18!

 This week I celebrated my eighteenth birthday! Here I am with my favorite carrot cake and my favorite parents (not that they have a whole lot of competition).

We also celebrated by going out to dinner at Sasa, a Japanese restaurant in the city! My dad and I got omakase, a chef's choice tasting menu with lots of courses. We were super excited when the first fish plates came, and had an amazing night.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my blog for the last eighteen years! It has been a joy to share and preserve the memories of my childhood. As such, this will be the last post. I wish everyone well and hope to look back upon this record fondly for years to come. Casey Jade, signing off.

Door County Visit!

This weekend I went to Door County to visit Mimi and Papi! We got to stop at Mars Cheese Castle along the way, then spent several days around Sturgeon Bay with them. I saw lots of beautiful wildlife in the parks and enjoyed this lovely view from the top of the tower!

Shopping Time!

 This weekend I accompanied Birdie to a few thrift stores looking for clothes! She's going to the University of Hawaii, so she needs lighter clothes. We found some sundresses for her. Our favorite shop on the trip also had furniture in the front. Alex enjoyed this chair very much.

Japantown Festival!

 This weekend I went to the Nihonmachi Street Fair in Japantown! It was their 50th year running the fair, so there were a ton of vendors along the street. We spent the whole day walking around and browsing the awesome art sold by local artists. I bought some keychains and a book, while Emma got a rug and Birdie got a shoulder bag! It was also really beautiful out, so we were happy to walk around for the whole day.

Summer Party!

 This weekend I went over to my friend Alex's house for a party while we're all here in the summer! This is one of our last times together before people start leaving for college or travel. We played board games and sat in the backyard, then ate dinner together and watched a movie. It was super fun!

Scooter Trip!

This weekend my parents weren’t feeling well, so I got on my scooter and rode to our favorite pizza slices place to get lunch! The return trip was almost entirely downhill, so the slices got back pretty fast. I had a fun time going on my adventure, and I got to eat pizza afterwards! 

Day Out!

This weekend I went to see Birdie! We met up by her house, then took the bus to the grocery store and went shopping. After that, we went back and did some baking at her house! It was a fun trip. Here we are on the bus together.

Vegas Trip!

This weekend I went to Las Vegas with my parents and Stephanie and Christian! We got there on the Fourth of July and got to see the fireworks. It was so crowded! We also got to see the Beatles Love cirque show, which was awesome. Here we are right after the fireworks over the strip.

I also went on a mission to find the Hello Kitty cafe! Linda and Stephanie helped me out, and even after some mishaps, we finally did make it to the correct cafe.

Jordan Visit!

This week I got to meet one of my closest online friends for the first time! Her name is Jordan. We met two years ago and have been friends ever since! She and some friends drove up from Southern California to go on a road trip, and I showed them around San Francisco. Here we are at the Ferry Building together.

Afterwards, we all had dinner at my house! I also invited some of my friends over to meet her. We had a great time, and everyone was excited to finally meet one another!

London!

This week we got to see London! It was Alessandra’s first time visiting the UK, so we did a lot of sightseeing. One of my favorite parts was going on the London Eye together! From here we were able to see the whole city. We also rode it just before sunset, so the lighting was exceptional.

Our friend Sydney was also in London at the time, so we got to meet up with her for a day! We went to the National Gallery together and explored the art. It was really nice to have additional company, and we loved seeing the museum!

Paris!

This week, Alessandra and I made it to Paris! We are so excited to do some sightseeing here, especially for the architecture and art museums. On our very first day, we visited Notre Dame. It’s so gorgeous!

In addition, we also walked around the city a lot and went exploring. The gardens around the Louvre were one of my favorite spots! It was also a gorgeous day, and it wasn’t even too hot. I was very happy about that part.

Europe Trip Start!

This week Alessandra and I started our trip to Europe together! Our first stop was Venice, where we got to do a lot of walking around and sightseeing. It’s super beautiful here! One of our favorite spots was the Bridge of Sighs.

After Venice, we went on the road through Italy! We stopped in Milan for a day and found a music festival going on called Dee Jay. It was awesome! We got some free merch from various stands and got to hear music all throughout the park.

Graduation!

I finally graduated from high school! Before the actual ceremony, I went to the East Bay with my parents and Nonie and Doc to take some graduation photos. Here I am with my parents in full Lowell graduation regalia!

At the ceremony, I got to watch all my friends walk across the stage. It was actually way more entertaining than I expected it to be. I was so happy that all my friends showed up to hear their names called! Afterwards, the crew got together outside the stadium to take some photos! Here we are lined up in height order.

Senior Sunset!

This weekend, my grade hosted the unofficial Senior Sunset event! We all went to the beach to watch the sunset and have a party together. While the sun was still up, my friend Alex and I ran around to all the other blankets of seniors and said hi to everyone!

I went back to the blanket to watch the actual sunset. It was so windy! We got so much sand in our mouths. It was still a very fun experience.

Scallion Pancake Adventures!

This weekend I finished my AP Government & Politics final project! I made a video about the process of cooking Chinese scallion pancakes and invited a bunch of friends over to help. We rolled the dough with water bottles, as we couldn’t find any rolling pins.

Post-AP Celebration!

This week I took almost all of my AP tests! It’s been a super busy week, since I have six total tests to study for. One of the tests I took this week was macroeconomics, which my friend Daniel was also taking. After the test, we went out to get cake and eat it at the reservoir! Here we are celebrating after the test.

Senior Prom!

This weekend I had my senior prom dance! I went with a group of my friends, and we got dinner beforehand at Tommy’s Joynt, a classic San Francisco restaurant.

Afterwards we went to the dance venue and got to party the night away! The dance was in a hotel with a super cool backdrop, including red curtains. Here I am with Katrina near the stage!

Beach Day!

This weekend I walked to the beach! I went all the way through Golden Gate Park and went to Sutro Baths at the end. It was super scenic and I loved the fresh air! Although it was sunny, it wasn’t too hot, which was nice.

Linda's Birthday!

This weekend we celebrated my mom’s birthday! I bought her some flowers and we went out to dinner. I got an amazing eggplant parmesan and had a lovely time getting to spend the day with her!

Dress Shopping!

This weekend I went shopping for prom dresses with my mom! I loved all of our choices, but this one was the winner. I like the floral designs and it’s very comfortable. The skirt is also nice and poofy!

Easter!

This weekend I celebrated Easter with my family! We had our usual puzzle-based egg hunt, which I was excited about. I enjoyed earning all my prizes, especially the freeze-dried fig slices!

Shimmon Search!

 This weekend, I went to the Ferry Building Farmers' Market with my friends Katrina and Austin to find our teacher, Mr. Shimmon! He made a promise that if anyone found him at the farmers' market, he would buy them a pastry. We set out to find him just after ten in the morning. Here we are at the beginning!

We did indeed find him, though it took almost an hour of searching through the market! Here we are after we succeeded at our mission.

Book Expedition!

 This weekend, Gramalicia and I stayed home, but I ventured out on an adventure to retrieve a book from the library! It was particularly exciting because the book I requested was the last in a series I've been reading. I was very happy to finally reach the conclusion! Here I am on my walk to get to the library.

Sonoma Trip!

 This weekend I went up to Sonoma with Aunt Stephanie and Gramalicia! After stopping by the art studio, we went up to Jacuzzi and tried some olive oil. The sun was out, and the grounds were so pretty! Here's the view from the tower at the top of the winery.

And here is me enjoying it!

Mamma Mia!

 This weekend was my school's production of Mamma Mia! I went with some friends, and we had a fantastic time. We also met up with a bunch of other students during the show. It was so fun to watch the production, and we sang along to the ABBA songs after the show!

Co-Op Time!

 This weekend I played some Genshin Impact with my friend Emma! She just got back into the game, so I joined her world and fought some enemies with her. We usually co-op over the phone, but this time, we got together and played in the same room! Here we are trying to play on one device together (it didn't quite work).

Beautification Day!

 This weekend I ran the annual Lowell Beautification Day! It's a volunteer event where parents and students come together to clean up the campus and work on various improvement projects. It was even advertised on the signboard in front of the school!

I also got to give a speech at the end of the event. Everyone was eating lunch, so I stood on a table and thanked them all for coming. Woohoo!

Waterfall Trip!

 This weekend I went to Golden Gate Park with my friend Katrina! We explored a bunch of areas near my old neighborhood that she had never visited before. One of my favorite spots is the waterfall at the lake. Here I am climbing across some rocks!

Daniel's Birthday!

 This weekend I went to my friend Daniel's birthday celebration! Despite the heavy rain, we still had a great time at his house playing games and eating a fantastic dinner. Here we are gathered together before the cake.

Lollyland!

 This weekend I went to Lollyland at the Palace of Fine Arts for the first time! The whole mini golf course looks so cool. I love the colors of all the candy storefronts, especially the chocolate one to the left!

Senior Sunrise!

 This weekend was the Lowell senior sunrise, an annual event where a bunch of seniors get up early to watch the sunrise over the Golden Gate Bridge! Although I was very tired, it was super fun to see my friends there and hang out together for the morning.

Hitting The Town!

 This weekend I went to the Richmond district with my friends Birdie and Anthony! We had a great time hopping between shops. I got a crepe with nutella, and Anthony nearly bought one of the frogs in an aquarium. Here we are on our bus trip back!

Pom-Pom Making!

 This week I made pom-poms with my friend Emma! We've been volunteering at the library together, and our task this time was to make pom-poms to decorate the artwork made by the kids. Here are some of the ones I made, while Emma focuses diligently in the background!

Grad Trip Planning!

 This weekend I went to my friend Alessandra's house to plan our graduation trip together! We got a little sidetracked when her cat sat on my lap, but had a great time regardless.