cucumber extravaganza

where's the off switch?!

we're being overrun with cucumbers. this is what we've harvested in the last two days.

break break your break break your heart

it pouuuuuuuured tonight. and we were in the best possible location for a big storm. first we were in the dining hall, which is lined with walls of windows and has a tin roof. then they decided we couldn't wait it out any longer and sent the kids to their cabins, so desiree and kelsey and i went and played basketball in the dark under the pavillion, which is all open and also has a metal roof.

we played the most fun game tonight called sing down. you pick a word.. like 'light' or 'stars' or 'love' and then each team has to think of every song they can with that word in it. you can't repeat other teams songs and you can't repeat from round to round. they did one round of songs that had dances associated with them. they got through 60 songs before a team got out. and then one category was disney songs. so much fun.

more time

this is the last week of first session! it's flown by. my break yesterday also flew by. spent some quality time with jeffy. glad to be back.

i am so tired. time for bed! hope everyone had a nice weekend.

and my heart on the dance floor

we returned from enchanted rock! the differences between going with the boys and the girls was pretty amusing. the girls had an impromptu american idol contest at dinner, we ate overcooked pasta with our hands and were running 2 hours late the whole time. the boys had a contest to see who could find the biggest stick, came up with challenges for each other, and there were tears while we were caving.

these pictures are from the restaurant challenge we had tonight. the second year kids cooked, hosted, served and cleaned up. it was really good actually. i chose italian so we had garlic bread, salad, pasta and smoothies.
since the boys were gone for most of the day, the girls had a girly day for their free time activity. they all did their hair and nails and got fancied up. it's funny to see how different they/we all look when we're dressed up.
desiree is the office manager. i broke out the fish dress. and hayley is in charge of the pool.
so glad to be back in the air conditioning, sleeping on a real mattress and not being the only girl around. the boys were nice to me, but it just isn't the same. tomorrow is my day off!

stop telephoning

lesson of the day: in order to have clear communication, you need the person to speak clearly, loudly and succinctly. the person listening needs to pay attention and give appropriate feedback.

we went on a field trip to the killeen daily herald today for journalism club. the kids were actually really cool about it. they didn't have many questions prepared when we chatted about it in the van on the way over, but when we were actually sitting in front of the tour guide, they came up with all kinds of intelligent, relevant questions. it was neat.

camping again tomorrow night, this time with the boys. it's me, 4 male counselors and 18 boys. i have my own little one person tent. should be interesting. cross your fingers.

pointing me on my way

it occurred to me today while reading over my blog of camp so far that i haven't really talked about the kids at all. the program is five years long, and i'm teaching the first year kids, who will be in 7th grade next year. i looooove them. some are shy, there are about 5 who want to answer every question every time, they race for the cocoa puffs in the morning, they'll do anything for stickers, they're learning how to be chiefs and indians. they're receptive to lessons, listen well, and quiet down quickly.

the thing i'm most proud of personally is that i was able to step out of my shyness from the beginning with the counselors and let them get to know who i am with my friends.. so then when the kids got here, they just joined our club of closeness. so now, it kind of feels like they're all little members of my family. they know my crazy dance and sense of humor. they come get hugs in the morning and throughout the day. i can give them the 'i'm disappointed' face and it's enough to make [the majority of] them stop. it's kind of amazing.

so it's been a lot of fun. several times a day, i find myself thinking that i'm in the right place. my past experience with kids has really helped. when i was a counselor at a leadership camp in college, i didn't really have the strategies to be able to successfully lead a group of kids. i was just doing what i remembered my parents doing.. which works well if you're naturally going to follow the rules. not so much otherwise.

but now, after that experience and after teaching, i do feel like i know what i'm doing. i know where the balance is between being fun and strict, how to set clear expectations and follow through with rewards and punishments, and how to talk to them on their level without treating them like babies or peers. so that's where we are at the beginning of week 3. half way! so far, so good.

p.s. the big news is that someone accidentally left the hose for the pool on, and a large amount of our well water was depleted. so for the past four days we've been on a mandatory water restriction which means 2 minute showers, no laundry, we're using styrofoam plates so we don't have to do dishes [sad face] and no pool time. it's kind of brutal.

forever yours

megan: thanks for offering to help clear the table, elijah. here's a sticker

elijah: thanks!

kane: ben is stupid

::megan takes sticker from kane::

kane: chuy is only acting well behaved because he wants stickers. he's not really that good.

megan: since you have no stickers left, now when you say something discouraging or mean, a little piece of your soul just flies away.

i thought it was funny at the time, but what i didn't know was that the entire class of boys was going to make it into a big deal for the rest of time. they've been copying me, they did a reenactment during dinner, they've been calling me over the walkie to ask about their souls. kind of funny, kind of annoying. but they get the point.

hey soul sister

crepe myrtles are one of the prettiest trees in texas. they make such an impact with so many blossoms. jeff and i walked around the neighborhood to scope them out.

we had a relaxed father's day. randomly ran into the carsons at rudy's bbq.
we got all burred up when we attempted to take a short cut through this overgrown alley of grass and weeds.

happy father's day!

enchanted

today we hiked this:

and we saw this:
we slept here:
ate this:
and were lead by him:
i was so impressed with the girls at enchanted rock these last two days. today we went caving and i was in the very back, and the three girls ahead of me were all pretty freaked out, but they did it! they were encouraging everyone else and telling people where to put their feet and just being really awesome. i used to think i liked the boys most, but the girls are amazing.

when i got here, i made a decision to try to be the best version of myself i can be. minimal gossip, always positive, helping without being asked, finding a balance with the kids.. and it's been really cool. the kids are super respectful and a lot of them come find me to chat about stuff when we're just hanging out. they take the lessons in my class to heart and they're really practicing good leadership skills. it makes me feel like i'm definitely where i'm supposed to be right now.

shining, shimmering, splendid

i think i'm getting sick. =\ my ear hurts.

capture the flag!
the counselors went a little crazy with the paint. we think rob was eating it.


this is bianca. she went through the program as a camper and now she's a counselor.
kelsey. she does ropes course stuff.

sooo tired. tomorrow i'm going on the overnight trip with the girls, so i'll catch up on friday or saturday.

a whole new wooooorld

it was my turn to be the 'officer of the day' which meant i needed to make sure everyone was on time to everything. stressful! we had a fire drill, mask making ran way over time, the head chef left. but all ended up well.

coolest part of the day: a kid who had a traumatic experience in water as a child, who initially refused to even go near the pool, was in the water today learning to swim.

[kristen and alex are twins].

alex's cabin has taken up calling me 'miss megan' which is pretty amusing for all of us. middle schoolers are fun/dramatic/teeny tiny.

and kristen, who took over kitchen duties, cooked the squash i brought from my garden and people ate it! we aren't allowed to feed it to the kids since it isn't from our supplier, but the counselors can eat it at their own risk. it went over well. although her peach cobbler stole the show.

just wanna hold your hand

bridesmaid megan!

lesson of the day: goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time oriented. kids did awesome today. and i used my lifeguard whistle for the first time.. because a counselor/fellow lifeguard was dunking people! sheesh.

so last night.. i'm in bed, kristen is sitting on my bed. i turn down my covers while i get out to brush my teeth. when i come back and turn my bed back over, i see this staring up at me:

and i was so surprised to see him that i just screamed bloody murder, which caused kristen to scream, which caused hayley to scream. i was laughing so hard i couldn't call for help, but ted came to the rescue. the gecko made it out alive, but he apparently lost one arm.

because he's your brother

things i love about camp:

1. doing things i haven't done since i was in elementary school.. like..

2. jump roping while singing 'cinderella, dressed in yella, went upstairs to kiss a fella..'

3. turning everything into a skit

4. 13 yr old boys and their awkward ways

5. teaching kids to make smoothies

6. fulfilling my random lifelong lifeguarding dream

7. not having kids of my own which equals being able to join whatever activity sounds like fun

8. constantly pestering children about what they've done to be a leader that day

9. teaching tiny lessons about the environment

10. playing the happy working song from enchanted while we mop the dining hall floor

11. watching lightbulbs light up over heads and kids transforming daily into stronger, more capable little people

things i love about being home:

1. the garden

2. having dinner with jeffy

3. food that involves vinegar, pickled things, hot pepper and ricotta cheese

4. regular speed internet

5. ripley

6. dishes that aren't plastic

7. not having to drink a glass of water before i can drink something else

8. sleeping in a big bed

9. eventually seeing maj and faj

10. a bathroom that is more than 10 feet from a human being

11. catching up on glee, etc.

20 more hours of freedom!

heartbreaker

lifeguard megan! watch out. i have my visor, one piece and whistle.

every day gets better and better. obviously, the more kids respect you, the less likely they are to do silly things in your class. i think we're getting to the point where they don't want to disappoint me. and i carry a serious stash of silly bands with me at all times, so there are incentives aplenty.

we went on a night hike tonight without flashlights and we learned about the stars and the chemicals in your eyes that allow you to see at night. lots of the boys stopped to help the girls down the rocky path in the dark which was nice.

a couple of them are trying to figure out these games we've taught them. tonight two of them spent half an hour with me playing 'umbrella.' you have to guess what fits under the umbrella. the trick is when the person is saying what fits, they say 'umm' first. it took me foreeeever to figure it out. i wonder how long it'll take them. they both naturally say 'umm' a lot when they're thinking, so they're close.

p.s.

we have planters at the house now!

sha lalalalalala

taught my first class today. it was pretty good. the cards aren't in my favor because most of the other activities they do all day involve arts and crafts, teambuilding, running around in general. my class is kind of low key, we do posters, we do skits, we chat about our feelings. it's going to be good though once we all get to know each other.

all of my stuff is usually in the morning or late afternoon and then i'm free except when they need a lifeguard which is nice. today i lifeguarded as some of the kids were learning how to paddle a kayak up and down the river. it was refreshing.

gave away one silly band today.

switch to the other side

craaazy day checking in all of the kids. you can plan and plan and plan, but things never turn out that way. no one had their schedule with them, so we were all kind of winging it. we had fun though. lots of games. i think i know 1/4 of the names. tomorrow is the first full day on the regular schedule, so we'll see how that goes.the weather in this summer has been crazy. so much rain and humidity. it's usually just really hot and dry. today it drizzled all morning and then water just hung in the air for the rest of the day.

put a ring on it

this was our last day without kiddos. there was dancing..

..there was bbq'd chicken. there was a round of camp themed jeopardy. it was a fun day.
apparently the latest craze in the kid world is these things called silly bands. they're rubber bands shaped like all kinds of objects, and you wear them on your wrist and then take them off to show people the cool designs. a lot of people from out of state brought them. i had never seen them before.
other than that, it's been pretty low key. a big part of my job is just keeping people up beat and doing little cutesy things. the other girl in my position, kristen, is super sweet. she's from north carolina. she has the funniest accent. she laughs at everything and her laugh makes all of us laugh. so we've been doing lots of little projects together.

tonight we had a closing ceremony and we did staff awards. we used to do them at the end of the year in high school for newspaper and it was always one of our favorite things. the staff really liked them. i designed them :P check out those photoshop skills..

time for bed.

mutant garden

when the cat's away!! look at these pictures. i have to go to dinner, but they explain themselves.

LOOK AT THAT SQUASSHHHH! we found it under a big leaf.