Take Two: 2010

Dominican Republic August 2010: an amazing trip for the second time. I was given the opportunity to return to the D.R. after I graduated from middle school. I was just about to enter into my freshman year and I was so excited to return and see some of the same kids I had seen the summer before. Going back again helped further my faith experience with God.

This trip was a time for me to move out of the stages of junior high and enter into the life of a high schooler. This trip no one got sick and we thanked God every day for that. For my first trip I didn't have that many of my friends so it was easier to make new ones and not make it an experience with friends. 

As I was on my second missions trip I felt more like a professional than the rest of my friends. This trip I also brought along my younger brother who was going to be going into seventh grade. He had never done anything like this before. In the few months before the trip we discovered a small heart condition that my brother, Cody, had.  It caused him to pass out if he wasn't drinking enough water or eating enough nutritional food. We notified the youth pastor who was in charge of the trip and he became worried.

My mother's exact words to him when we found out was, "Cody had a heart condition. He might pass out on you, but don't worry Kelsey will know what to do." As any adult would feel nervous if they were taking someone else's kid to a third world country and leaving his health in the hands of his thirteen year old sister would feel. He was terrified. Through this experience my brother survived and nothing went wrong, with his health anyway.
In the end we all returned safely and we spread the good news of the Lord to everyone we met. We played card games and other sorts of games to strengthen our relationship with each other as a group. We learned that even the words balloon animal could bring the biggest joy to the children with nothing.
This second trip really opened up my eyes to see the world as it was. While visiting the boys orphanage the older boys made sure the younger ones received the gifts and the most attention. Those children had nothing and they were wiling to receive nothing in order for the younger ones to get more. I knew I wouldn't be visiting again till many years later so it was bittersweet to leave, but I returned home with a better idea of how I needed to live my life.

Life Lesson #11: All the possessions in the world will never make you truly happy.

The Hoffman Family In Hawaii

My next destination was to paradise.  February, 2009 my family an I ventured to the beautiful state of Hawaii. I had never see a tropical island before and the volcanos and black sand were a surprise.  The flight was long but once I looked down from the sky it was worth every hour of sitting in-between my two brothers.


We sent most of the vacation in Maui where we witnessed several different climates.  We spent most of the time in the tropical weather, but we saw the rainforest and even snow while at the peak of one of the extinct volcanos.  We also traveled to the Oahu and the Big Island.

First Time Seeing Black Sand

I saw lava pouring into the ocean, experienced hawaiian cuisine, and got pictures worth ten thousand words.  I walked in a lava tube from a volcano that helped create the Hawaiian Islands.  I got to go whale watch and snorkeling in Crescent Island and saw all different sea creatures. There was sharks swimming around me and even a giant sea turtle the same size as me swam under me.

In A Lava Tub

I saw wondrous things that pictures cannot do it justice.  This vacation was like none I ever had before.  I got to stand next to a blow hole in the earth.  Get splashed by a jumping Orca.  I got to swim with sharks and most importantly I spent it with my family.  The week I spent away from school and all the worries of seventh grade was the most relaxing time I ever had.

Hawaii is a place filled with so much culture and historical value.  I saw where Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and heard the stories of the people who lived through it and those who didn't.  The coral reefs were amazing and everything about the state of Hawaii was so wonderful I can't wait to visit again.

Life Lesson #5: The legacy of heroes lost to tragedies still impact people today.

Packing My Bags for the 12th Time

Listen to this song while reading this blog post:

The For Sale Sign in AZ

"Kids please come here," my parents said to my two brothers and I.  Once we sat down the news that destroyed my childhood come forth.
"We are moving again.  This time it's to New Jersey on the east coast," my dad said calmly.
"Oh and we are sorry Kelsey the moving date is your ninth birthday," my mom added.
I sat still for a few moments in shock then I screamed, "Why do you want to ruin our lives."  I ran out of our living room to my bedroom and slammed the door and thought to myself. 'This is our twelfth move, time to start packing my bags again.'

Temporary Room in New Jersey

Most kids grow up in one house for their whole childhood. Well lucky for me I'm not most kids. In 2005 my family and I began to pack all our stuff into as few boxes as possible and move across the United States. My parents explained to us that our house in New Jersey wasn't built yet for us to live in it so we had to stay in an apartment until it was ready. Most of our belongs were going into storage and we only kept the essentials.

Room In Arizona

After moving around so much as a kid I got used to all the brown moving boxes that permanently inhabited my house. This was the twelve time moving and we didn't even move into the whole we currently live in now. My parents dragged my brothers and I across country to live in a tiny three bedroom and one bathroom apartment. The day they chose to do this also happened to be my ninth birthday.

This move also caused me to give up my friends, my bunk bed, my desk (the movers broke it), a ninth birthday party, swim team, Sonic, and Texas Roadhouse. Some of the things I lost I eventually regained after a few years but it was still hard. I loved living in Arizona and I knew that this move would separate me from my childhood friends forever. I was angry about the whole idea of moving again but by now I was used to it.

My emotions about moving

Boxes filled the apartment and the only thing to do was unpack to then repack them in a few months. The move across country wasn't the worst part until school started. I went to a local public elementary school as I started fourth grade. From the very first day I earned the nickname 'four eyed brace face new girl.'  I didn't say a word to these kids but my looks and my clothes that were not name brand like theirs earned me torment for the next two years.  I had only live in New Jersey for a few months but I already wanted to move away even if it meant across country again.

Life Lesson #3: No matter how many times you move packing  and leaving a part of your life behind doesn't get easier.

Canyons, Forest, Deserts, and Dams

The Grand Canyon

The thoughtful pose of me looking out into creation would be one of the last things to visit in Arizona. The moment I looked out and 

saw the Grand Canyon I knew there was for sure no way that this earth was created by accident. The very idea of this huge canyon happening because of pure coincidence is hard for me to believe. 

The Canyon itself is unique with the different layers of color because of erosion. There is a river that runs at the base of the canyon that goes for 277 miles. The Grand Canyon is up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep.  Common sense tells us that if you were to fall you would be a goner.

This trip was the first of my goodbyes to the state of Arizona and its people. The Grand Canyon is a prized tourist destination for people from around the world but to the natives is was a treasured piece of history. The picture on the left hand side is of me and my dad in front of the beautiful landscape.

Seeing one of the Seven Wonders of The World is not an ordinary experience it really takes you breath away. Even though I will always be smaller then most things in nature I'm still more important. Saying goodbye was hard but leaving this view was harder.

The Petrified Forest

The Petrified Forest is not filled with your usually greenery. The same weekend we ventured there to see another amazing place that could only be explained by God. The trees were no longer the ones you find in your backyard or at you neighborhood park. No instead they were petrified wood and became like rocks.


These two pictures show what the trees turned into over time. They created interesting shapes and even fossilized things. This place is amazing and pictures don't do it justice. Touching a tree that now looks like a rock is something the internet can't give you.






The Painted Dessert
Our next stop was to the painted dessert. Much like the Grand Canyon it was colorful and included many different layers of dirt. This area originally got it's name because when an explorer came upon this land he say the colors of the sunset in the hills. 

The whole trip was filled with amazement an color. Leaving a place like this was never going to be easy. The hills are made up of many different kinds of dirt causing the many different color variations.





The Hoover Dam
The final destination on our goodbye tour to Arizona was the Hoover Dam. It was once know as the Boulder Dam. It is a concrete arch-gravity design in the Black Canyon. The Dam sits on the Colorado River on the border of Arizona and Nevada.

Now, in this picture on the left hand side shows me and my two brothers along with my mom.  But, if you look behind us there is something much more interesting.  The tour guide told us to look at how there is that whiter area on the cliffs close to the water.  That line shows us where the water usually is.  But like most dessert areas drought occurs.



Throughout that whole goodbye tour with my family I saw wondrous things. Places that pictures don't do justice, especially if they were taken back in 2005. Each place has unique things about it.  Tune in next week to find out where I'll go next and what I'll learn along the way.  

Fun Fact # 1: Arizona is a place where if it's a clear day you can see landscape features from about 100 miles away.

Life Lesson #2: You will always be smaller than the world but you are more important to God then all of it combined together.

One World, Two Disney's, and Space Travel

It all started with an excited scream... My parents had just told me that we were going to Disney World, Kennedy Space Center, and then we were going to go to Disney Land.  It is every child's dream to go to at least one of the Disney parks during their life time.  Many sick children use their one wish to go to Disney.  I was lucky enough to get to go to both within a short period of time.

The first stop Disney World, second stop Kennedy Space Center.  Walt Disney World is locate in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.  The theme park adventures include Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.  The water parks are called Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.  

During our stay my two brothers and I wanted to go to as much as we could.  After making the cross-country trip we started right away.  We took pictures with every Disney character we saw and even watched a star wars parade along with a reenactment of a scene from one of the movies.

We were transferred into a magical place where dreams really do come true.I rode as many roller coasters as might height would allow.  The Mad Tea Party ride was probably a big favorite in my family based on the amount of times my dad almost threw up from going in circles for hours on end.  Once my dad put and end to the spinning tea cup parade we found and even more exciting ride. 

"It's a Small World" is not a roller coaster but is an exciting adventure for a little kid who indeed understands the idea of a 'small world.'  It's a boat ride that travels from different places with young children singing the same song.  It's really cute the first time through but after the tenth time of listening to the same song sung by little children parents get annoyed really quickly.

My first Disney World adventure soon came to a close when we ventured off to see outer space.  The Kennedy Space Center is located just outside Orlando, Florida.  I got to see my very first space ship and see amazing pictures of the night sky.  Even though Mickey Mouse wasn't there the whole NASA part was awesome.

Once we finished our time on the East Coast my parents took us back home.  But our adventures with Mickey were not yet complete.  Five months later it was time to visit him again.  Though Disneyland only has two parks and is much smaller it is still an awesome experience to visit.  Disney Land is located in Anaheim, California.

This time we were forced to stay away from the spinning tea cups and "it's a small word."  Instead we located Frontierland, Splash Mountain (too short to even get wet but went on), Space Mountain, and Mickey and Minnie's houses. 

My brothers and I were usually to short to go on most of the roller coaster but we still had fun while meeting even more Disney characters and eating dinner with them.  All in all it was a really great experience to visit both parks.  I got to experience different cultures through Epcot and see what it would be like as an astronaut.

Life Lesson #1: No Matter where you're from, as a child dreams really can come true!