Remember The Girl Who Wore A Hoodie In A Pool?

Good morning friends!  I have survived another week and I finally have internet and time to write so I can safely say, I'm back!  First, I want to thank you for not unfolding me in my little break and for checking back in.  Second, I want to welcome anyone who is happening upon this blog from Back East Blonde. I am glad you stopped by and I hope you will stay awhile.  Heck grab a cup of coffee and poke around the archive, there are some real gems to be found there. Last, I felt like I needed another point to round out the other two.  Really I just like things to be in threes. 

Last week I was able to go to the mountains with my work for our annual camp.  Most of the time I do not look forward to this camp.  It takes forever and it is really exhausting.  I have to live in a cabin with 10 of my girl students, I find that just wrong, and I have to either wake up at 5 am because they need to do their hair or go to sleep at 1am because they can't stop talking.  The bus ride home is torture and hot. Before this year I would always come home with the world's largest migraine.  The worship band is too loud and too concerned with being cool and the speakers make me want to die.  I can not even begin to imagine what the kids are thinking.  I dread camp and all that comes with it.

My game face!  Try and mess with me kids!

This year I was actually looking forward to camp because it meant a week away from the office.  I have not been liking my new position at the school and it has been a really hard transition for me.  In fact I cried about it today to my mom while I was out for a walk around my neighborhood.  I am sure my neighbors think I am crazy pants now. With that in mind I packed up my T-shirts and shorts and joyously left town for three days with a spirit of having fun and surrendering to being in the mountains where my phone did not work and no one could bother me.  It was pure bliss... Other than trying to find a girl who tried to sneak out of my cabin.  She was found and brought to justice within 30 minutes.  I am not sure why kids mess with me.  It always ends terribly for them. 

Below are a few of my personal highlights from camp. Actually they are the only things I bothered to take pictures of myself or stole from someone else's facebook. 

The camp we go to is called Forest Home.  It is kind of funny for me because I worked there a few summers during college.  I have tons of memories from that place, some good, some terrible, and some I want to burn from my memory.  It is always a mix of emotion going back. This year though was just divine.  The camp remolded a lot and it is so much nicer than it has ever been.  My favorite improvement was the new swimming pool.  It was beautiful.  I really just wanted to spend the whole week there.  

My favorite part of the swimming pool was the girl in the red and white stripped hoodie.  that is right folks one of my darling students was so cold she wore a hoodie in the pool.

I call this photo Where's Waldo?

Here is a close up of my girl freezing in the pool.  One of the kids walked in the pool while I was marveling at this bold fashion choice and told me it was cold.  I said "duh!  That's why she's in a hoodie!"

My favorite homegirl in hoodie.

Next up on great camp moments: Pillow Pets specifically Gatsby.  Yes, I have a pillow pet that is a dog and yes, I named him Gatsby and yes, that makes me awesome.  I always bring him to camp and then ever see him once I step on campus.  The kids take him from me and give him back when I get home.  They are just so considerate.  I realized that Gatsby is in more pics from camp than I am this year.  What a social butterfly!

I love these two kids, They can steal Gatsby any day!

One of the things I liked about camp this year was that the worship band and the speaker were so good.  Usually things get over done and people try too hard.  This year everything was scaled back and it worked.  The band was made up of teachers and it was really great.  Well I think it was, I sang in the band so I might be a little partial.  The speaker was great.  He knew most of our students were English as a Second Language students and he was clear and relevant to them. I even learned from this dude.

Here are some pics from the stage.  I am the tall white girl, I do stand out a bit I guess.   The kindest thing I have been told lately was from a student who told me that she saw my inside beauty at camp.  It really touched my heart.

I can not clap and sing. I get all confused as you can see from my face in this photo.

I take really great notes to help me while I am on stage.  I think I succeeded.

 Overall camp was great fun.  In a way I want to go back there and just sing, play games, and hang out with Gatsby.  Even though I am back to life where my phone works and I am inside again I am happy that I let myself have a good time this year.  What a great lesson in positive thinking and making the best of your circumstances!  

Embarrassing ourselves for the sake of education.

One of my favorite moments was being Mulan and having my work "enemy" beat me up!

The whole Jr. High and High School :)

A few photos to end this post of the strange people I work with and the wonderful kids.  Also if you haven't read Nadine's blog yet, get your eyes over there and check that girl out.  She is great!  Thanks Nadine, for everything this month!