Day 212: The 3 G's

Yesterday when I came home with an iPhone, my mom was a little upset (to say the least). She felt excluded, since Lauren, Jason and I all have iPhones now. She didn't express any of her disappointment, because she’s the mom and she always tries to hold it all together! Her birthday is August 4th... so we went out and surprised her with her own iPhone today! We are the 3 G's! We celebrated her birthday in Sugar Land tonight with 3 envelopes, blastin' music in the kitchen and T.G.I. Fridays for dinner! I STARTED to pack for Cancun tonight at 8 PM, that's a tad late considering we leave at 4 AM tomorrow!!! This week is going to be incredible- I can't wait! Cancun 2010, BOOM!

On another note, this morning I found a letter that I wrote to myself the summer before I entered high school. I wrote it at Pine Cove Christian Camps and they sent it to me in the mail a year later. I saved it, of course! It amazed me how the things I wrote to myself in 2007 still apply to my life now. I am going to type the letter into the blog- some things may sound silly, but some of them are completely noteworthy. This letter is word for word off the paper and maybe the advice I gave myself 3 years ago can help someone else as well... here it goes!

Dear Kaitlyn, (July 2007)


Okay well I am at Pine Cove right now and I just want to remind myself of the things I've learned. I know high school is tough, hard and fun all at the same time! Just know that Jesus Christ is there with you through it all! He loves you for who YOU are exactly, and always thinks you're beautiful. Don't chase after the approval of others, because the Lord is the only one that can judge you and he thinks you are pretty darn amazing! Even though high school has faced you with many challenges when it comes to peer pressure, friends, honor classes, exams, boys, or whatever it might be... turn to the Lord! Chase after him, he wants you to! Always remember P-Haz's talk over bitterness, identity and control! Gossip is sin! The desires we have are always given to us from the Lord! Kaitlyn, seriously remember, we don't know what is best for ourselves... Jesus does! The Lord loves you! Don't be afraid of anything... Christ has got your back always and forever! The Lord is preparing you for GREAT things, be sure to make good decisions and help others have a desire for Christ like you did this week at camp! Always remember, people judge the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart! We don't have to be perfect, in fact there is NO WAY we will ever be perfect! Jesus loves us for who we are exactly, and that's the beauty of it! DO NOT seek the approval of others; what they think about you does not matter! Kaitlyn whatever your boy problems are currently, STOP worrying about them NOW! Seek after the Lord and joy will fill your life. And whatever pain you're experiencing, Jesus is the only thing that can take that away! Whatever you are currently seeking right now... those things will not make you happy. Remember that!!! You will have joy in the life God has planned for you! Remember the things you learned at camp, they changed your life. Kaitlyn, I know you have been trying VERY hard at everything you do! Make the right choices, be a leader not a follower, have fun in every situation, but most importantly CHASE AFTER THE LORD! It is the only thing that will bring joy to your life! No matter the circumstances right now, always know that Jesus loves you!


Questions: "Do I have a relationship with God or do I just have a religion?"
                    "Is Jesus an accessory or do I really need him?"


                                                                                                                            Love, Kaitlyn Engle

This letter was very convicting, considering I wrote it as an 8th grader looking ahead to the next four years of my life. If you actually read that whole letter, I hope that you can take something away from it! Whether it was something you can apply to your own life or simply learning more about my life and my heart three years ago.
The 3 G's = The past 3 Great years of my life!

Day 211: iPhone

For the past few weeks my Blackberry has been acting nuts and giving me way too many issues. I have had it for over two years and it nearly reached its death. It was about time I joined the rest of the world and got an iPhone anyways! So this is my new baby- the case is by Kate Spade and I am obsessed with it! It suits me and my personality perfectly! :) I didn't plan on purchasing an iPhone, it was more spontaneous than anything else! This is the first phone that I’ve ever had that has internet access. It’s amazing. I have been glued to the phone all night... downloading apps, playing games, and texting A LOT! Besides all of my iPhone excitement, Shannon's close friend Megan came over! She used to be our neighbor, but recently her family moved away! I went with them and my mom to Nestle Toll House for a little treat, before heading over to Melinda's house. That girl is super sweet and funny! To this day she still calls Shannon her sister- it’s adorable! Here is the first picture that I ever took with the hipstamatic app on my phone and one of the only pictures I snapped of them... it's way too dark though. Oh well… it was a great day! Thank you Dad for being spontaneous and thank you Mom for getting excited about pretty much everything! :)

Day 210: Charlie St. Cloud

This morning I babysat the Cook kiddos! We made a zillion crafts, jammed to some music and had a great morning acting silly. In the afternoon, I helped my mom set up her classroom. Shannon and Anna came to be helpers as well, but they ended up climbing on top of the cabinets and making pretend debit cards! Spending the afternoon in my mom's classroom caused me to realize how close the upcoming school year really is. Yikes! And tonight, Taylor & I had plans to go watch the Charlie St. Cloud midnight premiere and meet up with some more friends. He came over before the movie to hang out and watch the Jersey Shore season 2 premiere with me. That show entertained us, but I realized that the entire cast is way over paid for acting like complete idiots! We left for the movies around 10pm, thinking it would be crowded. Oh were we ever wrong! But since we got there so dang early, we watched Despicable Me (again) and played Family Feud on his iTouch. For those of you that don't know... an eclipse happens every four years. :) I have been looking forward to seeing Charlie St. Cloud for over a month now, and honestly... it kind of let me down. This was Zac Efron's newest flick and he looked great, like usual! Charlie and his 11 year old brother, Sam St. Cloud, got in an awful car accident. Sam passed away and Charlie was given

a second chance. The biggest obstacle that he had to face was finding the reason his life was sparred. It reminded me of my car accident and the feeling of 'God, where do I go from here?' Charlie was faced between holding onto his little brother's spirit or chasing the girl he loves. Overall, it was a simple romantic and dramatic movie... but not 'midnight premiere' worthy! The best part of the movie was when Charlie asked Sam what he should make Tess for dinner and Sam responded, "Pizza. Pizza's DELICIOUS!" :)

Day 209: I'm Julia Child. Bon Appetit!

Tonight was Pajama Night with the girls. I needed a calm evening at home. Between work, babysitting and my busy social schedule this summer, I just wanted to sit on the couch for the night. I was in my pajamas by 7 pm and I loved every single second of it. We turned the family room into a gigantic bed by gathering the air mattress, a tempurpedic cushion, an extra twin mattress and plenty of pillows and blankets! Shannon had her friend Anna spend the night; we all ate pizza for dinner and watched Julie & Julia. Everyone seemed to lose interest in the movie, except for me. This true story included Julia Child and Julie Powell- both strong women that were undeniably lost, until they discovered that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible. Julia Powell was 30 years old and decided to cook her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (Julia Child's Book) in a year and blog about it. She had plenty of struggles and triumphs throughout her year, but she was determined to finish what she started. In the end it didn't matter what other people said or thought about her blog! The truth is- her blog was unique and it brought her happiness. This story goes back and forth between Julia Child discovering her passion and Julie Powell learning to cook, and in the end... both of them finding success. From one blogger to another- I felt her daily pain, I shared her undeniable joy and I celebrated her successes. Cooking and Blogging- two of my favorite things combined into one movie!

Day 208: Diversity

This morning I babysat for the Hartzog family! The kids and I attempted to go to the splash pad, but they had a sign up that said... "Due to new state regulations, this splash pad is CLOSED until further notice." Apparently Obama passed a new law that limits water use, so I guess the children have to go without sprinklers?! This afternoon I went Back to School/Cancun Shopping at the Galleria with Melinda! We came this conclusion... the Galleria is 1) HUGE and 2) EXPENSIVE! However, we each bought a pair of jeans and a cute top! It was really fun! :) While we were stuck in the 5pm rush hour traffic, the song Graduation came on. It is finally starting to hit us that we are going to be seniors and in one year everyone will be going their separate ways! I am not going to lie… it was a little emotional to think about! When we got home, we decided to bake a cake. Not just any ordinary cake, a 4 layered cake with alternating vanilla and chocolate layers. It was called 'Diversity' and we wrote "Class of 2011" in icing. Taylor, DJ and Amber joined us just in time to eat the cake!! The whole gang hung out, talked, played games, watched TV... you know, the norm! Lala lalala :)

Day 207: Full of Joy

This morning I worked at 9ners and then went on a spontaneous shopping trip with my mom! We had so much fun searching for new Cancun outfits and other random things! From Band Aids to Dry Erase Message Boards... we got it all! Tonight I went to BJ's with Katy and a bunch of FBBA people. It was a different group of people than I am used to hanging out with, but I really enjoyed myself! How could you not love a night with White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Pizookies? Too good! :) This picture was taken at the last second with the majority of the group acting nuts! Afterwards, Katy came over to my house for some much needed best friend time. She is the one person in my life that I can trust with anything and talk to for countless hours. I am so thankful that I am able to call her my best friend. I love you Peek-A-Boo-Boo!
"I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it; friends make life a lot more fun."

Day 206: Papa Bear

This morning we woke up in Lauren's new apartment and headed to Target to get some necessities. She needed cooking materials, a fan, a microwave and a lot of other things you never think about buying! After our huge shopping run, we drove awhile and Dad pulled over to a place called "Texas Grill Restaurant". It was smelly, old and something only Papa Bear would pick! We decided to ditch that place and eat lunch at Carl's Jr. (since it was one of Mom & Dad's favorites in California)! It was very unhealthy, but great none the less! We continued our drive to Columbus to drop Lauren back off at Pine Cove! While Mom and Shannon helped Lauren set up her new cabin, Dad and I played HORSE on the basketball courts. I beat him- and that's all that needs to be said! :) On the way out of Pine Cove, we noticed that it is located on Papa Bear Ln. Everyone in the Engle Clan calls my Dad "Papa Bear"- it was too perfect! Spending this weekend with Lauren has been amazing- I’ve missed her so much! I hope she knows that she is impacting countless lives this summer and all of her energy and hard work is very much appreciated! I LOVE YOU LAUREN and I hope you have 3 more amazing weeks at camp!

Day 205: Big Picture

Today Mom, Dad, Shannon and I headed to Pine Cove Outback in Columbus, Texas. That is where Lauren is spending the majority of her summer counseling to young kids! Her name is Pineapple Paraschrute, but she goes by “Shruty”. We arrived just in time for closing ceremonies and stayed to watch their staff meeting. Even after a LONG week of being enthusiastic- these counselors STILL had tons of energy to run around!!! Every week one girl and one guy counselor is chosen to win the Big Picture award. This award is given to someone who stands out, shows continuous joy and passion to their campers and coworkers and is able to see the "big picture"! Lauren, or "Shruty", won the award for this week! She was in absolute shock, because this award is a HUGE deal! I am so proud of her and so thankful that we were there to witness her get the award! :) After we finished up at Pine Cove, we grabbed some lunch at Huriski's and then headed to ATX to help Lauren move into her new apartment! The afternoon was a lot of loading, packing, organizing and cleaning- but we managed to finish it all! While we were in the transition process from apartment to apartment, I rode in the back of my Dad's Tundra to hold most of the things down. This wasn't just riding on the city streets, we were cruising on the highway- it was NUTS!!! And tonight was date night, which means only one thing… do whatever you want! We ate dinner at Trudy's and tried the infamous Mexican Martini. And to finish off the day, we got Tiff's Treats for dessert! Lauren is only allowed one night away from camp all summer, so I hope she enjoyed it with the family! :)

Day 204: Phantom Regiment

Months ago my good friend and fellow PAL Ashkahn auditioned to be a part of Phantom Regiment, which is a private non-profit youth organization in the performing arts. He made it and is currently on their summer tour- which consists of over 30 competitions throughout the United States. The organization will travel through 26 states over a period of 70 days traveling approximately 15,000 miles. Tonight they were in Houston- so Lolly, Crysta and I went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then went to the Drum Corps Competition! The 'cheap' 31 dollar tickets were sold out, so we were forced to buy the 41 dollar tickets. We traveled far enough... we were determined to see the show (no matter the cost)! But the whole night our joke was, "I am gonna kick your As..hkahn!!!"  It was worth every penny- we saw unbelievable musical, theatrical and dancing talent! These groups were AMAZING! I had SO much fun hanging out with Lolly and Crysta tonight and talking to them about pretty much everything! When Phantom Regiment started to perform (which was at 9:16- too crazy!), we had the hardest time tracking down Ashkahn! I snapped a random close up picture and he ironically happened to be in it!!! The best part of the night was getting to see our good friend afterwards and giving him a GIANT hug! I've missed this kid way too much, but I know he is having the time of his life on tour this summer!!!

Day 203: Get Well Soon :)

This is the masterpiece that I made while I was bored out of my mind at work today. For over two hours zero customers came in! I had to find a way to pass the time, so I decided to make a card-bag for my best friend Katy Lowery. I literally had no supplies- so I did what I could. Katy got her wisdom teeth removed this morning... it almost seems to be contagious this summer!! Shannon and Megan joined me in an adventure to buy random things for Katy at the store and then deliver them to her house. The poor thing was on a ton of pain medication and wrapped up with ice, but I am really glad that we went to see her! The visit was cut short, because I had to babysit! So tonight I had a Girls Pajama Night with my Singleton babies! We watched Up and ate 'Princess' Popcorn (which is popcorn with Easter M&M's on top-Haha). They are such sweet girls! Afterwards, I picked up Brittany and we went to Harold's to hang out with some of the old PALs and some other people. It was very random, but I am glad we stopped by! They are all heading off to college soon, so any opportunity to spend time with them is always fun and much appreciated!

Day 202: Catch Up

I babysat the Singleton Girls twice today! Maggie was taking pictures for 2 different clients, so we hung out in the morning and the evening! Ellie's personality is really starting to show- she is a little firecracker! She laughs hysterically at everything and is the most accident prone child ever! After the morning babysitting session, I had lunch with Shannon Colborne. We have been best friends since we were practically born! She is one of those occasional people in life that you can go months without talking to them, but when you see them... everything is exactly the same!! We ate at Potbelly and talked for 2 1/2 hours. It was great catching up and sharing countless stories! I love that girl to pieces! After the evening babysitting session, I went to Melinda's 'Dive in Movie' event and Haley's 17th Birthday Party. I got the chance to have a heart to heart with one of my best guy friends- Mark and many other people tonight. It really helped me open my eyes to different situations! When there is unnecessary high school drama… there's nothing that I'd rather do than vent to my best friend for an hour! I love my daily phone catch up calls with Katy Lowery! :)

Day 201: Just Laugh

Today I mentored kids with the PALs at Oyster Creek Elementary School. We hang out with the extended day kiddos a few times in the summer and it is always entertaining! Anyways, I was playing pretend "house" with a few of the kids today and one girl yelled out, "Who wants to be the Mom?"- And no one responded. Then I asked, "Why doesn't anyone want to be the Mom?" And little girl responded with attitude, "NO ONE ever wants to be the Mom!" I sat there for a few seconds and then said, "Well most of my friends call me Mom- so it feels like I am ALWAYS the Mom!" And she shook her head and with a straight face said, "I am sorry- being the Mom is the hardest job!!" It was so funny and SO true! Later in the day I had dinner with my Mom and spent some time with Marika. She talked a lot, like always! We got on the topic of the "mom" nickname and I told her that it kind of bothers me that so many people call me it. She said, "Kaitlyn, you're a cool mom-- the mom that everyone loves! I am the type of mom that lives with 10 cats and eats cup a noodles every night for dinner." It was a joke and a pretty funny one! I hope that one day I look back and just laugh at the fact that I have always been considered a "mom" to someone throughout my entire life!

Day 200: The Circus

 This morning Shannon and I stopped by the bookstore and grabbed Panera Bread for lunch. It was icky weather outside all day, rainy and humid! We decided to have some friends come over, so Mia, Brittany, Taylor, Anthony and Collin (Taylor's 5 year old brother) all came! Since the Circus is in town, we decided to create a circus of our own! We dug through the Halloween boxes in the attic and found plenty of costumes! I was a clown, Brittany was a Hippie, Taylor was Superman, DJ was Shrek, Shannon was Super girl, Mia was Dorothy and Collin was a skunk! Everyone was very willing to try on different costumes and rock their hot new outfit! We sang karaoke, played Mario Kart and of course, took pictures! Afterwards, we headed over to Chill Out to grab some snow cones! Even though it was gross outside, we had fun sitting out at the picnic tables chatting with our yummy treats! Collin told me that my green apple snow cone tasted like beer. Everyone was really confused, but it was funny!!! Brittany's cousins came in town today- so they joined the party as well! We ran around at two muddy parks and our crazy day ended with swimming in Brittany's pool (with all of our clothes on)! Every great circus has to come to an end- I couldn't have asked for a better 200th day! Kids + Costumes + Snow Cones + Singing + Friends = An Awesome Day! :)

Day 199: My First Kiss

This afternoon the family and I went to see the movie Inception. It was mind blowing, but very confusing and long! My Mom and I kept asking each other questions the whole time, but both of us were clueless! Tonight I gathered a group together to go to Buffalo Wild Wings; little did I know it was an event night with a major fight showing! The place was packed and every single person was required to pay $10, whether they ate or not! So we changed our plans and headed over to Hibachi Express in Town Center! It is a Mongolian grill and everyone seemed to like it! I texted my Mom asking her if people could come over to chill and she responded 'In the fridge!' Mom actually cracked a pretty funny joke! So we ended up at the Engle Casa to chill! We started out playing Taboo and then played Apples to Apples! This past week the song 'My First Kiss' has been stuck in my head like crazy! I have joked, texted or sang about it with Brittany, Taylor and my brother! I was the person that was supposed to choose a card in Apples to Apples and Taylor put in the card that said 'My First Kiss'! I read it, dropped the other cards and decided that it automatically won- it even beat out Helen Keller! It was hilarious! Then we had Disney Karaoke Night on the Wii! Everyone was jamming- and I mean everyone! Taylor and DJ even performed 'Getcha Head in the Game' with backup dancers! Haha :) It was fantastic to see everyone let loose and be themselves!

I said no more teachers

And no more books

I got a kiss under the bleachers

Hoping that nobody looks

My first kiss went a little like this

-- And twist

Day 198: Lauren's Home!!!

This morning Dad & I went to Sams on the search for new office chairs. Surprisingly, we ended up having a deep conversation about high school drinking! Out of all places... Sams Club! This summer Lauren is a counselor at Pine Cove Christian Camps- that's why she has been missing out on all of our family's fun excursions! :( Today she got to visit us for the night- it was so great to see her and hear all of her camp stories! We went to BJ's for dinner and they had a huge 'BJ's Blackout'! There was a sudden rain storm and it knocked out all of the electricity! Jason was cracking us up with all of his interpretations of Mom's 'crazy eating' at CiCi's and the Blue Bell Factory! Everyone was dying laughing... Jason is a hilarious storyteller! I am so blessed to be a part of such an awesome and tight family! And on the way home, Jason jumped out the car and mooned me (since I was driving separately)! I was in total shock! Haha... Afterwards, I went to the PALs Cookout at KK's house! It is always fun having hang outs, because we get the opportunity to learn more about the new PALs!! I left a little early to spend more time with my sister and then I played the card game 31 with the family! I wasn't the best at it, but we still had great family bonding! Later in the night I headed over to Brittany's house to hang out with her, Taylor, Jamie, Erin and Adam. Erin attempted to bake cookies for us... but they tasted like pancakes. We still appreciate her trying; I'll just stick to cooking from now on! Haha ;) These crazy kids were juggling apples and oranges- and that's in the picture below! I love days when I feel like I laugh more than I talk... maybe that's because my Dove Chocolate fortune was "Laugh everyday- It's like inner jogging"! It's dumb and cheesy, but it was my fortune TWICE today!!

Day 197: Cranium Amigos!

You know those days when you really don't do much of anything... that was today! I worked at 9ners and it was actually pretty busy- then I went to a lunch/dinner with Mom, Dad and Shan at Lupe Tortilla! Tonight Taylor came over and we had a heart to heart about basically everything! I am so glad that we are becoming best friends! Then Britt and DJ came over to hang out as well. We played Cranium and I was on the winning team a.k.a Taylor's team! Anthony is one of the worst Cranium players that I've ever met. He couldn't guess 'Unibrow' when Brittany drew an awesome drawing with her eyes closed and he couldn't guess the song 'Don't Stop Believing' when Brittany hummed it perfectly! I still love him even though Cranium isn’t his best game! On the other hand, Taylor rocked it out! He knew all kinds of random facts and could guess practically everything! Afterwards, we had a 'photo shoot' and Anthony hurt himself really bad- good thing I had the magic rock to cure him! Tonight was really fun with the three Cranium amigos!

Day 196: Blue Bell Factory / Not Fans of Fannin

Today the Engle’s went to the Blue Bell Factory in Brenham! When we arrived there we ate a very healthy lunch at CiCi's Pizza and then headed over to the factory! We took a tour and got to see the entire process- from start to finish- of how the Blue Bell ice cream is made! It was really interesting, but the best part of the tour was the free scoop of ice cream at the end! Afterwards, we went to this white tent that was showing a video about the history of Blue Bell and had scoops of ice cream on sale for $1- that is almost as good as the $1.25 happy hour in Kemah! Haha :) Tonight I went with Brittany to Taylor Cobb's baseball game at Rice University. It was quite the adventure getting there- between traffic and not having directions! It seems like Brittany and I are always on adventures these days! :) We traveled up and down Fannin trying to find a place to eat dinner. Trust me; we are Not Fans of Fannin! We ended up eating at Which Wich! It was my first time there and I loved it! Once we found the fields, we walked up to the dead silent game and questioned whether or not we were allowed to cheer, because we could basically hear our echo. Kelsey and her friend showed up and sat with us for awhile- they are boy crazy and looked up the team's roster and practically added every guy on facebook. Oh my! Anyways, the game was entertaining and we got to talk to Taylor afterwards. Brittany and I had a heart to heart once we got back home... I may not be a Fan of Fannin- but I am the biggest fan of heart to hearts!!!

Day 195: The Territory

Today I worked at 9ners and then made the Singleton parents a little birthday surprise. Their birthdays are only one day apart and so I gave them a gift card to Japaneiros (Maggie's favorite), a coupon for a free babysitter, sweets from Ooh La La and a super giant birthday card! Ooh La La is a cute little dessert boutique out in Katy! I also got my best friend Katy a cupcake while I was there, because she really needed something to brighten her day!! I went to Cribz at the Lowery household- which is a weekly event held by the River Pointes high school group. We grilled some burgers, swam in the pool and just hung out. Afterwards, I went over to the Muller household with a big group of people! We talked in the hot tub, took underwater pictures and I found out that some of them know my blog/life better than I do! Haha- Overall it was a pretty chill day of just hanging out in "The Territory". That is Mark's idea for the New Territory version of "The Hills"! Haha :)

Day 194: BEST DAY EVER!

Let me start by saying... today really was the BEST DAY EVER! My family and I decided to take a spontaneous trip down to Kemah Boardwalk! We all loaded up in the car and somehow ended up in Galveston. Clearly we missed our exit, but we decided to just go with it. We ate lunch overlooking the ocean at The Spot and then rented a 4 seater bicycle to ride up and down the shoreline. Jason did most of the work and Shannon did absolutely nothing. Every time Jason turned the bike an inch- Shannon would cry and yell, "Jason STOP it!!". She is definitely the scaredy cat of the family! The bicycle was something my mom really wanted to do and it was pretty fun!! Afterwards, Shannon and I went and touched the ocean. She did a few kart wheels and we walked along the water for a bit... and then we were off to Kemah! We got a bright yellow band, meaning we could ALL of the rides! Jason and I were excited and Shannon was scared, of course! The very first ride we rode was called "Wipeout"- it spun you around and around VERY fast! I wasn't expecting a drastic wipeout from the start, but Jason and I laughed the entire time! We rode all of the rides throughout the day, but the Inverter was the deadliest. It would stop you upside down in the middle of the sky... all of the blood was rushing to my head (not so fun)! After the amusement park, we went on The Beast! This is a bright colored, high speed, music blaring, crazy fun boat ride at Kemah! They warned us that we MIGHT get wet... but we were all got drenched by the time it was over. It was hilarious and by far the BEST part of the day! After the crazy boat ride, we sat down and drank some COLD drinks! We wandered around a bit, watched Shannon ride some more rides and then hit up happy hour while we waited for our table at Joe's Crab Shack! Draft beers were $1.25 and Jason & Mom were just loving that! Jason and I were sitting on the floor and he decided to have a mini ring dunk- because some nights he's "just feelin' it"! We made a video and it was hilarious!! We all enjoyed our dinner sitting out by the bay, eating coconut shrimp, crabs and much more! Jason and I took cute pictures in our bibs and Mom even had her own ring dunk! What can I say... my family is crazy and I love it! All day long everyone would say, "Today really is the BEST day ever!" I drove everyone home and then I got to hang out with all of the PALs from last year! I sitting in the hot tub with them, just playing games and catching up on life! BEST DAY EVER.

The Inverter... Oh my!

Drenched after the BEAST!

Jason & Me in our bibs at Joe's!

BEST DAY EVER!

Day 193: What A Bargain!

Today I had a great lunch with T ( my youth pastor) and then right after my family and I embarked on the $50 outfit challenge! Our mission was to find a brand new outfit for Cancun, head to toe, for under $50. Here are the rules that Jason came up with before the challenge began...

1. No Excuses

2. Fully Clothed

3. No Crying

4. Accesories are a Must

5. Gotta be Hott!

He is too darn funny! Anyways, we all started at the mall- but the stores there are too expensive for this challenge! We basically bought everything at Ross and Target. Jason was rockin' his new shades and sweet hat ALL day long! Here are everyone's totals and awards...

Kaitlyn -$18.99 The Cheapest Shopper

Jason- $39.96 The Quickest Shopper

Mom- $46.95 The Detail Oriented Shopper

Shannon- $19.07 The SLOWEST Shopper

The shopping day was long- but we had SO much fun! Shortly after Brittany discovered that she had an old mattress that was destined to be trash...so she had a spontaneous idea- MATTRESS SURFING! Behind my house there is a bayou... so we set up the slip n' slide as a launching pad, grabbed soap, water, and a pool raft and used the mattress as a landing pad at the end of the bayou. We got a running start and jumped onto the pool raft that would slide off the clift and into the bayou! It was totally AWESOME and spontaneous! After Jason, Brittany and I got eaten by 10,000 mosquitos, Mark and Cody came over! We all decided to go bowling! It was $9.99 for unlimited bowling after 9 PM-including shoes! What a bargain! We played 4 games- one warm up, one serious, one girls vs. boys and one coed! It was so much fun acting really competitive with this group!! :)

Day 192: Superbad. Superdad.

Today was Day 4 of Recovery and I STILL had chipmunk cheeks! I went to big church with the family and I really enjoyed Patrick's sermon. He explained how Christianity isn't a religion or a set of rules- and if you live your life according to 'the rules' one of two things will happen: 1) You will become arrogant and think you are better than other people. 2) You will become fed up and burnt out. The Bible was never intended to be a set of rules to live by. Jesus wants us to give up our life and chase after Him- not the approval of our peers, not perfection, not worldly things. He makes it clear, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." -Matthew 10:39. This afternoon I went with the family to see Despicable Me! It is the new animated movie starring Steve Carell. We saw it in 3D and it was hilarious! But it makes me wonder, are all animated movies destined to be 3D one day? Anyways, the little pill shaped yellow guys were adorable and Steve Carell delivered a pretty decent Russian supervillian voice! It helped watching the movie with a theatre full of children- listening to them roar with laugher at the simplest jokes was very entertaining! Tonight I hung out with Brittany and Mark and we went on an adventure! There really isn't much to do in Sugar Land, so we roamed around Oyster Creek Park. That was VERY creepy- so we left almost instantly and headed to Wal-Mart. We played some crazy shopping games and did random things! Only the 3 of us would enjoy hanging out at Wal-Mart at 11 o'clock on a Sunday night!

Day 191: Wipeout!

Today was Day 3 of Recovery and I still looked like a chipmunk! In the afternoon my Mom and I went to get our nails done. We always go to a nail place in Sweetwater, but we decided to mix it up this time! We arrived at the new nail place at 2 PM and didn't finish until 4:45 PM... It was the slowest service ever! My AP Test scores finally came in and I found out that I earned college credit for both of my classes (Psychology and Human Geography)! That was by far the highlight of my day! Tonight I babysat for the Cook family + Cami--since their parents all went out together! These kids are as sweet as can be and were full of energy tonight!!! We played The Guessing Game, Hide and Go Seek, Pillow Fights, Zingo, and so much more! Between the excitement of having a babysitter and all of the fun things we were doing- these kids were going crazy! I felt like their facial expressions in this picture were a great representation of the evening as a whole! They had so much fun and I even enjoyed running around with them- chipmunk cheeks and all! My pain medication tends to make me sleepy, so we concluded the night by watching a show called Wipeout! After an energetic and noisy night like this one, it didn't take long for all of us to completely wipeout on the couch!

Day 190: Recovery Buddies!

Today was Day 2 of recovery and my cheeks resembled chipmunks the entire day! I woke up at set intervals throughout the night to take more pain medication- it was the best decision that I've made so far! Melinda came to visit this morning and she brought me a vanilla milkshake from Chic-Fil-A! It was super sweet of her to think of me during my recovery process! Jason is my recovery buddy- he has done everything with me so far! He kept me company on the couch all day long and constantly made me laugh- which actually hurt more than anything else! We may be recovering from different things, but we will always be recovery/cuddle buddies! Today we went to the mall to buy new glasses and even stopped by Dairy Queen for a sweet ice cream treat! After my nap, Brittany came to visit me and she brought a sweet card that said "Get Well Kaitlyn"! It definitely made my day! Tonight the family and I went to Lupe Tortilla! I can't eat chips, salsa or fajitas... it was a great choice for dinner! I ate Soft Chicken Tacos and even though it wasn't my first choice-- the food that I got to eat today beat the heck out of my food selection from yesterday!!! A little later, I headed over to Brittany's house to hang out with a bunch of people! Oh yeah, partying it up on Day 2 of Recovery! Haha :)

Day 189: Happy Camper!

This morning at 10:30 AM I got my wisdom teeth surgically removed! I couldn't eat or drink anything 8 hours prior to surgery; I was required to wear no makeup, no nail polish, a t-shirt and shorts, and no contacts. All I remember is sitting in the chair, the nurse putting a blanket on top of me, the doctor pricking a needle into my hand, the nurse inserting oxygen into my nose and telling me that within 2 minutes the drugs would make me a true Happy Camper! She continued to joke that "All of the kids want the doctors at all of their parties nowadays!" But the doctor replied, "Why because I have the drug hookup...BYOD!" I remember laughing and saying at least y'all have a good sense of humor! Then I was totally knocked out! When the surgery was over they put me in a wheelchair to assist me to my mom's car, since I was a little loopy from the medication. My lips, chin and mouth was entirely numb! Once I got home, my Mom and I came up with this nifty ice contraption to minimize the swelling! It may look goofy, but it worked pretty well. 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off. Nurse Jason & I sat and watched movies/TV all day long! We watched HSM 3, Click, Big Brother SEASON PREMIERE, The LeBron-A-Thon (where LeBron James announced he was going to play for the Miami Heat next season) and plenty other shows! The hardest part about Day 1 of recovery was my headache and stomach ache from lack of food! I was only allowed to 'eat' clear liquids... it wasn't very fun! Now that all 4 of my wisdom teeth are out, I am in total recovery mode! Hello Jello, Ice Cream and lots of Pain Medication!

Day 188: Do Whatever You Want!

Today Suzie's Mom wanted me to come over and play with Suzie and her friends. Since I used to be a party coordinator at Sweet & Sassy... I decided to bring a Sweet and Sassy style birthday party to them! Shannon and I loaded up our entire make up, dress, nail polish, and hair glitter collection and got to work! These girls were a hoot! They absolutely loved having a glamour day, dancing to Hannah Montana and dressing like rock stars! And of course, Shannon and I had a blast too! Tonight Jason and I had date night! The rest of the family ended up joining in, because they felt left out. But since it was raining outside, we decided to stay in, order a pizza and make homemade pizookies! Date night in this house meant do whatever you want: eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want, lay however you want, wear whatever you want, fart whenever you want, play whatever you want... you get the point. I had to explain to Shannon that on her real date nights in the future, she can't just do whatever she wants. It was a very interesting conversation. Haha :) Hooray for ‘Do whatever you want’ date nights with Jason and the rest of the clan!

Day 187: If You Really Knew Me...

Today was a very lazy day! Jason & I watched 4 episodes of a show called Disaster Date. This is MTV's hilarious hidden camera prank dating show- it entertained us for quite awhile! Afterwards, Jason, Mom & I played the game Clue. My Mom isn't a big fan of this game and didn't want to play at all, but of course we forced her! Jason and I made countless accusations, but my Mom ended up winning the whole thing. It was really embarrassing! I worked tonight and then headed over to Katy Lowery's house to spend the night! She has been out of town practically the entire summer so far, so it was some much needed best friend time! We literally just sat and had pillow talk for hours. We read yearbook entries from freshman year and past love letters. She is one of those rare people that you can do absolutely nothing with and still feel like you're having fun! We played a game that I made up tonight called, "If you really knew me...” You would use that sentence starter and then it would be followed by something that is unique about you, something that annoys you, something that you struggle with or something that you aspire to be, etc. It could be anything in the world! Katy Lowery, aka KK, is my best friend and I would do anything for her!

Day 186: Summer Nights!

Tonight I had a big group of friends over! Just before they came over to swim it was thundering and lighting outside, and of course pouring down rain. I was a little worried... but I heard a quote today and it goes like this- "If you ever have a big problem, don't say, 'God I have a big problem!', but instead; 'Hey Problem, I have a big God and everything will be okay!" It kind of stuck with me all day and I knew everything would clear up just in time- and of course it did!! We planned on playing in a Basket Flaggan Fluggen Tournament in my pool- but it turned into a group volleyball tournament! The humidity outside was ridiculous and kept on fogging up my lens in a matter of seconds... but this is one of the few pictures that I took! In it is Katy, Cody, Sevon, Taylor, Bailey, Jordan, Amber and Mark! About 25 people came and we all played Lemonade Pong, 42 and Mario Kart! It amazed me how many people actually showed up to hang out and have some fun tonight!!! After most of the people left... Amber, Katy, Harold, his friends and I played Taboo. Amber and I rocked it out! We got an all time high of 7 points in one round! On the other hand, it wasn't Katy and Harold's best game. It was so much fun, none the less! After everyone left, I watched the Bachelorette with Jason, Scott (his friend) and Michelle (Scott's girlfriend)! These kids are hilarious! Every 5 minutes we would pause the show to hear a classic story-- "It's good to hear you're making friends at the office!" "An underground disco in Switzerland..." "STOP interrupting me! (From Jake to Vienna)"! What a fun summer night!

Day 185: Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday America! This was one very laid back Fourth of July at the Engle Casa! Jason came home today- which was very exciting! We went to lunch at T.G.I Fridays after church and then watched the movie She's Out Of Your League. My Dad was trimming the trees all day long, using this heavy 20 ft climber thing! Later on we had to return the machine to his office. While we were there Jason & I played hide and seek in the warehouse- it was awesome! My Mom and I made a Fourth of July dinner for the family! At dinner we discussed a bunch of the 9/11 conspiracy theories... so patriotic of us! Later on Shannon, Jason and I watched fireworks while swimming in our pool! It sounds like we have a war going on over here, since there are so many fireworks going off! All in all, today was a great day to bond with the family and reflect on how blessed we truly are! God Bless America! :)

Day 184: Sweet

Tonight I babysat for Camryn and Tyler! They are such sweet kids… so I decided we needed to bake some sweets! We scrambled together all of the ingredients to make homemade chocolate chip cookies. With the neighbors' help, we were successful! The cookies were enormous and completely delicious- especially combined with vanilla ice cream! We sat on the couch enjoying our sweets, while watching America's Got Talent! These kids are like my own siblings! Camryn always tells me that she wishes I was her sister and it always makes my nights that much sweeter!