So, I thought my life had gotten crazy the last time I posted... I had no idea.
Turns out, the end of May is the most difficult time of the year. It is basically summer without any of the help. And we're trying to get everything done for summer, which starts in 2 weeks!!! That's crazy! To give you a picture, there are 11 different groups here in 7 days this week. So we're working non-stop. I've been putting in a lot of 12 hour days. And it is awesome! I'm loving every second of it, being completely exhausted and still finding it in me to do more. I really love working here.
Speaking of, something to be praying about. I have decided to send in an application for a job. I don't want to talk too much about it, because I'm not at all sure it's going to happen but I figure I'll send in an application and see what happens. I've had a lot of support from people here, making me feel like it could possibly be a good fit. But I don't want to get my hopes up and I'm just in the original application process, so we'll see.
Several of our new interns have arrived. It's a little weird, but they're all really fun. There is definitely a difference in attitude when you're a summer intern. This is their summer break, just something fun and exciting. This is our job with health benefits and a 401(k). So it's a little different experiences. But they're great people and it's been fun to get to know them.
We had our intern surprise the other day which was.... a trip to the shooting range! We have this awesome shooting range here on property that they use for groups and staff can use it. So, we had some competitions shooting clays. It took me forever, but I finally shot 2! And I got to throw the clays for a while which was pretty awesome. I'm a little addicted and really want to go again.
That's pretty much life right now. All I'm doing is working, so it's not really that interesting. But summer starts soon, that's when all the good stories will come!
Oh, and Prince Caspian review:
I did not love it. I had reread the book right before seeing the movie which may not have been the best move. It was a well-made movie, but it strayed a lot from the heart of the book. A lot of the characters were different and it was super Hollywood cheesy. But still worth seeing. I give it half a thumbs up.
Much love!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Canyon Life is Getting CRAZY
So it has been the most hectic past few days I have had in a long time, followed by the most relaxing day off possible today. This is when I start to really love the Canyon.
Starting Friday, the middle school group that was in checked out at 7:15 Friday morning, so we went in early and had an all-camp All Clean because our Wildhorse Family Camp was coming in Friday afternoon. It was super crazy because we literally had a couple of hours between camps. The families started arriving at like 1:00 in the afternoon but couldn't check into their rooms until 4:00 so it created a crazy schedule where we cleaned the quads last. Weird. It was a long and fast-paced day, but we got it all done.
Family camp is huge and super fun. Every room in both quads was used. It's completely like Young Life camp in a weekend. They have program, field games, the carnival, the dance, all the rides were open, everything. So in that respect it's awesome. Clubs were really fun, program was really funny, and it was really fun to see all the families around. All of our property staff families get to participate, so it was fun for them as well. The kids go crazy because it's their one chance to be campers. The other thing that was really fun was that I'm starting to recognize some of the faces that have been out here several times and getting to know the people on field staff here in the Northwest. They're really fun and it's just encouraging to feel like I know people.
With a camp of over 500 people in, I knew the Sassy would be crazy. I had been warned and prepared and had plenty of practice over the last 7 months. Still, I had no idea. The Sassy Saturday afternoon was CRAZY. I didn't stop moving for 4 hours. I had volunteers in that I had to train before we opened and they were great. Other staff jumped in to help. We had both windows open and lines at both all afternoon. At one point we had 8 people working in the Sassy and still huge lines of orders. It was overwhelming. It just hit that this is what every opening is going to be like in the summer. Crazy, crazy, crazy. And it means that my job changes a lot. I have to be the one running around, making sure everyone has everything they need and are functioning properly. I'm not necessarily great at that because I'm more task-oriented than big picture-oriented, but I can definitely handle. It was just that same feeling where you start a new job and the first 2 weeks you come home every day wanting to cry because you think there's no way you can do it. Then you figure out you can and it's easy. I'm going to patiently await the easy.
We were open again that night and I had all staff volunteers working with me because everyone else had to work the carnival. It was really fun, although I was exhausted. I didn't get to sleep until like 1:00 and my whole body was sore. The great thing was, I got to wake up the next morning and head to HK for another all-camp All Clean because again, we have a mid-week group that will be coming in early Wednesday and we're off Monday and Tuesday. So, we had to bust out both quads and all the perifs in record time. What usually takes us 6 hours in the quads needed to take us 4. It didn't. We ended up working until 6:15, exhausted and on little sleep. Not to complain though, it was really kind of great. I love the end of a day/weekend like that. I feel tired but weirdly energized because I did so much and pushed myself to do it well. I'm oddly excited for summer even though it is going to be so overwhelmingly hard.
After we got off work at 6:15, we ran home, changed, and went to float in the pool until the sun went down. I forgot to mention that it broke 100 degrees in the canyon this weekend as well. So not only were we working hard but we were drenched in sweat. And, what's even better than a shower after a day like that? Jumping in the pool! Cleans you right up.
This morning I woke up after some solid sleep and headed down to the pool. It was hopping because a lot of people have Monday off. We spent a few hours laying in the sun and then headed home and hung out. This evening we had a bonfire with Bill and Dena and played an intense game of wiffle ball that ended in a tie. After that, all the girls came over and watched Father of the Bride because Lacey had never seen it. And after that, Darren and I watched some West Wing. That is what I call a perfect day in the Canyon. It was beautiful, although I'm slightly sunburned. Totally worth it.
Tomorrow we're going to see Prince Caspian and getting dinner at Red Robin. I'm pumped! I will post a thorough review after.
Much love!
Starting Friday, the middle school group that was in checked out at 7:15 Friday morning, so we went in early and had an all-camp All Clean because our Wildhorse Family Camp was coming in Friday afternoon. It was super crazy because we literally had a couple of hours between camps. The families started arriving at like 1:00 in the afternoon but couldn't check into their rooms until 4:00 so it created a crazy schedule where we cleaned the quads last. Weird. It was a long and fast-paced day, but we got it all done.
Family camp is huge and super fun. Every room in both quads was used. It's completely like Young Life camp in a weekend. They have program, field games, the carnival, the dance, all the rides were open, everything. So in that respect it's awesome. Clubs were really fun, program was really funny, and it was really fun to see all the families around. All of our property staff families get to participate, so it was fun for them as well. The kids go crazy because it's their one chance to be campers. The other thing that was really fun was that I'm starting to recognize some of the faces that have been out here several times and getting to know the people on field staff here in the Northwest. They're really fun and it's just encouraging to feel like I know people.
With a camp of over 500 people in, I knew the Sassy would be crazy. I had been warned and prepared and had plenty of practice over the last 7 months. Still, I had no idea. The Sassy Saturday afternoon was CRAZY. I didn't stop moving for 4 hours. I had volunteers in that I had to train before we opened and they were great. Other staff jumped in to help. We had both windows open and lines at both all afternoon. At one point we had 8 people working in the Sassy and still huge lines of orders. It was overwhelming. It just hit that this is what every opening is going to be like in the summer. Crazy, crazy, crazy. And it means that my job changes a lot. I have to be the one running around, making sure everyone has everything they need and are functioning properly. I'm not necessarily great at that because I'm more task-oriented than big picture-oriented, but I can definitely handle. It was just that same feeling where you start a new job and the first 2 weeks you come home every day wanting to cry because you think there's no way you can do it. Then you figure out you can and it's easy. I'm going to patiently await the easy.
We were open again that night and I had all staff volunteers working with me because everyone else had to work the carnival. It was really fun, although I was exhausted. I didn't get to sleep until like 1:00 and my whole body was sore. The great thing was, I got to wake up the next morning and head to HK for another all-camp All Clean because again, we have a mid-week group that will be coming in early Wednesday and we're off Monday and Tuesday. So, we had to bust out both quads and all the perifs in record time. What usually takes us 6 hours in the quads needed to take us 4. It didn't. We ended up working until 6:15, exhausted and on little sleep. Not to complain though, it was really kind of great. I love the end of a day/weekend like that. I feel tired but weirdly energized because I did so much and pushed myself to do it well. I'm oddly excited for summer even though it is going to be so overwhelmingly hard.
After we got off work at 6:15, we ran home, changed, and went to float in the pool until the sun went down. I forgot to mention that it broke 100 degrees in the canyon this weekend as well. So not only were we working hard but we were drenched in sweat. And, what's even better than a shower after a day like that? Jumping in the pool! Cleans you right up.
This morning I woke up after some solid sleep and headed down to the pool. It was hopping because a lot of people have Monday off. We spent a few hours laying in the sun and then headed home and hung out. This evening we had a bonfire with Bill and Dena and played an intense game of wiffle ball that ended in a tie. After that, all the girls came over and watched Father of the Bride because Lacey had never seen it. And after that, Darren and I watched some West Wing. That is what I call a perfect day in the Canyon. It was beautiful, although I'm slightly sunburned. Totally worth it.
Tomorrow we're going to see Prince Caspian and getting dinner at Red Robin. I'm pumped! I will post a thorough review after.
Much love!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Warm Weather Always Makes Me Like Country Music
Seriously, what is it about summer that makes me like country? It's a weird thing.
I went home. It was awesome. That's all I need to say. I got to hang out with my family and friends, watch TV, shop, eat at restaurants, watch the Cardinals in HD and enjoy green grass, trees and rain. That is clearly awesome.
Heading back from Missouri, I ended up by myself in a 3-seat on the plane. It was incredible. And I was flying Southwest, who recently switched to general admission seating on their planes. So I was trying to judge how many people were in the waiting area and whether or not the plane would be full so that I could decide whether I wanted aisle or window. It creates a lot of stress for me. But I made the right decision and got to spread out and sleep the whole flight back to Oregon. It was glorious.
That was followed by an incredibly beautiful drive back to the Canyon. The drive from Portland to the Canyon is nothing short of breathtaking. If you get the chance to drive along the Columbia River Gorge at any point of your life, do it. And the sun was setting and casting the most incredible light. It got back to the Canyon just as I started to need headlights. It was perfect. Although, when I got back after 13 hours of traveling, my house was completely empty. I didn't see anyone until the next day, so that was a little bit of a bummer.
I've been in HK every day since because we didn't have a group over last weekend and the mid-week group that's in right now didn't have the Sassy open. The problem is that even though we have a million things that need to be done before our giant family camp this weekend, we can't do any of them because there's a group in. Which means that we're going into HK at 7:00 AM tomorrow and cleaning literally everything in camp. It's going to be crazy.
The good news is we got new slushie machines in the Sassy! Get pumped! Four flavors! Cherry, lemonade, java chip and vanilla latte! The bad news is we are WAY under staffed. We have more and more stuff opened which means everyone is spaced out. This is our biggest group and I have the fewest people working with me. I really don't know what it's going to look like. But I'm sure it will work out. If there's a line, there's a line. It's going to be CRAZY!
Life in the Canyon is good. The weather is incredible. I love it. We have these things called swamp coolers in lieu of air conditioning. I'm a little wary of them, but apparently they result in a quarter of the cost in energy bills and keep you just as cool. Which is exciting. But the phrase "swamp coolers" weirds me out a little.
Bryce is in Europe and I'm jealous.
I love you all!
I went home. It was awesome. That's all I need to say. I got to hang out with my family and friends, watch TV, shop, eat at restaurants, watch the Cardinals in HD and enjoy green grass, trees and rain. That is clearly awesome.
Heading back from Missouri, I ended up by myself in a 3-seat on the plane. It was incredible. And I was flying Southwest, who recently switched to general admission seating on their planes. So I was trying to judge how many people were in the waiting area and whether or not the plane would be full so that I could decide whether I wanted aisle or window. It creates a lot of stress for me. But I made the right decision and got to spread out and sleep the whole flight back to Oregon. It was glorious.
That was followed by an incredibly beautiful drive back to the Canyon. The drive from Portland to the Canyon is nothing short of breathtaking. If you get the chance to drive along the Columbia River Gorge at any point of your life, do it. And the sun was setting and casting the most incredible light. It got back to the Canyon just as I started to need headlights. It was perfect. Although, when I got back after 13 hours of traveling, my house was completely empty. I didn't see anyone until the next day, so that was a little bit of a bummer.
I've been in HK every day since because we didn't have a group over last weekend and the mid-week group that's in right now didn't have the Sassy open. The problem is that even though we have a million things that need to be done before our giant family camp this weekend, we can't do any of them because there's a group in. Which means that we're going into HK at 7:00 AM tomorrow and cleaning literally everything in camp. It's going to be crazy.
The good news is we got new slushie machines in the Sassy! Get pumped! Four flavors! Cherry, lemonade, java chip and vanilla latte! The bad news is we are WAY under staffed. We have more and more stuff opened which means everyone is spaced out. This is our biggest group and I have the fewest people working with me. I really don't know what it's going to look like. But I'm sure it will work out. If there's a line, there's a line. It's going to be CRAZY!
Life in the Canyon is good. The weather is incredible. I love it. We have these things called swamp coolers in lieu of air conditioning. I'm a little wary of them, but apparently they result in a quarter of the cost in energy bills and keep you just as cool. Which is exciting. But the phrase "swamp coolers" weirds me out a little.
Bryce is in Europe and I'm jealous.
I love you all!
Labels:
missouri is the best state ever,
music,
the canyon,
the sassy
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Missing Missouri
That's the title of a Sara Evans song that came up on iTunes when I typed in "Missouri." Is that a weird thing to do? It's simply because I'm SO excited to be coming home. I'm widely know as "the Missouri girl" around here. Which I love. Hometown pride! Actually, it's a little weirdly obsessive. There are a couple of girls from Missouri coming out this summer on Assignment Team as Work Crew bosses and I totally geeked out when I met them. And then I told all the other interns that there were girls from Missouri here so every time one of them met them they exclaimed about them being from Missouri as well. I think they were really freaked out.
All that to say, I'm coming home! Tomorrow! I'm so excited to get out of the Canyon. I'm anticipating it will be a relaxing, refreshing 6 days. I think it is just necessary to get away every once in a while. It's really easy for things to become routine and mundane here. Our whole lives are here. I forget why I'm doing it sometimes. So I have to get away, go see people who love me and know me well. So I'm pumped.
The past few days have been great. I love spring. I woke up this morning and it was drizzly and awesome. It smelled like spring this morning. This weekend is our first family camp which is a really fun change of pace. Also, we have May Madness in which is a work weekend where people come in and plant flowers in all the flower boxes all around camp. I have asked Curtis like 20 times when we were going to get flowers back so this isvery exciting for me. And probably for him, so that I'll stop asking.
We finally finished Celebration of Discipline in small group. I could not be more stoked about that. Not that it wasn't good, but I was really sick of that book. We're starting a book called To Be Told by Dan Allender for the next 5 weeks. It looks like a really good book so I'm excited. After that, the summer interns will be here so we'll split up. I'm going to be in a group with Lacey, Drew, Becca and Deanna with Jen and Pam. Chris and Leah will have all the other girls in their group. All the groups are going to do a study on James. I'm excited about it although I'm going to miss the other girls.
All that to say, I'm coming home! Tomorrow! I'm so excited to get out of the Canyon. I'm anticipating it will be a relaxing, refreshing 6 days. I think it is just necessary to get away every once in a while. It's really easy for things to become routine and mundane here. Our whole lives are here. I forget why I'm doing it sometimes. So I have to get away, go see people who love me and know me well. So I'm pumped.
The past few days have been great. I love spring. I woke up this morning and it was drizzly and awesome. It smelled like spring this morning. This weekend is our first family camp which is a really fun change of pace. Also, we have May Madness in which is a work weekend where people come in and plant flowers in all the flower boxes all around camp. I have asked Curtis like 20 times when we were going to get flowers back so this isvery exciting for me. And probably for him, so that I'll stop asking.
We finally finished Celebration of Discipline in small group. I could not be more stoked about that. Not that it wasn't good, but I was really sick of that book. We're starting a book called To Be Told by Dan Allender for the next 5 weeks. It looks like a really good book so I'm excited. After that, the summer interns will be here so we'll split up. I'm going to be in a group with Lacey, Drew, Becca and Deanna with Jen and Pam. Chris and Leah will have all the other girls in their group. All the groups are going to do a study on James. I'm excited about it although I'm going to miss the other girls.
If you're in Missouri, get pumped to see me because I'm pumped to see you!
Much love.
Much love.
Labels:
missouri is the best state ever,
music,
the canyon
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