Happy New Year!

So, I had an incredibly wonderful time back home. It was relaxing, refreshing and fun. It was so nice to get out of the canyon for a while, to get away from all the drama that can accumulate while working together and living together. It was nice to be home because I felt like I was surrounded by people that had taken the time to understand me, who know my moods and my sense of humor. It was definitely a packed week but I got to see so many people I love. I got on the plane sad to leave.

But I got back into Oregon and was supposed to wait for Kristen to get in an hour later and Dusty and Sara to pick me up. However, Darren showed up at the airport to pick me up which was good because I had way too much luggage to fit into Dusty and Sara's car. We all ended up meeting up because it was snowing pretty bad and we wanted to caravan into the Canyon. It was seriously nasty the whole way in. We didn't end up getting in to camp until 8:00 when my plane got in at 2:00. What's even crazier is that it snowed the whole way until we get literally into the Canyon. And then there's nothing at all. It's weird.

It was really good to see everybody when I got back in. I was more excited than I thought I would be which is good. I really have come to love and enjoy the people here. We had a camp in this weekend called Northwest Teen Leadership Conference. They were sweet kids but there were a ton of them. The Sassy was crazy busy. But we made huge sales and everything went smoothly.

The camp left on Saturday so I did vending and the deposit then. I spent most of the day in the Sassy because there was a ton of stuff that needed to be ordered and organized and stuff because the group was so huge. I love it when I get to work in the Sassy by myself and get stuff organized. It makes me feel like it's my own little piece of the camp that I get to show what I can do in.

Saturday night Darren and I watched a couple of episodes of the West Wing. We're plowing right through the seasons. I've been hanging out at the guys' condo a lot which has been great. I get along with the guys really well and they're chill and a lot of fun. Darren and I have been hanging out a lot and he cracks me up. He's also really great about asking me about stuff that I need to be asked about. It's great.

Sunday we did All Clean and it was the biggest one yet because people had just stayed in whatever room they wanted. Every room in both quads was used which is ridiculous. But because the camp was so big we got the Landscape guys too, so it was super fun. I ended up on a team with Lacey, Dan and Dusty for a lot of the day which meant a lot of hilarity.

After work, I watched Planet Earth and Deadliest Catch with Darren, Dusty, Dan, Peter, Mike and Kristen. If you haven't seen Planet Earth, you need to go watch it right now. It is incredible. Make sure you watch the panda who cradles it's baby. It's ridiculously cute.

We had the day off today. Darren, Lacey, Mandi, Kristen, Becca, Sara and I all headed into Madras this morning. We had decided just to have game night and appetizers tonight. The trip to Madras was fun and we came back and spent the whole afternoon cooking.

Everyone came over around 7:00 and we ended up having so much fun. Drew was the only one who wasn't there. We had a smorgasboard of appetizers. We started out playing Scene It Squabble (battle of the sexes) and, of course, the girls dominated. Everyone was getting really into which was so fun. After that we played Balderdash and then Charades. In between each game was a sweet dance party and a whole lot of laughing. At midnight, we ran outside and banged pots and pans and such.

It was such a great night. I felt completely comfortable and laughed so hard I cried. Everyone was getting along and it was just one of those ridiculously fun, perfect nights. Great start to 2008.

I miss you all like crazy and I had an incredible time at home, but I'm finally having so much fun here. It's really great. I'm now watching one more episode of the West Wing before I go to bed and get up in the morning to watch my Tigers take on Arkansas. We're headed into Bend tomorrow night for dinner and a movie.

Love you all! Call me. I'm off until Thursday.