when at camp...

...you tend to forget you have a blog. Internet isn't always available, and when it is, the blog world isn't my first go to. That being said, I do want to update a couple of times this summer because I still reread my updates from Australia, and I'm glad I have those!

So, when at camp...

...you eat a lot of food that you don't normally eat and you may have to get meds from the camp nurse to be able to settle your stomach properly (TMI?! oh well)

...you sympathize and empathize with the fellow staff member who fell and broke her ankle. True story. (Please keep her in your prayers. She had to have surgery on Saturday night.)

...you get really excited about having the rest of staff here after only having 20 or so staff here for a week because the place just comes alive with more and more people.

...you get caught in the rain. A lot.

...you enjoy the thirty or so minutes every other day or so that you get to head off property because it's quiet and sometimes you need the quiet.

...you hate the thirty or so minutes you get to go off property because you always manage to miss something while you're gone.

...you camp out and eat hot dogs that were cooked on a stick that you found on the ground.

...you get one day to sleep in. And by sleeping in I mean sleeping until 8 am.

...you make yourself look like a fool in front of a ton of staff on a regular basis (sometimes planned, sometimes unplanned).

...you thank the Lord every single day that He blessed you with the privilege of being in such a special place for the summer and you cannot wait for the adventures He has planned!!

Graduations + Beach

I knew Saturday was going to be a long day. I had three graduations to go to, plus I was driving to the beach after the day was over. But, I knew it was going to be worth it. And honestly, it was. Kaila and I left my house at 8:15 that morning and headed to our first graduation of the day...

I got to see this sweet girl graduate and lead the pledge! 

SO proud of you, Jamie! 

We then took a lunch and shopping break and finally headed back to the James Brown Arena for Lakeside's graduation. This was probably how we felt about hearing the same speech given by the superintendent for the second time or just our natural reactions to Bryan taking a picture of us. You decide. 

And then we decided to take pictures of ourselves instead of the graduates during graduation. Yep, we were those people. 

Congratulations, Ryan!

I then headed to West Acres to Augusta Christian's graduation. I got to watch Maggie sing, give a wonderful speech, and graduate!

After that, I headed to Hannah and Jonathan's where I dropped off their gifts and got to have dinner with the sweet newlyweds! It was so fun getting to hang out with them and be their first dinner guest. It was a nice break in the looooong day. Later that night, Kaila and I headed to the beach and we were SO relieved to finally be there. We soaked up the sun for two days and enjoyed just some time away. It was SO needed!

As you can tell, my mom sure did enjoy the sun this weekend :)

Sweet parents!

Such a fun weekend with this girl!

And the last time the four of us will be together until I get back from camp. Bryan and Kaila headed to Swaziland yesterday on a mission trip. 

It sure has been a busy week, but it was so worth it! Happy Wednesday!

a year.

It was a year ago Sunday that I took off from LAX on that really loooooooong flight and headed to Australia! I can barely believe that it has been a year. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was being shocked by how expensive shampoo was or by how often someone asked me if I wanted a cuppa. I miss that place more than words can say, but again I'm so grateful for Facebook and Skype!

And....exciting news...one of the sweet families from Oz are coming to Florida in August and I get to see them! I'm THRILLED!

Day 2 (I think?!?) in the country at the beautiful Wollongong City Beach, New South Wales

Fourth of July in the Outback! 

(Christa, on the left, and her family are the ones coming to FL in August!)

A beautiful shot of property on Mill Valley Ranch, a camp just a few kilometers outside of Pakenham

Some of my favorites! And congrats to Jarrod and Ang (the two in between me and Maggie) who just got married! Wish I could've been there!