4-H Camp

     Happy Monday, I s'pose.  Personally I never liked (nor still do) Mondays so I'm not very happy that it's here.  I'm pretty sure that applies to everyone though, so I'm sure we're in the same boat!

     No exciting progress on my gray tote - it looks the same as the picture I posted on the 12th here except that it's longer.  It's about 34 inches long right now I think (the measurement I took was pretty rough), and I still have about 7 or 8" to go.  So, instead of a post that pointlessly describes the same thing as my previous post, I decided to make this one about my venture up to Angwin (in northern California) to 4-H Camp on the 15th.

     To explain the pictures above (clockwise from top left):

            - The large wooden placard in the center of camp

            - Campers (age <12) and staff (age 13-18) at lunch

            - The sign posted on one of the entrances to the camp's kitchen

            - Will's dad (the camp chef) holding his grandson Allen

     Will's sister, Denise, and her husband, Robbie (whose son is pictured above) drove up with me, and we arrived at camp just after noon, after an hour and a half of a car ride.  :( !  I had never been to 4-H before, so after lunch Will took me on the grand tour.  The camp resides in the Las Posadas State Forest, which is about 700 acres of trees - the camp uses only about 70 acres though.  The forest is absolutely gorgeous, and I wish we had had more time to walk/hike the rest of the trails the camp uses.

                      Please respect my images and do not take them without my consent.  

     Will is a "chaperone" (a less glamorous title is 'supervisor') to the kids at camp, since he's 23 and too old to be a staff member anymore, so we had a lot of time on our hands to simply pass.  Which was really nice though, because we hadn't seen or spoken to (minus a very brief 10 minute call two days prior) each other for five days, so I was happy simply to be next to him.  We made lanyards before dinner (mine is neon yellow, orange, and green - amazing, right?), and afterward headed down to the campfire, where the campers' final three skits were performed, a few songs were sung, and closing ceremonies performed.  This all ended at around 9:30 or 9:45 PM.

     At 10 PM, the slideshow was put on for the entire camp to watch - pictures are taken throughout the week of the campers and staff, and compiled into a 20 minute video.  After that ended, the Friday Night Dance began, and the "Marriage Booth" was opened, both of which ran until 11 PM.  The marriage booth is a small, one-room building that the staffers decorate every year to hold "marriages" between campers, staffers, or - in mine and Will's case - adults.  We got matching star-shaped silly bandz as rings - they're very pricey, and extremely hard to find. ;)  Even though it sounds really cheesy, it was actually an amazing end to the night.  After the sun went down, and until Denise, Robbie and I left at 11:45 PM, I felt like a kid again, at camp, having fun with a boy.  I may be slightly sentimental and/or nostalgic, but it was perfect.

     The pictures below:

            - Will, wearing glow stick sunglasses, courtesy of one of the girls on staff

          - Campers and staff at the last camfire of the week (not all are pictured; there are about 100 kids total)

     One last note - I will be on vacation starting today, the 18th, through Thursday the 21st, and will not have access to the internet - unless I go into town to use the Wi-Fi at Starbucks, but I wouldn't count on that.  So, be looking for an update on the gray tote at the end of this week.

xo Megan