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.

Mustard and Catch-Up

Hey.

It's already been a month since I last posted.

Does time fly or what?

To make up for my horrible lack of posting, let's play catch-up.

Madison is home! He came back on Wednesday, and it was the best reunion ever. I didn't think I'd cry, but when I saw him turn that corner to come greet us, there I was, crying like a baby. He hardly recognized me after two years of being away. It's so amazing having him back where he belongs. 

Florida was quite the trip. First and foremost, I rocked those Nike gladiator sandals like I've never rocked a shoe before (and after showing off my favorite pair of shoes, I became obsessed with these babies shortly after). Although some days were actually cold--as in, 44 degrees cold--I basked in the sun on the warm days. I went to Epcot and celebrated New Year's. I went to the Magic Kingdom and rode Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain for the first time. I had the opportunity to watch Tanner in his All-American game where he received the MVP award. I bought yet another pair of shoes. I stood 100 feet away from my celebrity crush, Cam Newton. One day, Cammy, one day. And boy, did I have fun. Ohhh yeahhh.

School is wonderful! Straight A's, cool teachers (with the exception of ONE), great social life, we're all good. I'm enjoying the easiness of middle school while it lasts.

Sports are going VERY well. I have a volleyball tournament next Saturday and the AAU season is in session. I'm gonna be honest, we have a lot of work to do, but I think we'll probably place about 4th or 5th this year. It'll be nice in high school when I get to play with older girls. I like a good challenge.

I'm growing my hair out. By summer, it'll be long and luscious and I won't have to worry about straightening it or making sure it looks good. They'll just be long locks of dirty blonde hair.

And, as always, I love ma best friend Zane(:

I'm obsessed with Temple Run and Sky Burger.

And that's about it.

Thanks for the great game of catch-up, y'all.

♥ Abigail ♥

Florida Bound

Hello.

It's 10:10 PM.

In exactly 7 hours and 50 minutes, I will be waking up to go to the airport.

At 6:55 AM, I will fly to Phoenix.

From there, to Orlando.

Yes, that's right.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

Home of Walt Disney World and Epcot,

Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom.

Am I excited?

Heck yes!

Partly because I get to show off these babies:

partly because I get to go to Disney World and all those other places,

partly because I'm going to Tanner's All-American football game,

and partly because, well, it's FLORIDA!

Never in my life have I been to the east.

I think the farthest east I've been to is Denver.

That's just sad.

I got a spray tan just for this special occasion.

And boy, do I look tan! And completely non-orange!

Yesssss.

Well, next time you hear from me, I'll be in Orlando rocking short shorts, tank tops, those beauties up there, and sunglasses.

Ohhhhh yeahhhhh.

♥ Abigail ♥

Doubled

It's December.

And you know what that means.

CHRISTMAS!

The time of lights, caramels, feasts...

...and presents!

But did you know my birthday is also in December?

I just had it. Three days ago.

And do you know what that means?

Double the presents(:

Oh, how I love December.

So, I'm 13 now.

A big girl, a teenager.

Entering the world of teen-mania. At least, that's what people tell me.

I don't feel much different. Am I supposed to?

But I'm enjoying it.

No more baby 12-year-old me.

Although it is fun telling people I'm a 12-year-old playing with 15-year-old girls on a club basketball team.

13 sounds so much older.

But never mind that.

Have a lovely December! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

♥ Abigail ♥

Quarter One Down

These pictures are dedicated to Allie. She looks just great, doesn't she?

Oh Allie:)

Honestly, I don't know what to write. Lots of wonderful things have happened. Let's just go in a random sequence.

I love life.

I love ma boy Zane. ♥

I finished the first quarter with straight A's, all 95 and above!

I love my teachers.

I went trick-or-treating with that girl (above) last night. We didn't get very much candy, because half of the houses in the neighborhood were dark, but I loved my cowgirl costume. I wore a red and blue flannel with a red handkerchief around my neck, jeans that make my butt look really nice, cowboy boots, and a braid coming down the side. Beautimous(:

My basketball club is heading to Seattle on Friday! GO FUSION!

Tanner's team made it to state.

I grew a half-inch.

My braces are doing just fine. 

Jay-Z and I share the same birthday!

I wore these really cool Air Maxes to school today; people liked them a lot!

Club volleyball starts Thursday!

Cooper turned 5 four days ago! He's old!

My teacher's dog died today:(

I hate my natural hair.

When I move into Tanner's room I'm going to paint it pink.

My mom just left for a cooking class.

I had the best weekend ever!

I have a lot of clothes, and I don't wear half of them.

The sweatshirt I'm wearing right now is making me really hot.

In English I'm studying Nicolaus Copernicus! He invented the heliocentric theory. Ha!

The new iPhone 3S is awesome. Serie is amazing.

My first love from preschool came into town. That was fun.

I'm wearing pink socks.

My contacts kinda hurt right now.

I'm currently taking Spanish. We learned the alphabet today!

I am in loooooooove with Cam Newton. AHHH!

(Zane, I don't care if Cam Newton has Shrek ears.)

I recently came back from a tournament in Salt Lake. We played against sophomores in high school and we're 8th graders! Well, I'm the only 7th grader:) We lost in double OT in the championship. Heartbreaker.

I've been wearing a lot of my brother's clothes lately.

I have a disorder where I can't repeat outfits. It's terrible.

I like Apples to Apples.

I love Five Guys.

Girl, look at that body, girl look at that body, I WORK OUT!

I don't know what I should do for my birthday party with Jay-Z.

I'm going to Florida over winter break for Tanner's All-American game where hopefully I'll meet Cam Newton! :O

I want to move to Italy when I'm old and retired.

I eat Starbursts with braces. Woah.

When I walk in the spot, this is what I see. E'erybody stop and starin' at me!

I like writing notes to people.

I hate getting up at 6:30.

I just remembered that I'll miss the football game on Friday! NOOO!

I'M SEXY AND I KNOW IT!

I love Coldplay. And I mean it.

Guido's Pizza is the bomb diggity.

I strangely can't wait for track season.

Baby, it's cold outside.

Dolvett Quince is yummy. And I like his name.

I wish I could play lacrosse.

I wish I was good at soccer.

I want to be a real estate agent when I grow up.

I know someone whose house got hit by a hot air balloon. How sad.

Cooper is staring at me right now.

He just looked away.

Aww, he's so cute.

Look at those brown eyes.

And those cute wittle ears.

Okay, back to the post.

I wear a size 9 1/2. Yeah, I have big feet.

Cooper just looked at me again.

Okay, he looked away.

My favorite Gatorade flavor is Cool Blue. Yummy!

7th grade is fun. The year's going by so fast!

I'm about to take my dog for a walk, so see ya!

Hope life's great for you, people!

♥ Abigail ♥

Aaaaand We're Back

Apologies for the lack of posting this past month. Life has been pretty busy with school, sports, and other commitments. 7th grade is awesome so far; I love my teachers and my classes. This year I'm actually excited to learn something. It's also really good to see everyone again after a long summer break. I missed everyone! 

So I've been up to a lot this September. We recently got back from Utah after watching BYU get crushed by Utah:( Honestly, that's probably one of the most embarrassing losses my fellow Cougars have had. It's all right, though. All is well. We ended up drowning our sorrows in Wendy's Frosties, which made us feel a lot better.

Two weeks ago was Tanner's 18th birthday! Sheesh, do we grow up fast or what? When I first started using this blog he was only 15. Now, three years and a million successes later, here he is, the #1 QB in the country and the apple of every high school girl's eye. I'm proud of you, bro, for bringing pride to our family!

Saw Apollo 18 last week. Don't see it. Case closed.

My braces are great. I can already see the results in my teeth; they're a lot straighter now. That first day was miserable, let me tell you. I felt that at any moment my teeth would just fall out, the pressure was just too much. To put it in summary, I bled from brushing my teeth and cried. A ton. Ouch. 

Sports are great as well. After two long months of no basketball, it's time to get back. It officially starts tonight. Bring it on, baby.

My birthday may not be until December, but I already have something on my wishlist. A pair of Beats by Dr. Dre. Purple or pink ones. For some reason my ears are too small for my earbuds to stay, so I end up having to hold them up so I can listen to music, which makes my arms sore. I figured it was time for a new pair of headphones, and you can only get the best. BEATS. I want them. Pleeeease, mom? :)

New favorite song: Paradise by Coldplay. Love it.

So, life is just swell! How is your life?

♥ Abigail ♥

Skin Peeling

I am overjoyed. Do you know why?

It's because school is out.

Summer is officially here.

I get to spend my days sleeping in, relaxing, basking in the sun--well, not exactly basking; more like burning, swimming, hanging out, and staying up late.

The last thing on my mind is school.

Summer kicked off with my friend's end-of-the-year party at her mansion. We swam in her pond, jumped on her buoyant trampoline, ate cheeseburgers and Skittles (great combination, right?), and played flag football in her acre-sized yard. It was a blast. 

The next week I went to the high school's basketball camp. Even though it started at 7:30 in the morning, I learned a lot and had fun. The coach and I have gotten closer, and I can't wait to play for him in a couple years! At the end of the week he gave out awards in t-shirt form, and I received three of them as well as a pair of socks. The first was for my 3-on-3 team winning the whole thing. That's where I got my socks, too. The next was a shirt that said "I Got Skillz" on the back for being one of the fastest speed dribblers. The last was the shirt in which I was most proud: the "Rising Star Athlete" shirt, chosen by the varsity players there at the school. They picked three girls who they believe will go far in high school ball and beyond; I was one of them. It was an honor:)

This week I went to Roaring Springs, the local water park with my friend Allie. It was the hottest day yet, and the two of us were eager to go. Thinking I would get a tan as I had been lately, I did the wrong thing by not putting on sunscreen. When I came home I was baked. I had a sunburn all over my chest, shoulders, back, and face. I still have it as I write. It hurts like heck. I can't even describe the pain of my upper body. For the rest of the week I am staying indoors. So if you need to speak to me, come inside. That's where I'll be.

This week Idaho has had the opportunity to host the Far West Regionals for soccer. Yesterday my brother and I made the drive across town to watch. Even though I was wearing a shirt that covered my shoulders, my face got worse. Now it's cherry red, and it looks horrific. Bleh.

Well, I guess my peeling skin officially declares summer. It is definitely here!:)

Happy Summer,

♥ Abigail ♥

12 Years Living

On Saturday, December 4th, I turned 12 years old. For me, this is a great accomplishment. It means I am given more privileges, I have survived twelve years of life, and, most importantly, I get to advance from Primary to Young Women's.

Primary, in our Mormon terms, is the place kids from ages 3-11 go for the third hour of our three-hour long church. You sing songs from the Children's Songbook, learn one lesson per Sunday, and suffer an hour of obnoxious little kids. By the time you're ten years old you're wishing to escape into the peacefulness of Young Women's. That's where girls aged 12-17 go for the third hour. Boys go to Young Men's. There you are surrounded by well-behaved girls who are always willing to help with any problem of yours. It is easier to focus, for it is quiet in the room. The only noise you can hear besides the teacher is the hum of the furnace. 

I got to go to my first lesson as an official Young Woman on Sunday. We learned about the Nativity and thoughts about Christmas. For the first time in years I actually enjoyed listening, whereas in Primary I would never pay attention. I am excited to be with these girls; this should be quite an adventure.

As a celebration for surviving twelve years on Earth, I invited five girls over and together we went bowling and watched a basketball game (well, we didn't exactly watch). We had so much fun laughing, eating until we felt sick, and failing in bowling. No one could get the right technique down, so no one got very many points...except for me. Although I used the wrong technique, I scored 98 points, which is my new record! :) Bowling definitely isn't my sport, or anyone's, for that matter. No worries. We took lots of pictures (the ones above are just a few) and had the time of our lives. If I could relive one night of my life again, it would be that one. I don't think I could have a better experience.

Now Christmas is just around the corner; the house is covered in red, green, and lots of bright lights. I can't wait to see what this one has in store!

Oh, how I love December.

♥ Abigail ♥

Thankful

This past Thursday was a special day for my family and (hopefully) everyone else celebrating Thanksgiving. I had a huge feast with my parents and two of my four siblings. The grand dining room table was covered in some of my favorite foods: turkey, rolls with a lot of butter, mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots. It was probably one of the greatest meals in history.

The day before, Dad, my sister Meredith, and I packed up to drive to Salt Lake for the annual dinner my grandmother holds every year for my father's side of the family. There has not been one year where I haven't gone to the dinner. I am always so used to walking into Grandma's mansion and seeing the kids' table in the living room and the adults' table in the dining room. There are name tags set up in front of every platter, each individually written for every person in the family.

The three of us were very excited to once again go to the dinner, for we all were anxious to see our family after a few months, but as we went farther down the highway, we began to go slower and slower until we were driving only 30 miles per hour. The icy roads had slowed everyone down; Dad groaned in frustration. It wasn't until we were two hours into the trip that we realized we wouldn't make it until 8:00. So we pulled into a small town called Wendell, grabbed some lunch, and turned around. Though we were disappointed we wouldn't get to experience the gourmet meal Grandma always prepared, we also knew it wasn't worth it to drive seven hours to Salt Lake and then come back home the next day.

Thanksgiving day was even better now that we were home. This was my first year not being in Utah. We ate a meal that was identical to Grandma's, made by my lovely mother. It was even better since we had Tanner and Mom with us for the special occasion. We ate until we felt sick and had a Scrabble tournament (we are the masters at that game, let me tell you). Then we went to a movie called The Next Three Days. Russell Crowe is the main character, and he plays a father whose wife is accused of murder and is put in prison innocently. He has to risk his whole life to free her from lifelong captivity. It's an intense show; I strongly recommend it.

Now back to the point of the post, shall we?

I have so many things to be thankful for. If I was asked to name everything, it would take days to finish off the list. Literally, I don't think I could be any happier than I am now. To prove it, I'll post some of my gratitude list on here.

I Am Thankful For...

• the Internet
• slippers
• lazy days
• the sun
• Snuggies
• a body built to play basketball
• my chance to come to Earth
• shoes
• my family
• older siblings
• wise parents
• guidance
• jackets
• snow on the ground
• Christmas
• TV
• breaks from school
• teachers
• a personality of my own
• this blog
• capability of choosing right from wrong
• Nike
• my bedroom
• water
• Pepsi
• the challenges in life
• my height
• friends (and lots of them!)
• bikes
• laughter
• little kids
• swings on a playground
• the moon
• Meegan- if you hadn't come to Parker's rescue, he'd be desperate for love by now!
• music
• orthodontists (no matter how much pain they put you through)
• life lessons
• the world
• Cooper
• the mall
• hardwood floors to slide on
• hickey bobbing in the winter
• the church
• an older sister
• three football-playing brothers
• time
• cruise control
• school (no matter how boring it is)
• junk food
• movies
• the night time
• BYU
• loyal neighbors 

I have so much more, but I think I should stop now before I can't stop writing. I just think that I should take more advantage of what I have instead of wasting my time wishing for things other people have. I have so much to live for; why should I use all of my time here fretting about boys and drama and all the other time-wasting things? I ask myself this question all the time, but I don't have an answer for it.

Honestly, I really don't think I ever will have an answer.

♥ Abigail ♥

P.S. My birthday is on Saturday!

P.P.S. Happy late birthday to Parker! 26 years already?!

The long drive is all worth it.

There is a place far, far away in the depths of I-84 where fun is created and screaming is triggered. The water is filled with bucketloads of chlorine, the food is ridiculously expensive, the lines are extremely long, and the rides are scary-looking at first. But I promise this place is one of the best water parks you'll have ever been to once it's your turn on the rides, once you've eaten the pricey food, once you've gone on the creepy rides. Really, the wait is worth it.

This particular water park has a title known as Roaring Springs. It is the home of the mile-high Avalanche, the endless lazy river, the epic wave pool, and the best magic carpet ride you will ever imagine. I may be using bias, but I guarantee you will have some type of enjoyment on some type of ride. For the population of Idaho, Roaring Springs is quite large. More rides are being built every year, and there is another attraction right next door: Wahooz. 

Wahooz is a fun zone where you can play mini golf, arcade games, laser tag, go-karts, and bumper boats. Although the prices are just as expensive, it is still a wonderful land of enjoyment and pleasure. There are two 18-hole mini golf courses, a racing course that goes up, down, and around, four floors of laser tag, a large pool set up for squirting people with boats, and a huge building full of arcade games where you can earn tickets that get you prizes. Yes, it's wonderland in the middle of nowhere.

So climb into your car on an average summer day, drive the long route to Roaring Springs and Wahooz, and enjoy the summer heat with heavily chlorinated water and bumper boats.

♥ Abigail ♥

Air Max

Those are my brand new, spankin' hot (what?) basketball shoes. They are probably one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever worn in my years of playing basketball. My former basketball shoes, which were pink because they supported breast cancer, gave me major blood blisters in my big toe and I'll tell you they were not pretty. At a point I couldn't run around barefoot; I was too embarrassed to show my toes, even though I don't care what others think. They were just that hideous to look at.

My performance when playing is so much better with these babies than the old ones. My favorite part is that they squeak when you run down the court, which makes you sound so professional. It shows that they're real basketball shoes, not fakes, which is what my pinkies were. 

I've been playing summer ball on two teams. One is a team that is my age, and the other is a sixth grade team. The 5th grade one is good. Although most of the players don't have much experience, the ones that do have experience make the game much more interesting. I would say that I'm an experienced player, but that's just me. I don't know what others think about me. Anyhow, our record so far is 2-1. We've won two and lost one to a very talented team. I think we're a pretty good team. However, the sixth grade team isn't all that amazing. We've lost the two games we've already played. Hopefully we'll beat the next team. Wish us luck!

Hopefully I can get a few videos of me playing (or ballin' the court, as my siblings say) in another post. Stay tuned.

♥ Abigail ♥

Tournament Week

This week was full of basketball because it was our school district tournament week. On Tuesday we played against Mountain View, home of the Bengals. We won by a ton, and it was a good game. We were also lucky to have played that game at our school. Then on Wednesday we went to Morley Nelson and played against Maple Grove, home of the Grizzlies. We won by twenty points in that game. It was much more competitive than the Bengals game, too. Yesterday (Thursday) we played against Cynthia Mann in the championships at Hidden Springs, my dream school with my dream town. It was a rough game because almost the whole team played some kind of competitive basketball club. Only three of us do that kind of stuff (me, Isabelle, and Kirsten), so we sadly lost. I sobbed after the game, partly because they gave out all kinds of rewards to the winning team. I have to be "a gracious loser," though.

This tournament has taught me a lot, but there were things that I strongly disagreed with. Like: not shooting free throws, no full court defense, not fouling as much, and no double teaming in the regular season. I had a great season, though. We all learned a lot from our coach, we got to explore and learn about the schools we played, (well, since I'm obsessed with Boise Schools, I was determined to learn about them) and we got to have fun! GO BASKETBALL!

I'M HOOKED TO TRAVEL TEAM, MY BOOK!

Have a great weekend,

♥ Abigail ♥

Summer Update

Summer has been awesome. I've gotten to go to a couple basketball camps, and a volleyball camp. Next week I'll be going to a writing camp at the Botanical Garden. There, you can admire the flowers and learn a lot about them! Our stories will be inspired by nature, as they say it.



Right now I'm in Utah with my family. We're taking over my dad's parent's three-storey house while they're away trying to sell a property. I found a cool discovery while here. The story: There's this little hiking trail behind my grandma's yard. I was just hiking for fun, and then...a MULE DEER ran out of nowhere. I, Super Abby, am an animal lover, so I waved to it. It was only 5 feet away. The mule deer wasn't scared, surprisingly. Soon, it just walked off. I hope I can see a mule deer again.



Also, my sister, Meredith, joined us for lunch (it was the day after her birthday. Happy 22nd birthday! I said that already to you, Meredith, didn't I?). Anyway, when she was leaving, she found a PORCUPINE right at her car's wheel. It walked through the yard and hid behind my grandpa's shed. My mom brought it back out (not with her hands of course. OUCH, that would hurt!). She just started walking towards it and the porcupine came out the other side of the shed. It was cute! My mom thought it had escaped from the zoo.



"No, mom, wildlife can live near houses," I laughed. Mom shrugged. I think she still believes it escaped from the zoo.



We got a volleyball net yesterday at Big 5 Sports. It's a HUGE net. We played this morning, but it was burning hot, so we stopped after a while. We're going to bring it home on Sunday. So, friends who want to play volleyball, you can come to my house!!! Our ball is flat, though. Thorns got into it. We're going to buy a new one soon. Technical difficulties with volleyball, people.

HAPPY SUMMER!

P.S. I'm not going to put polls on my posts anymore. A poll will be on the sidebar of my blog every other week. Remember, if you go to a January post, you'll see that the theme for this year is polls! Love y'all!

Four-Eyes #2

Blog Buzz #4

New Glasses!

Yes, yes, stop your applause. I know they're the most glamorous and flossy glasses you've ever seen in your lifetime, right?! Yes, thought so.

OK, so you see my new glasses? Good, good, and good. Hope you like them, PEOPLE.

Time for a couple polls.

Question: Would you rather be nearsighted or farsighted?

a. nearsighted

b. farsighted

Question: Would you rather be deaf or blind? (I get asked this question all the time.)

a. blind

b. deaf

HAPPY JUNE! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY IN A FEW DAYS, TOO!

Flower Month

After April's rainshowers, May is going to bring flowers!!! If you look back at my oldest posts, you'll see a post on how I taught little kids how a flower grows. You need: sun, soil, water, and air to help a plant grow.

My mom and dad have been working in the yard a lot lately, and they've made a lot of discoveries like: some of my shoes, some stuffed animals. All of it was mine. Cooper really loves my scent!!!

So far, Idaho has had only rainshowers, and it's May! The flowers are growing, though. It's greener than a forest in Oregon!!! (You know how much rain Oregon gets, right?) The sun will come out soon; don't worry.

HAPPY MAY!