Frustrated

I was frustrated today. It rained almost the whole day at camp which meant the children had to stay indoors almost the whole day and we weren't able to do our usual activities. It was also super crazy with all the campers indoors.

During afternoon pool we were told by a lifeguard to use the deep end of the indoor heated pool, because another group from camp was using the shallow end. Half of the children in my group couldn't go in because they don't know how to swim in that end. With about 10 minutes left of the swim time the lifeguard told us that we needed to go outside to swim, where it was windy, cold, and rainy. So we got the children out of the water and took all their stuff outside to swim. I just didn't understand why we couldn't stay in the heated pool or go in the shallow end. It was so cold outside for the little ones. Most of them hardly have any body fat to keep them warm as it is. Of course, I tried to stay excited about it for the children. It was just really hard with the mixed messages. And it was the same lifeguard that told us both times. Oh, well, at least we only had six children today. Also, smart thinking on my part but, I wore khaki light pants today and got a lot of mud on them. Here's to hoping it doesn't rain tomorrow...

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

I've been really bad at blogging. I always think "Oh, I should write but I'll do it later" then later never comes. Anyhow...I thought I would write about some of things I've been doing so far this summer.

These are some of the things that I do in the summer time:

Plant a garden. We finally have some vegetables that are ripe in the garden. Some radishes were picked today. Some of them were quite huge (and spicy too, whoo!). We also canned four jars of cherries from the two trees in our backyard with more to come. This year we got them before the birds. The lettuce is ready and the tomatoes and peppers are also starting to come up. The squash plants have little squash flowers on them. These are our canned cherries.


Go swimming. I'm working as a camp counselor at a Jewish summer camp. I work with two other counselors and we have about 12 five year olds that we take care of. They can be quite a handful sometimes but are so fun to work with. We go swimming twice a day. They have swimming lessons in the morning and free swim in the afternoon.

There are three girls in the group and they always want to play "shark" with me during the free swim. They pretend they are going to attack me and I have to swim away. Once they catch me, I get to be the shark and try to catch them. Another game they like to play is "touch the rope." There is a rope which divides the shallow end from the deep end. They like to have me swim them over and let them touch the rope. They each stick their little pointer fingers out and quickly touch the rope and are ready to go back. It is so cute. For those of you that have seen Finding Nemo it reminds me of the part where they race out to touch the "butt."

One of boys told me the other day that one of his favorite movies was Kung Fu Panda and he said I "definitely have to watch it on the IMAX screen!" I would love to put pictures up but, unfortunately, I am not able to because of privacy reasons.

Volunteer at Special Olympics. My sister and I volunteered for the Special Olympics yesterday which was actually Saturday the 28th. (I started this post on Thursday). We helped with the aquatics. Some of the people are so funny. Some of them are also very flirty. So flirty in fact, that one guy offered to be my boyfriend! After each group swam they had a little awards ceremony. They went onto a stand much like the real Olympics and received their medals and had their pictures taken. It was really fun. The Olympics were held at OSU and I'm surprised at how many different events they had. Some of them included gymnastics, volleyball, swimming, and track.

Eat fruit. I LOVE summertime fruit. There is such variety during the summer and it all tastes sooo good.

Listen to the rain and watch the thunderstorms. It has rained during the past three days. Usually it only lasts for 45 minutes or less but I still enjoy it. I miss having a big porch to sit outside and watch them.

I tried moving the pictures down and I became frustrated, so they're staying right where they are. I put the cursor where I wanted the pictures and after I downloaded them they didn't end up where I wanted but went to the top of the post instead. Argh...

This is a little bit of what I have been up to lately. What do you do in the summertime?

Easy

I really need to write about my graduation, but since I don't have pictures transferred from the camera yet and I'm too tired to think about it right now you will be getting an "easy" blog from me. Even though I haven't been tagged I'm still doing it...

The rules of this get posted at the beginning. Each person answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the blogger then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment to let them know they've been tagged.

What were you doing five years ago?
I was on my mission and serving in Helena Montana.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
1. Fill out the application to West Ridge
2. Look for apartments
3. Clean my room
4. Have fun at camp
5. Update my resume

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Fruit
2. Cheese
3. Popcorn
4. Ice cream
5. Good bread

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Help my parents and sister pay off any debts they might have
2. Travel
3. Save the money
4. Learn how to fly an airplane
5. Donate it to those who need it more than I would

What are five of your bad habits?
1. Eating when I'm not really hungry
2. Procrastinating (I'm really bad at it)
3. Staying up too late
4. Cracking my knuckles
5. Not returning phone calls

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Columbus, OH
2. Miles City, MT
3. Cody, WY
4. Powell, WY
5. Bigfork, MT

What are five jobs you’ve had?
1. Colonial Candy Shoppe
2. Riverside Methodist Hospital
3. OSU Hospital Neurology Unit
4. Research Assistant for HDFS department
5. JCC camp counselor

What five people do you want to tag?
Anyone!

Smart kid

This video is hilarious! I especially love the boy's accent.

60 + Things about me

1. I enjoy learning
2. I love the gospel
3. I love my family
4. I like watching thunderstorms and hearing the rain
5. I become annoyed when people try to dominate conversations
6. I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger (I love animals too!)
7. I am left handed
8. I love the smell of freshly cut grass
9. I don't like spending money but when I do, I love finding a bargain
10. I sign up for free contests in hopes that one day I might win some vacation or other prize!
11. I have never owned a cell phone
12. I like watching Seinfeld
13. I love laughing
14. I wish I were more adventurous
15. I want to visit NYC someday
16. I had two piercings in each of my ears (I've let the holes grow over though)
17. I dislike goodbyes
18. I love Montana and Wyoming
19. My hair gets frizzy when it rains
20. Two of my favorite books are Lost in Yonkers and Belle Prater's Boy
21. When I get mosquito bites they really swell up and itch a lot
22. I like going grocery shopping
23. I think popping bubble wrap is therapeutic
24. Cutting out coupons helps me to relieve my stress
25. I am not a morning person
26. I love eating peaches and cottage cheese
27. It is hard coming up with things for this list
28. I enjoy camping
29. I've always loved screened in porches
30. I met Thomas Jefferson once and and he signed a two dollar bill for me!
31. I'm afraid of heights
32. I home schooled during high school
33. I love babies and children
34. I enjoy learning about new cultures
35. I am a laid back person
36. I don't like making decisions
37. I have never played a video game
38. When I first meet people I usually think they think I'm snobby (I'm just quiet until you get to know me)
39. Sometimes I am very self conscious
40. I enjoy going to the movies and eating popcorn
41. I'm really bad at letter writing but like receiving letters
42. I will try almost any food once
43. One time when I went rappelling I fell upside down
44. I've had five surgeries
45. I hate math because I'm awful with numbers
46. I was born with a mole on my right wrist
47. I've never gotten a traffic ticket
48. I have never broken a bone
49. I don't like Visiting Teaching (I'm working on it though)
50. My right hip pops out of place
51. The first time I rode a plane was on a private jet
52. I love swinging
53. I have a red birth mark on the back of my neck
54. I taught myself how to ride a bicycle when I was 20
55. I think who ever invented mint Oreos is a genius
56. I love going to the public library
57. Someday I want to own a house with a wrap around porch in the country
58. I love to bake
59. I think men in fire fighter uniforms are good looking
60. I want to own a tree frog someday
61. Watermelon and strawberries are two of my favorite summer time fruits
62. I like people watching at airports
63. I am almost done with college!
64. I don't like talking on the phone

Thoughts

1. I am graduating next Sunday and it's coming up so fast. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I'm excited and on the other I'm nervous and a little bit scared about what is coming up. I sometimes wish I had applied directly to graduate school for the fall so I would know where I would be, but during this year I was feeling so burnt out with school. It was my seventh quarter in a row and I just needed a break. Oh, well. I'll apply in a year and have the time off to decide exactly what I want to do.

2. We are going strawberry picking tomorrow tomorrow at Circle S Farms! It is the first day they are available to be picked. I should stay home and work on an exam that is due but I don't think I can. I love the smell of fresh strawberries and having them for days and weeks afterward. I also love eating them as they are being picked! Strawberry pie, strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, etc. Yum!

3. I have grey hair. I can't believe it. I've been noticing them for a while (I only have about three) but it seems to early for me to have them. I've been considering whether I should dye my hair or just leave it. Maybe I will wait until I have some more...

4. I miss Montana and Wyoming. I really do. I love how friendly the people are, how laid back the lifestyle is, and I miss the beauty of it. I even miss the wildlife and the forest fire smell during the summer. The sprawling land and beautiful mountains always helped me to feel more at home. There is a certain freedom that I felt as I lived there (even though I was on a mission) the land is just so spacious and beautiful. Definitely God's country.

5. I just finished a juvenile fiction book called "Lily's Crossing" by Patricia Reilly Giff. The book takes place during World War II and is the story of a young girl named Lily and her adventures and struggles over a summer at Rockaway beach in New York. Good book, which I recommend (even though it's for young adults). And it did win a Newbery Honor award. For some reason I seem to gravitate toward books that take place during WW II. That time period has always been of real interest to me.

6. During this past month we bought two watermelons and they were both so mushy inside. :-( I don't know if it was the brand that wasn't good or what. It seems like such a waste of money. Even though we did use the insides for smoothies, I don't think they are as good that way. We 'tested' both of them and they sounded hollow but somehow they were still mushy. Maybe I don't really know how to pick a good watermelon. Any suggestions? There is nothing like a cold piece of watermelon on a hot summer day! It is so refreshing.

Happy first day of June!