, so full of life. I love her so very much. More than I can possibly say in writing. And even if I could put it in writing it could all be summed up in three words,

I love you.


There are many more people who have impacted my life in amazing ways. This list only represents some of them. I love all of my family and friends. They are all extremely special to me, and I really hope they know that.





But yea, I've got a lot of memories, but I can't wait to make some new ones! A whole new chapter of my life is starting and while I'm so scared I'd like to wet myself...I'm also extremely excited! My life is moving on and there are so many wonderful things in store! :D


As I've been closing my High school Chapter, I've been prompted to look back over some old photos and memories, and I'd like to share some of them with you

 Well, the first high school memory I have is of course when I turned fourteen! :D It was a pool party. :)

 Yep, that's a little Jacob and James--and that's my head bobbing up out of the water.

They had a bubble machine going! :)

That was my first high school memory! :D A lot has sure changed since then--all of it good! :D

Here I am with some girls from a book club I used to go to. And no that's not my natural hair...I curled it then. Stupid? Yes. Fashionable? No. Not sure why I went through THAT stage! 0_0

Now that's a little more natural. Again about 15-16. And again at the book club. I always enjoyed going and the lady who ran it (Mrs. Emily) was always so sweet. I really missed the book club when it was over.

The Shakespeare Tavern trip. It was really a lot of fun going there! The performances were amazing!

Last year of book club when I was 16. That's James (not JandJproductions James) standing beside me. He's really nice and he played the younger version of Curly in The Dream Scene! :D

My second year of co-op! I'd have to say that co-op was one of the major highlights of my high school experience. And while I'm sad to see it go now...I know that I have other things in my life now. But still, co-op peeps, you guys are AWESOME!

Summer of 2011 was the best summer EVA! I spent the whole summer clowning around with my friends and basically having as much fun as we could humanly possibly manage!

Jessie and I also had a ball with photo shoots! She always has so many awesome and interesting angles for pictures! She planned this one out because she liked the way the sun looked with the flowers!

American Pie became a sort of hang out for us. I mean, we went there every chance we got!

Bowling was too awesome! I'd never been before, but fortunately Jessie and Hannah were there to show me the ropes! However that STILL didn't save me from accidentally throwing the bowling ball backwards! Ooops!

Truett's became another favorite hang out for us over the summer! Nobody makes milkshakes like Truett's!

Another part of my summer was spent by the pool. Both at the amazing Mountain Pool but also at James and Jacob's pool and at a friend of our's pool! It was so much fun hanging out with all my friends there!

And who could forget Jessie and I's attempt to ride the golf cart in the rain!? That was interesting! We came in soaking wet and cold, but heck we had fun!

My 17th birthday also rolled around and I got to spend it with all my amazing friends!

Uh, yea all those years of charm school really paid off didn't they?

The famous Jacob Hides Behind His Cap shot. Why is it whenever I post a pic of Jacob it's this one? Hmm....

I also got to model for Mrs. Gaskill again! It was so much fun! I hope that we can get together again soon! :D I absolutely loved getting to hang out with her that day!

She takes such beautiful pictures! :D She's really REALLY talented! :D

Our trip to Jarrel Plantation! That was awesome!

One of my fav pics from 2011. Jessie took this pic and I love how it turned out! :D Once again another great photography moment by Jessie! :D

 Me in dramatic mode as a late summer storm rolls in.

Jessie and I acting silly! Funny thing is we were actually playing with the camera while bolts of lightening were flashing all over the place! Not the brightest of all of our ideas I'll have to say!

Jessie and I heading off to the fall co-op! We pretty much spent the whole summer hanging out! It was so much fun!

Christmas with my family has always been special! Even when my sister and cousin are flashing gang signs! LOL! Oh well, still not sure where they picked that up.

This is the very definition of my brother's relationship to my father. My brother is always playing some trick on my dad....and vis versa!

My all time favorite picture of my sister and I.

Jessie and I on New Years Eve. No we weren't drunk, just a little wired from too much sugar! LOL!

It's so funny, Jessie and I have done so many memorable things together over the past two years! For example, meeting John Waller and Jason Howard!

And going to Accelerant! I'll never forget that weekend! It was, I'd have to say, one of the best in my life!

Going to Accelerant was the first time I'd ever been away from home on my own. It was a little scary, but not for long. We had so much fun and learned so much, it was really an amazing opportunity!

Plus we got to go go-cart racing! :D

WEEEEEEE!!!! That was SOOOOO much fun! Except when you got hit from behind....that part kind of sucked. LOL!

Jessie was a really amazing racer! She was a natural! :D

John! LOL! You are so funny! :D

We had so many funny and memorable moments! Heck, we'll be telling Accelerant stories for YEARS! lol! Maybe someday I can go back or do something similar to it! :D

The messages at Accelerant were truly inspiring! I've never been so moved in my life! And to be able to share it with such awesome people! Accellerant was just too amazing for words!

We also got to hang out at arcades and 'tried' to play round of miniature golf! I don't think anyone except the youth leaders had played it much! I know I hadn't! But still it was a lot of fun and we had so many laughs over that course! Especially when I accidentally hit a plastic prop gorilla in the head! OOPS! :D

Our last day was a little trying, as we spent it driving after getting up at six A.M. But we still had fun, and we were treated to a delicious meal at a restaurant called Rumor Has It! I got a shrimp salad and MAN It was good!

Before we left we also got to drive through the mountains and see some spectacular views! :D I loved every second of it and was snapping pictures all the way! :D

Of course I couldn't forget Oklahoma! :D This was the first play I'd ever been in and I loved it! It was so fun and everyone did an amazing job!

The dance scenes were some of my favorites! Square dancing is a lot of fun, especially in a big fluffy skirt! LOL!

I got to sing a solo line in The Dream Scene of Oklahoma and I was so thrilled! It was just so much fun to be able to participate!

My dear friend Mrs. Gaskill was taking pictures during one of the dress rehersals! She took all of these beautiful pictures of the Oklahoma cast! :D Thank you so much Mrs. Gaskill! I LOVE each and everyone of of these pictures! :D

The whole cast in one of the dance scenes!

A brief behind the scenes look at Oklahoma! Tatum (Laurie) had a 'smelling salts' prop bottle and we decide to have some fun with it! We call this picture, 'Smelling Salts Gone Wild!'

And of course co-op began again and Hannah, Jessie and I got to see a lot more of each other! This is a pic of me at Hannah's b-day sleep over! We were all wired from cake, chips and soda! That's the life! :D

I love this picture of Jessie! We call it 'What's Up'. We had a few minutes between classes so we decided to clown around with our cameras! LOL!

Hannah, Jessie and I at the Hunger Games! The movie was completely amazing! Thanks so much for taking us to see it Hannah!

Hanging out with Hannah at co-op! We had so many laughs there! :D

The Grand Ole Opry! One of my favorite memories! :D I was so nervous getting up there, but after I started singing it all went away! I loved it! :D

My mom loves this picture!

Me and Mrs. Rita! She made my entire costume and everything! Thank you so much for doing that for me! I really appreciate it! :D The costume was absolutely perfect! You really went above and beyond the call of duty!

I'm so thrilled that I might be able to wear the costume on stage again soon! But more on that later! :)

Me and a really sweet lady named Mrs. Shannon! I really enjoyed talking to her!

Again, LOVE the costume and my hair due! Mrs. Rita made the whole costume and Mrs. Kay styled my un-stylable hair! Thank you both SO much for all that you did!

All in all my high school experience has been great. And while I am sad to see it go, I am excited to see what new adventures and blessings the next four years of my life will bring. And while there are things I wish I could undo, most of my life I wouldn't change--and I figure that's pretty good. 

That's pretty much all I can say I guess, other than thank you to all the people who have helped me get this far in life, and here's to the next four years! 

You're now graduated blogger,

Rebecca 

Messy Mondays: Seven Lies about Homeschoolers (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

SOOOOOOO FUNNY! You HAVE to watch this! LOL! :D

Some of My Nature Pictures

Well, hey there blogging fans.

Yea, I'm still feeling crappy. The swelling on my face has gone up MAJORLY and now I've got a gaping hole in the back of my mouth from where one of the larger of my wisdom teeth was. :( Yea, it sucks to be a chipmunk. Fortunately it's only temporary...but still--when you've got a swollen up face days seem likes years. :( But anyway, enough of my ranting about my dumb mouth, now on the meat of my post. Today, since I'm really REALLY bored and feeling crappy, I wanted to show you guys some of the nature photos that I took for my Nature Photography Class in Co-op this year! :D

I've never really been much for nature photography, but after this class I really got into it! :D Now I'm a HUGE nature photography fan! :D And since I've become a NP fan--I though I might share some of my humble work. Now, I know that I'm only a newbie to the whole NP thing...but I'm proud of my work. I mean, for a first time I think I did okay! :D So without any further adieu, here are my photos! :D  

These are some ants crawling around in our field. This was one of the really REALLY early ones.

I took this one while I was spending the night with Hannah and Jessie at Hannah's house. Love how the background turned out on this one! :)

                                                        An apple blossom in our orchard!

A bumble bee---that decided to model for me.

       Yea, I resorted to taking pictures of rocks. But hey, look at all the cool moss on that thing! :D

                                                      I just liked the contrast in this one.

This one I also took at Hannah's. I'm not sure why the photo shifted to the left side of the post. I hate this new format! :(

This next one I also took at Hannah's! We actually got a LOT of really great photos from over there! :D I really love all the little purple flowers in this one! They are so pretty! :D

 This one is of some wisteria in our woods. I LOVE how this one's background did! :D So pretty and purple! :D

Well, those are some of my photos. I still have a BUNCH more that I may post later...but for right now this is good enough! :D So I hope that you guys enjoyed this and I'll see ya later! :D

Your nature photography loving blogger,

Rebecca

Accelerant: Day Three

And here we go again!

Hi there blogging fans and welcome to my Accelernt Day Three post! Sorry these posts are coming like two days apart but with all these dumb pics to load (and our computer being slow) it's kinda hard to load the pics and write the incredibly LONG post in one day.

Anyway back to day three. This was, in my humble opinion, the BEST day of Accelerant eva!! It was soooo awesome!! But before I start squealing and jumping around the room, let me tell you about how this day got so freaking awesome.

We woke up usual time...after a night full of concerts and in hotel room hanging out. Yea, I forgot to mention yesterday that after we got back from the concert Jessie, Lydia, Carey, me and the rest of the youth group came over to Jessie and my's room and hung out. Seriously...there were SO many teens in there it was ridiculous! Mainly we talked, laughed and teased each other, but we did do some other things. We played over a hundred different card games...mainly gambling ones. Yea, we gambled...for potato chips. Lame...sorta...fun and yummy...yes!! It was sorta winner eats all. Libbie one a whole tube of Pringles! She was so happy. ;)

Anyway, we didn't get to bed until about one thirty...so when we got up at six thirty the next morning we were all really...REALLY tired. Lydia was almost dead on her feet, and so was I! But never the less we all managed to shower and get spruced up before it was time to head out for the morning service.

Like the day before preacher Tavner Smith was speaking. This time he was telling us about how to stay alive for God and how to stand firm and keep our faith going when we get out in the real world. You know...when things get tough. He was once again very moving and spoke right to us. Though I will have to admit that I was really really tired all during the service. I didn't fall asleep or anything...but all that late night hang out stuff was killing me at the moment. Sorry but this girl's not used to four or five hours worth of sleep a night.

Anyway, Chasen and J Prophet preformed again and that was SUPER cool! This time I drug Jessie up front and we manged to get right at the very VERY front! It was so awesome!

After the service another speaker came out (there was a different one every day) and said that today was the day when there would be special events for certain youth conferences. Yep. I didn't pay that much attention to where the other groups were going. But ours (the Georgia group which was actually rather small) was going to the most awesome place in the whole wide world! The Track...a go cart track!! EEEKKK!!!

Now you see why this day was so awesome!

Have any of you guys ever ridden a go cart? If so you guys know that go cart racing is one of the most awesome things eva!!

Sadly our town doesn't have a go cart track...at least not one that I know of...so I hadn't ever gone go cart racing. So this was a new experience for me.

Well anyway, we had to drive into Pigeon Forge to go to The Track. Along the way I was so tired I actually fell asleep along the way. Good thing for me it was a so so long drive so I had plenty of time to catch some zees.

When we finally arrived at the Track we found that the weather was over cast and very...very cold. So the idea of ice cold wind blowing through our hair wasn't exactly welcome. But the idea of free pizza and drink was.

Apparently the Track was hosting a pizza party for us youth peeps! It was so awesome...and so yummy! I mean they had every kind of pizza imaginable! They even had macaroni pizza! Carey loved that.

Well then it was time to ride the carts. And I was more than just a little scared. Like I've already said, I've never drove a go cart before. And so I wasn't quite sure how to do it. But after asking some of the other youth about it I realized that go cart driving is actually quite easy. And by then it was time to ride. But of course we had to wait in line. Which sucked. I mean really, waiting in the wind and the cold...ah no. But finally, after much waiting it was time for us to take our turn!!

Please note that I wasn't taking any of these pics. Mrs. Toye (one of the leaders) took these. Aren't they awesome!?

Well we all jumped into our carts and waited for the ok to go. Here's Mr. Steve and Mr. David (the male youth leaders) And here's me. Yea, if I look nervous it's because I was. I mean, I knew it was easy to drive but I was still nervous about spinning out or flipping over or the usual...just looking like a freaking idiot. Oh well. And here's Lydia! She was totally in love with the Track! Here's John and that's Zach behind him. He was, as you can clearly see, very happy about go cart racing. Here's Carey. She isn't normally that pale...but I guess the light was weird or something like that. And here's Jessie with a very cold me behind her. We sat in the pits for what seemed like forever (trust me, when you've got over twenty go cart engines blowing nasty fumes in your face time seems to slow down a little. But finally we were cleared to race and off we went! Here's one of Jessie with Mrs. Toye's husband and son behind her. And here's me!! I don't remember if this was after I spun out for the first time (I only spun out two times and both of those times some one pitted me. But anyway, dunno if I had just spun out or I was in the lead. I one quite a few races and I was so happy! Here's Jessie coming around turn! She was a natural go cart racer! Here's me again. No this isn't the same photo...it was just taken a few seconds after the other. My hair's crazy in this one ain't it?! LOL!

But go carting wasn't all they had at the Track. They also had a miniature golf course, bumper boats and bumper cars! Here's the whole youth group in the bumper cars! That was soooo fun!

We road on the go carts most of the time....but after a while we wanted to do something else. So we decided on mini golf. BIG MISTAKE!! This was the only non awesome part of this day. Mini golf is SOOOOO boring and for people who are already getting sleepy...it's the worse thing in the world! We only did half of the course before we all wanted to head back to the hotel and sleep for a while. Our leaders herded us out into the cars and we were heading home.

On the way home we stopped to eat. Yea, we were all really REALLY hungry by then. Most of the youth went to Arby's but Jessie, Libbie and I went to a Wendy's across the street. While there we laughed and talked about our adventures at the track. Libbie told us how Mr. David pitted her and made her get hit by another boy they knew named Josh. She said he hit her broad side. She was totally freaked out when she saw him round the corner! Fortunately he didn't hit her car to bad. He apparently just clipped the side so she was ok--but still it was a bit scary!

There were a LOT of wrecks on the largest of the go cart tracks....and sadly Lydia seemed to be at the heart of nearly every one! Once she crashed at the very high and very help deserted part of the track! She stayed up there for two whole laps before help finally arrived! Poor Lydia!

After dinner we packed back in the car and headed back to the hotel. We had a few minutes to rest and freshin up so we made the most of it. Jessie and I were the first to get ready...which was good seeing how Jessie needed to run to the small mall down the street to buy that knife for her brother. I wasn't too thrilled with walking out in Gatlinburg at night...especially since my phone was dead at the time and therefore we only had Jessie's phone. I mean, I know that having one phone is better than not having a phone at all...but I still like to have my phone handy.

Anyway, with Mrs. Lisa's permission we raised down through the hotel which was (as we later figured out) a complete maze. Seriously, there were tons of identical hallways and exits. So basically I knew how the third class folks on the Titanic felt as they tried to find their way out of the maze of cloned hallways.

We trudged out into the dark, me in front and Jessie following close behind. As I mentioned I wasn't too happy walking around Gatlinburg with just Jessie. I mean, I knew I had done it with the others...but that was different. We didn't have to walk through so many dark alleys then and it wasn't as late or as crowded. Trust me, this was Saturday night in Gatlinburg!

Well, trying not to sound like a worry wart. We quickly rushed to the mall, me looking in, behind and around every alley, bush or car. Some said I was over cautious and silly...Mrs. Lisa said I was smart. I've been to lot of self defence classes and they say that usually when bad things happen it's when you let your guard down...and I wasn't about to do that this night.

I knew that in the mall we'd be fairly safe...seeing how you couldn't round a corner in there without spotting a security guard or camera. But out on the street...not so much. I didn't see any questionables...but you never can be too careful. Well we made it to the mall and picked up Jessie's knife and headed back to the hotel.

We made it back fine and then headed for the evening concert.

Tonight it was Chasen followed by Mark Hammond (spelling) who was--by the by--hilarious!

From Left to Right: Me, Jessie, Zach, John, Chelsea, Breanne, Libbie, Lydia and Carey (sitting)

We laughed sang and worshiped all night long before finally it was time to head home. We were all kinda glad to go back to the hotel...mainly cause we were all dog tired by this point. But before we could go to sleep we had to get packing. Yep, that's cause the next morning it was time to head home to Mayberry! I could hardly believe how fast the weekend had gone! I mean really! It just flew by!

But anyway, we packed up as much stuff as we could (some had to be left out for the morning) and then sat down in sort of a daze, glad to have--what we thought--was most of the excitement of the day behind us.

We were wrong.

We were just about to change when suddenly Chelsea popped her head in and said she was going out for a candy apple with John, Zach, Breanne and Libbie and she was wondering if we wanted to come. I said I'd ask Jessie and the others real fast. At first Jessie didn't want to go, but after a few seconds she agreed. We had to wait on Lydia however, so we told the others to go ahead. So after Lydia had bundled up (it was SOO freaking cold that night) we headed out with Mr. Steve and Mr. David close behind (they had decided to go out and get some fudge.)

So we marched our little group up the now abandoned city streets until suddenly we were greeted by Chelsea and the others. She said that all the candy stores were closed and that we'd have to go back. We were all a bit disappointed and we were just about to head back when Mr. Steve announced he was going to head over to a vendor up the street a ways and get him something hot to eat. Mr. David soon followed course and in the end...so did the rest of us.

We trudged up the hill to a little bald headed vendor with a Doris Day voice who was just about to close up for the night. He said he'd keep the shop open a bit longer, just so long as we were buying something. So without question we started ordering.

Mr. Steve ordered hot chocolate, Libbie and Breanne funnel cakes, me a frozen lemonade (yea, I never know when it's winter) and Mr. David a sausage and some fries.

And this is where it get's interesting.

When the guy served up my drink he said the total was four bucks, to which I handed him a five. My change was a dollar even, and that was wierd. See normally change isn't dead even like that...usually it's got some odd change mixed in. But the price was four and I gave the man five...so I didn't quibble.

Then it was Mr. David's turn.

The price of the sausage was eight dollars, the fries were three. So overall the total should SHOULD have been eleven dollars. But when the final price was wrung up the total was EIGHTEEN dollars! Mr. David caught this immeadiately and insisted that it was wrong. Our sausage deeler was unrelenting...saying that they had an eleven percent sales tax up there. Mr. David said that may be true but that wouldn't be seven dollars of sales tax! The sausage man was unconvinced and insisted his price was right and that he was just really tired and prefered not to fool with this any more. Mr. David kept pushing and that's when all hell broke loose.

Suddenly the sausage deeler was screaming at Mr. David that eighteen dollars was the right price and that Mr. David should just get back to church (note not a WORD had been said about church, God or any other religious aspect until now) and that he wasn't giving back that seven dollars.

The whole youth group just stood back agape. This dude was having a freaking fit. Zach and John just laughed a little at it while Lydia, Carey, Jessie and the rest of us girls just wished we could go somewhere else. I mean, Mr. David was keeping his cool and all, but the other dude was obviously furious and I wasn't sure where this all was going. I just leaned up against the wall of a sun glasses shop and sucked on my frozen lemonade. Nobody dared get close to the action other than Lydia. She crept right up beside Mr. David and listened to every word that was said. The rest of us just stared at the scene from a reasonable distance. Every few seconds she'd rush back over to the rest of us and give us some nitty gritty into the drama. The screaming continued for what seemed like eternety but what actually was about five minutes before another costumer stepped up and told the sausage man that his price was wrong. Seeing that he was now out numbered he gave in and returned four of the owed seven dollars. Not exactly what Mr. David wanted but enough that he wasn't going to haggle it out with this dude anymore.

So we all quickly headed home, each of us either, laughing, talking or whispering about the now enfamous Sausage Man!! When we got back to the hotel we relayed our story to the other youth leaders. They listened with intrest and laughed at some parts of the sausage story dialoge and fell silent at others. It was pretty interesting to hear from Mr. David the full account (which is pretty much what I've just told you). It kinda became a running joke for the remainder of our little trip. I probably made it sound like it was the event of the century (which, trust me, it wasn't) but it was actually really funny. You should have seen it. Mr. David stand there cool as a cucumber while sausage man lost his freaking head! Funny stuff! :D You know...I still have that dollar the sausage man gave back to me. Just a little memento to remember the great Sausage War of 2012! Lol!

Well, after the sausage story had been relayed it was time for us to crawl back into our own hotel rooms and go to sleep (we had been hanging out in Lydia and Carey's room). So without further adieu Jessie and I both went asleep, cause after all...we had a very VERY long trip ahead of us in the morning!

So that pretty much concludes day three of Accelerant! I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about it! I'm off to shower and get all de-nastified. I've just finished my daily workout and to put it plainly...I smells. So I'm off to clean my stinky self!

Your Ever Crazy and at the moment Stinky Blogger,

Rebecca

Accelerant: Day Two

Hi there are you ready for ACCELERANT!!

That's how we were greeted the morning of our first FULL day in Gatlinburg. But our morning began LONG before the announcer at Accelerant greeted us. We awoke at six o'clock--after having gone to bed at two--and immediately set about getting ready for the day. After we had conquered the strange hotel shower and once again had our hair and make up under control it was time to head out for Accelerant! :D But before we left Jessie took a pic of me out on the balcony of doom. I look a little tired, wired and crazy huh? Well...I guess that's what comes from having a fruit roll up for breakfast and less than four hours worth of sleep. But hey, I was having fun!

Well when arrived at the convention center the first thing that struck me was how BIG it was! I mean this place was huge and there were SO many people! And for me...little miss introvert...this was all just a tad freaky!! :O I mean it wasn't wild...but I'd never been to something like this so it was a new experience. Now some of you may have been to things like this so you know what I'm talking about...but for those of you who haven't let me just set the scene for you!

We walk into a large high ceiling room that was about the size of nearly TWO gyms. There's a large metal framed stage up front with tons of blue strobe (Accelerant's color is blue apparently) flashing and waving around like nobody's business. There's a Manafest song playing over the sound system and on the three large video screens mounted up above the stage. The room is dark except for the strobe lights and one can obviously see thick smoke hovering in the air from the smoke machines that are mounted somewhere in the room. More large lights that are manually operated sit high above the crowd near the back of the room. The large white lights scan over the stage and the crowd as hundreds of excited teens walk up to the front of the stage to see the two preforming artists who will be coming on in a few minutes. The noise is unimaginable. Laughs, shouts and general chattering hanging above the mass of people wedged into the room; loud music blasting out over everything and everyone; shouts from the workmen as they try desperately to communicate with the young interns working on the lights and crowd control. And of course with all this noise there's vibrations. The convention center had a hard concrete floor that seemed to just pick up every sound made in the room. So each time the speakers boomed so would you. I mean really, I was standing there and I could feel my chest just rattling with the noise! It was intense!

And just so you get a feel of some of the music that was being played here is the Manafest song that I heard when I first came in. After you've watched this try to imagine it being turned up so loud that each beat sends your heart skipping a beat. If you can do that then you get a small idea of the noise level.

But despite the noise (I'm dwelling so much on this because I'd never experienced something like that before) I was riveted. Everything was so new to me. I guess I am a country mouse of sorts...not use to concerts or conventions...so when I walked through that door I thought--for a brief moment--that this was a mistake. I mean, when I came through and saw the strobe lights, the crowd and the booming speakers I felt that I had just walked into an alien world. I've been to concerts before...but they were never like this. So to be perfectly honest...I was scared out of my wits!! Here I was in an unfamiliar state, in an unfamiliar building at an unfamiliar conference. I was freaked out!! 0_0

It didn't take me too long to adjust though...but I will admit I don't adjust quickly. So when Jessie suddenly grabbed my hand and started down towards the stage I was suddenly gripped with nervousness. Seriously...I hadn't been that nervous since I was thirteen!! But anyway, Jessie pulled me through the crowd until at last we found a spot off to the left hand corner of the stage. She told me that the best places were of course up front but you'd have to get there early to get those spots. She also said we'd try for those tomorrow. I wasn't too thrilled with getting up front at first...so I didn't really care. I was just glad we had a spot and that Jessie seemed to know her way around. I was, at the moment, content.

Then it started.

A speaker came out onto the stage, a mike gripped firmly in his right left hand and with a excited, booming voice said:

"Hello are you ready for ACCELERANT!!"

To which the entire room responded with screams and cheers of complete and utter excitement! I screamed too, though mine was more like a hushed scream.

The speaker began talking about Accelerant and how it was their fifteenth year (which again aroused a ton of screams from the crowd.) and how excited they were to have another group of teens to minister to. He spoke a little longer before he lead us in a word of prayer and then lead the opening act on stage...Chasen.

This is one of the songs Chasen performed. Check it out...it's awesome! I was blown away. I loved it!! Trust me when I say these guys give a good show!! They were awesome!! I mean seriously it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! :D :D :D :D The crowd loved them! And when it was finally time for them to leave Jessie and I were more than just a little sad. But of course there was another person waiting to preform. The totally awesome rapper, J Prophet!

This is the first song he preformed. Check it out. It's just a preview cause for some reason I can't find the full version. But anyway it gives you an idea. This was really amazing when it was blasting over the speakers and everybody was going nuts over him! He was definitely a hit I can tell you that!I was totally impressed by him! For the rest of the trip everyone in our group was singing J. P. R. O. P. H. E. T.! LOL!!

Anyway, after J Prophet was done preforming we went back to our seats and prepared for Tavner Smith to come on and speak to us about taking a stand for God. His speech was amazing!! So moving, so powerful! I was floored. Tavner was so moving...and SO funny! But he moved me to tears several times during the sermon!! He told us that we, as a generation, had to take a stand. That one person can make a difference! It was an incredible speech!! I cried and cried through it! I was so moved!!

After the sermon was over Chasen played one more time before it was time to go. So we made our way through the crowded room until we finally were at the exit. After we left the conference center we walked down through the town of Gatlinberg. The first awesome place I took a picture at was the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. There was this really cool stone ball in the front of the museum that was held up by a spout of water. You could push the ball around and the fun was trying to stop it from moving! This thing was HUGE and really heavy! We played with it for a few minutes and then we moved on. We walked and walked and all the while I took as many pics as I could. Now let me tell you that walking through Gatlinberg is one of the funnest things you can do! The town is set up like a little German town crossed with a little backwoods mountain town. It's actually really cute and the best part of it is...all the boutique stores! I mean they had stores for everything! Airsoft gun stores, purse stores, movie poster stores, they even had a store dedicated to NOTHING but signs!! Another thing awesome about Gatlinberg were all the museums!! :D Like the Guinness World Records Museum.

We didn't get to go into the museum but it looked totally awesome!!

Anyway, after a LOT of walking we finally picked out a restaurant to stop at. Wendy's!! YUMMY! It was SOOOOO good! We laughed and talked and besides a strange dude who kept looking in at us through the large bay window at the front of the restaurant we had fun. Seriously we were sitting right in front of the window and this dude kept peering in...he had his face RIGHT against the glass. It was a little creepy...he freaked Jessie out! LOL!! But anyway, after a meal our group leaders said that we could go into the mall and go shopping, just Jessie, Carey, Lydia and me!! So without a second to spare we shot off to the adjoining mall and set about shopping. Here's a pic of Lydia and Jessie by an old truck that was set up in the mall. I really like this one of them! :D Anyway we stopped off at a ton of totally awesome stores! There was a TY beanie baby store, a pet store, a cowboy hat and boot store, an art store (where you could see a very nice artist working on some really beautiful pieces. We talked to her several times when we came through), a sun glasses store and a weapon store! It was amazing! We had so much fun! As you can see from this picture.

Well, we didn't just shop at the mall. We went out and shopped all around town! I bought a pair of aviator sun glasses (not the ones in the pic above), a giraffe stuffed animal and a penguin stuffed animal for my sister. I also got some taffy for my dad, a frog covered golf ball for my bro, a small sign for my mom and a little stuffed tiger for myself. What? Some girls like stuffed animals...and I'm one of them!

Well, we walked and walked and WALKED until at last our legs felt like they were just going to fall off!! But we did get to rest for a while at the Ripley's Candy Store--yes they have a candy store--and at the Smokey Mountain Candy Store which had the best taffy EVA!! :D :D :D :D In case you were wondering this is the store where I bought my dad his taffy.

Anyway, after our shopping spree was over it was time to head back to the hotel. We had just enough time to freshin up and take a brief nap before it was time to head out to the evening concert at the Conference center. But before we went to the concert we had to go find something to eat. Jessie, Lydia, Carey and I decided on Subway while the rest went to another restaurant a little ways away called Jose`s Fresh Mexican Restaurant. Now I've never liked Subway...but I decided to try it despite my past hatred of it. I was amazed to find that my taste buds have changed since my last subway experience. So anyway...we went to Subway and I was so hungry I ate almost a whole foot long roast beef sandwich!! Yea, normally I never would have been able to manage it...but I guess after all that walking I was hungry. Well anyway, after we ate we walked back to Jose`s (which was about a two or three minute walk from Subway which was across the street from the mall we shopped at earlier). After we reached Jose`s we found that the other's weren't done yet so we just sat outside and talked and laughed and enjoyed some of Gatlinberg's scenic night life! :D Seriously...the whole place is lit with thousands of beautiful lights every night! :D I took some pics while we were waiting. Here's Carey with some of Gatlinberg's lights behind her. Here's Jessie at Jose`s. The restaurant was really cool! It had all these different cool signs set up...most of them liquor but whatever. Anyway, after the leaders and the other youth members were done eating it was off to the concert!! That night we were going to see the Afters preform along with Leeland! We were SO excited! When we got there we had just enough time to get a good spot before the crowd really started to gather. The only bad thing was that we were right in front of a speaker so we were blasted to the point that for a few seconds I felt ill. Don't know what that was about. Anyway, when the Afters came on there was crazy red strobe lights and smoke machines going everywhere! It was awesome! Josh, the leader of the Afters actually jumped off the stage and walked through the crowd...which freaked the security guards out...but there was no reason to worry. He walked through the crowd but he was near the back and I was distracted by some of the other peeps on stage. But suddenly I heard Jessie scream

"REBECCA LOOK OUT!"

When I looked back Josh was coming my way and in an instant he head butted me in the stomach. He turned around and his elbow caught me and we got sorta tangled up. Normally I'd be embarrassed out the wazoo, but in this case I was sorta honored. I mean how many times do you get headbutted by a famous and totally awesome singer?!

Well anyway, after the Afters were through preforming it was time for Leeland. Leeland was pretty good and we really enjoyed them...but by this time it was nearly nine and I was super tired and after the Afters totally wicked show...Leeland seemed a little dry. I mean they were good, but they were just a little less 'jump off the stage' than the Afters. But still, they were very good.

Well after the concert it was time to head back to the hotel. By the time that it was over we were all so tired that we just flopped down and went to sleep.

And that was it for day two! We had loads of fun!! But day three was even better! So tune into tomorrow for day three! :D :D :D :D

Your Ever Busy and still slightly sick blogger,

Rebecca

Accelerant: Day One

Okay first off I lived!!

Yea, just wanted to get that out of the way. Yea I know I've been out of the blogging world longer than I had originally planned...but I have good reason. Simple...I was sick. Again. Yea you heard me right...two week long colds in two months. Yay. This one was way WAY worse than the last. This time I had a fever of a 104 for almost a whole day! The reason I say almost for a whole day is because the fever did lower down to a balmy 103 degrees for the remainder of the day and night. Well, on Sunday (I caught the cold Tuesday and have just now started to heal from it.) after I had endured several nights of cold sweats my fever lowered down to 100 thanks to some antibiotics. And so I stayed at 100 all day and all night...the night being the worse part of it. Just picture this...

I woke up at around two feeling really REALLY cold and wet from head to toe. I realized that it was those horrible cold sweats coming back to haunt me again. So...seeing how I was drenched (seriously I kid you not I was DRENCHED!! Sopping wet peoples!) I promptly changed my pajamas and went a back to sleep. Note: I had originally been wearing my new rather light weight Henley and some little aeropostle shorts that I just adore. And seeing how I had successfully watered those down I moved on to an over sized, static electricity haven of a shirt and a pair of large fuzzy (and I mean FUZZY) pants. I was all set to go...heck my top and bottom even matched to boot! Note for me pajamas are usually a long sleeve shirt and a pair of too short to wear else where shorts. Matching is just an occasional occurrence reserved for when I'm wide awake or not too dang tired to care.

Anyway, about an hour maybe more later I woke up to find that I was once again really REALLY cold and damp. The cold sweats had returned. Actually I don't think they ever really left but whatever. Point is my sleep wear was once again too cold and wet for me. So finally, after yet another wardrobe change, I crawled back into bed and was delighted to find that when I awoke the next morning (today!) my fever was gone. So thank heaven!!

Anyway, as you guys can clearly see I'm home from Accelerant!! :D So yay!! The trip was amazing! Lots of fun for everyone!! :D :D :D But I'm getting way ahead of myself here...I should start at the beginning!

We met at the church at about four...Jessie and I were the first to arrive. Go figure...we were both so pumped about going I guess we pushed our parents out the door. But it didn't matter if we got there first...everyone else arrived soon after.

There was of course about a hour or more of waiting for stragglers and then people picking there rides and so on. I rode with Jessie and three other girls (Cari, Lydia and Libbie). Then at about five thirty or so we were off to the Accelerant!!

Well, we drove and drove and DROVE until finally at around eight or so we stopped to eat Chic Fil La. Yummy! But we were off again soon and we had to face a very VERY long drive up to the mountains. Oh and did I mention that it had been raining since we pulled out of the church parking lot?

The next interesting bit came when we finally did reach the mountains...at about 1:03 AM. It had been raining almost non stop all the way up there...but once we reached the mountains the rain mysteriously stopped. Which was great...save for the fact that the rain and the cold temperatures had made a very VERY thick LOW fog bank across the road!! No kidding!! The fog was hovering over the road and it was REALLY hard to see the road! Which was scary seeing how one side of the road had a thin layer of trees and the other had a large very jagged rock face! Oh and did I mention every few yards there was a sign that said 'Beware of Falling Rocks'?!! So yea, that with the fog and the late hour I was more than just a little freaked out. Normally I'd been like,

"Oh crap, we might have to pull over and wait this stuff out!!"

But that wasn't an option. First off we were on a very twisty road that had not only a low bank of fog but also an over head one as well...which combined made cars hard to see. So we were already in danger of being side swiped by a passerby who couldn't see the yellow line. Also there really wasn't anywhere to pull over! And even if we had pulled over it was late...just an hour past midnight...no way we could just sit there. No way no how. Also we ALL had to be at Accelerant at nine in the morning! 0_0 So yea...no dice. Now it was the sort of fog that all the text books say if you can stop in a safe area and wait for help or until you can see better. But there were no safe areas...so that was TOTALLY not and option. And we couldn't really stop to call someone either...because guess what? No cell phone coverage. Yay. We were alone! Oh yea...just lovely! And were weren't the only ones in this dangerous situation...we had another van of teens behind us!! They were relying on us to show them the way. So chances are if we careened off into oblivion they'd follow too because all they probably could see were our tail lights.

But fortunately, after about a half an hour's worth of driving we came down off the mountain and the fog went away! And then of course we were in Gatlinburg and it was time to find our hotel. We stayed in a quaint little hotel that was beside a mountain. And when I say beside I mountain...I mean the hotel was freaking wedged against the mountain! For Pete's sake the car deck was built INTO the mountain! It was SICK I tell you sick!! People above us could reach out and touch mountain!! Sick!! What was even sicker was those on the bottom floor of the non mountain side had six feel between them and swirling river!Note: This pic was taken the morning of day two.

Yea...I kid you not! A swirling vortex of death was six feet from the hotel!! Fortunately we were on the fourth floor and facing out towards the river and town...so we didn't have to touch rock or water.

A pic of our hotel room and the balcony that lead out to the Swirling Vortex of Terror...as it later came to be known.

So far sorta sounds like this trip was one near death experience after another right? I may of over dramatized some but hey I'm a writer that's what we do!

Anyway we were really tired and we settled in and went to sleep by about three...and then got up at six thirty. I was a little tired that day.

But anyway that's for Day Two's post! :D A LOT happened that day I assure you!! So tune in tomorrow for that post!! Well I've gotta go but before I leave I just wanna give you one last pic. This is me and Jessie after we reached the hotel. We were really tired and that's probably why we look sort of sugar crazed and half asleep. And also why I appear to have grey hair. Dunno how that one happened. Lights must have been funky.

Anyway that's my first day of Accelerant! Make sure you drop by for Day Two!

So until then this is your ever faithful and loving blogger,

Rebecca