Superbad, Supergood

So, I just watched Superbad and it was profane and offensive and hilarious. I hope I never grow up so much that I don't appreciate stupid humor.

Fun day in HK today. Fridays are always good because a lot of people work the night shift on Fridays so they're gone from HK in the afternoons. Lacey and Mandi are always in the dining hall or the kitchen as well, so there's only a few of us with Jen. We always have the most random jobs on Friday afternoons as well such as cleaning the statues or painting. We were just in the Washboard today, but there was some hilarious conversations about idiotic things we did in high school, aka shooting your friends with eggs from a tennis ball gun (Drew) or strapping a friend to an office chair and dragging him behind a car (me).

I cooked dinner at the boys' and just hung out tonight. It was nice, that house contains a lot less drama than mine. Although it smells a lot worse, so it's kind of a trade-off.

I'm putting off going to sleep because it always feels like Fridays should be a weekend, but I actually have to be at work at 6:30 tomorrow for espresso. Life in the Canyon.

2 weeks and 1 day until I come back to Missouri!

Spring is in the Air

So, I'm sitting outside in my courtyard on a giant picnic table in shorts and a t-shirt listening to my ipod, reading and now blogging... This could, quite possibly, be the perfect afternoon.

I have now become a firm believer in seasonal depression. Because my mood has vastly improved in the past couple of weeks because I can be outside without bundling up and wake up without having to turn on my heater. I love it.

The past few days have been really fun. The Assignment Teams for this summer have been here for training. The Assignment Team is made up of field staff who are sent on assignment every summer to different camps to fill in all the jobs that we don't staff. It was really fun to have them all in. It is also beginning to feel more and more like field staff may be in my future. Just talking to all these different people about what is going on in their areas was inspiring. It also got me super pumped for summer, although I'm trying to remain in the moment.

We had espresso this morning for the A Teams so I went in early and got off early, hence me sitting in my courtyard at 4:00 in the afternoon. I'm loving morning epresso more and more. Even though I hate getting up early, I love getting off work early!

We're in the middle of Man Camp month, we had a men's group last weekend and 2 more this weekend. Middle-aged men are really funny and have themes for their weekends such as "Wild Things" (one of the groups this weekend), "Iron Men," and "Men with Shields." The Men with Shields had an event where they made groups go out in the middle of the field and then let everyone else shoot water balloons at them while they ran around trying to pick up shields to shield themselves. It was one of the funniest things I've seen here. Also, the waterballoons were curtousy of their intern who spent literally all weekend sitting by a hose behind the Iron Kettle filling up like 1,000 water balloons. We all kept looking at him knowingly and sending him encouraging smiles. Interns get the best jobs!

Small group tonight, followed by staff worship...

I hope it is warm wherever you are and that flowers are blooming and birds are chirping. If not, be patient, it's worth the wait. Much love!

I'm Back!

OK, this was pathetic. I understand. Not to make excuses, but I kept getting so overwhelmed at the prospect of attempting to catch you up on all the time that I had missed and it was just to much. So I wouldn't blog and then more time would pass and it was just a vicious cycle. But I'm going to break out of it.

All that has happened in the last couple of months: I went to Seattle and LA, hung out at Oakbridge (another YL camp) for a week where I got to hang out with Cathy Riner (awesome!), it got warm and then cold and now warm again, I missed Missouri but fell more in love with my rugged central Oregon, we had a Death by Chocolate Dance Party (as great as it sounds), I turned 23 complete with a Scavenger Hunt birthday party and amazing birthday video featuring pretty much everyone I love from back home, and found my new favorite spot in the world.

I will feature pictures of all down at the bottom.

What is new in the Canyon? We all officially got our summer jobs. I am, of course, still in the Sassy. Sara, Lacey and Mandi remain in the store, dining hall and kitchen respectively but everyone else applies for new summer jobs and then they hire people for the remaining ones. Kristen is Zip/Swing, Becca is Waterfront, Drew is Guest Services, Nick is Video Tech, Dan is Sound Tech, Darren is staying in Landscape, Mike is staying in Maintenance, Peter is Ridge Runners and Dusty is in the Kitchen. We hired 7 new interns as well: Krista for the Sports Center, Amanda and Deanna for Housekeeping, Phil for ropes, Michael for the Kitchen, Dan for Landscape, and Jake for Bikes. The 3 girls will move in with us, so we're excited for that although it will make for a full house.

Also, I've started getting my summer staff applications in. I will ideally have 6 ladies working with me every session, 18 total over the summer. I have 9 in right now and am patiently waiting for the rest! I'm so excited to get to know these girls, they all seem so cool. We went on our retail retreat this past weekend and are getting really excited for the summer. I started planning devos (I lead them every day with my Sassy girls) and am so pumped for that. It feels good to be planning lessons again (I miss Campaigners!). It was also just a great weekend to talk about how Angela, Sara and I are going to work together and what kind of atmosphere we want to bring our summer staffers into. It's so exciting to think about the work that is going to be done here this summer and how we get to be a part of it. I just keep thinking about all the kids and all the leaders that will be here this summer and the relationships they'll build sitting in the Sassy, eating ice cream and playing pool. I love my job.

Also, my mom came to visit me. You can all go ahead and be jealous about that. It was really fun. Everyone was excited to meet the woman who always sends us such great treats! It really was a blessing to get to share what I'm doing out here with her, it's hard to explain this place if you've never seen it in action.

The Lord is good, the sun is shining and people are smiling, life doesn't get much better. I love you all and continue to miss you. I thought maybe that would stop at some point, but it hasn't. I just realize every day what a blessing the people in my life have been and continue to be. I am well loved, thank you for that. Call me, come visit, send me an email, carrier pigeon, any contact really would be fine. I love you all!

Picture diary of the last few months:

Seattle, including Pike Place Market, something called the Taco Bus and hilarious monkeys at the zoo

All of us at Oakbridge:


I stepped in dog poop at a gas station at like 3:00 in the morning. Lacey helped me clean it off with a window squeegee. She's a good friend.

LA!

Death by Chocolate Dance Party!

Just a few of the stops on my birthday Scavenger Hunt:

And my new favorite spot in the world, Maize Reservoir

I can't figure out how to get this last picture off, so enjoy it twice!