Day 3....

I am sitting alone in our computer lab here and it is amazing. I don't know what it's like to be alone, and I must say I miss it. Today the kids true colors started shining. They are still very sweet girls, just a little anger issues. My group went on a 2-hour hike in the woods, which are hilly, and I literally had to drag a girl through. She pretended to faint twice and sprawled out on the ground throwing fits. I am having to be VERY inventive and patient with trying to help calm the girls. We (all the other counselors) are trying to figure out what causes our group to explode and how we can avoid the mass explosions. There were so many tears today and most of the kids are homesick. I had a really funny experience today though so I will share: I took a boy to arts and crafts for one of his choice periods and he was furious because he thought he chose fishing. Apparently art and crafts are no where near as fun as fishing because he was crying so hard I thought he was going to pass out from lack of air. Finally he calmed down and I convinced him to make a really cool batman mask and he told me how he loves art. He kept saying this over and over to convince him of his decision of going to arts and crafts: "You think you make the wrong decision, but they can turn out to be the right decision sometimes." He is 7, and oh, so smart.

So I am not trying to emphasize the negatives constantly, but it's nice to get it out. Once the kids go to bed nobody talks about the day and I don't have phone service so I can't tell my parents or friends. If I did have service, there is no where to talk because everyone sleeps with their windows open and I talk too loud....so I just like getting it in the open here. Don't be confused though, I am having a blast. Really! My girls are precious and it's nice having something that challenges me. I know that this is shaping me to be a better person and I am willing to take some hard times for it. All the frustration melts when you look at our 13 precious kids, they are so funny and soooooo cute. I wish you could see their faces, you would love them to. Also, I can't complain with being in an absolutely beautiful place and working with some great people!

Sorry about the rambling...tomorrow I will hopefully have lots of fun stories to tell! I miss everyone :)

This is hard work...

The kids got here yesterday and I have entered a state of exhaustion that I have never experienced before. I didn't realize how difficult it could be. I have two girls in my bunk that are autistic and one is nonverbal. It makes for some pretty interesting times to say the least. I have a line behind me but I will tell more later. Have a great day, miss everyone :)

Update 9:30 pm....I am finally off! Whew. Today wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. It's going to take some time to get used to each child and figure out their individual triggers. There are so many different types of girls in my bunk from ADHD to anger issues. They are absolutely precious though and man do they make me laugh! We wake up at 8am and then head to breakfast. All 500 of us here at camp eat in the dining hall and there are 4 counselors and 4 campers to a table. I feel sorry for every mom because I am experiencing meals with kids...meal time is definitely not an easy task. We have a VERY structured day because it helps the kids here thrive. Luckily, that tight structure makes the day go by pretty fast. This morning, all 6 girls were awake at 7am...can't say we were thrilled about that. We did several fun activities and then shut it all down at 8:30. Every night the kids get milk and cookies while we discuss our highs and lows for the day, then we put them to bed and read stories until they are all asleep. They are angels at this time of night, and I love this time because it reminds me that no matter what hindrances they may have or what anger they can cause, they are all sweet, innocent, beautiful little girls.
I am also working with a bunk of 7 CRAZY boys. Yesterday, one boy asked me how much longer until dinner and I told him a little over an hour. He asked me persistently how much longer we had. While we were walking to play basketball, I told him we had 30 minutes left and let me in on a little life secret he had, "You know what I know? I know that every second counts" Wow. He's the cutest and most brilliant little boy ever. He also was digging and dirt and kept saying how it's all connected. Keep in mind he's only 7.
Last night it took us 2 hours to get our kids showered and put in bed, tonight only 30 minutes! Best accomplishment in my life! The earlier the kids are in bed, earlier we are "off" and the On-Duty Counselor takes over and watches our bunk.

There is SO much more that I could talk about, really, but that would take hours of typing. I definitely don't have that much time! Aunt Stephanie, I would assume that when you read this you will be settling into some sort of home in Hawaii. Enjoy every second of the couple of months you're there!

Bye :)

Finally an update!!!!

It has been WONDERFUL to be away from technology for a week. I do miss it a little though. This week has been amazing and the camp is beautiful! So I flew up here on Sunday and landed at LGA and from the sky I saw the Empire State Building- that is where I got very giddy. We had to take like a 3 hour bus ride to the camp so I saw all of NYC and Yankee Stadium...SO cool. I want to visit NYC so badly. We have been going through some pretty intense training this whole week and I am very anxious for this kiddos to get here. I learned about my counselors today and it should be a difficult but rewarding 2 weeks. Last night we had time off so we went into Kingston...it's surrounded by mountains so that was nice. Then we went into Rhinebeck and it it seriously the cutest town ever. My bunk is pretty nice here, no air conditioning and we sleep with the windows open so it's comfortable. I haven't put on makeup (except for last night) nor have I done anything but wash my hair and put it in a pony tail so that has been awesome. Today we did the low ropes course and tomorrow we take our swim test and do the high ropes. The food is decent, today for lunch we had hummus sandwiches, nutri-grain bars, and Klondike bars. Not too bad at all. Tonight we go camping and make smores...the cool things is that we sleep outside. I've been camping plenty of times but never slept outside of the tent so it should be a neat experience. Sorry this is so random, but my mind is jumping every possible way right now. Also want to apologize about not getting to talk to anyone, I have ZERO reception out here. But I personally like not talking on the phone for some weird reason. I will try and get some pictures up...but don't count on it too soon. If you want to see it better go to ramapoforchildren.org
I have met lots of cool people. Let me tell you, it's a different world up as far as political and religious beliefs go. Basically, if you say you like George W. you better take shelter. It's not really that bad...and I love hearing about what people believe in and think about certain topics. I am the only Louisiana person, I believe, and have gotten many compliments on my accent so that's great. Mostly everyone is from the midwest and east coast area.

I miss everyone and am having a great time! Hope everyone is having a great summer so far :)

Houston = great fun!

I couldn't have asked for a better day than the one I got to experience. I woke up relatively early, walked out on a balcony and watched surfers for a little while. The ocean has got to be the most peaceful place on the planet. I would sit and watch the waves roll in all day and not even stop to look at a watch. Maybe I should consider moving to a beach, or at least building a vacation house on the beach (dreamin' big!). Then my family and I drove to Houston where I, yep that's right, got take the lead. I must say I impressed myself with maneuvering us around considering I have only been to Houston a couple of times in my life...luckily they all occurred within the last school year. We checked into our hotel and discussed possible lunch suggestions. I love, love Cheesecake Factory and since my family hasn't had the privilege to go, it seemed like the perfect place. It certainly was. I was wearing my Yankees shirt with Pettitte written on the back...clearly not the best place to be wearing that particular shirt. I got hounded by our waiter but it was all good fun. Come to find out, he waited on A-Rod and Jeter yesterday and today Joba and Jorge came in to eat there. I was a little starstruck for a brief moment. We ate at the one in the Galleria which I was also able to direct us to mostly. Thank goodness my grandpa taught me how to read a map well! After that we head over to Minute Maid Park where I think I am going to watch my team take bp...wrong, the game started an hour earlier than we thought. Oh well though. We get in and find our seats which were one row away from being at the very top. As high as we were, I completely loved the seats. We had air conditioning and the best view of all- right behind home plate. A-Rod hit a homer and Mussina pitched a great game, his 10th win of the season. I got to see Ohlendorf pitch for the first time, a little shaky but okay, and Farnsworth. I was hoping for Mo to close, but Farns will do...he scares me just a little. The Yankees ended up winning 8-4 and the Astros should have learned one thing from this game: NEVER intentionally walk A-Rod. They did it twice and it backfired...not that I am complaining. Tomorrow Chien Ming Wang pitches so that should be a good game. Yesterday, Joba lasted 6 inning...I so wish I could have been there for that game! Hopefully they can come out with a sweep and be I think 4 or 5 games above .500!


Well, I leave tomorrow and I hope I am ready. I didn't have room to pack a pillow so that's the only thing I know I will be without. Thanks to my great friends for talking to me a lot these past couple of days- I LOVE yall tons :) I have that sick to my stomach feeling that I hope goes away soon. I am very ready for tomorrow, minus waking up at 4:45 am, but I am definitely not ready to say good-bye to my family. I'm not sure how to prepare myself for that one...I have pretty much put off the thought of it...hopefully I don't break down once the plane takes off. I am sooo excited though I can barely handle sitting here still....hurry up tomorrow!

Funny waiter really didn't like that I was wearing a NY shirt, so he got us back!

It's a really nice ball park....right behind home place...just HIGH up!

My BFF! :)

Right in downtown Houston. There were 40,000+ at the stadium!

Not sure when I can do this again...hopefully soon. I am not the most technologically savvy person around, but I am going to miss all the perks technology offers. Forgive me if this isn't always updated. Mom and dad, I know you're going to read this...just want you both to know that this was a wonderful past couple of days and I couldn't have asked for more. I am going to miss yall a TON! Don't miss me too much :)

Hope New York is ready for me!

Good Ol' Galveston.

I am sitting in the lobby of the Flagship Hotel in the water of the gulf. Seriously...this hotel is supported by concrete columns that are in the water. It's pretty neat actually, and since us staying here was very last minute it's not too bad at all. They have wireless internet-in the lobby- so that's all that matters. We got on the road this morning around 6 ish and have been going nonstop. We took the ferry into Galveston and then stopped to eat at Fish Tales. From there we crossed the street to our hotel where we saw a guy who was hit by a car...crazy! Luckily he was OK. We then proceeded to hang out at the beach for a couple of hours. I somehow forgot to apply the SPF, you think with my record of sunburns I would remember, so now I am paying for it with my extra red skin. Later we went to Rainforest Cafe were we waited way too long and paid way too much, well mom and dad paid, for a slightly mediocre restaurant. We should have gone to the Mediterranean place we saw. Oh well. Tomorrow we are heading out early to trek on over to Houston where I will be in control of our escapades. Scary, I know, but I think I know my way around Houston good enough...I hope. The biggest excitement for tomorrow is the Yankees game! I haven't been to Minute Maid Park before so that should be fun....and I am SO glad they have a retractable roof because it's supposed to storm like crazy.

Here are some pictures from the exciting day:

This shows the amount of fun we were having at the beach :)

Me and Liz are sweet to each other sometimes!

My youngest sister who is going to miss me terribly....right?

Rainforest Cafe and their "volcano"

Hope everyone had a great Friday the 13th and has a relaxing Saturday!

It's really here.

At the end of January/beginning of February I was determined I would have big plans for summer 08. I had originally been trying to do some work with a St. Jude/ALSAC office in Dallas but it wasn't really going anywhere. I was pretty much set that I would be spending the summer in Haughton. Who knew a simple walk in Woodard Hall would change that all. I was needing to talk to my psychology teacher and saw a very plainly decorated flyer that had these two questions: Want to have a memorable summer, Want to make a difference? Of course my answer was yes to both of those, but it didn't leave a lasting impact on me. Later, way later, that night I started thinking about the displayed camp and google searched the place for hours. Brilliant me forgot to look at the name. Somehow, I randomly found it and fell in love with it immediately. Definitely not anything I would ever be interested in, but for some reason it touched my heart so I applied. At around 1:30 am I hit submit and received a phone call the next day to set up an interview time. I was pretty reluctant about telling my family, but they were amazingly okay with it, kind of. Next thing I know I was booking a flight to NYC. Crazy as it gets. If you don't know, this camp deals with kids who have special needs ranging from Autism, behavioral issues, to learning disabilites. They are all city kids who get the opportunity to let loose on this 200-something acre campsite.


I don't know a soul going. I don't even know what I will really be doing. But for some reason, perhaps in my crazy mind, it seems like a pretty rewarding adventure. I can't tell you exactly why I am going, but I do know I want to help the kids and show them acceptance, love, and friendship. When I interviewed I was asked why I want to work with this particular population of children and I told him that I know I have a lot of love that I am willing to share. Especially to kids who we often call "different". I hope to show something special to them, something they don't fully understand, a love that I too can hardly understand. I want them to know me and I too want to know them. I want to be a part of creating the most memorable summer in a child's life. Bottom line- I want the love that comes from above to pour out of me and flow all over these sweet little kiddos :) Hopefully I succeed.


I cannot even fathom that I am done with LA for two months. Where did time go? I, well mom, just finished packing about 90 lbs. of luggage that I get to tote by myself. As nervous as I am about the unexpected, I am thoroughly excited. I get to spend a summer in NY, it doesn't get much better than that. And I will have a ton of storied to tell I'm sure. Hope you all are ready to listen when I get home! Well, tomorrow we leave bright and early, 6 am, to go to Galveston for the day and then we will spend the rest of the time in Houston. I love Houston, particularly around Rice University. Saturday night we will be going to a Yankees/Astros game and we get to watch Mike Mussina pitch. I will be wearing my Pettitte shirt with pride and brushing off any boos I may get from Astros fans. I wish I could watch all three games because Joba is pitchin Friday and CMW is pitching Sunday...Mussina will be fun to watch though. I should probably consider getting some sleep... I will try and update this as often as I can. To my wonderful family and friends who graciously read this, I am going to miss yall more than you can imagine :)

Somebody didn't want me to leave. Sweet dog!

Thoughtful Jess brought me these wonderful things. I love the photo album and the Louisiana Hot Sauce the best! Thank you TONS!

There it is, 90 lbs. And the dog who wants to come with me.

Have a great Friday!

Every day, a page turned down...

I have been cramming a summer worth of memories into the span of a week and a half. Let me tell you, they may not seem that interesting or exciting but I know when I start feeling homesick this summer I can revert to those times and move on with my day feeling okay. I will start off by saying that I have the greatest friends ever, hands down. I also have a pretty amazing family who has helped create several memories for me this week as well. I think the memory-making process began last Thursday. Me, Jess, and Jen (bad grammar, I know!) ate at Shane's and went to watch our church softball team play at Tinsely and then to Maggie Moos. Yum. Then we went swimming sort of. There were leaves in the pool that we thought were leeches, they weren't really, so we went to the hot tub. To our dismay, the jets weren't on and the water felt like lukewarm bath water so we got out. Luckily, there was a jucuzzi just calling our name and our trusty friend Josh was there to help us take the lid off and turn it on. It was H-O-T...and of course with our luck the jets didn't come on...still relaxing though. We called it a night at about 12:30 because working girl here had to wake up early. The next day, Friday, I went shopping with my mom and we grabbed Chick-Fil-A for us and dad. Then I met my friends for Mario Kart Wii...which I am not very good at but it is loads of fun. We played that for a couple of hours and we called it a night. Saturday, me, mom, and my sisters went to try on wedding dresses for my sister Danielle, me and Liz tried on lots of bridal dresses. This was a lot of fun! Then we all went and ate McAllister's which was delicious. Came home and went to Jenna's grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary where there was an Elvis impersonator. So cool. It was catered by Shaver's so luckily I got some Louisiana food: jumbalya, catfish, and hushpuppies. After that was done we decided to do some more shopping. I just bought some earrings and a bracelet. If you can't tell yet, I shop a heck of a lot...don't worry, I somehow manage to be a total bargain shopper! We rented a movie, Why Did I Get Married? from Tyler Perry and it was pretty good. Me and the two J's got to talk a whole lot about....well just about some pretty interesting stuff :) Sunday was church and while we were singing it hit me that this is my last time for church until August :( No worries, because I will continue to grow this summer without a doubt. I went to my sister Liz's apartment for a little while. Monday, I wanted to eat Cane's and drink their sweet tea before I left so me and mom went to the one by St. Vincent. It was wonderful! I finally was able to show my grandparents my San Diego pictures, half way through them the power went out. Thank goodness for laptops though. That was pretty fun getting to tell them some stories about my trip. Tuesday my nana took me and my sisters out to eat for lunch and that night, Keri and Jenna drove over from Ruston to meet me and Jess at Pepes. Oh so good. After that I wanted to show Keri the niceness of Shreveport so we went all throughout the Line Avenue area. We saw a movie being filmed and also got to take part in wishful thinking by looking at all the enormous houses. Then I took them all around downtown and got to see my favorite view in Shreveport. I had to say goodbye :( to my grandparents on this day because they are headed up to Kansas to see my aunt graduate from some school for the army (whatever position is after Major, I believe). I hate goodbyes. Well today is Wednesday and I met Dana at the new Monjunis and then we went to Target. So glad I got to catch up with her! Wow...so I ate out a shopped a TON. This is not that normal for me...just trying to create memories. Tomorrow is my work luncheon at Ralph and Kacoos, so that should be lots of fun! If you read all of that, thank you very much!

this pretty much sums us up!

Pepes night!

There is a movie going on there right now, I think it's Microwave Park...which has a different name now.

My favorite view in Shreveport: coming down Texas St. and seeing this beautiful church!

Good night!

It's been a while.

Sorry about the lack of posting, but life has gotten in the way of simple things such as blogging. I had an amazing time in southern California and would go back in a heartbeat. WOW the craziest thing JUST happened, as in 2 minutes ago. A bug flew on my bed, not a big one but a bug nonetheless. I have a paralyzing fear of bugs, pretty pitiful I know. Well, I forcefully kick my leg in order to cause the bug to fall to the floor, then I run to the laundry room to grab the Hot Shot flying insect spray to end this horrible creatures life. I manage to find the bug who went into hiding because he apparently was aware of my potential harm. I shook the can with all my might and sprayed about half the can on the little thing....it was no bigger than 1/2 an inch. But hey, I needed to be sure. When his body stopped wiggling I put my foot into a rainboot and stomped rather hard on the bug. I killed my first bug EVER and will now get a peaceful nights sleep because of it! I just amazed myself...I would call this my "Neil Armstrong" moment in life. Is it sad that killing a bug is slightly comparable to stepping on the moon? Now I'm just praying New York is bug free! I will add some pictures soon...my battery is dying!!!
It is now Wednesday and I am updating on my lunch break. I can't believe the week is half way over and that I have only one more day in the great LA. As much as I tend to not enjoy Louisiana I really am going to miss it. I drove around Line Avenue in Shreveport (where I will live one day) and all around downtown. There is something so simplistic and beautiful about this place that I can't really describe. I don't always want to be here, but I do want to come back. I have been enjoying every second of this week and trying to create as many memories as possible to hold on to during the summer. So far, I have been very successful in this endeavor. OK, back to doing other things..but I will post later with all the fun things I have done this week.
Now for some Cali pics :)

group picture at Coronado Island, our 1st stop!

The extremely beautiful La Jolla Cove

He came that close to me, no zooming here. He was rather funny :)

You are looking at REAL surfers at Pacific Beach, which would be a lovely view but the sun was hiding at this moment. I am still bewildered at seeing surfers everywhere, so cool!