Holiday, Eh?

Dia dhuit! (That's hello in Gaelic.) I'm currently sitting in my house spending my last precious moments with my laptop and my phone for 10 days! Why is this parting necessary? Because I am departing for a cruise around the Mexican Riviera tomorrow!!! I'm beyond excited. I just cannot to wait to be in the sun everyday (my favorite type of weather). Among the many sites that we will be visiting, I am privileged to be visiting New Orleans, Cozumel, Mayan Ruins, and not to mention going on an excursion involving seven zip lines through the rain forest and water tubing through a cave. Amazing? I'm sure it will be.

So, the past two weeks have been spectacular. Canada was amazing. I loved it so much that I now plan to move there. It is full of the friendliest, nicest people you would ever meet. When I was coming back through security in the Victoria airport, I went to take out my liquids bag and the security officer just said, "Well, why don't we just leave them in and see what happens." Crazy, I know! Every person I met was so amiable especially compared to the rudeness of so many people here in the United States. The actual camp was so terrifically exhausting. I learned so much from the teacher there, Rose. Rose was...interesting. As most Irish Dance teachers are, she was an angry, brutal woman. She would full-out yell at any dancer in front of the class if they were not doing precisely what they ask. On the other hand, when she complimented you, it was such a great feeling of accomplishment. This form of teaching surprisingly encouraged me to work even harder at my dancing. I grew so much as a dancer. Among drills, we also learned Sean nos (a very ancient form of Irish Dancing), Gaelic (the Irish language), ballet and Pilates exercises, and show steps similar to those of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance from a very nice (attractive) teacher named Owen. Everything was held at Vancouver Island University. We slept in the dorms, which were very nice, danced in the gym, and ate in the cafeteria. The food was delicious and I discovered a new favorite dessert -- nanaimo bars. They are the best things I have ever tasted. As soon as I get home from the cruise I will attempt to make then and hopefully post the recipe! All in all, I came home from Canada with very sore legs, a funny accent (aboot instead of about), and wonderful recipes. I can't wait to return next year!

Morgan, Jeff, and me outside the airport in Victoria

Us and our Canadian friend, Olivia, that we met at camp

NANAIMO BARS!!!

When I got home, I saw the local theater group, Center Stage's, production of Titanic the Musical. I have many friends in the show and it was great seeing everyone! The show was spectacularly done as well, although I did almost cry at the end. For those of you who don't know, this musical is not the movie story with Rose and Jack, but instead an entirely different plot based off of real passengers that survived and perished on the actual Titanic. It was a great show and I would recommend it if it were not ending tomorrow night.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the two foster puppies roaming around my house when I arrived from the airport. My family fosters puppies that are too young to be adopted for the local Human Society and every once in a while we are the hosts to any number of furry little goofballs. These two were so adorable. We had to give them back today but they were Chihuahua-Shepherd mixes. I know, kinda weird to think about. But they were about as small as a water bottle and the sweetest, funniest creatures ever. It was so hard to give them back this time. I hope they find a good home soon!

Brother and Sister foster puppies

This week was full of new clothes also. I bought two new, amazingly cute, bathing suits from Victoria's Secret. One is a hot peach triangle bikini, and the other is a wrap-around teal and gold one with a big shell in the middle. In the second, I feel like a mermaid...haha. Then, my mother took my sister and me shopping for dresses to wear at dinner on the cruise. I love dresses, and found a lot of fashionable one courtesy of Forever 21. I can't wait to wear them!!

After I get back from the cruise, I will only have one week left of freedom before school starts :(. But on the upside, my two best friends, Leah and Alie, will be home very soon and I can't wait to see them!!! I miss them so much. Only a couple weeks left until they're home!

Well, that's all I have for now and I really should be getting to sleep so I can wake up at seven a.m. for my flight to New Orleans! Write to everyone soon!

Make the most of the rest of summer!

Your thriving and excited friend,

Lexie

Something New

I have been recently playing around with designing and have taken up an elementary school past time again. You see, during my early years in elementary school, instead of playing on the playground during recess, I would take out a clipboard and design bridal dresses. Well, I have shifted to that hobby once again and here are two designs that I'm rather happy about.

The Full Dress Set

This set is the first. I played around with the theme of wrap around fabric with pearls. I used a sweetheart neckline on every dress and had some form of wrapping style. On the bride, I used a mermaid style with a tail train and a low back line.

This set is more princess and fairy tale style. I kept the bride and the flower girl similar in style and made the bridesmaid simpler. Both the bride and the flower girl use the same dark ribbon and ballgown style. I gave the bride a very long train in reminiscence of old fairy tale weddings. I always like to think of the flower girl as the bride in younger form. This is why I like to make those two dresses especially similar.

I should be able to get several more designs done soon as I have a three-hour plane ride to Canada tomorrow...

See you all soon!

O Canada

Hello there. Well, this week has been....restful? Yes, I think that would be the most appropriate adjective. Since my last post, my ankle has healed up quite well. Unfortunately, it had not healed by the time of my competition so I was unable to dance. It was a bit of a bummer seeing as I had not competed at the last one that was in June due to the fact that I was at YL camp. So now it will be a total of 4 months of no competing for me -- which is rather shocking. But I would rather have a healed ankle than have injured it further.

So, this week has been one of momentous occasion all over the world. Yes, that's right. The final installment of the Harry Potter film series premiered here in the United States at twelve a.m. yesterday, Friday the 15th. Though I did not attend the midnight premiere, I did attend the movie with some dance friends. It was really fun as we all dressed up as characters. I went as Hermione, complete with a skirt, sweater, Gryffindor tie, and a real wand! We saw the movie in 3D in an IMAX theater and this theater was so very cool. So, my thoughts on the movie? Phenomenal. That does not even begin to cover how amazing it was. The special effects and dialogue were so entertaining. The only unfavorable parts were those that deviated from the book's plot line, but that is mostly for the Harry Potter fanatics like myself. The changes were not very unpleasant though, and I suppose that the directors had to do something different due to the length. The changes did not displease me too much and seemed like they would come from J.K. Rowling's books, even though they didn't. But overall, this film was mind blowing in the best way possible. I would definitely recommend it to EVERYONE. It's truly a spectacular experience.

Cho Chang, Ron Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco Malfoy.

Today I spent all day packing for the trip I embark on tomorrow morning to Vancouver Island in Canada! I'm going there for an Irish Dance Camp called Celtfest. I will be staying with my two friends, Jeff and Morgan, and Morgan's mom, Nuala, in the dorms at Vancouver Island University. I'm beyond excited. I will be learning immensely under the guidance of Worlds qualifying instructors. It will probably be one of the most instructively entertaining weeks of my life.

Vancouver Island University

Not only do I get to dance all week, but I get to see my dear friends and adopted children from dance who sadly had to move to California earlier this year. They are a pair of 11-year-old twins named Nate and Maggie, who both were phenomenally talented at Irish Dancing. After only two to three years of practice, Nate qualified for Worlds and Maggie for Nationals. They are two very dedicated, quirky, and loving kids who I cannot wait to see again at camp.

Well, I will update everyone again soon! Have a lovely July.

Love,

Lexie

Colorado and Company

This is the TV episode that I crutched my way on. :) Im in the purple dress on crutches (obviously :P). The other dancers are my friends, Morgan, Lianna, Jeff, and Shannon, all fellow champions.

Untimely Timing

Hello everyone! July has approached so quickly and it has depressingly dawned on me that half of summer break is already over. In response to the impending doom of returning to the rumored hardest year of high school, I resolved to make the most of what freedom I have left. However, my two best friends decided to be dedicated and passionate and are on opposite sides of the country for programs in colleges, Leah in San Francisco for fashion camp and Alie at NYU for mostly forensic science. As you can probably guess, this is making it somewhat difficult to thoroughly enjoy myself.

However, I am not going to let this dampen my spirits and hopes for the best summer ever!

In June and on my BIRTHDAY, Leah, Alie, and I went to Michigan with the Boulder County Younglife organization and our leader, Carlee. It was a life changing experience that brought me closer to the Lord and also included a 50 foot swing, ropes course, go karts, a zip line and much more awesomeness. Despite it being overcast and chilly for a majority of the time, it was truly one of the best weeks of my life.

Carlee, Leah, Alie, and me as Lil' Bo Peep and her sheep getting ready to DOMINATE a volleyball tournament.

Alie, Leah, and me on the Swing. Alie took forever to pull the string that would drop us 50 feet down. Leah had a traumatizing experience. I loved every minute of it.

In celebration of our birthdays all conveniently scattered throughout June, my dear friends, Jhana and Louise, had a small get together with our friend Eve at the Boulder Reservoir. It was great to visit the only beach available in Colorado. And even though I have an irrational fear of being underwater, I actually really loved swimming in the cold water on one of the blazing hot days in Colorado.

Louise eating a Popsicle.

Jhana and Eve

I discovered something completely delightful on my computer. Being 2,000 miles away from each other, our only manner of direct communication is through video chats. Through the fantastic program of Oovoo, we have the ability to do multiple person chats just as if we were all there together. The delightful discovery is not Oovoo but the fact that my webcam allows me to implement amazing special effects during out video chats. I have the capability of adding hats and sparkles, warping my face, and even becoming an avatar that moves when I do! Its absolutely fantastic.

 

Me as a pig. Alie and Leah clearly enjoy my special effects.

Sadly, my adventures took a turn for the unfortunate. At a Sunday intensive Irish Dance practice, I was working on my hornpipe (hard shoe) when my ankle rolled outwards as I leaped off of it. The result? A badly sprained ankle. Just today I am able to walk on it. It swelled up profusely and to my pleasant surprise it turned blue, purple, and green! Like a rainbow! And just my luck, I was supposed to perform on the local news this Tuesday. Unfortunately, that did not happen but I was able to make a brief interview on TV because my aunt is the producer. I will post the video shortly! I'm a little bummed that I could not dance, but there is always next year! The next goal is to make sure it is healed by this upcoming Sunday as I have a competition at the Colorado Irish Festival. Cross your fingers for me and keep me in your prayers!

My ankle 5 days later, colorful and less swollen. Yay!

Hopefully this ankle will heal by the 17th when I will depart for Vancouver for an intense irish dance camp at the Celtfest summer program at Vancouver Island University. Let's hope!

Well, that's all for now!

Have a truly eventful summer,

Your growing and living friend,

Lexie :)