1 year 12 months 52 weeks 365 days… Infinite moments

“I’ve had my moments, days in the sun

moments, I was second to none

moments, when I knew I did what I thought I couldn’t do”

-Emerson Drive

Cover Page

4 birthday presents, one graduation present, and one mini scrapbook later… I finally begin my much-anticipated calendar.  I made this for my dorm room – something to remember all the fun times with family and friends throughout high school, and just cause it was fun to make.

January

These are pictures from our Hawaii trip, thanks to my grandma.  I wanted something nice and warm during January…. Though now that I’m in Boston maybe it won’t be so freakin’ cold all the time… Still it’ll be nice to remember the warm, lazy days at the beach when the wind is howling and swirling snow all around just outside my window. 

I’d like to point out my quote for this page: “Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts.”  I feel that’s fitting for just about any family, including mine.  It reminds me of a sermon I once heard back when I was in middle school (yes, I did pay attention even back then).  Adam and Eve had the first dysfunctional family.  Cain was a rebel to put it in today’s terms (I’m not so fluent in Hebrew).  It’s a reminder that even the dysfunctions in my own family are not anything out of the ordinary, not matter how fast I may think the world’s caving in.  It’s normal to be abnormal.  Whenever I feel like “gosh this sucks” I know that I’m not alone, and whatever trials and tribulations I may have, God is there, and so are thousands of others like me.   My troubles are nowhere near as bad as those of Abel’s.

February

Miss Congeniality.  NHS Inductions.  Senior Trip.  Football Game. Crazy Hair Day.

1) Such a fun night.  Evangelo’s pizza “I think it would be intelligent if…” 7 people crammed into a booth, then back for pictures and some movies.  And fireworks too I believe, mine was the best.  Not really…. I don’t really remember them, but it was fun to say.

2) Like 3 of those 4 gave speeches right?  I had a perfect sticker to go with this picture.  “Circle of Friends.”  But I couldn’t find it…. Disappointing I know.  Thank you guys for being so awesome.

3) After months of planning it sure came together in a whirlwind.   I really hope everyone had a good time, though if you stayed inside the whole time you probably didn’t… My advise, live a little.  It’s like a repeat of our 5^th grade Homer trip.  I still remember standing by the railing being sprayed repeatedly by waves.  Thankfully this trip was a little dryer… though I do have one picture from it where all 5 of us are wearing two hats.  Only in Alaska.  Though this trip remains bitter sweet in my mind, I do still believe that it was a great way to start off the senior year, and I’m thankful for these memories.

4) This is my favorite picture from high school, aside from the one on the Butt.  Think about it.  What were the chances of capturing that precise instant, where everyone’s face is telling a completely different story?  Remarkable really.  And I love it, for more reasons than I can express.

5) Spirit Week.  These times were among the best, especially Junior Year.  Looking at that picture, I sometimes wish I could jump back there and recreate what was going on.  Everyone is so happy.  Good times.

March

This was the last page that I actually made, and posed some problems, but overall I like how it turned out.  This is my family.  Who I am.  Where I come from.

April

Growing up in Alaska… I thought it fitting to have a hiking page.  From that perfect day on the Butte, to that crazy day where, umm, what the heck are we doing anyway??  Yeah there sure have been some good times here.  From left to right and top to bottom.

1) This was the First Annual Hike Up The Butt.  My mom had to come with us, and in hindsight, it was a good thing that she did.  We didn’t have too much trouble going up, and once at the top we of course took part in the only real thing to do on top of the Butte – dirt fight, followed by Sardines.  Coming down is where the adventure began.  The first thing you need to know is that there are two trails up the Butte, the old one, and the new one (aptly named by us – cause we don’t know the real names).  It’s a tiny little mountain; 40 minutes up 10 minutes down, but trail A and trail B come out 6 or 7 miles from each other.  We had gone up the old route and everyone but Baruch went down the same one.  Now Baruch, I love him dearly don’t get me wrong, is an odd one.  Instead of turning around or just coming back up when he found himself in the wrong place, proceeded to try to walk around with no way of communicating with us.  Long story short… he borrowed some random hiker’s phone and called Todd, who called Rachel (weirdest phone tree ever if you ask me, considering the circumstances and relationships between the members of our group) but didn’t leave any number to reach him at, or any information that would help us locate him.  We finally just drove around and found him walking in the wrong direction down the road.  What a day…

2) Rachel and I at the half way point up Lazy over Christmas Break.  Beautiful day, we made it (I can hardly believe it) all the way up and down before dark, though barely.  It to this day remains my favorite hike ever –mostly because we slid the entire way down the trail that could pass for a luge track.  It was extreme sledding only better – we actually accomplished something.

3) The halfway point on the way down, looking over towards pioneer peak.  Alaska Is truly magnificent.

4) This picture may appear a bit strange if don’t know any of us.  We hiked all the way up Gold Cord in Hatcher’s Pass with a flimsy hardhat, chemistry goggles, an avalanche shovel, a pirate eye patch, and a Frisbee… and no first aid kit.  In this photo we are re-creating Frankenstein, with our own little twist.  At the top a rock fell on my brother’s head leaving a 3-inch gash that required 5 staples to close up.  Then we had a real version of Frankenstein.

5) Freshmen year, September 11^th, I turned 15 and we celebrated with a hike up Lazy.  My first Lazy experience – and the realization that whoever named that mountain Lazy was mentally ill.

May

Graduation.  The finale.  The final step on this 4-year journey.  And a new beginning that I am finally about to start after so much anticipation.  I am ready. I am here – to live out loud.

June

The Gulkana and Full Circle Tour.

1) The Gulkana was my first real youth group trip (the pictures on the right). I made so many great friendships over that week, and this is where I first realized how much I needed God in my life.  The songs that I fumbled with then, trying to follow along to a tune I’d never heard, I now have written on my heart forever.

2) Full Circle Tour was a completely different experience.  We began in Kenny Lake, then went to a village near by and painted their community center.  From there we drove up to Fairbanks to camp Li-Wa where we cut and moved what seemed like a thousand trees.  Our last stop was Denali to camp for a few days. 

Highlights of the trip are captured by these three pictures here. 

The first (top left) was taken at about 6 am, after a long night of sticks in the campfire.  The four of us were the only ones brave enough to get up early for the one chance for swimming we had on that trip, and we weren’t about to miss it.  The water was fringed, as any water in Alaska is, but that was definitely one of the most memorable swims of my life. 

The second (middle left) was taken at the park by the lake.  Our new youth group leader thought we were cousins at the time (he mixed up the Emilys).  Not cousins, just best friends… 

The third picture (bottom left) depicts what became known as the “epitome of our youth group class.”  Yup that’s right, cards.  We played cards left and right, constantly almost, well any chance we could get that is.  Castle (my favorite), Nerts (my other favorite), Rummy (my other other favorite)… Are you allowed that many favorites?  It didn’t matter what we were playing, it was fun, and I loved it.  I haven’t played cards all that much since the Junior year trip… And that is something that I definitely miss.

July

This is a page for the trip my family took the summer before my freshmen year.  We drove down the Alcan with plans to make it as far as the Grand Canyon before heading back up to Washington for my uncle’s wedding.  We didn’t make it that far. 

The start of out trip was delayed on the account of me coming down with bronchitis the night before we were supposed to leave.  When we finally did get going, we just had problem after problem after problem.  I couldn’t even tell you all the things that went wrong with that RV.  The brakes a few times, the transmission once, and who knows what else.  At each set-back we’d find something fun to do.  For instance at some place in Canada when we were stuck once, we white water rafted the Nahatlatch (not sure how you spell it, but that’s what it sounds like!) river.  At another place we spent the weekend at Whiskytown Lake in northern California (this was as far south as we made it) before we had to rent a car to make it back up to Washington in time for the wedding. 

1) Anywho, this page.  The top left is a picture from Atlin, British Columbia.  There was a whole bunch of random facts about this place, like something about the highest/largest freshwater lake or something, but I don’t really remember.  We decided to stop here however because of a music festival that happened to be going on the same weekend we were there.  You can’t tell, but I am pissed in that picture, and Noah was being a look-at-me-I’m-so-sweet-I-love-my-sister little brother (I love him too, really, I just didn’t particularly like him in that instant... but we’re over it).  

2) The picture to the right is from Lake Watson I think.  They didn’t plan that outfit. 

3 & 4) The two pictures below are from the dunes in Oregon.  My favorite part of the trip was Oregon.  The beautiful rocky coast, and right next door sand dunes stretching for miles.  I could see myself living there one day, it’s what I’ve always pictured Maine to look like, and I’ve always wanted to live there. 

5) I love the picture in the bottom right corner.  It was taken as my brother and two cousins wrestled around in the grass at my uncle’s wedding.  They are so happy, this moment so special, with over 4000 miles typically between us. 

6) The picture above is just my brother, Noah, at Lassen Volcanic National Park.  And it totally fits his pre-teen personality as well.  Now he’s older, and acts it too.  I’m really quite proud of the person he’s becoming, and even though it may not seem like it, I really will miss him in these coming months. 

7) The picture in the top right isn’t actually from this trip, but it’s from another family camping outing when my aunt, uncle, and cousins came up for the summer.  They didn’t plan on the water being so cold… but then again what were they expecting? It’s Alaska!

August

This page is my absolute favorite.  It turned out completely perfect, as I suppose that trip to Seward was.  The best possible post-graduation/pre-everyone-getting-ready-to-leave trip one could ask for.  I pretty much became pro at the self-timer feature on my camera, we all wanted to be in every picture.  The only thing missing from that trip was Rachel (and believe me that was huge) but she was off kicking butt in soccer, so I suppose it’s all good.  I can’t even begin to describe how amazing you four are.  You are my best friends, and I don’t know what I would have done without you by my side throughout high school.  We all had our ups and downs, just like any sane human, and I will always be thankful that you stuck by my side no matter what.

September

Beyond Malibu and Halibut Cove.

1) I went on the Beyond Malibu trip with my youth group after my junior year (pictures on the right).  We flew down to Seattle and then drove up to Vancouver, BC to go on a 7-day sea kayaking adventure.  That trip was wonderful in so many respects.  I got to know my friends so much better through life stories, became infinitely closer to God through solo time, and had more fun in a week than previously thought possible.  True, it was difficult in some respects.  We kayaked over 100 miles during that week and ate every meal from a plastic mug.  Contact, Psychiatrist, I’m Goin’ On A Trip, Signs… We played it all.  Not to mention came up with the best bedtime stories every told featuring Delilah the Pirate Duck, Jacob the Otter Bandit, and Ebenezer the Ninja Bunny.  Sleeping beneath the stars night after night, practically living in your swimsuit, and just plain old having fun, this trip couldn’t have been better.

2) The Halibut Cove trip came almost immediately after graduation.  We took a bus down to Homer, then a boat across the water to Halibut Cove where we stayed in a cabin for a few days.  This trip marked the end of our time together as high school students, but the beginning of the rest of our lives still connected as brothers and sisters in Christ.  This trip helped to refocus my heart and mind on what truly matters, and prepared me to face the unknown ahead with a confidence and (hopefully) grace that is only possible through God.

The photo on top was taken before we left Homer, waiting for the boat to come back and pick some more of us up.  Though the wind was blowing like 40 mph, we played Frisbee (or attempted too…) told jokes (lots and lots an lots of them) and just tried to stay warm.

You may ask why I look like that in the middle photo… And I will tell you.  Have you ever heard of Glacier Lake?  It’s exactly what it sounds like, a lake, with a glacier at one end.  Now, if you’ve ever been in any glacial fed water, (which, FYI, is just about any body of water in Alaska) then you know just how cold it is.  This water however, may as well still have been a part of the glacier (there were plenty of ice bergs floating around).  Dylan decided it would be cool to swim out to one and stand on it (no pun intended), which it was.  Only in coming back did the problems arise when he made it back to shore down one piece of equipment than when he headed out, that being, his glasses.  So Dusty and I took turns wading out into the 33 degrees water, feeling around with our toes along the bottom to try to find them (you couldn’t see the bottom about 2 inches off the shore because of all the glacial silt).  It was undeniably the coldest I have ever been.  Within a minute I was beyond numb, and instead every muscle in my body screamed in pain.  Upon coming out, 10,000 needles jammed into my legs.  Unfortunately we never were able to resurrect the glasses from their watery grave.

The final picture in this series is my favorite.  I’m the one with my hands up.  Thank you Sarah for being such a wonderful photographer.

October

This page is also one of my favorites, and is a tribute to all the silliness and craziness and awesomeness that took place during these last four years.

1) Song Day.  We have: Paparazzi, the ABCs (me!), I’ma Tell You One Time, Sexy Back (my favorite), Lil’ Wayne, Short Skirt Long Jacket, and I’m On A Boat.  There’s not really a whole lot more that can be said for this pic…

2) Katherine’s 17^th surprise birthday party.  Believe it or not this photo was actually taken between Salad Bowl rounds, and is not in itself a product of some crazy acting skillz that produced a number of great shots.

3) NHS Inductions, sophomore year.  Yes ladies and gentlemen you heard right.  These are among the newest additions to the National Honors Society at Wasilla High School.  Ironic?  Truly we must have more to offer than that.  You are actually looking at the future Event Coordination, Secretary, and Volunteer Coordinator for the Chapter, unbelievable given only this I know.

4) Halloween, senior year.  What are we exactly?  Not quite sure… Some cross between Superman and Glamour Girls is my best guess.  I think we each have like four pairs of tights on, and if I do recall correctly it was pretty darn stinkin’ cold that night.  I’m not really sure what we were expecting.  After a few hours of good ol’ Trick or Treat (which is really just Treat), we returned with our loot to Pushing Daises and hot cider.

5) Finally, Senior Trip.  Yes, we are all wearing two hats, there is a glacier behind us, and it is September.  There’s not really more to be said about this other than “I love you guys.”  And I’m soooo glad that I found a group I fit perfectly into.

November

This began as a sports themed page, and kind of strayed from that.  We do however have Frisbee, XC, and sledding, powder-puff and snow machining, so it kinda fits. 

1) Ultimate.  Enough said.

2) XC.  We have Noah looking all cool before he goes and kicks butt in his race.  He really has exploded this year.  Sub 17 in the first race, prospective region champ, yeah I’m related.   Then we have me at State junior year, not nearly so cool, just cold.  It snowed the day before the race.  And finally, the sisters of Varsity runners walking together along the trail to go cheer on our baby siblings who are now all grown up!

3) Sledding.  Well, in the car on the way up.  Sledding action shots are difficult to catch when flying down the mountain at speeds approaching the sound barrier WHILE dodging trees and super slow snow-boarders.

4) Powder-puff.  My face reads: “INTENSE.”  If only, if only… Thank you Rachel for not leaving us completely scoreless.

5) Snow machining.  Christmas break.  Who convinced my to jump on that snow machine with Baruch…? I have no idea.

December

If you’re still with me… I’ll try to keep this one brief.  Most of these photos are from that same trip as July (with the exception of the first, which was at the ice park or whatever in anchorage), so I’ll skip the intro.

1) Kayak!

2) My brother being goofy.

3) Sitting in the sun, my eyes are closed, AGAIN.

4) Our family musician “Making Memories” (this was the song he was singing, practicing for my Uncle’s wedding)

5) Kayak!

And there you have it.  My life in a year.  This shall be my mechanism for keeping track of the days at present, the events in the future, and the memories of the past, as I head out, into what is simply “the next great adventure.”

~Emily