Lots of Words (And Pictures!) Because Life is Awesome

I've simply had the most AMAZING weekend.

It was Sr High's annual camping trip- we made it longer this year by starting on Friday afternoon. I showed up at the campsite (numbers 5 and 6 at Pocohantas) and settled into a game of ImagineIff- basically, you go around this board and read off cards that say "Imagine if (person you know) _________" and it gives some scenario- was on a space shuttle, was a type of fruit, made an unpleasant and antisocial noise at a dinner party, etc, and then it gives 6 choices. Everyone that's playing has to pick one of the choices, and the people in the majority get to go forward, whether the actual person would agree with them or not.
We had hot dogs for dinner- cooked over a campfire, natürlich.


And Bill made smoothies with his Magic Bullet- I seriously want one of those things, if only so I quit giving all my money to Tropical Smoothie (more on that later).

We were throwing a Frisbee around and decided we wanted more space, so we went down by the water to the big field and Bill, Mary, Douglas and I ended up doing some sort of low ropes course-type thing on a beam by the parking lot instead of playing Frisbee. It was getting dark anyway, so the other boys started trying, too- we were balancing on this beam that was probably only 4 or 5 inches wide and trying to get 2 people to switch places without falling off- it was hard! Bill and Mary finally did it.

I think TJ and Andy accomplished it, too, but Andy's so small that it doesn't count. Stephen and Andy discovered some treefrogs, and started picking them up- the best was when they put one on the side of Bill's face and it crawled up to the top of his head and then jumped off. Mary and I also skipped up a steep hill to the bathroom, and skipping uphill became an odd theme for us this weekend- a total in-joke that will likely be a central part of our future hill-related experiences. When it got too dark to see, we went back to the campsite and Stephen and TJ played with the fire (Stephen especially- he'd hold a stick in until it just caught on fire, then pull it out and play with it- he didn't stop even when sparks fell on his feet a few times, although he did scream like a little girl) and we roasted marshmallows and made S'mores and Bill played guitar and sang (he did Piano Man just for me, although we had no piano).

I went to bed around 11- apparently Mary couldn't sleep and stayed up most of the night. Mickey (the Ruxton's dog) decided that she wanted to be my best friend and slept with me for a bit.
Saturday morning I awoke to Billy making bacon- you don't want to know how gross it was to watch the grease drip from the grill and coagulate on the ground. I can't believe I ate the stuff (although it tasted good!). Kathy made pancakes and Mary and I heated syrup in the microwave- it had this special thing on it that told you when it was hot! That made me really excited.

After breakfast, Christen Miller came by with the albino snake- I got to hold it, but it liked Andy and Bill best- it was crawling all over them!



I then suggested that we go for a walk, so we did. The hike was great- I was with Bill and Mary most of the time, and we even skipped uphill a little! Nick had his bike, and Mickey walked with almost everyone- she really likes to walk through puddles, I found out.

When we got back, we decided we were all sweaty and hot, so we headed for the pool. The water was cold! After a trip down the slide to try to adjust, Mary and I ran laps (we got most everyone else to run with us at least once) around the pool (yes, in the water- my legs are a bit sore) to warm up. We convinced Tim and Stephen to jump in (they didn't know it was cold) and Stephen let out the funniest scream when he hit the water. We tried forever to get Bill to get in, and finally TJ, Travis and Stephen had to literally throw him in- he told us we were crazy and barely stayed in the water for a minute. We of course teased him about being a chicken for the rest of the day. But the water was cold, so we went over the kiddie part where we went down the slides and crawled through the tunnels and shot each other with the water guns and had lots of fun. We left at lunchtime, and made sammiches back at camp. Bill thought I was crazy for putting potato chips on mine, but everyone knows that it is simply delicious that way.


We relaxed after lunch- reading the paper, talking, doing the crossword puzzle, putting Oreo cream on Stephen's nipples (Bill did it while Stevie was sleeping, and things got nearly X-rated when he woke up, but we won't go there).

Then it was Arts and Crafts Time. This consisted of painting the toenails of every male who would sit still long enough- we started on Tim because he was asleep, but he woke up and only let us finish one foot in a gorgeous coral pink. I painted Bill's toes with pretty pastel polka dots. Andy got a great blue with a flower on one foot, and green and red stripes on the other. I painted Douglas a pastel rainbow with purple glitter, and Ally added a flower. Stephen took more convincing- he said he'd do it if Travis would, Travis said he would if TJ would, and TJ said he would if Stephen would. Finally, I promised to buy Stevie a Tropical Smoothie, so he let us paint his toes a metallic pink that looked so so pretty on him. Travis wanted a smoothie, too, and let us do one foot pink with a great flower by Ally (she's awesome at flowers- Kae's pretty skilled, too).

All sorts of pretty toenails, left unidentified to protect the innocent (and to provide you with a fun guessing game!):







TJ had to lifeguard that night and used it as an excuse to keep his feet undecorated because he is a wimp that is uncomfortable in his masculinity. I let Andy paint my toes- they're pink with a green stripe and green glitter over them- look pretty good for letting a 12-year-old boy do 'em.

Then Stephen drove me to Tropical Smoothie (did I mention he just got his license? He's pretty excited) and we bought 6 smoothies- 3 on my dime (Stevie, Travis and me). When we got back, they'd set up the other tent because more people had come and they thought we'd need it- they were wrong, however, and went to all that work for nothing. We had some delicious pork roast for dinner and went canoeing. Tim had thought the canoe trip started at 6, but it was actually 7, so we spent a while in the water just playing around- Bill, Mary, and I were in a boat together, with Mary in the middle as our princess. Stephen (who was with Travis) decided that he wanted to capture our princess, and became a pirate that we had to repel. Good thing Bill's in the coast guard- if nothing else, we had official seaman's lingo to yell at them! We actually managed to keep the pirates away all night. The official trip was great, too- we saw so many herons and beavers, and there was this one lonely goose that I think fell in love with Bill when he tried to approximate its call. After canoeing, we played Ultimate Frisbee and practiced pancaking and marking and even a little laying out (mostly on Bill's part, as he is the experienced player). It was really sweet, even if my team lost 6-1. Stephen and Tim were really good at it, and everyone wants to start a church team. When it got too dark to see the Frisbee, we went back to the campsite, where Stephen cooked questionable hot dogs and poked the fire. The adults had everyone sign cards for the seniors, and then they gave us the cards and a devotion book for graduates. Bill led the absolute sweetest activity- he had each of the seniors sit in the middle of the circle, and we went around and said things to each. I was flattered that most of the younger kids told me they looked up to me for being my own person and not caring what other people think- they mentioned that they loved my style, which is simply that I wear things that I like, and loved that I'll do what I want, no matter what anyone else might say. It made me feel really good to know that I have become exactly the person I wanted to be, and that they look up to me the same way I looked up to the older kids when I was their age. We were all nearly in tears by the time we got to Mary (the last one)- it's finally sinking in that I'm going to be leaving these people, the people I absolutely love more than anyone else, and it makes me very sad. Maybe Stephen's idea of me living in das Festhaus at Busch Gardens isn't so bad after all. Eventually, people started to head to bed, until it was down to just me, Mary, and Bill. We huddled up by the fire with a blanket 'cause it was getting cold- it was after midnight- and talked and looked at the stars and just sat together. Bill has the coldest feet ever- Mary and I spent a lot of time trying to keep him warm. Finally Mary got a sleeping bag because we were too cold- that was probably around 2. We drifted in and out of sleep and weren't able to really string full sentences together- I related one of the half-dreams I had to Bill, and he was astounded that I'd just had it there in the chair (which wasn't very comfortable). Bill and I poked each other to try to stay awake- Mary apparently had no want to sleep, yet again. Around 3:15, I decided I simply couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and went to bed. Mary and Bill followed by 3:30. I slept very well after all the excersise and staying up so late, but had to get up at 7:30 to get ready for church. We had doughnuts with tons of glaze on them, and had trouble finding enough showers for everyone. After the shower, Douglas drove his truck down to the bathhouse to pick us all up, and some rude little boy was mean to Mary, so Andy told him off. Kathy drove Nick, Mary, Kae, Mandy, Andy and me to church at 9:15 'cause we had to play bells. Todd Miller talked about angels in Sunday School, but we didn't really focus. Megan had Relay for Life this weekend, so she missed out on camping, but we filled her in and she thought everyone's toes were beautiful. The children's choir did their play this morning- it was so cute! Elizabeth Cump is a very talented child- the girl can act and sing and is so funny! Her brother Joe was great, too, as was Abby Heird (she always is!) and all the other kids- Mary, Megan, Ally, Mandy, Andy and I sat on the floor in the front so we could see really well. I'm going to miss these cute plays. I had to run out of church to get ready for Baccalaureate- the speakers were pretty great (Kacey's invocation prayer, which is in her blog, was amazing), especially Mrs. Dailey (well, the preacher was mediocre, but what can one expect from a Baptist?). When she talked about how God shows in us in the ways we're different from everyone else, I thought about what Kae and Mandy and Andy told me last night about how they love how I do my own thing, and I felt really glad that I was showing God to others, even when I feel like my own faith's a little weak. After Bac, I went back to my own church for the graduation party. We had a ton of fun- I'm mad that Stephen took his toenail polish off, but he let us do his hair in pigtails and I took these adorable pictures:

Pat Shrader made me the most beautiful basket- she made one for each of the seniors, and each is a little bit different- they're amazing. Christen and Todd gave me this great little Bible that'll be perfect to take on my travels, and the Moms made us little books of pictures from our lives in church- I can't believe how much we've all grown up! There are pictures in there from preschool, and these 3 people- Mary, Megan and Douglas- have been with me all the way. True lifelong friends- the concept is so special to me and I don't know how to express the love I have for them and for Stephen, who I've known since he was born and who's also in most of those pictures, although he's two years younger. They also got us each these great big books that everyone signed- I haven't begun to read the things they've written, because I'll just cry and cry and cry, but there are pictures in there, too. I love anytime I get to just hang out with my church family, so of course the party was fun- Bill smeared icing on my face, so Megan went and put an icing flower on his forehead because he said that great friends and icing would be a wonderful combination.

Todd made up a Trinity "gang sign" that I love- we have to incorporate it into future Sr High stuff! (The picture's blurry because my mom has trouble with cameras sometimes)

We had Sparrows practice after the party 'cause we're doing a music service Tuesday- we had some serious trouble in the beginning, but we're pulling our songs together. Bill drove me home an hour ago, and I came in and wrote this blog. For an hour. Yeah, this weekend rocked. I doubt I'll have as much fun for a long time.

So: Bill, Andy, Ally, Mary, TJ, Douglas, Megan, Kae, Nick, Stephen, Tim, Cindy, Kathy, Mandy, Travis, Jamie, Todd, Christen, everyone else: I love you. You make my life. Being around you makes me smile and makes me the person I'm supposed to be and I can't believe I'm leaving you all. I promise to fill this space with words and pictures for you, and I beg you to leave me notes in the comments or e-mail me (oneseventy@gmail.com) or send me a letter or something. I will pray for you and you will always be in my thoughts, because you are the most important people in my life. Once again, I love each of you more than words can say.

I'm going to finish up with a few more pictures from the party.
The Seniors (Douglas, Megan, me, Mary):

Me and Stevie:

The Group (L to R Travis, Me, TJ, Mary, Megan, Stephen, Andy, Douglas, Nick):

Travis, TJ and Megan Hearing, Seeing, and Speaking No Evil:


Gender: 51% female (and this one totally had enough words)