So good, I can see us on a beach down in Mexico.

As quoted by B.o.B.

I followed his advice, and went to Mexico.

Cancun, to be exact.

Playa del Carmen, to be more exact.

All eight of us Mangums took the 7-hour flight to Cancun to lie out on the beaches,

to discover what Mexican culture is like,

to get outta town,

to get a tan,

to watch Hunger Games with Spanish subtitles,

to discover Mayan ruins,

to play volleyball and water basketball,

to eat lots and lots of Mexican food,

to shop,

to explore.

There will be pictures later.

But I will say now that I had the time of my life.

Yeeeuh.

♥ Abigail ♥

P.S. It's been almost four years since Truly Abigail made its first appearance! Holy.

From Camp Manapu to Portland to Malibu

Tuesday, June 28th

Arrival to Camp Manapu for Girls' Camp 2011

Wednesday, June 28th

Hiking!

Friday, July 1st - Saturday, July 2nd

Basketball tournament in Portland! (6th out of 24 teams, baby!)

On the week of 3-9 I stayed with some family friends of ours: the MONSONS! We did everything from water parks to Five Guys; from watching Tanner at The Opening to playing lacrosse. I love the game of lacrosse now because of the Monsons. I am planning to join a team this year! Thank you, Monson family, for EVERYTHING! The hospitality, the money you spent on me, the amazing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and all your support! I love you guys!:)

The week of July 10-16 I relaxed at home, went to conditioning at the high school, got my ears pierced, went to the Harry Potter movie, watched Tanner dominate at his 7-on-7 passing tournament, and went to the Twilight Criterium bike race in downtown! Thank you Meredith and Zane for hanging out with me this weekend. :)

Sunday, July 17th

The flight to CAL-EE-FORN-I-AY!

The little old lady behind me doing crochet

Tuesday, July 19th

Surfrider Beach in Malibu! 

Later that evening...

The bachelorette mansion!

Thursday, July 21st

Disneyland, the happiest place on earth!

Friday, July 22nd

The Elite 11 are announced! 

(Watch the whole week on ESPN August 12 and 19. You might see me on screen, too!)

My brother is a celebrity now.

Best. Month. Ever.

♥ Abigail ♥

It's been a while.

"How come?" you'd probably ask. There's only one answer for that: sports. Oh, and maybe a little music, too. That's right, my schedule has been booked with sporting events and music recitals. But now that the track season is over, I should have more time for blogging! "Hooray!" you should all be cheering.

While it is good that the track season is over, I'm going to miss it at the same time. I'll miss running five laps in the blazing heat or the pouring rain. I'll miss the mean coach who, whenever I made a mistake, would scream right in my face, "Where's your head today?!" I'll miss the red sand on my shoes when I ran, my ponytail falling as I did so. But most of all, I'll miss the meets.

I'll miss how every Friday, we'd stand in our official track uniforms waiting for the bus to come. When it did, we'd all pair up and take our seats on the bus. The best part is the bus driver is my regular one, so he'd give me the special treatment. Finally we'd get to whatever school in which we were competing, and we'd put our spikes on. Then we'd run a lap, do our regular warm-ups, and get pumped up. And then we ran. Ran faster than we'd do at practice. Ran until our legs ran out of fuel. Ran to win.

And that we did. My middle school beat every other middle school in the district. It was a good feeling knowing that we were unstoppable.

And then districts came along.

The three top runners for each event qualified. I was among them, the only 6th grader to even make it to districts. My name was called out three times. I qualified for the 100, the 200, and the 4 x 1 relay. That was when I realized I was going big. I was competing against the scary 8th graders. 

This past Friday was the day of districts. Although nervous I was excited. I got to compete in the 1st heat, which is huge for a 6th grade young un like me. Here were my results:

100 Meter Dash: 4th Place - 13.1 seconds - school record: 13.0 seconds

200 Meter Dash: 3rd place - 27.4 seconds - school record: 27.0 seconds

4 x 100 Relay: 2nd place - 54.1 seconds - school record: 53.0 seconds

I was so close to beating all these records! Though it would have been cool to beat them as a 6th grader, I have two more years to accomplish what I've always wanted to do since I thought about track. 

Until next time.

♥ Abigail ♥

April

April. The time of year when the weather is unpredictable. It may rain one day, then shine brightly the next. April. The time of year when you have a right to wear shorts and a t-shirt after wearing snow pants and ski parkas all winter long. April. The time of year when you're actually excited to walk your dog. April. The Easter Bunny comes along, hiding Easter baskets throughout the whole house. April. Who could forget mating season? New life comes in April, making Earth seem a whole lot younger again.

This past April has been a busy one for me. With track five days a week, basketball three days a week, and other activities taking place, I've felt that I haven't had any time for anything, including blogging. I honestly haven't thought about my blog once this whole month. I even missed the Truly Abigail three-year anniversary! Sorry, blog:( I promise to blog at least three times a month this summer.

Like I said, track has been occupying much of my time. We have it from 3:00 to 4:30 every day. Then I usually have some extra-curricular activity afterwards. To sum it up, I have been booked. We had our first track meet last week against Lake Hazel and Meridian. It was a good meet for us; the girls beat the other teams by more than 40 points! I competed in the 100M dash, the 200, and the 4 x 100 relay where I was the anchor leg. I was proud of my times! This is what they were:

100 Meter Dash

Original Time: 15.2 s

New Time: 13.5 s

200 Meter Dash

Original Time: 34.7 s

New Time: 30.5 s

We also won our relay. I was on a 6th grade team when I competed in the relay, but was moved up to the A team with the 7th and 8th graders just recently! Although I was put as 3rd leg, I'm just proud to be in the position I am! Maybe at our upcoming track meet against Lewis and Clark I'll beat our anchor leg's time.

Also, I have been taking piano for a couple months now! I may be just a beginner, but I'm already playing in G position, which with the average 8-year-old, it would take 3 years to learn. I'm definitely learning a lot:)

Hope spring is just swell for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♥ Abigail ♥


P.S. I ended up not getting braces! I guess my teeth aren't "fully developed". August will be the month!

The Hyndman Warriors

Hyndman Mountain

Daddy-O 

Mommy-O

That would be MOI right there.

The top of Mount Hyndman, Idaho's 9th tallest peak

My sweet Nike hiking shoes...except they aren't really hiking shoes.

A for Abby!

Me on the A (Nice belly you've got, Abby.)

Now for the scenic pictures, all taken by me. 

Columbines

The semi-bridge we had to cross.

Aspen tree leaves

People pass by and carve their names/initials into the Aspens.

Sago Lily, Utah's state flower

Hyndman Mountain is located about a half-hour away from Hailey, Idaho. It is the 9th tallest mountain in the state. Its height is approximately 12,070 feet tall. It usually takes about six hours just to get to the top. So, in total, to the top back to the trail head, it's about a 9-hour round trip. Yes, it was long and tiring, but we made it back.

This trip was with just Mom, Dad, and me. We stayed at a cheap, old, scary motel in downtown Hailey. When we pulled in there were men smoking. The stench was revolting. Luckily, our room was a smoke-free room, and it smelled pleasant rather than the other motel rooms. I had a terrible night, though. I couldn't sleep because I was nervous. I won't get into the details of how upset I got, but I only slept for an hour. Otherwise, I was thinking scary thoughts no matter how hard I tried to think pleasantly. Finally, we got up at 5:30 and got out of that motel fast. I was relieved when we were driving down Main Street towards Hyndman. 

Now, I would have taken more pictures, (you: "MORE PICTURES?!") but Dad wanted to get on the road and he was tired of waiting for me to take my pictures and venture down to where he had been waiting for five minutes. 

We didn't quite make it to the top because of all the loose rock we had to climb, but Dad had already been to the top and Mom and I hated the climbing. I may be a hiker, but I am definitely not a mountain/rock climber. It just comes with time and age, though, and for an 11-year-old girl, I'd say I did pretty well. We were only about twenty minutes away from the top, but Mom and I just couldn't take it anymore. We ate lunch on big rocks that were more stable and made the three-hour hike back down. Our feet were literally almost bleeding at the end, so we pulled our sandals out of the trunk and dipped our feet into the nearby creek to wipe the dirt off and relieve our soreness. Then we stopped for dinner and slept all the way home. I am grateful to be back in my own bed with the safety of my home and my siblings and Cooper. Life is good. 

♥ Abigail ♥