Summer Lovin'

I know that I haven't finished all the Europe installments, but today was good and should be documented!

I was supposed to go swimming with Sabrina today, but right as I was about to leave she texted me and canceled so I was kind of bummed! So I ended up spending the day with my Dad for a second day in a row! Yesterday we watched T.V. all day and went to see Prometheus at the Warren! It was good :) Today he took me shopping because Wet Seal was having a huge sale! I got some super cute new clothes which makes me feel so lovely because I adore getting new clothes :) When we got back Kait my mom and Scarlet were just leaving to go to the store, so I took that opportunity and practiced some of my songs! I started with "I'm All In" my dad and I ended up changing the key. It sounds so much better now and I feel so much better about the song! I love my dad so much. He is always there for me and I don't know what I would do without him.<3 :)

 New Clothes<3

 New Clothes<3 

New Clothes<3 

This is a picture of our new dog, Louie, this morning <3 

I went to the Movie with Kait&&Scar today to see Brave<3 It was super cute!

I may or may not have teared up a little bit at the end!

Sabrina and I were trying to get to 19th street today and we got stopped by a train. For the first ten minutes we just sat in my car and danced. Then I was like "Sabrina. Let's get out of the car and dance!!" She said "Really???" Andddd then we did it! I turned up the music as loud as I could and we danced for twenty minutes waiting for a train. You have a to live a little bit sometimes and not care so much about what other people think. It was lovely<3

I got almonds on my ice cream today because I was thinking of Jelena. I miss her a lot these days.

EuropeEuropeEurope!

I completely fell in love with Europe. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! I want to live there. I have never been anywhere that evoked so much in me before. The old buildings and the history, the beautiful people there, the languages and accents, the food, the rain, the fresh air...EVERYTHING. It was so perfect. So incredibly perfect. It felt like home to me, more than any other place I have been. It was home.

I will post pictures and stories of all the places I went latter tonight. <3

I leave for Europe in about seven hours! <3
I can't wait<3
:)


Today I had to go to the store to get something and the Cd that Jelena and I had been listening to the last few weeks was still in my car. It was kind of sad hearing those songs and not having her there to dance and be crazy with and start the songs over about 304482930 times.

CMA Fest 2012 (Part Two)

I think that every musician should experience the CMA Fest, even if you don't like country music. I have never been a huge country fan, but seeing people love it and seeing people perform helps give you an appreciation for it that you just can't get anywhere else. For four days, everywhere I went there was live music. You couldn't walk ten feet without hearing music from at least one direction. That was probably my favorite part about being in Nashville, because you got to see SOOO MANY people do something they absolutely love...play music. From a musician's point of view, it is endlessly fascinating to watch other people perform, because nobody does it the exact same. I got to see some things that I would love to do and some things that I should never do. I got to see how being nice to your fans and having a good attitude can make such a HUGE difference. It was such an incredible experience!

There was this little tent where you could enter to win a Matin guitar by performing on their little stage. I didn't really want to do it at first because I had spent the last few days seeing some AMAZING guitarist and it was a little intimidating. Eventually I said okay and signed up. Once I got in line and was getting closer to performing I started relaxing more. It had been cloudy all day with a 40% chance for rain....and right when I started singing it started raining! There were people rushing around trying to keep things dry and start closing the tent...but I just kept singing. I couldn't hear the guitar at all and so I was probably playing the wrong chords the whole time, but I couldn't let that stop me. So I played in the rain and after I did they had to close down the tent until the rain quit. So I'm proud to say that I have played on the street in Nashville, maybe one day I will do it again.

This is my sister and me wearing matching Dolly Parton Shirts <3

P.s. Here are most of the people we got to see perform :

Glen Campbell (He has alzheimer's and kept forgetting that he was supposed to play another song. It was so sad because he just kept saying "Oh well this is a surprise!" He was really sweet and his son and daughter were on stage playing with him and helping him.)

Miranda Lambert

Jason Aldean

Lady Antebellum

Zac Brown Band

Brad Paisley

Kellie Pickler

Lauren Alania

Ronnie Milsap

Brantley Gilbert

Jake Owen

The Band Perry

Blake Shelton

Carrie Underwood

Gwen Sebastian

Randy Houser

Kenny Rogers

Hunter Hayes

Little Big Town

Eric Church

Luke Bryan

Faith Hill

Love and Theft

Kip Moore

The Mavericks

Scotty McCreery

Dierks Bentley

Rascal Flatts

Alan Jackson

Martina McBride

Steel Magnolia

Bill Anderson

CMA Fest 2012 (Part One)

I'm going to start out by saying this because it is the most recent thing that is on my mind. When I go on a trip somewhere, I ALWAYS bring two things, my iPod and a book. When I'm at home, I don't normally sleep with music on (although I used to do that all the time) but when I am away from home, I pick one cd and I listen to it every night. Last summer when I was in Colorado I listened to The Sparrow and the Crow : William Fitzsimmons. 
Now every time I hear that cd I have a fleeting memory of laying in the basement of my aunt's house and how I spent an entire day in that basement writing the song I'm All In. During this trip, in Nashville, I listened to Barton Hallow : The Civil Wars. Maybe years from now I will listen to that cd and it will bring back memories from my first trip to Nashville...Who knows? <3 The book I brought for the car ride was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. That has always been my favorite H.P. book but if someone asked me why I wouldn't have been able to tell them....reading it again, I remember. I think it is the only H.P. book that has a completely happy ending....and I think that's why I love it so much. I finished that book halfway through the trip home....after awhile I wished I had brought another book to fill the time. So I started reading the book my dad brought, Red like Blood. I am about a hundred pages into it so far and it is so refreshing to read. When I was in Colorado I read a book called Blue like Jazz. That book completely changed how I see things. It is written by a Christian author and is basically about his life, but it was so honest that it moved me. My dad read it first and then he started telling me about it and so I read it and then I told my sister about it and she read it. We all read this one book(that actually belonged to one of my dad's friend's from work) in the two weeks we were in CO. Red like Blood is a lot like that. My dad isn't finished reading it yet but it has the same feel. It just reminds me of how good God's grace is.


Maybe years from now I won't remember the books I read or the music I listened to, but I will remember the things they made me feel. And everyone should spend some time feeling things every once in awhile I think.

Our Last Day Together :(

Bros for Life.

Best friends forever.

Jelena and I had plans to spend the day together today. I was going to pick her up at one but she messaged me before I left saying that her card isn't working today and that it will start working again tomorrow. I told her "That's okay! We can just go to Braums and pay in coins since you wanted to get rid of them anyway" So I collected all my silver change and went to pick her up. We went to Braums and ate our usual (Two scoops of chocolate ice cream with Almonds for Jelena, and Heath Bar for me) We payed the little over four dollars in change and stayed there for awhile just talking and eating. While I was leaving the parking lot, I saw City Bites and I was like YESSS we should get pumpkin cookies! (Jelena had never been to City Bites) So we walked in and no one came out to help us and we were like SANDWICHES...YES!? So we went to subway!! We eat got a six inch and again, paid the entire $8.12 in nothing but dimes/nickels/quarters/pennies. It was so funny because we had to count out every single dollar before we paid! We ate really fast and then on the way back to my car we just kind of looked at each other and said we were thirsty! We drove to 7/11 and got big gulps!(again paying in change) and went to the park! We had decided last night that we would make a music video for the song Call Me Maybe! So we spent about four hours at the park recording stuff for the music video! It was fun! We, then, came back to my house and took over 200 pictures on my webcam! She came to my room and helped me finish packing for Nashville. As it came around 9:30 we decided we should go. We went to the Walmart for a last minute shopping trip and then I took her home. We hugged about a thousand times and waved and blew kisses and said goodbye. 

I got home and saw this on my Facebook :

"I just want to tell you that I am dying right now, and that I love you more than you could even imagine, and I already miss you and I just saw you wrote on my wall, and we're writing to each other at the same time, and I don't know what else I could say. You've been the best friend that somebody could ever have. 6 months, but it feels like it's been a life in those 6 months. I love you, andddd I am too messy right now to say anything else.
♥"

This is what I replied :

"Driving away from your house was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, because we don't really know when we will get to see each other again. I love you so much and I am so thankful that you are in my life. You are so special to me and I miss you so much already. I can't believe it has only been six months, because I feel like we have been friends/bros for my entire life. When I was reading what you wrote me I started crying :( I love you. ♥"

I wish that we didn't have to say goodbye. I wish that I would be able to just drive to her house whenever I wanted. We will write letters and Skype and Facebook, but it will never be the same as it was this last six months. While I am so sad, and almost wish this hadn't happened so we wouldn't have to endure "goodbyes", I am thankful for these last six months that I have gotten to spend with this lovely lady, more than anything.  <3

The funny thing is, neither of us started this year expecting to get close to anybody.

Little did we know, we would find each other.

Big Truck Tacos :D

Photo Shoot from May 30, 2012