TTV

TTV Volunteer Party. And these super cool photo frames made from tire tracks on sale at the store for only $7. I did buy one. 

Party Barge

This Saturday was spent on Lake Travis.

And at the Union for glow in the dark bowling.

6th Street

Good News. Bad News. The good news is that our house is finally getting treated for bed bugs. Bad news is that this Friday we had to be out of our house for over 12 hours. What do you even do when you are asked to leave your home for a long period of time? Well I'll tell you what we did. 

First we headed over to Foodheads because let's be honest we didn't have any where else to go. Sammie and I had never been to Foodheads and knew Theresa loved it. The place was so chill and their breakfast tacos tasted great. 

After breakfast we decided the best way to kill time is to see a movie. Theresa and I picked up Rey on our way to Monsters University. The movie was so cute but I also felt like a creeper for seeing a children's movie in the middle of the day. I had to be at TTV at 4:30 so I grabbed some fro-yo and hit up the Triangle pool before making my way to South Congress. Work went well and I managed to snap the sky on my way back to Central Market. I met Theresa and Kyler at Central Market for dinner. They had a band, lights and dancing. It was a pretty sweet atmosphere for a Friday night.

Then the rest of the events of the night occurred. By the rest of the events I mean. 6TH STREET. I am not quite sure how we ended up there but I was secretly excited about it. Even though 6th street is dirty and gross things happen, I still wanted to experience it at least once this summer. I put it on my summer of FUN list for that purpose. Naturally the night started at Rainey street, the cool, classy 6th. Mark and nine girls were at Bungalow for about an hour before deciding to head over to dirty 6th. We wanted to dance, which was the deciding factor. 

I had a blast. The drinks were cheaper and the dancing was dirtier. At Shakespeare's they were selling pitchers of Long Island Iced Teas for $5. So much cheaper than the drinks at Rainey. We all bought one. After that pitcher I was definitely feeling buzzed. 

Glad I crossed something off my summer of FUN list. It has been too long.

El Arroyo

Seriously El Arroyo's $1 margaritas will be the death of me. They are only a DOLLAR and they are so GOOD and worst of all so STRONG.

Sean, Theresa, Sydni and I all met there for dinner. I had volunteer orientation for TTV, which I dragged Sydni to, before meeting up with Theresa and Sean at El Arroyo. The food was great and the company was better. Sammie, Jeanan and some of their friends joined us after dinner for another round. I just love El Arroyo. I wouldn't hate if I was there every Thursday night. Actually I am thinking that should probably happen.

Lately Theresa and I have been into pool hoping. Really I am just into the sun, but it is nice to have a body of water to jump into when you get too hot. So we are into finding new pools to sneak into. This afternoon we managed to sneak into Theresa's cousins apartment pool. Sammie joined us. The pool was nice and had a volleyball net but got major deductions for its lack of a hot tub. Pretty much Theresa and I have become pool connoisseurs. We are thinking of making T-shirts.

If I had to describe a summer day this is what it would be. Pools, tanning and one dollar margaritas. 

Working and Campaigners

Welcome to my Wednesday.

I spent most of the day with Cameron and Cade, two children I nanny for. From noon to six the three of us had summer fun. First we went to the toy store. Cade bought some marbles and Cameron bought a little toy horse. We came back to their house and ate lunch before watching some Scooby-Doo. 

The kids seemed to be getting restless just hanging around the house so I remembered waffle cone Wednesday. Every Wednesday at TCBY you can get a waffle cone for $1. Many of my friends carve out precious time of their Wednesdays to enjoy a waffle cone. I took them there and watched as they got ice cream all over their faces. I had a raspberry and white chocolate mix. SO GOOD. 

Then I took the kids to Pease Park. I hadn't planned on the splash pad so naturally Cade ran right in. He got his clothes completely soaked. Cameron and I were not willing to get our clothes wet so we watched as Cade played in the water. I took them back to their house after that and left shortly after.

Tonight was the our first night of summer campaigners. I picked up some girls and met Alaina and all the other leaders at Covenant Presbyterian Church. We stayed for about two hours. The girls seemed to have fun being around all their friends from camp. I am not sure how much they actually got out of the talk though. Mostly I just think the leaders are still burnt out from camp. Hopefully we will regain our passion in the weeks to come.

Boot Camp

Today was my very first day of BOOT CAMP.

I have been meaning to get back into my workout routine. Sammie mentioned how she saw a Groupon for an outdoor boot camp she wanted to try. So on Sunday night she convinced my to sign up with her. I was secretly thrilled because I was hoping this would help boost start my workouts. The only part I was not looking forward too is the fact that the boot camp is from 7:30-8:30am. If you know me well then you know I do not like to wake up before 9am.

Boot Camp was pretty intense. Not overwhelmingly hard but it worked out so many muscles all at once. I'll for sure be sore tomorrow. I ended up burning almost 600 calories. Later that evening I took the girls to the park. It was way too HOT for them to be outside. We were the only people not in the pool. 

I headed over to Grace's for bible study after. It ended up being only Grace and I so we decided to sit out in her front yard and just chill. Hannah joined. We sat and talked about life. It was great. I love simple joys like hanging out with your best friends on summer nights. Simply Perfect.  

Easy Tiger

Easy Tiger Beer Garden and Bakery. 

This place is the coolest. A week ago we picked Sean up here before going to see Superman and we knew we had to come back. Every Monday night at Easy Tiger they have a Ping Pong Tournament. No entry fee, just fun. Plus you get a prize if you win. Not to mention the atmosphere is seriously sweet. The place is on 6th street and overlooks a small creek. 

So a group of us planned on meeting at Easy Tiger around 8pm. Theresa, Grace and I ate a sandwich before signing up for some ping pong. The tournament was double elimination, meaning we had to lose two games before losing the tournament.  Every one of us lost our first game because let's be honest we really aren't that great. Then our second round we were all matched against each other. I ended up playing Sean my second game. I realized I didn't even know the correct rules and he eventually beat me 21-3. It was sad. Then Theresa and Grace played each other. I think everyone lost either in the second or third round. The guys who play in the tournament are pros. They come every Monday night and try to beat each other. I am not sure why we were expecting one of us to win. We're amateurs.

Before we hit up ping pong a bunch of young life people met at Bailey Park for a little sand volleyball game. It was the first time I had played volleyball all summer. I would love to play more often but seriously the sand is way too HOT to play during the midday hours. We started at 6pm which was the perfect time.

Hopefully volleyball and ping pong will be repeated in the following summer weeks!

Grilli'n

Welcome to my Sunday. Every Sunday for possibly the rest of the summer I will spend five hours at TTV. So get ready for every Sunday to now be Free Trade Sunday. A day I share with you about what I learn interning with Ten Thousand Villages.

We are preparing for an upcoming event on July 6th. This event is in celebration of World Tibet Day. I actually am not quite sure what that is and am honestly not that excited for the event. The event itself is a event trying to break a world record for the largest number of singing bowls playing all at once. I did not even know what a singing bowl was. And if I had to bet, you don't know either. Basically it is a real expensive bowl that makes a high pitched hum when played. Not to extravagant.

So I spent the day hanging up posters and preparing tweets for the week. My favorite part about TTV is the actual store. I love seeing the products and reading the stories that have to go along with them. That is by far what I am looking forward to the most. Learning about fair trade and the products made around the world.

Later than night Sammie and I made a delicious dinner. Healthy too, minus the wine. We though we were super classy.

At about seven, Serena had a bunch of people over for a BBQ. Becuase I just ate a lovely dinner with Sammie I opted out of the BYOM (bring your own meat), though I did bring some wine coolers.

Many many of my friends were there. Including Emily, pictured to the left. Emily and I went to high school together and are actually good friends. It was honestly so great seeing her and catching up. I told her we needed to do it more often. Thank goodness some of our friend groups inter lap so we can be forced into seeing each other. We also happen to watch the guy walk on a tight rope over the Grand Canyon during the party. It was intense. He had no safety harness. What a man.  

Super Moon

Here is how I spent my Saturday. Laid out by the pool, went to lunch a La Villa with the family, had my brake pads and rotors replaced, drove back to Austin, ate dinner at Kerby Lane, swung at the park with my roommates while starring at the SUPER MOON. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I was sad that I couldn't spend more time with my family. I know my mom would have loved for me to stay longer. I have to work tomorrow so I needed to be back. Plus I really did not want to drive at night again, so I opted for the afternoon drive. The scenery is just great at that time anyways. I had the windows down and the radio turned up. Perfect weather for a drive.

The SUPER MOON was supposed to be awesome, which it was. It is the closest the moon will be to the Earth. I am not quite sure how often it happens, though I am guessing not very often.  I took a picture with no zoom. Not sure if you can tell or not. There is an outline of a tree in that picture if it helps you visualize how close it was. It definitely did look full and bigger than normal. Not to out of the ordinary though. My favorite part was swinging at the park right next to my house with Chan, Sammie, and Sydni. Those three are some of my favorite people. I was excited to just be hanging out with them on a Saturday night. 

Now that I am back in Austin and will be here for at least the next four weeks, it is time to start getting back to work. I have many, many things I need to be working on. My internship at Ten Thousand Villages starts tomorrow as well as another nanny job which starts next week. I need to research the GRE and start planning for grad school. I also need to plan for next semester. I haven't worked out since before camp which is NOT GOOD. Thankfully I have not gained any weight back and just maintained the weight I was right before I left for camp. I would really like to be another 15 lbs skinnier before I go to Colorado the second week in August. That is totally do-able. As long as I can stay motivated.

I also want to start getting back into my Summer of FUN list. It has been too long since I crossed something off. This week I am determined to start making plans. Plans for FUN.

That is all I have for this Saturday. Hope you enjoyed a day in the sun. I loved my day driving in it.

Retirement and Jet Sking

The day has finally come. My father is now retired. So many emotions were expressed today, by his co-workers, friends, my mom and himself. A chapter of my father's life has come to an end. It may be a little bittersweet, but I think for him it will be mostly just sweet. Like I said he still makes money just by sitting on his @$$. 

So I woke up and headed to the Houston Police Union Building where the party was being held. The morning did not start out great, especially for my mom. On her way to the Union Building she stopped by Walmart to pick up two full sheet cakes. Unfortunately there was a miscommunication between her and the bakery so both cakes were unprepared. She was furious. If you know my mother then you know she is not the angry type. In fact she is the most humble and selfless person I know. But ohhhh boy she was angry, and stressed. My brother ended up having to drive back to Walmart two hours later to pick up a different cake. Eventually it all worked out. However, then the caters showed up 30 minutes late. That also stressed my mother out. I think she just wanted my dad to have a great party because she knew he deserved it.

The party itself went well. A LOT of people showed up and ate barbeque. Many toasts and speeches were given. My dad was tearing up, my mom was tearing up (no surprise) and even some of my dad's co-workers were tearing up (a little surprised). He was presented with several awards including a proclamation from the mayor of Houston announcing a day in his honor. Murray J. Smith day will be happening sometime in September. Immediately my dad turns to the crowd and announces it a National Holiday. My sbilings and I cleaned up everything before heading back to Atascocita.

Three hours later I woke up from a long, much needed nap. My parents were already eating leftover barbeque for dinner and my siblings were on the couch half asleep. Around 7:00 my dad asked if I wanted to go jet skiing with him. I was so down. I hadn't been jet skiing in a long time. Long enough that I can't remember. My dad bought two Yamaha jet skies when I was 15. In high school I spent most of my weekends and all of my summer on the back of those Yamaha's. The best date I have ever been on was on the back of those jet skies riding off into the sunset. Cheesy, but true. Anyways, we choose the perfect time to go. Right before sunset when the sun is low in the sky. The water was calm and reflecting the sun. Just Beautiful. The rest of the night included TV, ice cream and family. 

This is the type of day where you appreciate all God has given you. I truly could not have pictured a more perfect earthly father. He does so much for me and for others, and days like today remind me of how blessed I am. So undeserving of how many blessings have been poured into my life.

Preparing

I was welcomed back to Houston with an early morning wake up and a stressed out mother. Honestly that is what I was expecting. My mom has planned a retirement party for my father tomorrow fit for 150 quests. I told her that 150 people is the size of a wedding. I think that freaked her out a bit more.

I came home a day early to help her prepare for this wedding, no wait, I mean party. I knew she would be running around like a crazy women if I didn't. Right after breakfast she had me searching through old pictures. She needed ones of my dad from his days in uniform. Unfortunately for her, my dad hasn't been in uniform since before cameras were invented so it was almost impossible to find any. Okay not quite that long but seriously the last time my dad was in a police uniform was the early 80s. 

After finding a measly three pictures and a bunch of random selfies of him on vacation, my mom had me go through old VHS tapes looking for recordings of him on the news. YES I DID SAY VHS. My mom is crazy. Not only did I find two recordings after searching through ten VHS tapes but without a converter there was no way of getting the recordings on the computer. So yes I did waste at least an hour of my life doing that. 

Really after a morning of getting nothing accomplished I was determined to make my trip home a favor to my bank account. I volunteered to pick up the prints at Walmart so I could get my oil changed and load up on gas with the generous financial support of my parents. Who are we kidding? The financial support comes straight from my father, who as of tomorrow will be unemployed. Actually unemployed is the wrong word. My dad showed me today how much he makes to lay around the house. Just to give you some perspective it is a 400% increase of what I currently make babysitting. So yeah he will not be unemployed, just on "vacation." 

Anyways pretty soon after my Walmart trip the entire family sat down and had dinner together. I think that my mom intentionally cooks when I come home just so the five of us can all sit down together. It really doesn't happen as often as it used to, especially since I live in a different city. Family dinners are one of my favorite things to do when I come home. It is a chance for all of us to sit down and talk. We ate lasagna and I told them about camp. The conversation went great. 

Dinner ended just as Game 7, Heat vs. Spurs came on. The four of us, minus dad, watched the teeth clinching game all the way through. We were all sad to see the Spurs lose. All of us are true Texans and always route for anything associated with our great state. The Spurs fought so hard and the game itself was so worth watching. We headed to bed after. It is another early morning tomorrow and we all need to be prepared. 

I'm excited to see my dad retire. From the time I was born until tomorrow afternoon he has been a Houston Police Lieutenant in the Homicide division. That has been his title. He upheld that title and served the people of Houston to the best of his ability. I know that whatever he decides to do next will bring him as much meaning and purpose. I personally cannot wait to see what happens.

SUN

I can't tell you how much I need the sun. I seriously started having withdraws because I just spent the last week soaking up the Arizona sun and then spent two days hibernating in my room. Today I woke up and needed to feel the sun touching my skin. 

Before quenching my thirst for sun, I made my first appearance at TTV. I had to complete a welcome shift before I started volunteering. I went in for about an hour and completed all the necessary paperwork. Then I came home and ate before heading to the triangle pool. I met Alaina and Meridith there, and Lauren joined later. I sat in the sun for two hours. I laid out and jumped in the pool and then repeated. It felt so nice. I also needed to catch up with Alaina who I spent everyday with at camp. Not seeing her for two days seemed like eternity. She filled me in while we tanned. 

I went home and baked brownies while I packed for Houston. We had a camp party with all the Reagan and Lainer kids and I planned on leaving right after. I picked up four girls and met everyone at Jackson's house. The party was good, but short. Jackson really didn't have much planned for the kids so everyone ended up leaving after an hour. I was glad because that means I was in route to Houston by 8:30.

Three hours later I found myself struggling to get in the front door of my parents house. Everyone was either asleep or in their rooms almost asleep. That's what I get for showing up at 11:30 at night. Sometimes I forget that people fall asleep before 2am. 

I am glad to be with my family for the next couple of days. My dad is retiring. Many things will change because of that. I actually think my mom will have the most trouble adjusting. Being around my dad 24/7 is a chore. A grateful chore but a chore none the less. 

I pray these next couple days will bring me some peace. Peace and perspective. It is time I start getting back to work on my summer goals. 

Ice Cream

This Tuesday was another much needed day of rest. Camp really did exhaust me. I've needed these past couple days to just catch up with life.

I woke up at 1pm. Which was crazy because I went to bed around 3am. That means I slept for 10 hours, gosh. Setting no alarm is dangerous sometimes. I did laundry and ate lunch before going to play tennis with Sammie. We decided to walk to the courts in the middle of the day when the sun is at it's highest. Mistake. The walk alone ended up taking 20 minutes. By the time we got to the court we only "played" tennis for 15 minutes before walking all the way back to the house.

I am really into learning how to play tennis. I seriously am thinking about making it one of my goals. Something about tennis seems like summer to me. I just think if there is anytime to pick up tennis it is in the summer. Sammie taught me some basic rules and how to serve. With a little dedication I could be good enough to play a real match by the end of the summer. 

As soon as we arrived back at the house, Sammie and I decided we needed snow cones. I love snow cones. SO MUCH. I need to start making a weekly trip to Snow Beach. After snow cones I headed to work. I took Vivenne and Ella to the park for two hours. IT WAS HOT. No other children were at the park because all the other mothers are sane. Vivenne and Ella's mom lets the babysitter take the kids to the park during the 100 degree weather.

I came home and did much of nothing. I ate, watched the latest episode of the Bachelorette (don't judge me) and took a nice nap in Theresa's bed. Soon my best friend Lauren came over and found Sammie, Theresa, Chandler and I all spooning in Theresa's bed. It was a classic moment. Lauren jumped on top and the five of us stayed there for awhile before deciding we needed ice cream. We loaded up into my car and headed to HEB. The night ended with Moose Tracks and girl talk. A perfect ending really.

Some of my favorite moments are just being around my friends doing simple things like laying in a bed. True fulfillment can be found when you want to do nothing more than lay in bed with your friends. Try it. If it is awkward then your aren't close enough friends with them. True friends can spoon together. That sounds bad, but it is so true.

I am still looking for stability in my schedule. Unfortunately I may not find it by the end of this week since tomorrow I leave for Houston. That is what I get for making the most of life. No schedules. Just FUN.

Back From Camp

Today, Monday the 17th of June, is my first full day back in Austin. Camp was wonderful, spiritual and exhausting. I have many, many stories to share with you. My blog has been hand written the last ten days. I will eventually update my online blog with pictures and memories from the following week. It may take a couple days since now that I am back I will be blogging more than once a day in order to catch up. If you have missed me this past week do not fear, I am back and will be filling you in shortly.

I woke up at 9am this morning to Kim the bug inspection lady. She was inspecting our house for bed bugs. Which by the way we have. But only downstairs. Let's just say I'll be spending the remainder of the week in my room before I visit my parents this weekend.  After she found no bed bugs in my bed, I went back to sleep until 2:30pm. What? Yes. Huh? That's Right. It may have been the tiredness from camp or the fact that I stayed up until 5am because freaking Jonathan. Anyways I seriously did nothing until 5pm.

At 5:30pm I met my boss Jessica from Ten Thousand Villages. I had an orientation with her and another intern. We met for happy hour at Botticelli's, which is a little restaurant right next to TTV. Ten Thousand Villages will now be TTV, just so you know. I will be talking about TTV quite a bit throughout the summer. After that I met Theresa and Sammie at Trudy's for Kyler's birthday dinner. I had some green chile chicken tacos. They were good, but not great. What I did enjoy was my strawberry banana maragrita. It literally tasted like a smoothie with a little alcohol. SO GOOD.

We left Trudy's and headed to the Easy Tiger bar on 6th street to pick up Sean. We stopped in for a bit and found out they have ping pong tournaments every Monday night. Next Monday my butt will be playing ping pong for prizes. Sean finished his game and then we drove to the Alamo Drafthouse on Anderson. We had a solid group of eleven for the 10:30pm showing of Man of Steel, the new Superman movie. My favorite part of the whole movie was the actor who played Superman. Ahh him in glasses. Couldn't handle it. I'm in love.

My emotions are drained right now. Camp wore me out. Hopefully I will find the energy to do all that I need to do this week. Including planning something for my dad who retires on Friday. Can't believe it. I am getting older. He is getting older. Everyone is getting older. I just need to be back on schedule with life.

Bus

Not much to say about this day.

Spent the entire day on the bus riding back to Austin from camp. We finally arrived at Travis High School at 6pm. By the time we got there I was so ready to be away from my girls. I may have even snapped at Teta because I was just so pissed off. I regret that now.

I came home and ate dinner. Then I slept for the rest of the night. Camp was exhausting. Great but so exhausting.

Seventh Day Sunset

On the seventh day of camp...

We woke up early and ate breakfast before cleaning. We had cabin clean up in the morning because we had to be on our buses at 3pm. Cabin clean up was followed by an outdoor lunch and our last club. It was a bittersweet moment driving by this sign as we headed back to Austin. At the last club kids stand up and do a say so. If they accepted Jesus they stand up and tell the entire camp. Really a great moment. None of our girls stood up, which was totally fine. Actually I know where they are at in their relationships with God and none of them are ready to commit. So when and if they do decide to dedicate their life to Jesus, I know their decision will have much meaning behind it. And that is what really matters.

Honestly I was not looking forward to the ride home. I was pissed and not ready to hear the kids complaining. By the time I got on the bus I really felt like I needed a break. A break from our girls and a break from camp. Alaina and I sat at the front of the bus with all the other leaders just praying the kids would be great for us on the ride back.

My favorite thing about road trips though is the change in scenery. Your window literally becomes a motion picture. The sky changes so often as you drive. This is a picture of the sunset that night we left camp. To me it symbolized the end to a magical and unforgettable week.

Sixth Day Sunday

On the sixth day of camp...

Santa came to town. Really though. Christmas in June, complete with an all out Christmas themed dinner. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries. etc. By far my favorite part was the parody of One More Day in Les Miserables performed by the program staff and the work crew. It was hilarious. Naturally our girls had no idea what the heck was going on. Urban Kids.... 

That night we went NIGHT SWINGING. The camp opens the swing and the zip line for the kids at night twice a week. I had not tried out the swing so I was thrilled to be doing it for the first time under the stars. I went with two other high school boys so that Tweetie, Sarah and Alaina could all go together. The boys were screaming like girls. Typical. It ruined my serenity of starring at the stars while falling 20 feet in the air. 

After night swinging we took the girls over to the whistle stop to try the Grand Canyon, which is a HUGE ice cream sunday. The five of us couldn't even finish it. I think the candy to ice cream ratio was too heavily favored toward candy. 

We definitely enjoyed our last full day at camp! 

Fifth Day Flight

On the fifth day of camp...

Before breakfast I took a couple of girls outside to fly a kite I had brought with me. It was a $2 Star Wars kite I had bought at Walmart the day before we left. Flying a kite seemed like an awesome thing to do in the hills of Arizona.

Day 5 was our Ropes Course Day! The girls were excited to have another ride planned, well most of them. Kiki was freaking out and didn't want to try the course at all but eventually made it all the way through it. Teta actually did want to do it and tried but completely freaked out and could not finish the course. I was with Teta and had to turn around with her, so therefore I didn't get to experience the full course.

Day five was the night under the stars. I fully enjoyed my time gazing into the glory of God. I know it was an emotional time for some of our girls and our cabin time was completely silent for the first 15 minutes. I know God is doing work, I am praying for these girls.

Fourth Day Fair

On the fourth day of camp...

 

We had a rodeo. What? Yes. Huh? That's right. Our girls were very excited to be apart of it. This is a picture of Melaine (girl in the red shirt) chasing a calf. Oh yes. There were actual rodeo events. It was crazy.

These are a few of the Reagan high school guys we took to camp. I thought they looked awesome in their country western wear. Just lounging in some rocking chairs showing off their swag.

After club that night the camp put on a carnival fair. Complete with dunking booth, bobbing for apples and a pie throwing contest. This is a picture of Alaina and I and most of the girls in our cabin! We had so much fun with them!

Here is a picture of the sunset over camp that night. Alaina and I stopped and sat for a while to take in the beauty. God works in so many ways. I hope these kids got a glimpse of just how big our God is.

Third Day Bliss

It's past midnight on Day 3. I'm currently listening to my girls singing Kendrick Lamar. So much happens as each day passes by. Yesterday seems like forever ago. I don't understand how so much can happen in one day.

Coffee is saving my life. I drank two cups today. One before breakfast and another before club. Coffee is a blessing. I had so much energy from all the caffeine. It made the girls have more fun because the coffee  made me crazy. I was all over the place and my dance moves were on point. Coffee is a gift from God that makes Young Life leaders go nuts. Yes, I truly believe that. 

So many good conversations happened today. I had one on one time with Sarah and Shae. They both went well. Both girls have hard lives and just want someone to love them. I want more than anything for them to realize the are loved. Loved by Jesus.

Cabin Time was the best yet. After last night I knew Alaina and I needed to change the questions. We trusted Jesus would take control and lead us into conversations. Well he definitely provided. We spent an hour going over our insecurities. Then we bonded as a cabin over them. It changed something. The girls will not have any problem getting along with one another after camp. They are forever bonded after tonight's Cabin Time. Well at least I hope so.

I rode a horse today. I can't even remember the last time I was on a horse. Maybe when I was ten. The girls loved it. They had such a blast. They were excited to have more things to do than free time.

So many emotions and thoughts crossed my mind in the last 24 hours. Most of them have been joyful. These girls are blowing me out of the water and exceeding every expectation. Personally, today was better than yesterday. I didn't feel distracted. My focus still needs a little work and I am a little too consumed with myself. I will work on that for tomorrow. Remember this week is not about me.

Now I really need to go to bed. Day 4 is tomorrow and who know what will happen? I know Jesus does. Classic.

Second Day Struggle

Morning.

I'm starting my blog before the end of my day today. There is just something bothering me right now that I needed to blog about.
 

For some reason I am thinking a lot about the situation that happened to me on Friday night. I keep replaying events and conversations from that night in my head. It is distracting me from the girls. I have been thinking about it but not when I should be focused on my girls. It is just right now that I am being distracted. I will be asking God to take my thoughts away because I cannot handle thinking about this anymore. 

Afternoon.

Things began looking better after my blog entry this morning. I needed time to journal and get out my feelings. So obviously this morning was not as great as last night, neither was the whole day really. It definitely picked up after lunch. I spent most of my free time in the pool. I played basketball with the boys, which was incredibly fun. I even had to leave to spend time with my girls because I would have stayed the whole time if I didn't. Thankfully I remembered this week is not about me. So I joined the girls playing Marco Polo.  Honestly my favorite part was being in the sun and enjoying my new tan. 

The energy was not as hyped at club. Last night was just unbeliveable. Today's club was still high energy but I think the events of the day made the kids tired. Cabin Time was seemed to be slacking. The girls didn't open up and the questioned we asked were a bit hard for them to understand. It made the time unorganized. I eventually had to change up the questions. 

I am now feeling relief. I understand how important it will be for me to spend time by myself and with God. He is all over this camp. In every song, every server and every staff. I can't wait for my girls to realize that.

First Day Fire

I can not even begin to tell you how awesome the first day of camp was. Probably one of the most unexpected but beautiful experiences I've ever had.

We arrived at Lost Canyon 24 hours after leaving Austin. I slept more on the bus than I thought I would. The kids were pretty good until the last couple of hours when we had to stall. When we finally pulled into camp at 5pm everyone was more than ready to get off the bus. After the exhausting bus ride I was not expecting much from our girls. BUT I have never been more happy to be wrong.

Our girls were completely excited by every activity we did the rest of the night. The energy at club was incomparable to anything I have ever seen. You could feel 400 high school kids having the time of their life. We did a surprise muddy obstacle course and I thought our girls would complain about getting their clothes dirty. BUT they actually loved it. I couldn't believe after all the complaining on the bus that our girls actually enjoyed getting all their clothes dirty and crawling through mud. WHAT? It seriously blew my mind.

Just from one night I can tell this week is going to be not only the best week of their lives but one of the best weeks of mine. Also I haven't even mentioned Cabin Time. Cabin Time is a time for Alaina and I to sit down and ask the girls questions. We thought it might be awkward and uncomfortable at first. BUT I was wrong again. The girls opened up so much and told us many of the struggles they were dealing with. It was so good that it was almost overwhelming. It is like they laid out a bunch of serious issues that needed to be addressed before we even really asked them to.

Overall I am immediately surprised by how much the girls are exceeding my expectations. I hope this continues throughout the week. Keep you posted. 

Nervous

I have taken my blog to the books. Literally. Today I left for Young Life camp and will have little time to actually spend on my phone or computer. Therefore I will write my blog on notebook paper and update it electronically after camp. So the blog entries from Saturday June 8th through Sunday June 16th are all hand written. Well at least until I update them on blogger.

So this Saturday morning was spent at the REI garage sale, meeting a family I will be babysitting for in July, and packing for camp. I snagged some sweet new Chacos at the garage sale. They are the newer, thinner kind. I am pretty excited about them. Alaina showed up at my house around 3pm so we could start picking up the girls we were bringing with us to camp.

Three hours later we had seven girls packed, fed and ready to hit the road. A couple of my best friends, Grace and Lauren, helped drive all of us to Travis High School. From there two buses filled with East Austin Young Life kids and leaders left for Lost Canyon Young Life Camp in Williams, Arizona.

The point of us leaving at 7:00 at night was in hopes everyone would sleep on the bus. I don't know about you but sleeping on charter buses is my worst nightmare. I have never had a good sleep on a bus. Especially because I am so big. If you are over six foot, there is no way you will enjoy a peaceful sleep squished between two bus seats. Tall people problems. Hopefully the kids managed to get some rest. They need it. The attitudes our kids have with sleep is questionable. I would hate to see what they are like when they have been sleep deprived. Getting chills just imagining it.

Not entirely sure how this week will turn out. I have heard my share of horror stories. But since this is my first time taking Young Life kids to camp I am not really sure what to expect. I have set a couple goals to ensure I make the most of my time.

1.) Learn alongside these kids.
This is a time where I can be learning just as much as these kids. We will hear a speaker preach from Jesus' word every night. Why not soak up as much as I can.
2.) Love and Serve EVERYONE.
My girls know I love them and I will be serving them all week. How awesome would it be if all the kids were served by all the staff, leaders, and work crew. They would feel an overwhelming sense of Jesus. That is why I want to love and serve everyone, not just the seven girls I brought with me.
3.) Grow with God.
Building my relationship with Jesus will be a life long goal, not to mention one of my four summer goals. This is a break from my real schedule where I get to be reminded of God's love more intensely than normal. If I can't take this time to grow in my relationship with God then I am wasting a prime opportunity.
4.) Form relationships with my girls that have spiritual intentions. 
These seven girls I have brought here need to know the purpose of my relationship with them. A purpose that is spiritual and based on the love of God. Any relationships I have that are spiritual far outweigh my relationships that are nonspiritual. It is time to make Jesus the focus of my relationship with my Young Life girls.

Honestly I am nervous. Yesterday was so stressful and exhausting. Then this morning one of our girls backed out of camp. Things haven't been going well lately. Though, being nervous can be used to my advantage. I don't know what to expect so the nervousness is also a little exciting. I cannot wait to share the day to day experiences with you. Most of my day tomorrow will be spent on a bus until we arrive at Lost Canyon right before dinner. Pray for me. I'll need it.

Exhausted and Uncomfortable

Beyond exhausted. Tomorrow we leave for camp. So today was filled with driving all around town, camp forms and Walmart.

Started by meeting with my wonderful 15 year old friend Michela. I hadn't talked to her in a while so it was beyond great to catch up. She told me all about her freshman year at Rouse High School while I scarfed down Kerby Lane Pancakes. Michela is seriously the most mature 15 year old I know. Spiritually and emotionally. I am blessed to know her. She will do great things for God's kingdom. I just know it. 

Then I did a bunch of exhausting and meaningless tasks before welcoming my roommate Sydni home from Africa. I heard story after story. We laughed and laughed and even cried a little. Truly the highlight of my day. Sydni is my best friend and I love her so deeply. Having not seen her for the past two weeks was difficult. 

Then something happened that really messed up my night and made me realize how much vulnerability goes into narrating my life. I can choose to pour my heart and soul out through my blog or hold back and only share certain memories and emotions. Well I have a real problem with writing down and expressing the exact emotions I feel. I think that is because I hate remembering the bad emotions. When I reread my life I don't want read about times I was upset or angry or hurt. Times when I failed or someone failed me. Those are the memories you don't wish to remember. So instead I choose to write my life from the positive. But by doing that I miss out on a whole part of my life that shapes me into who I am. 

For example during lent this past year I wanted to get into journaling. My roommate Sammie has journals from elementary school. I thought how awesome it would be to have journals of my life. Memories from when I was five, ten, fifteen, and fifty. She inspired me to make journaling everyday my lent goal. It was going quite well and I enjoyed writing to myself and to God. However a couple things happened during my lent season that I wish I could forget. Feelings I never wish to feel again. Even though those events changed me and I learned from them, I still couldn't make myself journal about them. To this day I still haven't journaled about them. I am not sure if I ever will. Though I'm certain I will never forget them, with or without those memories in writing. 

How honest can and should I be? Something happened today that I never will want to remember. It made me feel unwanted and attacked, hurt and angry. Those are feelings I don't feel on a normal basis. And this event I'll probably remember for the rest of my life. But how come I still can't write it out. Maybe I don't need to. Or maybe I do.

However I do know those feelings are not from God. And that these events bring me closer to God. It's because of these emotions I come crawling back to God asking him to take away my pain. Which He does, whole heartedly and with grace. In a way I am thankful. Thankful to learn and grow and experience God's love through the worst. In fact our only option is to pray to the only one who can take the hurt away. He showed me today that I need no one to rely on more than I need to rely on Jesus. As long as I look to Jesus, I will always be loved, wanted, cherished and worthy. You are to you know. Loved, wanted, cherished and worthy by God. If you don't think you are then we need to have a conversation. Here's my number 281-636-6695. 

This definitely turned more into a journal entry instead of a summer blog. That could quite possibly be a good thing. Especially if you were already tired of me talking about my sweet day to day activities. 

With that being said here is today's workout. (400 cal) 

- 10 min interval running

- 5 sets hip abduction and adduction

- 10 min elliptical 

I hope maybe one day I can freely share my emotions to the world. Maybe you can relate to them. Until then I will be praying, asking God for strength and courage. 

Bats under the Bridge

Today was great! Enjoyed every second.

I spent the morning at Freshman orientation. The three hours I was there, I talked to incoming economic students about life at The University of Texas. It was enjoyable. Then Alaina picked me up and we ate at El Mercado before attending Lanier graduation.

We ran into all the seniors after the ceremony. Honestly we could of just should up right at the end they never would have known. It is all about the pictures anyways.

The next couple hours I spent in the sun. Alaina, Meredith and I met Theresa, Sarah and Jonathan at the Triangle pool. Apparently you can go swimming there if you sneak in, since none of us actually live there.  I had a blast. I love the feeling of the sun touching my skin. Warming it up like a cookie. And the benefits of a tan also make it enjoyable. We talked a lot and I feel like I got to know Alaina and Meredith better. It was all good fun.

I went to Old Navy by myself after I got home. I wanted to go look for a swim suit to wear to camp. Instead I found a cool sweater for $8. Bargain. Then immediately I looked at the clock and remembered my summer of FUN list.

It was the perfect time to go see the bats under Congress Bridge. Just before sunset. I called Theresa and Grace. Then Megan and Alex came along. The five Sassy Singles went to Congress Bridge.

Everything about the bats is awesome. With the exception of the smell. Literally hundreds of thousands of bats fly out from the bridge all within a time span of about 30 minutes. It is incredible to see. It is one of my favorite parts about Austin. It is so unique but such a sight. Austin would not be complete without the bats. I told my friends I wanted to come back and watch from the top of the bridge. They said usually watching the bats is not a place frequently visited. I disagree though. It is at the perfect time, a great view and above all else it is absolutely free. Touche friends. You are wrong. I will for sure be making a return this summer.

We left and decided to use our Thursday night student discount at the Barton Creek Mall movie theater. A group of ten saw the 10:35pm showing of Now You See Me. It started 40 minutes late so it actually was the 11:15pm showing. I loved the movie. It was a movie where you have to think. Think about how the characters are performing the magic tricks and who is the one plotting the story. I just really enjoyed watching it.

Missed another workout. That is what happens when my day is busy. I need to decide soon if I want to register for the Austin Half Marathon. It is the same weekend as the Passion conference, which I desperately want to go to. I just have to figure out which one I am going to choose. Decisions. I want to start training as soon as possible if I pick the Half Marathon.

Glad I crossed another activity off my list! Summer is so good!

Flying Saucer

Today is Wednesday. That means I spent at least 4 hours babysitting. Well actually today I added an extra 2. I went straight from Ian and Wyatt's to babysit the four Davis children. I did this every Wednesday throughout last semester. And again today.

Before that I did nothing. Woke up at noon. Then laid around until work. 

After work I had a Young Life meeting. It went well and it is official, Lainer and Reagan will have a joint club next year. I'm pretty excited about it.

Then a couple of us went out to Flying Saucer. It's a bar in the Triangle. I really enjoyed my time there. Hopefully I'll be making a return trip soon. Next time I'll actually buy a drink. I have been trying to keep my drinking once a week rule. Last week didn't go well, so I'm trying to make up for it this week. 

I didn't workout today. I really need to get back in to a routine. Hopefully after camp it will be more consistent. 

That's all for my Wednesday. No deep thoughts tonight. You're welcome.

Camp Ready?

I thought a lot about camp today. It is so soon and so many things have to be done before then. I'm a little stressed about it. I do think I need to get a way for awhile, so I'm excited about that part. Minus the 20 hour bus ride.

We had a camp meeting today. I think that is when I realized how great camp can actually be. Camp is a safe place for these kids to be exactly who they are without any fears. They are completely isolated from their natural lives and brought to a utopia. Great things can happen. I know I need to maintain a positive attitude that will aid these kids throughout the week. However keeping a great and fun attitude is extremely difficult. I will be asking God all week to give me the attitude to lead these kids through the best week of their lives. The week is not about me it is about them and their relationship with Jesus. If you are reading this, prayers are much appreciated. 

I spent the morning at the gym. It had been awhile since I did my workout at my own gym. I have been doing yoga and outdoor cardio and even worked out at other gyms, so it felt good to be back. I tried the 30 minute planet fitness workout and loved it. Overall today's workout was a success and I'm pleased to inform you the weight is coming off. I missed being in shape. Running today made me feel great. I hope I never stop working out. The endorphins are just too good. Not to mention the added bonus of a bikini body. 

I had work for two hours after my workout and before my camp meeting. Right after meeting we had our weekly bible study. It was great! I got way more out of it this week even though only 6 people showed up. After I met a group of friends at Trudy's. It was a nice chill Tuesday night. Nothing to adventurous.

I really want to cross a couple more things off my summer of FUN list before I leave for camp. June will fly by and I want to be sure I make the most of every second. Isn't that what summer is all about!? 

Exciting news. This was the only picture I took today and I was way too excited about it. Ben Rector is seriously my favorite. New Album, CAN'T WAIT!

Summertime Fine

New Week. Looking Back.

For some reason I felt the need to reminisce today. I have come so far. When I think about who I was in high school or last year or even last month, I realize how different I am. A different gained by experience and knowledge. To look back and think about the things I surrounded myself with in high school is scary. I was an idiot. Truly. I seriously thought I knew everything in high school. I specifically remember my parents telling me I didn't know a darn thing. Well boy they were right. I hate saying that. But it's true. There are things you can only learn from experience or wisdom and at that age I had neither. I'm not saying I have all the answers as a 21 year old, but I sure know more now than I did then. I think that is the point though. To grow. Not only to grow old but to grow up. God only gives you as much as you can handle, and He knows at what age we can handle certain situations. Maturity is a different story. Maturitiy does not come with age. I'm starting to see my friends mature right before my eyes. They are becoming servants and leaders. They are growing spiritually and emotionally. How great is it that I get to mature right along side them? The best friendships are built when friends grow together. I thank God for giving me the friends and the opportunity to experience the past, present and hopeful future together.

This new week started with my Young Life kids. Right now you are thinking that is such a great way to start your week, serving high school kids who don't know Jesus. Well you're wrong. I love my girls but they are complainers. I took the other half of the girls going to camp to a camp workday. They shoveled and complained. I even treated them to Fro-yo after and they still complained. I am so glad God has a heart for them because after today I wasn't sure if I did. Serving Jesus is hard sometimes. Rewarding but hard.

I made a return to Black Swan Yoga. Sammie and I met my friend Arieal there. We did the sweaty class again, but this time it was not candlelight. That means we could see everyone's shirt turn from light to dark. I enjoyed the class, like I always do. You come out of it feeling amazing. Last time I worked out with Arieal she introduced this saying to me. Summertime Fine. I love it. I would say it to convince people to go workout with me. So far it has been successful. I don't like working out by myself so I guilt trip my friends into going by telling them they need to be Summertime Fine. It is probably not the most moral way to go about it, but whatever works.

Then I spent the rest of the night curled up in front of the TV. Ledaija and James were over which made my night special. James is the cutest little boy and his mom is one of my favorite people. We watched The Bachelorette and the first two episodes of Parenthood. Those are such girly shows. Though it was an only girls night. GIRLS RULE.

Monday went by fast. I'm assuming that is exactly how the rest of the week is going to go. I can't believe I leave Saturday for camp. Everything is happening fast.

Deep Eddy's

Sleepy Sunday. Sitting Sunday. Sluggish Sunday. Sunny Sunday. That is what my Sunday was all about. I slept in late and hung out around the house for a couple hours after. I finally left the house at 3pm with Theresa and Sammie. We headed to Deep Eddy's, a public spring fed pool on Lake Austin Blvd. Brianna and her friend Alyssa were fully enjoying the sun by the time we got there.

My favorite part of Deep Eddy's was the sun. I laid out and loved the sun touching my skin. I even took a short nap. The water was cold and there were too many people in the pool. Barton Springs over Deep Eddy's, just saying. I appreciate the natural and outdoorsy feel of Barton. So I'll probably take my $3 and head over to Barton next time. The experience of Deep Eddy's was something I needed. I had never been and now that I have I know I don't really like it. That is how you learn. Trying new things is good for you. That sounds like something my mom would say. Blah, NO. I'm already starting to talk like my parents. Shoot me. 

I attended the seven o'clock Stone service with Sarah and Theresa. Matt Carter is on a series about Godly men. I am seriously so tired of thinking or hearing about the type of man I am supposed to be looking for. I hate how relationships are so frequently talked about. Instead of embracing singleness, girls are reminded of the kind of man they "need" in their life. I don't know about you but that can get depressing. Filling girls heads with hopes and desires about a perfect man that may never come. Girls STOP. Stop worrying. Stop looking. Stop waiting. Embrace every moment you have. Live in that moment. I promise if you live your life with Jesus you will be completely fulfilled with or without a boyfriend. Okay, advice rant over.

So anyways after Stone Theresa, Sarah, Serena, Jonathan, EK and I headed to Kerby Lane. The Kerby Lane actually on Kerby Lane. Then we headed to Megan, Grace and Lauren's house. We drank a little beer and sat outside and talked. Kinda exactly what I did on Friday night. 

That was my Sunday. Exactly what a day should be after a long summer week filled with adventures.

June AND Rainey

IT IS JUNE! Finally. I feel like summer started weeks ago, but in reality most high school students are just now ending classes. The difference being in college makes. I can't believe I still have June, July and most of August to enjoy before school starts up again.

Today was the first free Saturday I have had in awhile. I love when I have to make up plans for my day. Theresa and Sammie invited me to go to Lucy's Fried Chicken on SoCo for lunch. I loved the resturant atmphoshere and the chicken was pretty tasty. Later Theresa and I ended up at Austin Pets Alive before heading to NV nails for a pedicure. 

I seriously have never wanted a dog more than I did today. I went on the Internet and started searching for dogs who needed a home. I found one I really liked and convinced Theresa to go look at the dog with me. If it weren't for my roommate Rachel being allergic I would have adopted a dog this afternoon. Instead we figured the most logical option would be to foster a dog for the summer. As soon as I got home from my pedicure I filled out an application. I just have this dream of driving and Exterra with a canoe on top and a dog in the front seat. Driving around with the windows open on a Austin summer day jamming Icona Pop. Sounds like my heaven.

The most exciting part of my day was RAINEY STREET. Rainey is full of bars occupied by the Austinites who can't handle 6th street. These old houses were converted into bars and fill the entire street. It is pretty chill and the crowd is a little older than the crowd in the bars on 6th. I had never been to Rainey and was excited to cross it off my summer of FUN list!

We had a great group with us. Many of our friends showed up, which just made the night better. Sean was a gentlemen and offered to drive Mark, Sammie, Theresa and I. We met everyone else at Luster Pearl. The drinks were great but a bit expensive. I paid $5 for a vodka cranberry. Actually I guess that is a normal price for a Saturday night drink. I'm a broke college student so anything over $3 makes me cringe. I decided one drink was enough, especially since I broke my only drinking one night a week rule. Total for this week was three nights. OOPS. We headed to another bar called Bungalow. It was a great bar. I recommend it. It was more modern than Luster Pearl. I just really enjoyed the whole night, but probably because I just really enjoy my friends. I don't think I could have pictured a more perfect Rainey night.

This summer is exceeding my expectations. I can not wait to see what is in store for the month of June! Stay tuned.