Old Oak Tree

I love this harbor and it means so much to me

i've been most everywhere, there's no else i'd rather be.

then here with you

beneath the stars.

and this old tree

Every year the Peterson family gets together somewhere for a family reunion.

For the past 3 years we have been coming to the lovely destination of

Hilton Head Island, SC

Can you say beautiful?

Best kept secret? I think yes...

I have been coming here since i was a little girl.

i remember the houses, the memories, the good ole times.

I want to be little again!

..........

So there's this guy.

His name is Gregg Russell.

Going on 30-something years performing by the lighthouse under the big oak tree.

All the little kids gather round, ready to listen to this guy sing silly songs.

Songs about Unicorns, Tennessee, and Alligators.

he always wears the same shirt.

its always a Tommy Bahama looking kind of shirt.

That looks the same. Every. Single. Time.

It funny cause he has always said the same things

over

and over

and over again

ever since I could remember.

You can almost finish his sentence cause you know whats coming.

*The jokes about the Ohio vans.

*The bubblegum cruise

*The giant yacht next to the stage

*The "yuppy" names

*"Do not raise your hand, unless you wanna sing"

*"What do you want to be when you grow up? "A firefighter" "And whats the most important thing to know when your a firefighter? "Whatever you do, don't pee.."

the spooky lighthouse with the kid locked in the bathroom

the questions he asks like: "how many steps are there to get to the top of the lighthouse?"

answer: 114.

then he asks: "how many to get down from the lighthouse?"

answer: 114...

You always know whats coming.

A long time ago, in 1996. Morgan, my brother, was called up by Mr. Russell to sing a song. He probably had the best sign or sat the quietest (yeah, right) to earn his 30 seconds of fame up there in the spotlight!

Out of all the songs in the world he could sing... guess what he sang...

you know that song in The Parent Trap, "LOVE"?

Yep, thats it.

L-is for the way you look, at me

O-is for the only one i see

V-is very very, extraordinary

E-is even more than anyone that you adore and

LOVE- is all that i can give to you...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

Funny kid. Still is!

So thank you Gregg Russell for all the great memories you have brought here to Harbor Town!

Well when i started here, in Harbor Town,

Elvis was still alive.

Taylor Swift wasn't born yet.

and i was only 5.

my friends all think that i'm corny.

but kids think that i'm cool.

my banker thinks that i'm brilliant

i think my momma,

didn't raise no fool.

The Lighthouse

There were green alligators, and long necked geese.

humptyback camels, and some chimpanzees,

cats

and

rats

and

elephants

as soon as your born

but the loveliest of all was the

unicorn.

My Love. er

ATTENTION: all tyler ward fans

ok, I would just like to point out to everyone, that i am marrying this guy.

ok? so back off.

please and thank you :)

...........................................................

Tyler Ward.

music producer and recording artist.

mmmmm

Known for his amazing covers and originals on YouTube and his dashing good looks Tyler sure has earn himself a title! He's an incredible musician who has all the goods.

Plays Guitar

Plays Piano

Can sing like no fool.

Creates amazing tracks for all of us to enjoy!

and who knows, he could play the freakin' trombone!

All i can say is that i'm a huge fan and watch your new videos the second they pop up on my subscription box!

Hopefully i will be able to come visit you in Denver and record something with you within the next year!

I Love You Tyler

(oh and if your reading this, just know i think i'm just as obsessed with you as you are with Taylor Swift)

Ha Ha Ha!

A Remarkable Man, With Remarkable Words

"Girls, Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you the freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are you will not go wrong, that you will beimmensely happy...True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Hayley Stayner

A while back, last school year, I was searching YouTube high and low for an awesome cover of Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. I was thinking about singing this song for Open Mic at my school.

After weeding out all the lame posers i came across Hayley Stayner.

She was awesome!

(She had dyed her hair in this video)

I decided to dig a little deeper.

Stalk a little.

This is the video that caught my eye.

What a singer!

Wow!

Turns out she is an aspiring 17 year old LDS girl who lives in California.

I was going through her video's and recognized the stage she was singing on.

Turns out she had performed at the Especially For Youth Variety Show!

This is my favorite original song she has.

It tells such a great story.

I still listen to this song all the time.

Just thought I'd share :)

Someday List

Lately i have been thinking a lot about what i want to see, do, eat, or create before I die.

I immediately started to think about traveling.

I want to travel the world.

{So bad}

All over.

Every continent.

Every amazing thing out there.

I want to see it with my own eyes.

Take a picture standing next to the longest standing statue or building ever created in history.

Be seen standing next to a standing guard in London, England.

Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Touch the Great Wall of China.

Feel the breeze of the ocean in Bora Bora.

Toss my Camp Longhorn merit or lucky coin in the Trevey Fountain in Rome.

Sit on the rooftop of an old building in Greece with my husband at my side.

See the scenery of New Zealand's spectacular mountainous horizon.

You name it. I want to do it all.

Then my brain started to take off.

I started asking myself some simple questions like...

What spontaneous things do i want to say that i did when i'm up in Heaven?
What cool adventure will everyone say they wish they did when they were alive?

I started to think about wreck less, extreme measures.

Thought about skydiving- I would chicken out. (hey, at least i'll own up to it)

Thought about swimming with sharks- nope don't mess with ocean animals.

Thought about bungy jumping off a giant bridge- with my luck the rope would break, and would die trying.

Then there was dun bugging in the desert- me and sand do go well together.

Thought about cliff jumping- knowing me i wouldn't jump far enough. - splat!

Thought about motorcycling down a mega hill.- the breaks would go out, OR SOMETHING!

Then i decided i didn't want to do anything that extreme. Well, maybe one or two. :)

but other than that.

That kinda of stuff's not really my forte.

Then the wheels kept turning and turning.

How about some random acts of kindness? Service.

Giving a heartfelt surprise to someone I care deeply about.

Offer my service for a humanitarian cause like working in an orphanage in Peru for 3 weeks (which is gonna be checked off the list summer 2011)

Help someone off the street by giving them food and shelter.

Make an effort to help out a stranger.

Or maybe writing a fat check to a charity or organization anonymously.

Then there were of course to silly. stupid. pointless. careless things i want to do:

Ride in the back of a cop car.

Fly in a hot air balloon.

Sneak out late at night.

Go on a blind date.

Study Abroad.

Live in a different country for at least 6 months.

Fly a kite.

Fly first class.

Go on a planned picnic.

Go star gazing in the back of a pickup truck.

Fall in love.

Go to/throw a fantasy costume party.

Try out for American Idol.

Go skinny dippin'.

Be a member of an audience of a tv show.

Shower in a waterfall.

Send a message in a bottle.

Go to a real rodeo.

Go a major league baseball game.

(even though i hate baseball)

Go completley brunette, again.

These are just a couple of silly things i have thought of.

By the time im 100 years old i will have done all these things.

Plus all the crazy and wild things that are yet to come!

But there is no time to waste.

Gotta go off and check one off the list!

Well Said...

Quit Your Job.

Buy A Ticket.

Get A Tan.

Fall In Love.

Never Return.

Saw this on the back of a t-shirt when i was visiting the British Virgin Islands.

Thought it was great.

Click Here To Buy!

Baby, Whatcha Say We Go Pickin' Wild Berries!

The Randle's were in town visiting and we all wanted to go do something fun.

Anything put the typical movie, chuck-e-cheese, or pool.

Jordan and her family had gone to this farm in Hendersonville a couple weeks before and thought it would be a great idea to go again!

We rounded up all the kiddies and then we're off!

We Were Off To The Farm!

Mission Evacuation

In order to get to the British Virgin Islands, we had to overnight in Atlanta.

Some confusing things happened and we ended up having to over night 2 nights. One night at the Sheraton, and the secondt Westin.

The whole day was super stressful and we all wanted to get some rest and relax in our rooms.

But not for long..

At around 10:30 pm, me and Reagan are watch Titanic on the TV. And we are at the part when they were all leaving the ship in all the chaos. It was loud, and crazy. We heard a siren going off, but not thinking anything of it, we just thought it was in the movie. That makes sense right?

We thought so too..

All of the sudden we get a call from the guy at the reception desk saying these words exacally:

"Everyone please stay calm, but can you please evacuate the building immediately"

GREAT!

Just what we needed.

I stayed calm, surprisingly, but Reagan and McKay on the other hand-weren't.

I immediatly called my dad to see what was going on, asking him if we needed to take our bags with us. He said no, but i of course ignored him and grabbed my bags.

We rushed outside to the hallways, where other residents were panicing.

No one could find the exit!!!

We eventually found it and rushed down 9 flights of stairs to ground level.

We met up with Morgan and Dad outside they were on a different floor than me) and immediately smelled smoke of some sort.

Outside were tons of firetrucks, and cop cars.

It was insane!

After about 30 minutes we were sent back inside and it was no problem.

But it sure was a night full of excitement!