december

My life flows on in endless song

Above earth's lamentation.

I hear the real, though far off hymn

That hails the new creation

Above the tumult and the strife,

I hear the music ringing;

It sounds an echo in my soul

How can I keep from singing?

What through the tempest loudly roars,

I hear the truth, it liveth.

What through the darkness round me close,

Songs in the night it giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that rock I'm clinging.

Since love is lord of Heaven and earth

How can I keep from singing?

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,

And hear their death-knell ringing,

When friends rejoice both far and near,

How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile

Our thoughts to them are winging.

When friends by shame are undefiled,

How can I keep from singing?

It has been one crazy December. Looking back, i'm kind of missing the performing everyday! (although it is quite nice to have a life...) I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to share my most favorite thing with so many people. I can say with all confidence that SINGING with my family, friends, classmates; in church, school, rest homes, family parties, ward parties... (maybe a little too many ward parties) brought me the most joy this december. I love it! I have to ask myself everyday-- HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?

discovery

my friend introduced me to a gem on youtube. it was a great discovery! her name is Kina Grannis and every week she posts a video blog, and covers a different song. I love her song choices and her unique voice. I hope you enjoy! Look her other videos up on youtube--there are just too many good ones to post!

this is one that her sisters do harmony on. I really liked it!

Dear Everyone

Have you noticed how Bailey has not posted on her blog since August? I have. So I decided to take some action (with her permission, of course). Here are a few things Bay has been working on since August:

• Reading long novels for AP Literature
• Being a captain on the swim team, which requires waking up at all hours of the morning
• Planning a bang-up Homecoming at Olympus
• Going to Cali for her birthday
• Furiously rehearsing for the school musical, The Music Man
• Diligently designing, editing, advertising and photographing for the Yearbook
• Playing with friends, and doing dangerous things like shotgun shooting
• Studying and supporting as a proud Seminary Council member (...she wears her wristband with PRIDE)
• Owning the school
• Living at the school
• Running the school

Sometimes I see her. Like yesterday, for example: she was getting out of the shower as I was getting in, and then I didn't see her again until about 11 at night. But that's how we roll.

Bailey is a pretty jazzy kid.

love, Brynn

summer...come and gone.

i've kind of been lacking in the blogging this summer. here's a glimpse of what it has been like. (no specific order)

the good:

• GHA
• Last Day of School at Amy's
  
• Youth Conference
• New Clothes/Shoes
• Hebgen
• Summer Nights with Friends
• Typhoons from Island Flavor
• 4th of July Fireworks in Holladay
  
• Bountiful Parade, Fireworks, and Carnival over the 24th
• New Music
• Haircut
• Motorcycling with Dad
• Getting up on the Wakeboard
• Singing
• Harry Potter 6 midnight showing
  
• Brynn coming home from Africa
• Sitting in the car with my friends, in my driveway, talking. and talking. (i think i have had this experience with just about everyone)
• Buying green 'olympus' skinny jeans and 'olympus titan' chapstick
• Hiking in arches, zions, kolob, and bryce canyons
• Seminary Council
• Taking Pictures
• Meeting lots of new friends
  

the bad:

• procrastinating reading Jane Eyre (I told myself I wasn't going to do it this summer but here we are the last week and I still haven't finished)
• having to leave GHA
• work (I discovered that lifeguarding is quite boring--but hey its a job!)
• having my ipod not work (it's ok mom)
  
• not exercising nearly enough
• worrying about the yearbook
• and i can't really think of any more of the bad...at least not at the moment.
  

well thats good. more good things than bad. i guess that means it's been a pretty fun and successful summer. Now senior year, PLEASE START!! PLEASE.

be prepared

Yesterday while lifeguarding at the club, I noticed a little girl using 4 different flotation devices. She had the infamous "water wings" on, sitting on a noodle, with a bright pink inner tube over her body, holding a large pink disney princess beach ball. Really? I thought. Ok, I can understand the water wings, but do you need that many air filled devices to keep you floating? Now I know the girl wasn't using all of those toys for the sole reason of keeping her from drowning. In fact, I think she had the most fun of all playing on her noodles and tubes. I had to laugh to myself a little as I watched her throughout the afternoon. After a while, I thought to myself: You know what? Life's too short to not be prepared. Might as well have enough support to always have your head above water.

I might consider buying a bright pink inner tube.

back home

hiking at zions

I'm back from cedar city with many new adventures, friends, and lessons learned. GHA was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life, and I can't wait to share the ten days with everyone. so be checking in soon for more in depth posts about all of the fun times!

the ups and downs of lifeguarding

let me play out a little scenario I experienced this week:
Tuesday, June 2

Sara: Hey lets go check out the schedule to see when we are guarding this week!
Bailey: OK Sara great idea, lets go!

Sara: Hey look there is a private party on Thursday we could work...do you want to?
Bailey: Yeah lets do it! I worked this family's party last year and it was pretty low key.
Sara: Perfect! That means we will just be able to sit by the pool and talk while we watch a few kids.
Bailey: Yeah, it might actually be kind of relaxing!
Thursday, June 4

6:00 Bailey and Sara arrive at the club.
Mom: Hi thanks so much for doing this!
4 kids hop in the pool
Sara and Bailey think: perfect!

7:00 Mom: OK so my daughter invited her whole sixth grade to come for a little end of school party, but I don't expect there to be a lot.
7:05- 100 sixth graders jump in the pool
7:05-10:30 p.m. pure chaos. no breaks.

Sara and Bailey: how many times do kids have to be told to stay off the rope, don't run, not to hang on the diving board?! i think we reached a record high.

I don't think sara has fully forgiven me.

At least we got a tip.

one crazy week before summer...

this week has been a whirlwind.
I have had yearbook, sem council, homecoming, and ensemble stuff!
but it's been well worth it.
mostly because summer is almost here.
the fact that i only went to one class today might mean that it's even closer than I think.
thank goodness.

I Resolve to Lead by Example

"A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not."- anonymous

As the school year comes to a close, I have been thinking a lot about leadership. I am surrounded by so many great examples--family members, friends, neighbors, schoolmates. I am constantly amazed at all they can accomplish. How do they do it?! I am so excited to attend the Governor's Honors Academy this summer and learn more about this important principle. Hopefully it will help me prepare for the many leadership positions I will hold this coming year. I have been inspired to become a better leader by the many examples I have to look up to. Many of these people may never know the influence they have had on me, but I certainly hope that I can use their wisdom, creativity, courage, and kindness to become a better leader myself.

"bailey...what are you doing tonight?"

studying.

i've always wished...

that people would just randomly break out into song and dance in real life.
then i found these videos and decided that there still might be hope for my wish to come true!

this one is pure genius!



this one is just a favorite. so clever.

tour

my roomies and i soaking our feet after a long day at disneyland

DISNEYLAND

California was so beautiful! I had so much fun. It was NOT fun to come back to Utah from 80 degree weather but i'm surviving.

My favorite things were:

• the bus rids there
• the beach
• indiana jones at disneyland
• late nights (more like early mornings) with my roomies
• performing at st. edmunds
• listening to peter vidmar
• phantom
• creating new friendships
• free time on sunday
• high school exchange

Oh yeah... and the sunglasses made their comeback. :)

spring...

i think it's here!

new motto

many of you probably noticed a new quote on the sidebar of my blog, but i would like to elaborate. this phrase has become my new motto! Why is she sharing this with me you might ask... well because this is a new resolution that i am starting right here right now. i am going to have an attidute of happiness. i am going to be positive. this quote has inspired me to put forth the effort, and become the person i choose to be. so i guess this means from now on i will have to make 'b' days the best days of the week (at the moment i loathe 'b' days) wish me luck on this new endeavor--- it might be a struggle! the truth: being happy is so much easier than being miserable.

"happiness is an attitude. we either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. the amount of work is the same."

hail olympus, proudly we all salute you

THE O-ZONE Preparing for the game

Well it was a good run for olympus in the state tournament.
We should have gone all the way! But, I guess that's just how life works. It was really fun to be with all of the students to watch the games though! And I guess one good thing came out of it...I memorized all of the words to the school song.

Makes You Smile

this is a movie that a friend gave to me a few weeks ago, and I just barely got around to watching it. it made me want to be a more optimistic person! Enjoy.

cute

Oh Lyvia. She's the cutest!

the heart of the matter

These are the lyrics to a new song i've discovered. I thought they were really cool and insightful!

I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck,
And all the struggles we went through
How I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?

I've been learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning them again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
And people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
And the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work they put between us,
You know it doesn't keep us warm

I've been trying to live without you now
But I miss you, baby
The more I know, the less I understand
And all the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my heart is so shattered
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

All the people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down, you know they hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; cause life goes on
You keep carryin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside

I wanna be happily ever after
And my heart is so shattered
But I know it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if you don't love me anymore

Catch the Cone

I love my friends. When we're sitting around on a Saturday night we think-- Why not find a lone traffic cone on the side of the road and spray paint it, write on it, and drop it off on the porch another friend? So... why not? We are also all about tradition so we consider--Why not make sure that the cone gets passed from porch to porch, from friend to friend, until everyone has caught the cone? I guess this might mean that it could cause the occasional boys vs. girls prank going on- but a traffic cone? Thats brilliant! Good Times. (and its about as rebellious as i get.)

kitchen gadgets

The other night I went over to my friend Sara's house and made crepes. But not just any crepe's .... they were made with the COOLEST crepe maker ever! You simply place the crepe maker in the batter flip it over, wait a few minutes and viola! You have a perfectly round, perfectly thin crepe. YUM! Then it got me thinking about all of the other cool kitchen gadgets I love. Here are a few:
-The infamous RED spatula. It can scoop, stir, and especially spread with ease.
-The newest addition to the utensil drawer is the Sandwich Spreader and Cutter it spreads mayo neatly, and then has a serrated edge so you can cut your sandwich! How Brilliant!
-The Cocoa Latte is what I like to call pure bliss. For a perfect mug of hot chocolate, it will heat up AND froth your cocoa.
-The Bagel Cutter makes bagel cutting simple and easy and requires little effort. All you have to do is stick the bagel in the slot and put the top on and it cuts right through!
-The Silicone Basting Brush brushes melted butter on rolls and breadsticks like a champ.
-Last, but certainly not least, is the heavy duty Pizza Cutter. Not only can this be used to cut pizza, but if you ever had a burglar in the house, its heavy enough to use as a weapon of self defense!