Not Sure What To Call This!

WOW! Summer is over half way done. I have been really busy with everything, and haven't had much of a chance to get on the computer and update everyone with what is going on in my life!

So, to start off with, basketball finished in the end of June. :( On the last two days of basketball camp, I started feeling really sick. This sick feeling lasted up until just last week. After two trips to the doctors office, and one trip to Urgent Care, I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis, or "the kissing disease." Fortunately, I am feeling much better now and only had it for around 3 weeks (that is a very short time to have it considering most people have Mono for months). 

Finally, after 6 years of renting from Milanos, I purchased my very own brand new viola (Well...my mom did)! Let me tell you, this beautiful instrument is marvelous! Its sound and looks are gorgeous. :) I am terrified to play it, though, because I don't want to break it!

Also, the date has been set for me to get my wisdom teeth pulled! July 31st at 7:25 AM! I am sort of looking forward to this day, just to get it over with. Wish me luck...I have all four of them.

Unlike most people, I am very, very excited to start school! I can't wait to be in a bigger school, and meet all my "friends to be." Highschool is going to go by so fast. I can already tell.

Well I hope everyone is having a great summer! :)

Summer is Here!

Wow! Didn't 9th grade just zoom right by, and I hear that high school goes even faster! Sorry again for not having a recent post, but here is just a little that has happened, or is just starting:

Our Freshman Formal was on Saturday the 9th! I had a great date (my crush, who is now my boyfriend), Cody. Some friends and their dates, and I went to the Cheesecake Factory before the actual dance, and then Cosmic Bowling till 1:00 AM after the dance! It was sure a blast, and I am looking forward to more dances in high school.

I finished my 9th grade year at Shepherd, and I received straight A's for both semesters. Next year, I will be moving on to Red Mountain High School! I am very excited to be moving on to a larger school, and meet many new people. I will be taking some very extreme classes: Accelerated Algebra II, CP Chemistry, Spanish III, AA English, Driver's ED, Sports (badminton, basketball, and tennis), and Chamber orchestra! Chamber orchestra is the top orchestra at Red Mountain. In order to be in Chamber, you must audition for it. I am very pleased to be able to be in such an awesome class next year!

During the summer, I will be doing around 5 to 6 and half hours of activity a day. My morning starts at 10, where I do a basketball camp 10 to 12. Then from 12 to 2, I have JV basketball practice, and from 2 to 3, I have weight lifting. Three nights a week I also have speed training from 6 to 730! Speed training is a great camp, because it works on your strength, and quickness. The camp is with all the 9th grade football boys, so you can imagine that it gets me in pretty good shape. I am very glad that the coaches allow Melissa and I to participate. Maybe it has to do something with the fact that girls motivate guys, eh? The very last thing I am doing is a basketball league called Summer League. I am on the Red Mountain's JV team, and we have 2 to 4 games a week. As you can see, my summer is packed! It is worth it though.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe summer! :) 

A Little Bit of Everything

As many of you have noticed, I have been slacking off with adding new posts. We all know how busy the end of the school year can get. Here is just a little update.

In the past three months, I have started playing my viola during church mass. I didn't realize how much I would learn from playing at my church. I have a great violinist that plays with me, and she has taught me so much. You don't realize how diverse music can be depending on where you play.

Red Mountain Tennis is officially over. It ended approximately 3 weeks ago. I didn't get one break in between sports, though, because the day after tennis ended, I joined the track team. I was only on track for 2 weeks, but I had an amazing time. I ran the 75 m hurdles, 300 m hurdles, 4 by 100 m relay, 4 by 400 m relay, and the two mile between the three meets I was able to participate in. 

School is going pretty well. I am still maintaining all A's with only four weeks left of school. I took a placement test to see if I could get into Accelerated Algebra II, and made it! I will have my work cut out for me next year. I am taking orchestra, AA English, Acc. Algebra II, CP Chemistry, Spanish III, Drivers ED, and sports (badminton, basketball, and tennis). Even though it is going to be tough, I know that everything will pay off in the future. 

I am excited for summer, as I am sure everyone is. This summer I will be doing basketball at Red Mountain, a Red Mountain Weight Training class, and a Speed and Agility class. Hopefully by the end of the summer I will be in really good shape for basketball season. 

I will try to update my blog more frequently. I wish everyone a happy summer!

Birthday Bash!

Well, I really don't know a good way to say that I just turned 15, so there you have it, I just turned 15! There isn't really anything special about being 15, except for the fact that it means I can get my drivers permit in six months. As you all know, my mom and I have the same birthday, and she turned 29! :) It seems like the older you get, you start shaving off years instead of adding them.

Just like last year, Melissa and I combined or birthday parties to create one huge bash! We invited 28 people, but only 21 could make it. We played many fun, and somewhat awkward games, but ended up having a kick out it! Everyone had an awesome time, and I hope enjoyed themselves, because I know I had a lot of fun! :) Melissa and I better start planning for our SWEET 16! :)

Clarification and Apology

In my last post I said something that I shouldn't have about the Shepherd kids not knowing how to play. I didn't mean for it to sound so rude. I didn't mean that in the Shepherd orchestra no one knows how to play, I just meant that Shepherd's orchestra was so different from Regionals. I really do love playing at Shepherd, so I am sorry for sounding so rude and apologize for saying that. Everyone does know how to play at Shepherd, and are talented musicians as well.

Regionals Weekend!

It was finally here! All the long, hard hours of practicing of the Regionals songs that I thought were impossible to play. I had to be at Red Mountain at 6:20 am. on Friday and Saturday, and got to miss all of school on Friday. I was with two of my old friends from Shepherd lest year, Yolanda and Jeneva, and their friend David. We made the 40 minutes bus drive to Camelback HS. The very first comment the conductor made about us was, "wow, at least we know how loud the strings can play." This was a shocker to me, because I am used to no one knowing how to play in Shepherd's orchestra. Everyone in the Regionals orchestra played amazingly. We did chair seating tests when we first got there. These tests are to make sure that you have learned your music, and to determine which chair you should be sitting in. The higher the chair, the better you are. I got 12th chair, out of 14 violas. That is not very good, but I guess for a Freshman I did alright. I counted only five other Freshman that made it, so I was honored to have made it. The concert went very well, as expected. It is shocking how in only two days, we can put together pieces of music that is only played by professional musicians. I am so sad that this weekend is over. I made so many memories with my friends, and I can't wait for Regionals next year.

Just Another Update

As you all know, my life is pretty hectic, so I am sorry that I have not had a chance to write any new posts.

Basketball season finished a week ago. We went 10-9 for the season (I think), and the whole team had a great time. During the last game, our main point guard, Jen, got injured in the first quarter. We just found out that she tore her MCL. :( Even without Jen's help, we still won! :)

I decided to try out for tennis at Red Mountain High School for my third season sport. This year was my first year of tennis, so I wasn't planning on making it. I made JV, though, and I am playing in our first match on Tuesday!

My regionals concert is February 21st! I am extremely excited, because we are playing some great songs for the concert. The concert is at Camelback High School at 3 pm if anyone would like to come :)

Well, that is about all for now :)

Regionals Audition

Since November, I decided that I was going to try out for the Regionals Orchestra. Regionals included many high schools (2-4), and all 9th graders through 12th graders could try out. Since I am a 9th grader, I didn't have too much confidence going into this thing way back in November, due to the fact that I was competing against people that have 3+ more years of experience than me. My piano teacher, who also plays string instruments, helped me prepare for Regionals, and also my orchestra teacher did as well. I am so thankful that I had their help, because without them I wouldn't have had any idea what in the world I was doing. The audition consisted of me knowing 8 major and 8 minor 3 octave scales, along with their arpeggios. Also, I had to play 3 etudes, and sight read. My audition was today at 10:44. I warmed up for a little bit in this huge audititorium. It was so dark and noisy in there. Harps, flutes, saxophones, cellos, bases, violas, violins, clarinets, choir singers, and every other musical instrument in there was playing! I had my mom hold up my music so I could run through it really quick before my real audition. Ater an estimated total of 30 hours of practice or more that I put into this (for a four minute audition), it was time to go in. The judge in the audition room was behind a screen, so that no one could see them. I don't know why they did this, but it was quite a weird experience. My audition was alright. Honestly, I wasn't too confident that I was going to make it. At 9:15 pm I checked the Red Mountain Website, clicked on Regional Results, and BAM! Ashley Hemauer was on the list. Only four people made it from Red Mountain High School (for the violas), and I was the only freshman on there! Thanks for everyones support and encouragement! :)

Pasta Dinner!

Our Lady Stallions played Fremont on Friday, our all time school rivals. This game was the biggest game of our season. It sure was a nail bitter, and came down right to the end in order to see who would win. Sadly, we ended up loosing by 5 points. We all gave it our hearts, and every ounce of energy we had in our bodies! That game was so tiring, but we weren't sad for too long, because after the game, the whole team went over to Melissa's for a Pasta dinner. It is always a blast having all the girls come together. It is amazing how close we have all become this season. We had many great laughs, watched some of Melissa and I's old homemade videos, played TWISTER, and just had an awesome time. The dinner was great to. Great effort ladies, and we will get 'em next time!