"Sarah! No! I like being the winner!" Camp T Day 2

Day 2 Field Trippin' Highs of the Day:

1. Seeing Halle, Jack and their study groups up at the Richard G Lake as they went canoeing

2. Running into Ellyn about once an hour all day long and wearing our floral Patagonias together

3. Having summer camper Kylie Ostrowski here and doing our backwards wave whenever we see each other

4. Hanging out with my girl Liz Huston who is killing it as a counselor

5. Taking Hodgin, Funk, Trulock and Deatley-Kapp all over Lake Village on a tour and showing them things like the Lookout Tower and the Suspension Bridge

6. KCraig and Jesse came to visit and play all afternoon-- we did the Black Hole, hung out at the Green Cathedral, tried Just Dance and explored some more

7. Getting steps with Megan Cook because she took over Cassidy's FitBit for the day. Her crazy stepping got me moving all day long. Cookie finished the day with over 40, 000 steps which is phenomenal. I set a new record and made it to 56, 365 steps. Oh holy. The bottoms of my feet will hurt when I wake up tomorrow.

8. Just Dance night 2 was a smashing success. I love this part of camp.

9. Skit night-- Dirk is the best, the counselor Riff Off and Evolution of Dance, being the "gossip" in the 12 Days of School, walking and talking with Cookie in the back of the room.

10. Senior Night secret traditions...

"All of your birthday posts say such aggressively meaningful things. So what does that say about our friendship?" Camp T Day 1

It's the best school week of the year-- our annual field trip to Camp Tecumseh. All of the 7th graders from FCJH and HIJH will drive up for three days with HS counselors, teachers and parents. Because there are so many kids they come up in two different sessions. As one of the directors, I get to be at camp for all five days. We've been getting ready and counting down to this trip for months. 

I came up Sunday night but I loved getting pictures like this from Liz and Linnea, two of our counselors, as they rode the bus up.

Getting to spend time with the HS counselors is one of my favorite parts of the week. Liz, Mallory, Lucy, Angela, Ashley, Sarah, Linnea and Cassidy are rock stars. You can bet that I love it when so many of our counselors are also Young Life kids. 

This year is extra special because Molly Brunner Runner Runner and Ellyn, two of my best friends, are working Outdoor Education this season. That means that I'll get to hang out with this dynamic duo every single day.

Abby and Rachel have both been counselors for years now and I hate that this is there last year. Julia is pumped about her second year on this trip and now Camp is filled with memories of CILTs for her too.

One of our traditions is that every study group of kids is assigned a letter. Then the counselor comes up with a theme to go along with that letter. Abby is ZZ-- ZZ Top. Rachel is DD- Dunkin' Donuts. Julia is I-- Indians. Their props are phenomenal.

Hodgin and I are at different schools this year but we're reunited this week because both of our schools are here at the same time. It's pretty sweet getting to hang out with Ellyn and Hodgin at the same time. They're best friends now too.

There is a lot of work involved in running the trip, but I also make sure I take time to go walk around camp, see the study groups in action and check in with Ellyn.

Megan Cook is a counselor this year for the first time and I'm so excited. She has her brother and her cousin in her study group which is pretty entertaining. I freaking love this girl.

Another one of my favorite parts of camp is getting to be so goofy and fun and the camp counselor version of myself with my students. I don't have to worry about homework or tardies or staying quiet in your assigned seat here. I race my boys up the Lake Hill and sing Taylor Swift with them in the dining hall. I love this. 

At night Mr. Brown and I run the Just Dance competition and Square Dancing. Half of the Session is with us in Kampen Lodge and it doesn't take long before every person is smiling, singing and sweating like they mean business.

For each round of Just Dance the person with the controller can earn a point for their team and the team with the greatest group participation and enthusiasm gets two points for their team. It's the best.

Can't wait for four more days of this.

"You're the kind of person that uses a loofa in the shower."

Highs of the Weekend:

1. Getting to see Han, Cass, Katie and more Seniors when they came back for Homecoming on Friday. These girls were some of the main characters of my life last year and I miss seeing them all the time. I'm so glad they're doing so well at Bama and IU. 

2. Running into Ava, Emily and Amy since HSE was playing Noblesville.

3. Going onto the field during the football game instead of the chaos of the stands.

 4. Talking to YL kids like Elise, Maggie and Hannah at the fence during the game.

5. Leaving after half time with Hools and Liz because we were FREEZING and going to Wendy's for a really late dinner.

6. Watching Maddie and Line compete in their first cross country race. Well, they weren't actually racing, but they were hilarious.

7. Cheering on the Varsity and JV girls teams during their race and running all over the course.

8. Getting to hang out with Fudge and Grace--two of my favorite people.

 9. Having a whole afternoon to catch up on shows like Grey's, Scandal and Modern Family and making friendship bracelets.

10. Going to Fudge's house to see her and her friends before they headed off to their first Homecoming.

11. Being the morale support for Maddie and Cecilia while Cookie did their hair and Sydni did their makeup. There is never a dull moment with these people.

12. Hanging out with Katy P and watching Catching Fire.

13. Waking up early to have coffee with Han and hearing more about her life at Bama.

14. Going to Northview with Han and Hools before Han headed back to school.

Honorable Mention Blog Title:
"It's not hard, just don't be a freak show. I had plenty of friends growing up. Just don't be an idiot."

"Walking to class on campus and just spotted a guy wearing an FBC shirt."

The Clubhouse is oozing with red, white and blue today. I live for 4th of July week at Tecumseh when I wear red, white and blue every single day. I chaperone the 8th grade field trip to Washington DC each Spring and we always come home with more patriotic shirts and sweatshirts. I love 'Merica and Emily Babb. 

Today was one of those days when FBC really was the most fun ever. First the kids made up teams for a backpack dutch auction. I yelled out things they could find in their stuff and then they raced to bring them over to me. 

1. Five books open to page 23
2. A selfie of five people on your team making a pyramid
3. Someone somersaulting over wearing five shirts
4. One person holding three pieces of chewed gum
5. A pair of people doing a piggy back ride who both have mouths full of water (and then one of them spit her water out when she was laughing too hard)
6. A handwritten list of three 7th grade teachers and three 8th grade teachers
7. A snapchat video of your team screaming "WE LOVE FBC"

Today I taught everyone to make the three-braid and the FBC alumni worked on their own complicated patterns. I finally remembered to bring my Jambox and we blared music in the library the whole time. Brookie Cookie danced around the room. Grace, Payton and Grace did the entire choir routine to We're All In This Together. It was a party.

Tonight I drove down to Broad Ripple to see my friend Emily. We started working together years ago at Tecumseh and she's been an important person in my life ever since. We took her dog on a long walk and caught up on life. Later we met up with her husband Eric and our friend Rachel to go to dinner. I really love these people.

I love being a Young Life leader and a camp counselor so much and those two things often take precedence over everything else. Sometimes that's really good and I know that what I'm doing with my girls matters and that I'm fulfilling a purpose. But I'm afraid to say that sometimes, a lot of the time, my friends take a back seat to all of that. Part of that is because most of my best friends live far away from Fishers, IN. But I could be better about making time for my friends who live nearby. I need to work on balancing that more.

Fudge sent me this video today that will make you smile. Strangers Surprised by an Unusual Reminder to Care