Learn something new every day

So as most of you know my absense from the blogging and facebook world lately has been due to me being grounded or as my mom calls it "spending some quality time with Mom and Dad" haha. Truly that is what it has turned into. While I have been grounded and disconnected from the facebook and blogging world I have come to realize several things. I have enjoyed the time that I have been able to spend with my parents while I was grounded that I would normally spend on facebook talking to friends and seeing what everybody was up to. While our talks might not have dealt with anything substantial or noteworthy it was just the fact that me and mom got a chance to sit down and relax during the day and talk about the day's events and what's going on at school. Those short daily conversations have helped tremendously in the process of gaining trust and respect from them.
I have come to realize in the past couple of weeks that, despite the typical teenager's belief, my parents do know what they are talking because they were once 16 and wished for the world at their fingertips and know how it is. Although at times I may be frustrated with them about being grounded for the little stuff that "other" kids dont even get in trouble for I know that they are just looking out for me and they want the best for me. So Mom and Dad I'm sorry for times in the past and in the future when I have a 'tude with you because I dont think you are being "fair" and grounding me. :)

My parents have been so good to me. Yes I have been grounded but Mom has realized my honest effort to be better so she has begun to meet me half way on alot of things. I have finally reached the right path in school with grades, and with my friends. They have been awesome and so understanding about hanging out with my friends. I have realized that the more I talk with them and am up front and honest with them about what is going on with me and my friends the more I will be allowed to do with them and the more they trust me.

This year has been such an awesome year and I have realized ALOT of valued lessons. I have formed many friendships with people that share the same values and morals as me. I have come to understand the true meaning of a friendship. :)) Pictured above is me with the Childers (my "2nd family" ) I have become really close with the whole family and I know that Jeffrey has got my back if I ever need a "big brother" to stick up for me at school and Abby has been my little sister to have our girl talks and of course me and Aaron have become super tight at the football games! :)

One thing that I have always had a problem with is PATIENCE. I have never been a real patient person and its a constant battle for me. But as of late I have realized that you should never give up or settle something less than the best just because it might take a little effort on your part to get this thing. In the past I have just settled for what I can get and not what I really want. But what I have been settling for isnt exactly the best thing for me. But I'm proud to say that I have not settled for the "scum suckers" when there is a "sword fish" out in the sea waiting for me. :)) haha. Momma would be proud of me for using her analogy!

Me and Westlee :)

Below is a bunch of spirit week pictures from several months ago that I realized that have yet to post on the blog! Sorry! :( So here is a short version of all my pictures! haha. There is alot of event that I have simply left out because if I gave you a detailed story of every event that has happened since i last posted you would be reading for days! haha. Which I'm sure everybody has much better things to do with their life than sit here for hours on end and read my blog! haha. :)

All of us in Physics on Cowboy and Indian day

Cowboy and Indian Day with Jeffrey at lunch

Me, Westlee and Karlo on Cowboy and Indian Day

Sports Day

Me and My "brother" and "sister" on Sports Day :)

Pirates and Princess Day. Yess Jeffrey is wearing a crown! haha.

Cameron is crazy! Of course he would dress up as Cinderella on Pirates and Princess Day hahaha

Police, Firefighter and Doctor Day

Gotta love my football buddy Aaron! haha :)

Me and Karlo

We get a little crazy on CRAZY blue and white day! :)

haha Joe as The Blue and White Joker

Me and Katie! I love this girl! :)

Abby spent the night with me on Thursday night so we could get ready for Crazy Blue and White Day together. We had so much fun as you can see! :)

Me, Abby and Jeffrey!

Here are some random pictures from different stuff that has happened! :)

Me and Morgan at Grandma's house petting the horses!

Me and my sweet not so baby boy! :)

Me, Kels and Rach

The girls had a sleepover at the church at the meeting! We had a blast and of course loved attacking Gary with pillows haha. :)

Me and My Crazy White Girl.

loveher! :)

Just an update on my amazing school's football team! :) We are currently ranked #2 in the state and this Friday will be going into the 4th round of 6A playoffs! :) We are awesome I'm not gonna lie! I'm proud to say I'm a Blue Darter! This was the score board of last weeks game at Dr Phillips. This was after the FOURTH overtime! During the 5th overtime we scored again and intercepted the ball from DP and took the win! :)))) You better watch out we are going all the way to state! :)

Oh My Word! My Dad is pathetic! He spoils his "granddog" so much! I'm scared to see how spoiled grandkids will be when they are around their Papa Bear! haha. :)

We took Olivia to Build-A-Bear for his 2nd Birthday! I dont know who had more fun me or her! haha. I love that place! :)

We have been so blessed with such a wonderful pastor! Our church has grown so much in spirit and in numbers since Elder Nunley came to our church. (I'm not at all saying that he is the reason is growing dont get me wrong. :) I'm just saying that the Lord is using him to help Little Zion.) Elder Mark has some of the sweetest grandkids you will ever meet. They will just melt your heart! I love walking in the door at church and seeing their sweet innocent smiles as they come running up to you to give you a big huge hug! :)

Just a random picture of Ms Olivia that I love haha :)

Me, Westlee, Katie and Markus went PuttPutt and then back to my house to watch movies. We had a great time! :)

Well that's all for now! Until next time Love yall! And if I dont post before the holidays but I probably will Merry Christmas! :)

Read more...

Life is good

One thing I know for sure is life is good and weekends are tooooo short.

Read more...

Rachel's Challenge

This past week my parents and I got the opportunity to go to Rachel's Challenge. For those of you who have never heard about Rachel, she is one of the people who was shot and killed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Rachel was a 17 year old who was a strong Christian and believed that she could change the world with small acts of kindness.

The Rachel’s Challenge presentations are given in schools and communities by family members as well as other speakers. They tell of Rachel's short life and her unfortunate death. During the presentation, they showed the back of Rachel's dresser, where she had traced her hands and written these words "These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will some day touch millions of people's hearts" Rachel had written this 4 years before her death. Little did Rachel know that all her hopes and dreams would come true and that she would touch millions of people's hearts with her strength.

Rachel wrote an essay shortly before her death and stated "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same.” After her death, the family recieves millions of emails from friends of Rachel's as well as complete strangers, expressing how Rachel had done just that. Rachel always looked for people who weren't in the "popular" group and became their friend. One story her uncle gave was of Rachel walking through the halls at school one day and two guys were picking on a disabled boy so Rachel ran in between them and stopped them. After her death, the disabled boy emailed the family and told them that if not for Rachel he would have committed suicide that very night because he had been planning on it prior to Rachel becoming his friend. Rachel standing up for him, gave him hope. This is just one case of Rachel's kindness and compassion for others. Can you imagine the hundred other stories that the family was emailed of people that Rachel helped? (this was Rachel's journal that she wrote in everyday. She had her many thoughts written on the outside of her journal. Such as "I will not be labeled as average")
That horrible day at Columbine, Rachel was the first one that the two student gunmen approached. After firing one shot at Rachel, which hit her in the leg, the two gunmen asked her if she still believed in God and she simply stated "You know I do!". The gunman then fired a fatal shot into Rachael's head. I ask myself, When it really comes down to it, am I strong enough in my belief that I would proudly say yes like Rachel did? Rachel, as well as many others who died at Columbine High School that day, showed extreme courage and weren't going to deny their faith in God, even if their life depended on it. On the same note, in the assembly at school, (now remember I am in a public school so the government has a say in all that goes on and what can and can't be said in our school) Rachel's uncle, who was representing Rachel's Challenge, wasn't able to say what the question Rachel was asked. I think that is very sad. What our country has come to that we aren't even able to speak freely about God. I can't even begin to explain how hearing Rachel's story and hearing about how she has changed so many peoples lives simply by being their friend.


Rachel's brother Craig was also at Columbine High School the day of the shooting and witnessed two of his friend be shot and killed right next to him. Craig said "...her love for people was less conditional than anyone I knew... It didn't matter to her what you looked like or who your friends were. Another thing I liked and respected so much was that she made it clear... what her beliefs were". Our schools would be so much better if there were more people like Rachel. I know personally for me just in the last several days I have noticed myself judging somebody by the way they are dressed or the way they act and I have stopped myself because like Rachel's uncle said there is good in everybody its up to you to look for it. He also said if somebody wants to find something wrong with a person they can but in the same way if you want to find something good in somebody you can also do that! Rachel's Challenge has had a huge impact on my life and has showed me that one act of kindness can change somebody's lives. I really felt that I should share this with you. If you want to know more about Rachel's Challenge go to http://www.rachelschallenge.org/

Read more...

5 months ago

Its crazy to think that it has already been 5 months since my big sister got married to the love of her life. So this post is for you B and Forrest!

Brittany,

Before you start reading this you might want to get your tissues out. haha :) These past 5 months have made me realize that yeah we had our tough times together but that is what made us who we are today! I miss you so much! I love when I get to spend time with you whether in Plant City or at our house in Apopka. You have been by my side for 16 years and still to this very day are at my side when I need my shish! :) You have had a huge impact on my life in ways that I cant even begin to describe. You have always been the one that I looked up to as my sister, best friend as well as a sister in the church. I always love going back and looking at pictures of us over the past 16 years growing up.

From the day I was born, you were always wanting to make sure that I look my best :) aka My Fashion Advisor :)

We have always worn our colors with pride. :) Our daddy raised us up right!

You were the best big sister, always teaching me new "big girl" things.

I will always remember the time, that me and you got sent to our rooms because we were having just too good of a time together laughing. :)

I loved the days when I got to go to the same school as you. And of course you cant forget the wonderful first day of school pictures every year! I miss those now!

You were always filled with smiles and encouragement whenever I had a big accomplishment in my life.

The day you graduated was one of the biggest days of your lives. Thought you would never make it through! haha JK. You went through high school with the most positive outlook on life and you may not have realized it then but every move you made I was watching you because you were the person that I looked up to.

You were there for me when I need a big sister to make me look "pretty"

You were always willing to be my model for our many random afternoon photoshoots we had. :)

We got a little crazy some times! :) You were always keeping me laughing even when I wasnt in the best mood!

You have been so awesome in including me in all of your wedding stuff.

Thanks for giving me the best brother-in-law I could ever ask for!

I love you B! Thanks for being the best big sister!

Read more...

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my favorite brother-in-law, Forrest!

This post goes out to you man! Love you! Hope you have an awesome time turning 22 for the fourth time! haha. :) You are the best old man! hehe. Sorry you know I had to bro! lol

You are such a goof ball and are always making me crack up laughing at the crazy stuff you do.

You have become the brother that I never had. And thats for sure! ;)

Check back in a few days for a special post dedicated to Britt and Forrest! :)

Read more...

A week of amazing family and friends

So a few weeks ago, I was able to finally spend a week in Plant City with my awesome sister and my even more awesome brother in law! Sorry B nothing against you its just ya know Forrest is my bro! ;) So anyways, I will give you a play by play of each day that I was done there.

On Monday, I went to Chuck-E-Cheese with Britt and the kids she nannies for and then after that I spent the rest of the day with my Borrowed Big Sister Kelly, and my man Jim and of course you cant forget my sweet baby boy Joshua! I had a great time! I enjoyed just hanging around the house and watching Joshua while Kelly got some stuff done. It's such an awesome experience to be a part of a baby's life and watch him grow. I remember when he couldn't even hold his head up by himself for pictures, and when he just got to where he could hold his bottle and now his crawling and eating solid food and clapping and the whole shabang! Where has the time gone! Joshua you arent supposed to grow up that fast! Your Aunt Beffie says you have to stay a baby you cant grow up and become a teenage that thinks they know everything! haha. ;) It was so great to talk to Kelly and have a great conversation about what I was going through. Our conversations really hit me hard and made me realize that maybe mom was right all along! hehe. ;) Sometimes all it takes is someone else to say what your momma has been saying all along for it to finally click and for that lightbulb in your head to cut on. :)

Me and my hero Barney :)

Bella is so cute!

I Love Joshua so much! He is my sweet baby! :) I'm proud to be his "aunt bethany"

So Monday night, a bunch of us met up at Pizza Hut for dinner and then headed over to go bowling. We had a great time even though the mean old manly lady.......person/thing kicked us out at 9 because there computers werent "working" Oh man I wont even try to begin to explain that one! haha.

Us after bowling. (kelly and sister suzy didnt get in the picture)

ahh! I love this picture! It looks cool!
On Tuesday, Kelsey and me took a tour of downtown Plant City and got some awesome pictures! I had so much fun just spending the day with my girl and catching up! She has been nothing short of a true friend ever since we became close. We are always cracking up laughing at each other and the stupid stuff we do. I love it when we can just look at each other and pretty much know what the other one is thinking. lol Here are some of my favorites from the day! Check out the link to my facebook at the bottom of the post, where you can view all of the pictures from the week!

Country girl.

Small Town Girl.

& Classy girl. :)

On Wednesday, I spent the day with my shish (aka my sister) and went to work with her. We took the kids to the Splash Zone that they have in Fishhawk! That place is so awesome! I always love hanging out with Brittany! It reminds me of old times and our shopping excursions! :) Dont cry B! haha :) I love you and miss you! I only wish that we lived closer to you or hey I wouldnt mind living 5 minutes from you! That would be great too! ;) The Splash Zone. Its awesome :)

On Thursday I hung out B again and went shopping with her and then that night I got a chance to hang out with Justin and Jared. I always have a good time when I am hanging out with them! They are like my brothers and I always know that they have my back! I didnt take any pictures that night. :-/

On Friday, well we didnt do much on Thursday I guess! We went out to the barn and got to see Delilah and I rode her. Brittany didnt want to get dirty so she decided to just watch! lol :) Some things never change! ;)

Me and Lexie. :) Me on Delilah :)

Here is the link to all of the pictures from my summer that I spent in the Plant City. Enjoy. :))
As for me I start school on Monday so i'm not sure how much blogging I will get done when school starts. We will have to see.

Read more...

Summertime at the Ulmers

So it has been forever since I posted. That means that this post will probably be long. I will try to give a quick summary of all of the happenings in the Ulmer House.

July 3rd was quite an eventful day in numerous ways. To begin with it was Mom's birthday so Grandpa took me and mom out to Gaylord Palms for the day to have lunch and walk around and take pictures. We got to the gaylord palms and was blown away by the amazing scenery and waterfalls. We ate lunch at a really nice buffet. It was amazing! Then while mom and grandpa sat at the table and talked I went around and took pictures of all the awesome stuff they have! It is such an awesome place to learn how to take pictures and work with angles and shadows! Later in the post you will see what I mean when I show some pictures of the day that me and Kayla went to Gaylord Palms and took pictures of each other.

So back to Mom's birthday! After I was done taking pictures I went back to get mom and grandpa so we could get some pictures of us together. As we went to take a picture the day took a sudden turn for the worse when my grandpa fell backwards and hit a rock and his defibulator shocked him back to life. Wow that was.......well i dont even know the words to describe what all emotions and thoughts were going through my head at that time! Long story short the ambulance came and took him to the hospital and he got some stitches and 2 days after he was back home to normal life going 90 mph. (I guess that's where I got my hard head from lol ) They always say that you want to make your birthday memorable well Mom can deffinitely say that she had a memorable birthday without a doubt! :)
I love this picture!

One of the numerous waterfalls.

Yummo!

Me helping Mom attempt to eat her ginormous birthday ice cream sundae deliciousness they brought her! lol

The birthday girl.
So the next day, we swung right back around and got ready for 4th of July and everybody coming over. We had a great time all together. As time goes on it gets harder and harder for everybody to get together except on holidays so its always good when it does happen. While we missed Forrest because he was working we did enjoy Brittany being able to come down for the day. I love spending any chance I get with Brittany! I miss her so much and when I'm away from her I dont even realize how much I miss her but when I'm with her it all comes flooding back and I realize just how much fun it is to be around her. I love you B! :)

I thought this was a cool picture of the fireworks that we were shooting off and then the bigger ones that the neighbors were shooting off in the background! :)

Anytime we are all together we always break out the Wii.

If you want entertainment just have Britt play somebody in boxing. you can count on Britt to give you a good laugh. She gets so into it! Those of you who have witnessed this can relate with me.

Jeff came over for 4th of July too! :)
The next weekend I went down to Plant City and got to spend some time with Brittany and mom shopping and I also got a chance to hang out with Kelsey! I love hanging out with her! She is such a great friend and sister! She never fails to make me smile! We went to The Pottery Patch and it was really fun! It was great to catch up with Kelsey but at the same time being doing something. :)

Here is my "masterpiece"

We had to get a picture of the two of us before the night was over of course :)

Okay so moving on the next event in the Ulmer house, me and Kayla (a good friend of mine that shares the passion for photography as me) went to Gaylord Palms for the day and learn so much. we took each others pictures and learned all about angles and shadows and all that photography mumbo-jumbo that makes the picture "pop"! :) So I have posted my favorites below but if you want to see all of them check out my album on facebook with all the pictures from that day. :)

We also took a weekend trip to Valdosta, Georgia to visit momma's family! I always love going up there! Its so relaxing just to sit out on the porch on the swing in the oh so wonderful Georgia heat! ;) We had a great time! Once again I wont bore you with all the details because I still have ALOT more to blog about! haha.

Yeah my crazy Aunt Cheryl.


Daddy holding Peyton. He didnt want to "break" her because she was so tiny! :)

Me and Trey.

We have always been pretty close growing up but i think as we get older we get closer and closer! I love messing around with him he is like my little brother!

Little Union's meeting was also recently. As always we had an awesome time up there! Ahh I could sit here and write out every detail that I can remember but if I were to do that this post would be EVEN more lengthy that what it already is. :( Check out the album if you want to see the pictures from the meeting. :)

Last week I went to Rock Springs with Kendra and Jeff and met up with a bunch of old friends that I went to elementary school with at my private school but hadnt seen in years. It was great to see them! We had alot of fun! This kid is crazy!

I love Kendra! She has been nothing short of the greatest friend and has been right next to me when i need her. :)

Me and Kendra.

This past week I spent down in Plant City! yay! :) I had an awesome time and it was a much needed visit! There is no greater feeling than to be able to freely talk to with brothers and sisters in the church about things you are going through in your life at the time. I have been blessed not only to have such an awesome church family at my home church, Little Zion, but also to have such a strong and amazing church family at Little Union. Special thanks to Kelly for your girl talks! You rock Borrowed Big Sister! :) Love you! There is so much that happened when i was done there so i will probably try to dedicate a whole post to the week later on. But for now here are the pictures from the week for you to look at. As if you didnt already have an overload of pictures from me to look at. ;)

Oh one more thing and I promise I will done! In the past few months Little Zion has been extremely blessed! Elder Mark Nunley is such a blessing to our church. You will not find a sweeter man than him. We have also had 3 new members at Little Zion. Please continue to keep Little Zion in your prayers as we continue to serve the Lord as well as the other central florida churches that are searching for a pastor. Also I know of numerous people who I love so much that are looking for jobs right now so please keep all those that are trying to support their family in your prayers as well.

Read more...