So we left for boy scout camp with the elementary kids on Sunday, instead of 10 we only had 8. I got this talk about how I was representing ROP and was the lead person since it was just me and Luke going/staying for the entirety of the camp and I'm on staff, Luke isn't, talk about pressure and nerve wrecking. We got there early, the first ones to arrive, I'm sure this is shocking for some of you since I was in charge, but I've actually been very good about being on time and early since I've been up here. We got our kids settled in the different tents, yes I said tents, and yes I did sleep in one. The other two groups got there and we got acquainted, Luke already knew the head of Open Doors group so that made things very easy, also Kaitlyn was there which made me super happy!! We had dinner and combined our kids, splitting them into color groups for the week based off of age. Kaitlyn and I got paired up and put with the youngest kids, we had 7 1st and 2nd graders, we were both excited and thought we were going to have a fairly easy time, we couldn't have been more wrong. Everyone went to campfire together and it was great, the kids were loving things. We went back to our campsite and had the kids start getting ready for bed. I got Illiana set up and in bed, she was our only girl, 7 years old and sleeping in a tent with me. As the adults were hanging around making sure everyone was good, Gary, the head of Open Door, called me as being the one that all the kids would go to in the middle of the night because they were scared or what not, I laughed it off not even realizing how right he would be. I told Illiana two different bed time stories to keep her from being scared, made sure 2 of my other boys got to bed okay since it was their first camping experience and then me, Luke, Jewell, and Kaitlyn walked down to the lake to talk and look at stars. We went back up to camp around 11 and right as I was getting settled into bed, Jewell came to my cabin and informed me that Sebastian was throwing up. Sebastian is the cutest and sweetest little 6 year old boy who has been waiting to go to camp for the past several years and was super excited to be there. We got him cleaned up and had the medic give him some stuff, and then we were told he would have to go home the next morning which made him cry and caused my heart to break. After getting all of that taken care of I went back to bed hoping to get some rest when Illiana woke up again and it took me a while to get her back to sleep. Finally thinking I would get some rest I heard a little boy crying outside of my tent, I got up and Elijah was wondering around camp crying because there was a spider in his tent, I killed it and then proceeded to try and prove to him for 30 minutes that it was dead. When I finally got him to sleep I went and laid back down, pretty sure it was nearing 2 at this point. I finally started to fall asleep when Alex, one of my favorites, came and woke me up because he was scared and also was worried about his little brother who was in a different tent, the kids were under very strict instructions to not enter anyone's tents, and Alex is a great kid who doesn't even think about pushing the rules let alone breaking them. These are the kinds of interruptions I got for the entire night and I'm pretty sure I never got more than 30 minutes of sleep at a time. I then got woken up for the day by two of my boys staring at me and poking my face at 6 in the morning. Our first day seemed like 2-3 days. I have never met more stubborn 6-7 year olds. Everything was a negotiation, especially with Elijah, which we later found out he didn't have his normal daily medication. We took the kids through an obstacle course that was built for much bigger kids. Shot BB guns, which is where Angelina called some boy scout out for shamelessly flirting with me and Kaitlyn, which was incredibly hilarious. I got to shoot the staff gun because they didn't have any more of the ones the kids were shooting, and I totally impressed everyone with my amazing shooting skills, no joke, I actually shot a fly that landed on my target, on purpose, the guys were betting that I couldn't do it. Not going to lie, pretty sure I have never been more proud of my country girl skills and totally attribute it to my father and brother, and being from Oklahoma!! We took the kids to the lake, which was a lot of fun, I was so excited to finally be in water, even if it was wading in the shallow end of a pond/"lake", and I got to try and teach some of the kids about swimming and such which I always enjoy. After lunch we had tent time which is basically a time for kids to chill and maybe even take a nap, Kaitlyn and I laid out and tried to work on our tans while Luke and Gary made fun of and played disc golf. It was really good to be able to just sit and chill and talk about life and such, I'm pretty sure Kaitlyn and I are going to be really good friends, we get along so well, I'm so thankful she came into my life and will be here through September. The afternoon was pretty long, we had crafts which went well, then we went to sling shots which didn't go as well, Kaitlyn and I had to step up and enforce some major discipline, after that the rest of the afternoon went pretty well. After dinner was free time, we took our kids up to do tie dye shirts and then took them boating on the lake right at sun down, worst decision we had made. They were great when they were on the water and completely occupied, when we got off the water, things went down hill really fast. I unfortunately had to pull out some major bad cop, mom voice lecture skills and I totally hated it. When we got back to camp they all went straight to bed and when I was hoping to get some down time Alex came to me very worked up and wanting to sleep with me because he was so scared, it was so heart breaking. After what seemed like forever I finally got our set of kids settled in there tents and went to have some downtime with Kaitlyn which turned into us and Luke, then Gary and Gene joined us. We had some great conversation and overall it really helped to settle me. I got woken up a few times during the night, but not as many as the night before and Tuesday went very well with the kids. They were on great behavior for the most part. We packed up to head back home Tuesday after lunch, we stopped at McDonald's to let the kids play on the playground and to try and break up the drive a bit. When we were leaving I had Luke get in front of me because I didn't want to lead anymore and try and figure out a way home when he already knew it since he lives in Denver and is familiar with the area. We were maybe 2 miles from the McDonald's when we were coming down a hill, Luke was stopping for a red light and I tried to stop, my brakes weren't responding, I luckily had enough time to put my car in neutral and pull up my emergency brake in hopes of minimizing the impact. The crash didn't do any physical damage to Luke's car, but completely smashed up the front of Bulldog, we had to pull over because my car wasn't letting me drive. Luke transported Jewell and the kids back to the McDonald's to play while they waited on someone else to come pick them up. I stayed with my car and spent over an hour on the phone filing a claim, figuring out what body shop to have my car towed to, and trying to work out other details of the wreck. I felt so bad for Luke because every time he came back to me I was experiencing another emotion and was trying as hard as I could to hold it all together. We argued about if he was staying with me while I waited on the wrecker and the rental car people to pick me up, he soon realized that there was no way he was going to win, I was way more stubborn he left and helped get the kids back to the center for our Tuesday evening programming. Enterprise finally picked me up and got me set in a car, luckily rentals are a part of my coverage and I don't have to pay for them. I got back to ROP where Luke and Jewell had made me dinner and were waiting to cheer me up, which basically turned into rag on Dena time. It was good though, it made me feel like I was back at home and hanging out around the guys. Angelina took each of the kids home and talked to the parents about what had happened and the support the parents offered up to me was so touching, I was terrified about what their responses were going to be, but there wasn't a bad one. A few of the parents were more worried about how I was doing and feeling more than anything. I'll post more later about how the rest of the week went, but I need to get some sleep, so I'm leaving you with some pictures of poor Bulldog.
Muchos love!!
OHHHHHH dear one and dear bulldog! Wow
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