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Well, I am back at the Y--back in the "Dallas routine" until I go to orientation next Monday. Joni and Friends finished off great--hard to believe that camp is over for another year. The second week was great, finishing off with a tearful yet funny talent show. I enjoyed my position, helping lead the Young Adults group. It definitely gave me a new look into camp. I got to meet a lot more families and campers, spending more of my time with many people rather than investing in only one camper and family. But I did miss having a camper--that is something I would never want to trade.

In our group, we had a young woman named Kimberly. Although Kimberly could not speak, she has a brilliant mind and she can type on a computer. Ten years ago, Kimberly had written a beautiful poem, and this year she had painted three canvasses

illustrating this poem. Her brother, who is 16, set Kimberly's poem to music, and Kimberly's STM, Rachel, sang this piece at the talent show. I do not think there was a dry eye in the room.

It was simply beautiful.

When it was time to leave yesterday, I loaded up the car with Libby in the driver seat, Amanda, Anna, and Catherine. We drove through College Station on the way home and stopped to have lunch with our many friends who were there for orientation. We arrived home a couple hours later, exhausted.

Happy 4th!

From Anna (sorry... it's a day late): skylar told me i could be her guest blogger so here we go. after awakening-- a little too soon-- the day was kicked off in Junior High with the guest "illusionist" clown. although the kids certainly were amused by his antics his magician skills weren't exactly phenomenal he recovered fairly well when his tricks didn't go quite as planned. Josh and i hung in the room while the rest of class headed to bible. our goal for the day was to sleep as little as possible so that maybe he could sleep tonight since he hasn't the past two nights. but when a kid is running on that little sleep, lets just say all the hard work to wake them up feels a little worthless when the head rolls back down less than 2 minutes later. but all and all with petting zoo and swimming we got a bountiful number of smiles and a few belly laughs. free time was a great stress reliever and then we went on to the parade... a walk around the parking lot lined with parents each armed with their camera to capture their child in this unique display of patriotism. the split dinner was graced by the presence of Skylar and Amanda for the first time and i headed down to the classroom while some of the messy games carried on outside. once again my goal was to keep my precious charge awake getting in and out of his chair and wandering around till it was time to get him to his mom and bed. the shaving cream war was once again a great success. debriefs and spa night till past curfew completed this great day and now we're headed to bed.

First Full Day with the Campers

I walked into the dining hall, feeling rather out of place. I have no family assigned to me, so I have the opportunity to sit with various families at the various meals. This is great, but it is definitely more difficult to find a seat when you are "on your own". We did a photoscavenger hunt, in addition to putting on velcro suits and jumping against a giant velcro wall.

The rain held out on us for a while, and we got to go swimming in the "big pool". But after about 30 minutes, the rain came down and we all ran for cover under the awning, waiting there until the tractors could come and pick us up to take us back to camp. While at the pool, Amanda and I played "Spongebob" with

Ralph, one of the high school campers. Amanda was Squidword #5 (not sure where the other 4 are, but Ralph assured me that they are perfectly safe at home).

I was Patrick, and Ralph was Spongebob. We went first to our "homes" and then all joined back up to go jellyfishing. Ralph told us that he catches a couple hundred on each jellyfishing expedition. Amanda and I were not so fortunate--"Squidword #5" actually got stung in the process.

Tonight was the dance--one of camp's highlights. The dance had a different feel from last weeks, but was still a blast. We danced to music

by Josh Groban, Miley Cyrus, and the Black Eyed Peas, along with many others. Some of the campers really have some serious dance moves!

The night concluded with a serenade by "the Sheriff". Amanda and I got to sit at his feet (with a box of tissues, in case we got 'teary-eyed'). He played us a going away song he had written--about how he would miss us in college--it was very sweet. We assured him we would come

home and hang out with him. "The Sheriff" is quite the character at camp, and loves to get people, especially girls, a 'little emotional'.

The Families Arrive!

Training continued this morning--the final stretch before the families came. It rained (poured) all morning long, and we had to move all activities inside. Thankful for great indoor space! During one of the training sessions, we watched a very inspiring video. Nick was born without any limbs, and he has gone on to lead a powerful, inspiring, Christ-centered life. This is his story:

Our Dallas driving group + Grady made shirts yesterday to kill the time, and we all wore them to morning training before changing into our Joni and Friends camp shirts. We felt a littleweird wearing them--a little cliquish, but we only wore them for a short time, and it madefor a fun picture or two. The camp is really getting off to a great start! It's very different from Week 1, but still exciting. Our young adults group has a wide variety of disabilities and personalities...we have the "Sherrif", the "Jedi" and "Hannah Montana". Tonight, we met the families, the STMs got assigned their campers, and we played some ice-breaking games in our rooms.

Sam, Amanda, Grady, and I spent the rest of the night fiddling on the computer. Amanda found out her rooming assignment for A&M next year--so exciting! And we went back to the photobooth days and played around with somevarious effects.

Tomorrow we will head to tie-dye, scavenger hunt, and swimming. Looking forward to a wonderful week!

Joni and Friends Week 2 Begins

We set off this morning at 730--team lambda and team lambda beta as sam named the two cars. I rode in a car with Catherine and Libby, while Sam, Amanda, and Anna rode in the other car. We made good time, despite taking the "scenic route"--highway 14. After stopping in College Station for a quick lunch at Freebirds, we drove through A&M and then headed to Navasota to get Catherine to her STM training on time. Sam and I hung back because we had a meeting at 3, but the rest of the crew, Grady now added, drove to wal-mart and got some sharpies and v-necks. We made some shirts to kill the time until our training started, and we will all be wearing them tomorrow.

After training, we broke up into our age groups. I am working with the young adults this week and am so excited! Grady and Amanda are both in my group. Anna, Amanda, and I are rooming together and yet again getting little sleep! It should be a wonderful week--definitely very different than the last one, but still wonderful!

The past couple days

Just returned from the airport. Jack and I drove Nick to DFW to catch his flight to Annapolis, listening to "leaving on a jet plane" while driving up to the terminal. This was our last time to see him before Thanksgiving, and Nick will be out of contact at Plebe summer for the next 8 weeks--it's weird to think about that. His parents took about ten of us to the W last night for dessert, and then we all headed back to the Castilla's for a final "Kronos" in Colson's room. Nick only took a duffle bag with him--the kind you would pack for a weekend, except his is for a year. His room is rather bare--sort of perfect. The books lined up from shortest to tallest, the bulletin board blank. Austin leaves tomorrow to head up to Annapolis, too. It will be weird not to have them around. They will definitely be missed.

We returned from Joni and Friends on Sunday after saying goodbye to the Week 1 families. On our way home, we decided to take our time and make a day out of the 3 hour trip. After eating lunch in College Station, we headed back to Mollies house and took a short nap. Around 5:30, we began our trip home, stopping in Ennis to watch Knight and Day at the drive-in. I was rather impressed with the movie--not as cheesy as I had expected. The

movie was definitely made with both girls and guys in mind--a rarity for action films. We finally arrived back in Dallas around midnight, ready to rest up before we head back down to camp on Thursday morning.

Shaving Cream Wars

We started off the morning with devos again. Then Melina and I headed to the pool--she is a fish in water! We swam for a short period, but then Melina decided it was time for us to be done. She handed me my shirt and shorts to put on, and meanwhile stripped out of her swimsuit. We sat in the sun and rested until the rest of the group was ready to head to Bible. We almost made it into the classroom! Standing in the doorway, Melina decided she would rather watch Elmo, so thats exactly what we did. We sat on the couch outside and watched Elmo for the next hour. Lunch consisted of hoagie bread and cheddar cheese with Diet Dr. Pepper for Melina and a salad and pasta for me. This was the end of our group activities. Melina and I rode the elevator again today, getting off each time we got to the first floor so that we could blow some bubbles in the Jr. High room. This continued until the bird lady came to talk. Melina was more interested in wandering than sitting and learning about birds, however. So we wandered around the room--at one point opening the cage for the great horned owl--one of the more frightening experiences of the day. Dinner tonight was split--the campers and STMs eat frozen pizzas and fruit cups while the parents enjoy chicken wellington and chocolate mousse. After eating, we went outside to get messy! It was a shaving cream frenzy---cans of Barbasol lined the walkways and white blobs ran around rubbing shaving cream into one another's hair. Melina loved it! My hair still feels like straw.

Tonight we had the ladies' spa. The moms (and dads if they wish!) come and receive back massages and pedicures. This is one of my favorite activities at camp--the moms finally get a chance to relax and be pampered--a rarity for many of them! Sometimes the STMs get a bit of pampering, too, at the end.

A wonderful end to an exciting day!

Tomorrow is the talent show--a tear-jerking, wonderful evening. I can't wait!