Week 13: On Edge.

This week I went to school a total of two days due to a combination of PALS activities and baseball games! Tuesday was ROPES course, Thursday was a tournament, and Friday we taught Before It's Too Late at the middle schools. Before It's Too Late is a program designed to reinforce the law and help kids become aware that every choice has consequences. I taught with Taylor Woods and Katie Payne in my mom's 6th grade classroom. Her kids were loud, rude, and very disrespectful. I learned today that I do not have the patience for middle school students. Hannah Grace, Taylor's younger sister, left us a little note on the dry erase board. It was too sweet! After I taught the first three class periods, I ate lunch at Subway and headed to the high school for the baseball game. Trust me, I was happy to have an excuse to get out of there! The rest of the afternoon sort of spiraled in a downward direction. The story is certainly not blog material, and I definitely don't want to share it with the entire world. My emotions got the best of me and it was one of the worst days I've had in a long time. I am not a big crier, but I was in tears multiple times during the baseball game. A lot of the players were super sweet and surprisingly concerned about my emotions. I was within 2 feet of getting hit with a foul ball heading approx. 100 mph into the dugout. If that's not a wakeup call, then I don't know what is. When I got home, KK came over and we talked for a long time. No matter what's going on in my life, she is always there for me. Best friends won't ever leave your side. Friday night was an interesting start to my Spring Break, but I honestly believe that it can only get better from here!

Week 13: Life is a Highway.

Today was perfect, except for the fact that I don't have a voice (at all)! I didn't have to go to school today, because I spent my entire day at the Alvin Baseball Tournament. We didn't play too well, but it was a beautiful day and I wasn't going to let it go to waste. We went to CiCi's for a late lunch, and I took full advantage of the tattoo vending machine and used it on the guys. I had a lot of fun talking with them and Savannah, but all day I really wanted to go to the rodeo to see Rascal Flatts perform tonight. When I got home, my Dad informed me that he found two tickets through one of his friends! I showered and quickly got ready, then we headed down to the Reliant Stadium. It was date night with Dad and I loved every second of it! We jammed to Rascal Flatts the entire way there, and waited to pick up our tickets from 'the guy with the black hat'. It turns out there are a lot of people that wear black hats to the rodeo. We waved to countless strangers, and Dad said, "Quit sneaking up on me!" to some random guy. So awkward. I was dying laughing. Once we finally got inside the arena, we walked the entire loop in search of our seats. On our lost journey, we ran into Cale, Victoria, Logan, Evan, Meagan, and Brandon! Our seats were for section 512... aka nose bleed section. We walked with our "swag", and sneaked into section 120. It was right in the end zone, near the bull pen. We were so close, we could smell the bull. I was confident someone was going to tell us to move, but we sat there the entire concert without any problems. They were GREAT seats! My favorite part of the rodeo was definitely Mutton Bustin'- those kids are always hilarious entertainment! Rascal Flatts' performance was absolutely amazing! Despite my awfully hoarse voice, I continued to sing along to every single song. Bless the Broken Road is always my favorite, but I also enjoyed Here's To You, Life is a Highway, Mayberry, and many many more classics! My Dad and I were clapping and jamming the entire time, but my Dad's favorite part was their ending song- Carrie On My Wayward Son. That is the song from his era, the song he heard when he first made out with a girl, and the song he remembers listening to as he traveled across the country. Let me just tell you, they nailed this song! Our date night was so exciting and much needed. I love how no matter what spontaneous adventure my Dad and I take part in, everything always works out perfectly!

Week 13: Elkins!

Tonight was the first district baseball game of the season! We played Elkins High School, and it was one of the best games Fort Bend ISD has ever seen. I came sprinting off of the activity bus from the ropes course, and hopped into the dugout! Savannah and I kept track of the book, so the first seven innings flew by. The score was 4-2, we were down in the 7th inning. There were two outs, and Brandon Guillen was at bat with two strikes. We had one man at first base, and just when you thought the game was over... Brandon hit a homerun!!! The crowd was going wild, the players flooded the field, and Savannah and I were jumping all around the dugout. The boys battled inning after inning, and sadly we lost in the 10th. Each inning that passed the score continued to even out.... 4-4: 7th inning, 6-6: 8th inning, 8-8: 9th inning, and the final score was 10-8 in the 10th inning. The entire time Savannah and I were nervously shaking and desparately praying! On the last attempt for the win, Jamail's hit was within a few feet of going out of the park. I really thought he had it! Either way, I am SO proud of all my baseball boys tonight. They played as a team, brought a ton of energy, and did incredible! I now am without a voice and with an extremely sore throat, but it was well worth very last cheer. What a GREAT way to start off the district season! 

Week 13: ROPES!

On Monday afternoon, we left for the PALs Ropes Course. This trip was originally scheduled for a weekend in February, but due to the 'snow' weekend it was postponed to this week. It was basically one giant field trip that was crammed into one day. We rode with the Elkins PALS on the bus, and arrived just in time for dinner. We ate pasta, breadsticks, and salad- not too bad for camp food! After dinner, we went on a Compass Course. The goal of the activity was to find your way to eight different signs posted on the back of trees, while using the direction of your compass alone. Our class was divided into two groups, and I was in Group "I". Luckily, my group had Ashkahn, the eagle scout, leading the way. We were dropped off in the middle of the woods; without a flash light and without any direction. The grass was up to our knees, the branches were poking in our faces, and these signs were nowhere to be found. I took pictures of wilderness elves, gazed at the beautiful starry night, attempted to assist in our challenge, talked in a 'Crocodile Dundee' accent the entire time, and stepped into a cactus that immediately placed hundreds of thorns into the front of my shin. It was burning like crazy, and we sat there and picked each thorn out one by one. That's what I get for walking in the wilderness without a light. After Group "I" accomplished our challenge, we arrived at the camp fire to make smorz and play a group game of Pictionary. Later that night, we headed to our cabin where all of the Austin and Elkins girls were assigned to sleep together. This cabin was more like a long hallway or an orphanage with bunk beds lining each side. I was one of the last girls to take a shower that night, so my water was as cold as Antarctica. Not only was the water cold, but the temperature of the room was set at about 50 degrees. I was shivering the entire night with one light blanket, and the Bush guys were outside our room playing ping pong until 4 in the morning. Needless to say, it was one of the worst night's sleep I've ever had! We woke up at 6 am, and headed straight to breakfast. Our day was divided into three activities; a high ropes course, a low ropes course, and other group activities. At the high ropes, I took LOTS of pictures and participated in the Screamer. I loved watching my friends conquer their fears and try things that were out of their element. I heard countless screams, captured lots of interesting faces, watched people jump off the pamper pole, and witnessed a few pairs attack the 'Partner Challenge'. At the low ropes course, we mastered a maze and shuffled through a "mine" while blind-folded, we crossed an Australian "swamp" effortlessly, and we pieced together the Zoom picture! The group activities came after lunch, and we were all exhausted! We took a personality quiz, completed a few more brain teaser activities, and learned simple leadership lessons. One quote that stood out to me was, "We judge ourselves by our intentions. We judge others by their actions." I had a complete blast with my PAL classmates, but after the group activities everyone was ready to head home! We hoped on the bus, clearly exhausted and needed sleep. We arrived back to the school at 7, and everyone went home. However, I scurried quickly over to the baseball fields for the Austin vs. Elkins baseball game!!!

Week 13: My Sisters

My sisters I just can’t live without
Sometimes they bug me
Sometimes they hug me
Before as children we use to play
Today we have our own ways
I will always have a big sister
I will always have a little sister
Although sometimes I wish I was an only child
I don’t know what I would do without my sisters
Having sisters means I will always have a friend
As I look back on memories of my life
I remember my sisters and all the times we had together
As I look up to my older sister
My younger sister looks up to me
Through good times and bad
We will always stick together
I love my sisters dearly and
I could not see my life without them

Week 14: Eleven.

Eleven seemed to be the number for the day. It came up in random conversations, and it's the year we graduate. So here are eleven things that were significant about my day:

1. I did Total Conditioning (aka Total Death) at Lifetime with Mom and Lauren.

2. We went shopping for a business suit for Lauren's hospital interviews. She's not a picky shopper at all... that's where me and her are different!

3. My mom told me that I couldn't go prom dress shopping again, until I got a prom date. It was a joke, but a very rude one.

4. Shannon and I ate at least eleven samples in the food court. That was enough lunch for me!

5. The Engle's played Wii Tennis and kicked it at the house.

6. I tried to convince everyone that we should have a Mardi Gras party and buy a king cake... fail.

7. I had a girl's night at Katy's house with KK and Berr.

8. Katy treated us to huge Sonic slushies. Way too much sugar!

9. Two hours later, we went to Whataburger and ate cheeseburgers. Not many girl's hit up two fast food restaurants in one night! ;)

10. We talked for hours, and hours about anything and trust me, everything.

11. Our order number was eleven at Whataburger, we graduate in 2011, and eleven  just isn't enough for Amber. ;)

Week 14: Engle Fever

This week has been very busy... but that's not out of the ordinary for me. Between TAKS and prom planning- the stress level has been very high. This weekend the baseball boys played in the Ewell Jackson Tournament. I went to the games on Thursday and Friday afternoon, and we had one loss and one win.  On Friday, I brought both of the coaches a Snickers bar to boost their spirits- nothing makes them happier than a Diet Coke and a Snickers! We played in the 3rd Ward, and we learned on Thursday that their concession stand didn't have either of those items. The baseball boys have a lot of work ahead if they want to be successful this season!! After the game on Friday, I came home to see my beautiful sister, Lauren! She is in town for the weekend and I couldn't be more excited! I haven't seen her since Christmas break, so we had a ton of catching up to do. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, and we all had the 'Engle Fever'. We played in their Friday night trivia game, and our enthusiasm was quite embarrassing. They asked a question about a horror actor that died in the 70's, and Dad answered John Wayne. He didn't exactly hear the word 'horror' in that question. Team 'Engle Fever' was clueless about the other random questions that they asked as well. Beach Boys, yogurt, microwave, blender, one... the list goes on and on. We were all extremely loud and competitive during this trivia game as we devoured our tasty wings and fattening fried pickles. After dinner, we played Just Dance as a family and it was priceless. I love having Lauren here with us, and I can't wait to see what else this weekend has in store!