SUPER busy lately

So, I've been very busy the past couple of weeks, hence the fact I haven't found the time to blog until now. July 12th-14th we had Project Heartbeat, which was a camp for displaced youth (foster children, adopted children, etc) and the 15th-17th we had Camp Care A Lot, which was a camp for mixed diagnosis. Both camps were day camps, so we had free time at night. I fell in love with a little boy from Project Heartbeat. Each morning he'd run up to me with the biggest smile on his face to give me a hug, and he'd save me a spot at the lunch table to sit next to him. He was beyond adorable! I have a voicemail saved on my phone from him in which he sings "Soulja Boy" - too cute.

For those who don't know, my sister gave birth to Joey on Tuesday the 13th. It was hard being away from my family for the birth. I will fortunately be heading home this upcoming weekend (Friday-Tuesday) to visit the family and meet the baby! :) I can't wait!! I've missed everyone so much.

Jordan turned 21 that week, so a group of us went to Austin to party on 6th street - what a crazy trip! We had a great time and experienced some odd things...as they say, "Keep Austin Weird."

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, JORDAN!!

<3

CHEERS

Randomly got our faces painted

This past week, we had the camp HD2 for teens with hand differences. This camp was different from ANY other camp we've had this summer. It is our only camp just for teens, so it was a nice change of pace. Most of the campers at HD2 have come for 3+ years and talk about how much their fellow campers are like family. The nice thing about these teens is that they truly understand the importance of PK.

We did a lot of different things with these campers. We had mud pit tug-of-war (which turned into mud wrestling), a night time live scavenger hunt (I hid in a tree), pranked the campers (I dressed up as a zombie with other staff and hid in the girl's cabin bathroom in the stall - traumatized a few of the campers!), and a white trash dinner rather than our normal etiquette dinner. The week was an absolute BLAST!

ONLY 3 WEEKS LEFT OF CAMP!! :( WHAT!?! Yeah, this makes me very sad...I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by!

P.S. Thank you so much Kathleen for writing me a letter at camp! You're so sweet :)

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MY FAMILY THIS COMING WEEKEND AND MY GIRLS IN MINNESOTA AT THE END OF AUGUST!! Miss you all...

4th of July

Last week was one of the best weeks of my life. Number one, I have never been surrounded by fifteen kids with multiple missing limbs, and number two, I have never been in so much awe.I’ve seen kids without arms throw a football by holding the ball between the side of their head and one of their “nubbies” (undeveloped limb), eat lunch with their feet, play the trumpet and drums, and play board games. Also, I’ve seen kids without legs swim (one quadriplegic boy swims in the deep end) and climb the rock wall. How amazing is that? As fully capable bodies, we spend so much time of our lives complaining about little things. Now, it seems like a waste of time and energy, knowing there are people in this world like the kids last week that struggle every day with common tasks or are reliant on others. These kids were all smiles last week! That in itself is amazing to me.

Wednesday night, we took the kids to an art studio in Salado to watch glass blowing. I’ve seen it done before, but it was about ten years ago.

After the art demo, we took the kids to Sonic. Until a few days ago, I didn’t realize how shocking the situation must have been for the Sonic workers and others eating at Sonic. I, personally, was shocked to see the kids on the first day of camp, but after that I didn’t even notice their disabilities.

Saturday night, we went with our boss to a rodeo at the Bell County Expo Center. Events at the rodeo included bull riding and calf roping. After the rodeo, Adam, Shilpa, and I went to Wild Country, which is were we had a free mechanical bull ride.

Bull riding

Standing on two horses

Two-stepping at Wild Country

HAPPY BELATED 4th OF JULY, Y'ALL!!!

This was the first 4th of July I've spent away from home :( it was weird/sad not spending time with my fam. I miss you, guys!

Most of the staff went to Austin to celebrate the 4th. We shopped at the boutiques in SOCO (South of Congress), ate and had a mock wedding reception for me and Adam at ZAX (Yes, I made our waiter and waitress give maid of honor and best man speeches), and watched the fireworks as a symphony played in the band shell behind the 200,000 that attended. Our night ended in Florence at Ashley's pasture party. The day was a blast as you can see from the pictures...

CHEERS!

Downtown Austin before the fireworks

Adorable puppy named Chloe

My camera has a "Fireworks Show" setting

Sparklers at the Pasture Party
Kisses for Toby

What a great week and weekend!

Thanks to all who call or message me on occasion. It means a lot to me to hear from you! Love you, guys!

Barton Springs and Porcelin Dolls

This morning I headed to Austin with 5 other staff members to experience Barton Springs. So, funny thing happened along the way. Half way to Austin, I decided to be a good samaritan and move a cardboard box from the middle of the highway. I turned my car around, pulled over, and got out to move the box. As I neared the box, I realized the box was not empty. It contained 4 porcelin dolls, a cordless phone, and a stuffed horse...yes, totally random.

Barton Springs pool is located just outside downtown Austin. Since the pool is 3 acres in size and filled with water from the springs, the water was freeeeezing! It took my breath away every time I jumped in after laying out. I'm sure the temperature difference between the air and water was about 35 or 40 degrees.

Jordan's Split Jump off the diving board

Me flipping and turning off the board

Such a blast...can't wait to go back and do it again! :)

Off to play volleyball with the staff...good night y'all

Camp Bluebonnet, Slip-N-Slide, and Waco

Last week's Camp Bluebonnet was a lot different than the first two camps we held. Camp Bluebonnet was a bit overwhelming at times since there were over 200 kids. Unfortunately, we didn't really get to know the kids because, one, there were so many, and two, we only facilitated a few stations in the rotation each day (lifeguarding, high ropes, low ropes, etc). Also, this camp was only a day camp, so we were off at night.

Friday we had a carnival for the kids and their families - including carnival games, face painting, snow cones, petting zoo (yes, I played with the baby animals for a good half hour - adorable), bounce house, etc.

Wednesday night, we went out to eat in Temple at Las Casas, and then went to see Toy Story 3 for Trevor's Birthday. It was such a cute movie, but sad...definitely shed a few tears. Thursday night, we stayed at camp and played on the slip-n-slide and water slide...so much fun :)

Last night, a group of us went to Waco to hangout at Ashley's house, and then we went out to Wild West, a bar near Baylor University.

Showing off our new boots

Tomorrow, the group is headed to Barton Springs in Austin. Barton Springs Pool is 3 acres in size and fed by underground springs. I am planning on taking pictures tomorrow, so hopefully I get a few pictures to upload on the blog.

I am BEYOND excited for this coming week - CAMP OUT ON A LIMB!!! This is the camp I watched on TLC, which is for kids with multiple missing limbs. I can't wait to meet the little girl shown on the special :D Also, there are only 15 campers coming next week, so we will get to spend a lot of time with each one!

Thanks for reading my blog...take care

XOXO

Bo's Barn

I forgot my camera when a few of us girls went to Texas A&M Friday night. But, I remembered it last night when the group went to Bo's Barn, a honky tonk in Salado. I thought I'd upload a few pictures.