Summer Days...

Today was one of the greatly anticipated days of summer...the church picnic!

I really love the picnic - I have ever since the first one we attended, and that was 6 years ago! I love spending time with my friends and being outside and playing sports/games and eating picnic food and listening to people play their musical instruments. Today, I ended up playing tennis, badminton (I was so surprised when I realized that it's spelled badminton), volleyball, a game reminiscent of monkey in the middle, jump rope, frisbee, soccer, tug of war, and kickball.

The tennis balls went flying crazily all over the park; I'm terrible at badminton; it was a semi-lame game of volleyball in which everyone kept switching sides whenever they wished ;); the monkey-in-the-middle-ish game took a very long time because of how we are all very good at throwing, catching, and confusing people :D; jump rope was actually quite fun, and I have retained my skillz; the frisbee ended up on the roof of a little concrete utility shed, and I was able to hoist myself up on it with my own two arms...I felt veddy strong! ;) (I'm terrible at frisbee too, though...one of my friends told me to throw it harder and pretend I was trying to take off his head. lol); one of my friends and I were going to play a one-on-one game of soccer, rushed at the ball, collided, and didn't even touch the ball...it was hilarious :D; we all got our fingers hurted playing tug of war; and our ball was commandeered halfway through the very confusing game of kickball. But despite all that, I think I can safely say everyone had a wonderful time! We know how to have fun. :)

Oh, and I did all of the above in a skirt, with no problems whatsoever! :)

I realized today that I'm really not terribly good at most sports, (I might just need more practice, though). I love playing them, however! Everyone has always told me that I'm very competitive, and I guess I'm realizing that I am. *smiles sheepishly* But that's not a bad thing at all, in my opinion. It's kinda funny that the truth eluded me for so long, however, seeing as every time I'm running with someone it turns into a die-hard race (for my part, at least).

Oh, and while I'm talking about sport-like things, I'll make the announcement that I now know how to swim! :D :D :D We decided to brave the public pool one evening after noticing that it's really not that busy and ran into some friends from church, Mrs. W and her two daughters. Mrs. W was able to teach me how to swim! I can now do the breaststroke and the crawl. It's sooo much fun...I can't wait for swimming lessons in the fall! I just wish water didn't have to be chlorinated, since it aggravates my asthma. :P

We watched The Return of the King last night. I looooooooovvvvvvvvvveeeeee that movie...as I'm sure you all know. :) After last night's viewing, I noticed two things (I always notice new things): I like the secondary characters (such as Eomer and Theoden) a lot more than I used to, and this time I felt such an incredible feeling of relief when the Ring was destroyed! I guess it just really hit me...wow...it's gone. They accomplished what they set out to do, and the world has been saved. What an incredible feeling of disbelief, wonder, and awe would fill your heart after accomplishing something like that! This time around, I also really noticed how hard Frodo fought to destroy the Ring. It was killing him, but he pressed on untiringly. He's always been my favorite character.

So, these are a few of my favorite moments from my favorite movie ever: Arwen seeing the vision of her son (it's such a beautiful message of what a gift life and a mother's love is, and always makes me cry); the moment when Eowyn says, "I am no man!" and kills the Nazgul ( my mom and I agree that that is the coolest part of the entire trilogy!); Galadriel helping Frodo press on in Shelob's Lair; Theoden's speech before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields when he hits his sword against the spears; Aragorn's speech to the Men of the West before the Black Gate (both of those parts give me chills!); and the entire end.

*sighs* The Lord of the Rings is just one-of-a-kind.

On a different note, this is my 99th post! :O :D I feel like I should do something special for it, but I've no idea what. :P Any ideas? :)

I am thinking of redesigning my blog, however...even though that makes me so nervous! I don't know...I don't like change. But I am getting a wee bit tired of this layout, so I think I will.

The Olympics!

Are over. :( And I missed most of them! Sadness.

However, I did see a lot of the ice dancing and I love it! We stayed up very late to finish watching it one night, and I was SO happy when Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won gold! Their performance was absolutely beautiful in a very simple, exquisite way, and they both seem like such genuinely nice, happy people. It was great!

And there was Evan Lysacek, winner of the gold for mens' figure skating! AHHH!!! I've only seen his Gala Performance, and I must admit I was screaming like a fan girl during pretty much the entire thing! :D You MUST watch it, especially the turns at the end! He's a brilliant skater, and quite good-looking as well. haha

I also enjoyed watching Apolo Ohno speed skate...I remember watching him in the 2006 Torino Olympics and I've liked him ever since! Speed skating is such an insane, intense sport, and really cool to watch. Ski jumping is another one of my favorites, as well as any other sort of skiing, except for the moguls. I find those just sort of painful to watch!

So that's the last of the Winter Olympics until 2014...I'll be almost 21...*gaspeth*. I'm definitely looking forward to the Summer Olympics in 2012, though! But I'll be 19...*cries*... Anyhoo. ;)

Last night we finally watched "Monk" again! My mom, sister, and I are OBSESSED with that show! We're watching all the episodes on DVD, and it took a very long time for Season 4 to come in. We were going into serious Monk withdrawal! But we finally got it last night, and watched three episodes. Yay!

In case you don't know, "Monk" is a TV show about a detective who was removed from the police force after his OCD symptoms exploded into a huge disorder following the murder of his beloved wife, Trudy. However, he's still called by his friend Captain Stottlemeyer to help solve the more difficult cases, but this isn't always easy, as he has phobias of germs, milk, elevators, and practically anything else you could think of! The episodes are always very good, interesting, touching, and absolutely hilarious! We become rather addicted. :) They're also unusually clean for being a mainstream TV show, and very well acted. I definitely recommend it!

Oh, and I was wondering, has anyone noticed the pages I put up? You can find them right under my header. How do you like them?

O praise Him!

There's a yet another song on my playlist I think you should all listen to! I found it on the playlist website when I did a search for Trinity College Choir (I love choral music!). In the first few seconds, I recognized the tune - we sing it to the words of "Sing We Triumphant Hymns of Praise" at Easter. I listened to it and was delighted by the beautiful arrangement, and then when I looked up the lyrics, I was even more delighted to find out that it is St. Francis of Asissi's "Canticle of the Sun"!

These are, more or less, the lyrics. I found a ton of different translations, but this one has the most verses. I love the words too! St. Francis's view of the world was so beautiful...everything was his sister or mother or brother, because all had been created by their Father, God.

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Refrain

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.

Refrain

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!

Refrain

And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Refrain

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I was very excited to read about minor-league baseball player Grant Desme, who, in the words of this article, is going "to leave playing against the Padres and Cardinals so he can start praying with other padres and cardinals at a Catholic seminary in Orange County". He's only 23 and could have been picked this year to be a late-season call-up for the major leagues, but he left this possibility of fame and honor and fortune to follow God's call. Isn't that wonderful? This man is one of my heroes now! It's wonderful to know that people are still open to God's voice, still willing to leave everything and follow Him. It sounds like something that would have happened in the 1940's or 1950's, but no, it happened in the corrupt society of the 21st century! There is still hope, that's for sure. Let's pray that the future Fr. Desme will always be just as willing to follow God's will as he is now.