Brooks, Garth Brooks

I know, we're all terrible at posting during the summer.  I just joined the party like everyone else, right?  Yeah, we'll go with that.

About a month ago, Alex and I went to New Orleans for the weekend.  As a longtime fan of Garth (and upon the recommendation from Kara), we scored tickets to his first concert in Louisiana in EIGHTEEN YEARS.  Well, I guess technically it wasn't his first concert because he ended up doing four concerts in the span of three days, but you get the idea.

Everyone and their mama that lives in the Gulf Region was in NOLA that weekend for those concerts.  In fact, originally Alex missed out on tickets for the Saturday night show, but a few minutes after they sold out, a second (late) show was added, so that's what we got.  As it turned out, a friend of mine got early show tickets before the late show was an option, and wanted late ones instead, so we agreed to swap.  It was really a much better fit for both groups, honestly.

We both worked on Friday morning and then began the nearly 5 hour drive south early that afternoon, rolling into the hotel parking lot right at dinnertime. Typically, we do not "do" hotel restaurants but thanks to Alex's dad (somehow) we were considered reward members which included 25% off the menu.  I was feeling pretty "hangry" (exhausted, hungry, cranky) at that point, so we took advantage of the offer and then settled in for an early night.  Heck - we don't have a TV in our bedroom so watching TV in bed at hotels is always an attractive idea for us.

Saturday, I was feeling less than energetic and not at all interested in navigating the city (really, NOLA is just a big navigation headache), we decided to have brunch at a little hole in the wall cafe across the street from the hotel.  Tic Toc Cafe was totally adorable and really hit the spot for exactly what our bellies needed. It was also really awesome to see the staff recognize all the locals, calling them by name and remembering their "regular" orders.

 

Again not wanting to stray, I sat by the pool as Alex cooled off there for a while in the afternoon.  My friend met us to exchange the tickets and then we got ourselves together and were on our way.

Our awesome friend, Cam, told us about this super nifty app/website called ParkMe which finds parking spots near certain locations, allows you to "book" a spot, pay beforehand, print the ticket and have a guaranteed spot available waiting for you upon arrival.  Given the nature of two Garth Brooks concerts in Downtown New Orleans, we loved the idea of having a guaranteed spot to park, so we gobbled that one up.  It made life sooo much easier once we got down there.  And while our plans to kill time eating dinner at Walk-On's (re: thousands of other people had the same idea), we happened upon a trendy little pizza joint called Blaze that I would totally go for if I encountered another location sometime in the future.

Admittance to the concert and finding our eats was easy-peasy, but I almost had a heart attack when we found our seats.  I knew we were sitting in the third level but I didn't realize how huge and high that stadium was!  My anxiety really picked up and I wasn't sure I'd make it through the concert.  Alex asked a nice looking older couple a few rows lower than us if they would switch but they didn't go for it so I had to suck it up.

 

Garth was amazing (of course) - and Tricia Yearwood too - but I can't help but think I would have enjoyed the concert tons more if we had been in a smaller arena or sitting lower.  I did hear he recently added some shows in Little Rock this December so maybe we'll look into trying again.  Or not.  It is what it is.

Sunday morning we knocked out 9 a.m. Mass and then hit the road headed north all over again, with plans to attend a work event (free food/booze) for Alex later that night.  All in all, we enjoyed our little getaway, but I'm glad it's over and the craziness of summer travel is drawing to a close.  I'm pretty ready for regular schedules and a little less chaos in my life.

Hope all is well with you!

- Lauren

Shake What Ya Mama Gave Ya

If you've been hanging around here for very long, you've probably figured out by now that I am super passionate about my Cajun heritage and really enjoy sharing it with others.  While it's fun to remember those weekends out on "The Island" with my family and friends growing up, some of my fondest memories are of the opportunities I've had to share my culture with friends from far away.

Benjamin from Ohio was the first person to get the full Cajun experience, and then Lendy from North Carolina followed suit a few years later.  One of these days, I'm going to get around to sharing the story of Alex's first visit to Cajun country, when we wrangled an alligator and everyone thought Swamp People was fa-real because of it.  But in all seriousness, people were so hospitable to me when I lived out-of-state, that I have always wanted to return the favor.  And even my local friends, enjoy getting in on the fun.

So, while you might be bored of reading about all our visits to the marsh, I can't resist sharing the latest one in which Alex invited his coworker from Michigan to see what Cajunland is all about!

Cam is a fisherman at heart, so when we decided to spend July 4th weekend at home, I knew it was the perfect time to invite him along. He jumped at the chance, and enthusiastically joined us on the 3.5 hour trip south.  The guys spent all of Friday out on the water - first fishing, then running crab cages for our "big" Independence Day meal.

Cam thought he was in a real life episode of Swamp People when he caught this TREE SHAKA!

Except it was really just a tree.

But he did get to see real-life Liz and Justin's foot truck (trailer?) down in Pecan Island, even if they weren't open at the time.

Friday night, our awesome friends, Victoria and Seth, hosted us for Seth's famous homemade wings, complete with real BWW wing sauce and home-brewed beer.  Tori and I spent the evening taking all things babies (their 2.5 year old was born 19 days before our wedding, and they're expecting #2 in September), while they boys drank beer and watched YouTube videos.  Shenanigans I tell you.

On Saturday, the boys cooked up their loot and my friends/former-coworker from Arkansas came over to help us enjoy it.  The neighbors even contributed their own performance of evening fireworks to top off the night.

I really enjoy having people around.  This photo makes my heart both happy and sad, wishing we had more friends in our town.

 

Don't tell me you're not jealous you missed out on those huge, deliciously awesome boiled crabs!

And of course, we couldn't leave town without the traditional "Sunday dinner" at Nanna's house.  :)

Otherwise, that's a wrap, folks!  Hope your Fourth was just as awesome as ours!

-Lauren

What's a Girl to Do

...when she wants to write, but doesn't have anything to write about?

Well, I have something I want to write about but it's going to have to wait a little longer.  So instead, I guess I'll share a cute picture of Little Lauren since it is "Throwback Thursday" after all.

Isn't she adorable?  And that outfit!  Those shoes!  I wonder if that dress still exists in the attic somewhere... 

In other news,  we've been traveling quite a bit this summer (as usual).  The end of May/June consisted of NCAA Regionals in Baton Rouge, Dinner at the Governor's Mansion and "4-H Day at the Capitol" (also in Baton Rouge), a week at 4-H Camp, a day trip to Natchez for a fun photo shoot, a week at 4-H University (huge state competition for teens, held at LSU), and a couple of days at the NE District Horse Show.  As you can see, most of that is work travel, not the fun stuff.

In July, we took one of Alex's coworkers who is originally from Michigan down to my parents' in south Louisiana for the Fourth.  (I'll try to post about that sometime.)  This weekend, we are going to New Orleans to see GARTH BROOKS!!!  Later this month, both of us have short-ish work trips to New Orleans or Baton Rouge, and then we are going to close out July with a weeklong trip to North Carolina to visit Alex's parents.  Side note:  I am SO excited to be flying this time instead of that usual 14+ hour drive!

So, as my mom would say, "That's what's going on around here."

I'll leave you with a sneak peak from our photo shoot in Natchez a few weeks ago.  More of these beauties to come in the next few weeks or so.

Have a good one, everybody!

-Lauren

P.S. Either my computer is being wonky or my design template (background) has gone MIA.  I'll work on getting that fixed ASAP.

tl;dr (July 2014 Edition)

Once again, July stole my life away in the blink of an eye, and here we are with another edition of tl; dr thanks to Madame Jenna at Call Her Happy.  Read on to find out more.

The last week of June was quite the calm before the storm... I almost didn't know what to do with myself having a full week in the office for the first time in months.  Don't tell anyone but I spent a lot of time "Jamming" (working the Jamberry biz!) and likely even more time perusing Facebook while chatting with the husband.  

And then there was July.

July 1-2:  District Horse Show, 'nuff said.

July 3-5:  My parents convinced us to visit them for the holiday, even though we really just wanted to rest at home.  We ended up getting to visit with some good friends (including a former coworker and her husband whom I haven't seen in over a year and a half)...and who can argue with 20+ dozen boiled crabs fresh out of the marsh for dinner?  Not this girl.

The following week was spent scrambling to get things done before a couple of deadlines, and finally getting in to see the endocrinologist (more on that to come...eventually)....

July 11-19:  Alex and I drove 14 hours East to visit his parents in North Carolina.  While there, we spent a little less than 24 hours at the beach, I had a sleepover with one of my bridesmaids (whom I hadn't seen since the wedding 19 months ago), Alex showed me around the campus where he went to undergrad (UNCW), and he got to have lunch with an old friend.  We had some minor travel issues in each direction, but I'd say overall the trip was time well spent.  :)

July 21-24:  Almost as soon as we got home, Alex left for two days of meetings down in New Orleans.  A day later, I left for meetings in Baton Rouge.  As convenience goes, of course our travel overlapped so we had to take separate vehicles and were apart for 4 days.  At least there was (practically) someone home to take care of the animals and prep for our the quick turnaround that came the next weekend.

July 25-27:  Alex and I flew (together, for only the second time ever) to North Carolina for Kara's wedding weekend.  It was definitely a quick trip, but we had a great time meeting all of Kara's and Peyton's friends as I served as a bridesmaid for the festivities, and Alex chipped in with one of the other bridesmaid's boyfriend to be gophers for us all weekend.  I can't wait to share more about the big day (hopefully) in another post.

And then there was another week in the office as I ease back into the crazyiness that will soon be the start of another school year.

Because no modern blog is complete without photos...

My friend Megan and her husband from Little Rock moved to Lafayette!  Yay!!!

Toes in the water...Topsail Beach, NC

Yep, my vacation souviners were groceries from Trader Joe's.
Just call me Lame.

On our day trip to Wilmington, NC, we made our pilgrimage to several famous OTH sites!

The beautiful bride!

Next up, August!
-Lauren

tl;dr (June 2014 Edition)

I know, much neglect at the ye ole blog over here.  Janine at Home Joys inspired me to link up with Jenna at Call Her Happy for this cliff notes version of my June 2014.  Read here if the letters "tl;dr" are foreign to you.  (Don't feel bad, I didn't get it either.)

Sooooooooo...June.

Somehow, I went to sleep on May 30th and woke up today with 3 days left to the month.   How did that happen?  Oh, my job... yeah that pesky little thing.

May 22-25th:   New Orleans for the Child Life Council's Annual Conference on Professional Issues

May 27-28:  I took a group of teens down to Baton Rouge for 4-H Day at the Capitol.  The event was cancelled due to rain, but we were already halfway there when we found out, so we made the trip anyway.

June 2-4:  Local meetings and trainings for upcoming events, basically out of the office and backlogged something major.

June 9-13:  4-H Camp in Pollock

June 17-20:  4-H University (state conference for teens) in Baton Rouge

June 24-today:  Finally, I can breaaaaaaaaathe!  (For now, anyway.)

High points?
- Alex came with me to 4-H U as a chaperone, so we were able to avoid being apart for two weeks in a row.
- My mom and brother were also at 4-H U; it was practically a family reunion.  Ha!
- Alex and I spent almost every Saturday enjoying the pool at our gym.  We also treated ourselves to pizza and binge TV, as much needed detox time.
- Jamberry is going well!!  Despite my lack of time, I've been promoted once already this month, and I'm crossing my fingers it will happen again before the 30th!

Low points?
- Major stress for my psyche in all things that needed to be done this month.
- No summer vacation for the Edwards bunch....my birthday/Valentine's concert tickets will go unused (wanna buy them???), much to my very, very disappointed self.
- July will be crazy too...

Dang, it doesn't look near as crazy in writing as it felt.  How about some pictures?

Maybe I shouldn't size these so large, the major lack of sleep is showing here...

Photo booths are still "in," apparently.

11 years worth of delegates to National 4-H Conference from my hometown!!
(Minus just two people who were missing from this photo-op reunion.)

10+ years of friendship and still going strong!

There you have it...June.

-Lauren

Our Little Garden

With summer coming to a close here soon (no, I haven't forgotten the promise of stories from our NC trip), I figure it's about time I write about our backyard garden.  Gardening isn't my "thing," just in case you were wondering...or thinking perhaps that it's some daunting task that I have a special knack at.  In fact, aside from picking a few cucumbers and tomatoes during those few summers my daddy maintained a backyard garden, I have zero experience growing things.  Zilch, people!

What I do have is a taste for homegrown vegetables, especially cucumbers and tomatoes.  You know it's true - nothing, I mean nothing beats a home grown tomato!  I also happen to be on the frugal *ahem, cheap, ahem* side.  Bell peppers are also a weakness for me; I love them all - red, orange, yellow, even the traditional green - I'll eat them any way you have 'em, even fresh off the vine.  I say it's the Cajun in me.  However, those durn things cost an arm and a leg at the grocery store!  I'm talking $1.79 for ONE pepper!  What the heck is up with that?!

So take my love for vegetables and my loathe for high grocery bills, put them together, and voila - a backyard garden!  To be fair, Alex built the plot for me - an 8 x 8 raised bed in a corner of our backyard.  We also killed a second bird with that stone, if you will, when we hoped the garden would serve as a solution to our flooding problem.  Fast forward to the earliest warm day after February 14th, and off we went with our garden venture!

Once the plot was ready, Alex took me to Lowe's and let me pick out anything I wanted.  We ended up with an assortment of seeds and little plants of every vegetable I would consider eating or cooking with.  The bounty included corn, carrots, green/orange/red/yellow bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and green onions.  If the list sounds excessive, believe me it was.  A few weeks in, our plant babies looked like this:

Okay so...yeah, maybe we went a little overboard on this garden idea...let's go with over-ambitious.

As the weeks went by, our plant babies began to produce vegetable babies.  It was the coolest, most exciting thing to observe.  We couldn't wait to taste all the goodies!

Eventually, we did begin to enjoy our vegetables.  First came the green onions, then the zucchini, and eventually our tomato crop exploded.  Every now and again, the pepper plants produced, though I'm hoping those last into the winter.  (I remember a friend of mine picked his last batch of peppers in December!)

Not everything produced, though.  Our corn seemed overrun with some type of disease, insect, or just didn't make it due to tight quarters in the plot area.  Neither did the cucumbers (though they looked promising at one point) or the squash.  The green onions were eventually overpowered by neighboring tomato, squash, and zucchini plants, though I am still picking out rooted onions on occasion.  As for the carrots, they looked pitiful for ages, but I'm starting to think they may turn out okay in due time.  I think those are fall/winter plants and we began with those as seeds anyway, so I'm going to hold out hope on those.

Thankfully, the garden did help with our drainage issue, and I think expanding the area next year will do even more toward solving that problem.  Yes, I did say next year.  Next year, I'd like to double the area yet try the same plants over again.  Hopefully that will give more space for the plants to grow and for me to care for them a little better.  We'll also need to figure out a way to keep the dog out of the garden.  Our decorative
(short) partitions didn't work as well as we thought they would, and CJ seems to have taken over, looking for cool areas to rest in this intense summer heat.  Looking on the bright side, our soon-to-be-outdoor kittens may contribute to fertilizing the area for us throughout the "off" months.  Hehe.

As this adventure goes, you win some and you lose some...or is it live and learn?  I've definitely learned a bit, but my thumb is not quite green and we still have a ways to go with becoming successful gardeners.  Working for the AgCenter means there are an unlimited number of resources at my disposal, if only I take the time to read or consult those around me...it's always that easy, isn't it?  ;)

-Lauren

The Foliday

Fol-i-day.  noun. Fake-holiday.  A day on which one is supposed to be exempt from work; specifically : a day marked by the desire for a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event.  July 5 is a state foliday in Louisiana.

Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, may have declared July 5th a state holiday, but apparently the state's flagship university did not.  Since I had to work on Friday, Alex and I convinced my parents to visit us in Monroe for the holiday weekend instead.  Side note:  Really, I could have taken off, but I'd just taken off the week before for our weekend in Dallas, and plus, asking someone to care for our animals two weekends in a row was a bit much.  Once Alex tossed out the idea of fishing with my father, it didn't take much convincing in our part anyway.  ;-)

So yeah, my parents visited us for the July 4th weekend.  Because they spent the first part of the week down at Grand Isle (basically the end of the earth as far as south Louisiana goes), they decided to drive up to Monroe on the morning of the 4th.  Our morning was pretty chill, as Alex and I relaxed a bit, caught up on some DVR, and prepared the grill for their afternoon arrival.  For dinner, my parents brought steaks from Hebert's Specialty Meats so we fired up the grill and enjoyed a finger-lickin-good meal that evening.

Friday, the boys made the trek out to Lake D'arbonne for a day of fishing.  Thanks to a coworker, they were armed with excellent directions to a new locale for my daddy to test the waters.  The fruits of their labor were few, but I think they enjoyed themselves nonetheless.  While I worked, my mom slept in and later ran a few errands for us.  For dinner, we tried out the new fish fry kit my mom got for us a while back.  In true Cajun form, we once again stuffed ourselves with the fresh fish from the day's adventures.

My daddy enjoyed a piece of Heaven on Saturday when we took him to visit the motherland, aka Duck Commander.  Wide eyes and a bright smile were permanent fixtures on his face that day.  By now, Alex and I have been there a few times, so the magic has worn on us a bit, but it is always fun to visit with a newbie.  I've included a few pictures for you below.

THE Camper, featured in several episodes.

If you can believe it, this was the line to take a picture with the Duck Commander/Buck Commander sign.

Mom and I came out of the gift shop to find the boys near the front of the line;  pictures resulted.

Alright ya'll, come visit us.  We'll even take you to visit some of the many attractions, restaurants, or events voted "Best of the Delta 2013."  Come on, you know you want to...

-Lauren

A Week in the Life of...

...ME!

It's been about two months since I moved to Little Rock and started my first big girl jobby job. Seeing as how I have been out of touch with the interwebs for a while, I figured some of you might enjoy a "play-by-play" describing a typical week in my new life as the Volunteer Coordinator for Camp Aldersgate. First things first--what is Camp Aldersgate? See below for our mission statement:

Camp Aldersgate, Inc., a non-profit organization, enriches the lives of children and youth who have medical or physical conditions or developmental delays and their families, as well as senior adults, through educational and recreational opportunities in an out-of-doors camp environment.

Our vision is to set the standard for a camping environment that encourages normalcy, socialization, and inclusiveness to persons with diverse abilities and needs.

We offer camps for children and youth who have conditions such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, epilepsy, kidney disorders, autism, Down syndrome, and mental retardation. Hundreds of campers come each year from across Arkansas and from surrounding states to enjoy an experience of a lifetime.

--

With that out of the way, just what does the Volunteer Coordinator for Camp Aldersgate do? Keep reading to find out!

Sunday: I arrive around 9:15 to prepare for the day's activities. Mornings include checking-in teen volunteers (10 a.m.)--gathering their health screening forms, providing their name tags (wristbands)/t-shirts, and informing teens of the cabins in which they will be working. We have an orientation meeting to go over policies and procedures, distribute break schedules, discuss any special information for the week, and describe opening-day assignments. After lunch (12:30 p.m.), I train volunteers for additional responsibilities such as health care assistant work, and manning the phones for registration. Sometimes, I try to sneak in a little record keeping or paperwork before camper registration starts at 2 o'clock. During registration, I take photos of all the campers under our big camp sign. (These photos are posted in the office for the duration of the week, to help our staff and visitors get to know our campers just a little it better.) Once registration ends around 5 or 5:30, I'm free to leave for the day.

Monday: As with all weekdays at camp, I arrive just a little earlier than required (8:15 ish), to grab (free) breakfast with the campers/staff. I check to see if there are any important messages or e-mails waiting for me, and then head out to morning activities in hopes of making myself visible (available) and spending some time with the campers, volunteers, and counselors. Usually, I spend Mondays with my favorite "archery girls," and I also try to check in with our fabbbulous "art lady." These activities are located closest to our office and I'm generally pretty slow moving on Mondays, ha.

At lunch each day, I distribute mail to campers, counselors, and volunteers. I try to check-in with many of the senior counselors to see if there are any challenges with volunteers that need my attention. In the afternoon, I check messages, return e-mails, and begin gathering the list of volunteers who are set to arrive the following week. On either Mondays or Tuesdays, I send out a reminder e-mail and Facebook invitation to all volunteers who are assigned to the following week of camp. I also follow up with any of those volunteers who are missing paperwork such as references, proof of TB skin test, or registration fees. Mondays, I am usually able to head out of camp around 5 p.m.

Tuesday: Oh Tuesdays, my long day. On Tuesdays, I try to make it out to our Adventure Challenge course (zipline and low-ropes elements). It's a bit of a trek out to this part of camp, so I try to get my tail in high gear to visit this activity on Tuesday, with the incentive of getting it out of the way earlier in the week. ;) If I hadn't gotten a chance to initiate contact with the coming week's volunteers, I make sure I do this on Tuesday afternoon. Often times, volunteers will begin to confirm their attendance for the following week and it is common for volunteers or their parents to contact me with questions regarding packing lists, break schedules, or paperwork. I also start to work on the cabin list, placing volunteers in cabins and figuring out ratios for certain activities.

In the late afternoon, I prepare for the Tuesday night volunteer meeting. This involves making a list of talking points (reminders for the volunteers), outlining in my head the night's activity and meeting process, as well as gathering snacks and drinks. I put a variety of drinks in a cooler with ice, and gather some snacks to be set out later that night. As much as possible, I try to leave camp right at 5 p.m., to have dinner and rest for a bit at my apartment before heading back around 9:30 for the 10 p.m. volunteer meeting.

In these meetings, I try to do a name game (Hey--I manage 25 teens each week, it takes work to learn 150+ names!) coupled with an activity that encourages teens to discuss a high and low point of the week so far. To be creative, I switch it up by calling it the rose/thorn, laffy/taffy, butter/honey, or sweet/sour moments. Hehe. Following these activities, I make a point of encouraging a specific "goal" for the rest of the week, which often relates to a common theme expressed by volunteers in their "low point" stories. We also talk about any issues counselors relayed regarding volunteers, such as reminders to put the campers first, keep a positive attitude, avoid PDA, or to respect others. Then, I encourage the teens to enjoy their snacks, while I pull each cabin group aside to talk about any cabin-specific questions or concerns. Volunteers often spend this time rambling about camper stories or how great (sometimes bad) their counselors are. I try to have everyone out of the meeting by 11 p.m., so they can get back to their cabins before curfew at 11:15. At this point, I have to turn out the lights in our Commons building, lock up all the doors, walk to my car and lock the camp gate in the dark, then drive back to my apartment around 11:30 p.m. Whewww.... what a long day and a creepy ending to the night.

Wednesday: By Wednesday, I'm usually pooped, especially with the late night on Tuesday. In the mornings, I welcome our corporate groups (volunteers) who come out to help with Fishing Derby on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For first-time groups, myself and our Director of Development or the Executive Director welcomes the group, gives them an overview of camp history and programs, and provides an opportunity to view our camp DVD. Then, I (and sometimes one of the other staff members, depending on the size of the group) use a golf cart to take the group down to the lake for fishing. If the group brings snacks (such as popsicles), I also help with getting those into a cooler with ice, and bring it down to the lake with us. Around lunchtime, I take the group back up to the front parking lot, thank them for their help, and send them on their way, sometimes to return again the following one for another day of fishing.

If I haven't heard from all of the following week's volunteers by Wednesday, then I start making phone calls and follow-up e-mails to seek their acknowledgement for arriving at camp the coming Sunday. By this point, I sometimes have to start looking for replacement volunteers, for those who have conflicts, or had to back out for whatever reason. I start this process by looking for volunteers who indicated their availability on the application, looking first for those on the waiting list, second for those who are at camp this week (easy access! haha.), and third for those who have already been out to camp and did a great job while they were here. It can take a bit of time and several calls before finding someone to fill an open spot, especially at such the last minute.

I also start to pull files for the volunteers who will be at camp the following week, since I set those out near my desk for the duration of their week of camp--just in case I need to grab quick information such as a phone number or health form. On Wednesdays, I usually jet out of camp as soon as I can, typically exhausted from the late night and half week of work already under my belt.

Thursday: Thursday is the day for do-or die. If there is a group coming for Fishing Derby, I transport them and spend the morning out at the lake as their camp "escort." If not, I try to make it out to the nature activity at some point, and maybe re-visit art or archery again.

Throughout the week, I follow-up with counselors and volunteers for any issues that arose, and if those issues aren't smoothed out by Thursday, then I prepare myself for dealing with poor volunteer evaluations (given by counselors). I review the evaluations that are turned in on Thursday mornings, and sometimes I go out to meet with volunteers who need a "come to Jesus meeting" (for lack of a better term). Using the counselors' evaluations and my own observations, an evaluation is completed on each teen volunteer, each week. These evaluations are distributed on Friday mornings (more about that soon).

On Thursday afternoon, I make edits to the following week's cabin list and then devise the volunteers' break schedule based on cabin ratios for counselors/volunteers and campers at specific times of the day. I also spend time making copies of volunteer health forms, to put in a binder that is updated weekly and kept in the Health Care Center, should a volunteer take medications or in the case that an emergency arises (yes, this has happened this summer). If volunteer issues or other situations occur throughout the week, these tasks may get pushed off until late Thursday afternoon, at which point, I may have to stay later in the day to make sure it is all done before the closing ceremony on Friday.

Friday: I print a certificate for the recipient of the Volunteer of the Week award, which is voted on by counselors at their Thursday night meeting. In the morning, I try to attend to last minute business, such as phone calls or e-mails, getting camper signatures on a thank-you card for our corporate volunteers, following up with last-minute volunteer issues, and checking on the status of the laundry in the Health Care Center (health care assistants' duties). This often translates to me running around camp looking rather frazzled as I rush to get it all done before the start of closing ceremonies.

At 10 a.m., I head over the the Commons building to set up the camp store and help our Grant Writer with camper check-up, as well as the distribution of free camper tickets to a camp fundraiser at our local water park. Closing ceremony starts at 10:30, and sometimes I finish up volunteer evaluations while counselors distribute camper awards. Toward the end of the ceremony, I take the floor to thank our corporate and teen volunteers, and present the award for Volunteer of the Week. Since I am new to the position, and counselors spend so much more time with the volunteers, I use a counselor-provided "nomination form" to explain why this person has received the award.

After the closing ceremony, I herd the teen volunteers into our "staff lounge" for a short meeting. There, I thank them for their hard work, and ask them to complete an evaluation describing their experiences for the week. At this time, I distribute their evaluations and ask them to look over the evaluation, ask any questions they have, and sign the sheet which will be kept in their file. I also talk about opportunities for volunteering at weekend camps, and hand out a flyer announcing an end-of-the summer picnic to be held on the last day of summer camp. On their way out of the meeting, I thank them again and explain the process for packing up their stuff when their parents pick them up.

Once the volunteers head out, I head back to the office to tie up any loose ends for the week, and make sure that everything is ready to start another week of camp on Sunday. On a good day, I can be out of camp by 1:30 on Friday afternoons. Then, I head to my apartment, grab a bite for a late lunch, and crash on the couch with my remote and the DVR. Can anyone say TGIF?!

Saturday...is my one day off (aka: the day Lauren does absolutely nothing)...and then it's back to work on Sunday to do it all over again!

Sheesh. I didn't realize how much stuff I do in a typical week! Well, I guess now it makes sense as to why I'm so darn exhausted at the end of it all. In any case, the summer is nearly over now, but that doesn't mean my job is going to be any less interesting. Okay, maybe it will be (slightly), but I'll be sure to let you know what weekend camps look like, as well as fall recruiting, and later, the interview/application intake process. At this rate, I'll never be bored... right? :)

Until later.
-Lauren

P.S. I have to say, the perk of three free meals a day at camp, sure is a great one! I haven't grocery shopped since at least mid-June, and I'm quite okay with that!

"Tweet" Summertime

I've had quite a bit of time on my hands in these two weeks that I've been at home in Louisiana. Don't worry, though, I've stayed occupied...with a book, Season 3 of LOST, playing nurse/housewife, and a wholeee lot of relaxing. It's been incredible, haha. In this time, I have also spent a decent amount of time reflecting over the summer, and thinking forward to the upcoming school year.

Throughout my reflection, I've come to believe that the few posts I made this summer, though thorough, don't do it justice. Instead, I feel like my tweets (Twitter.com) do a much better job of illustrating the events of my summer. My tweets were snapshots of what I was doing or feeling at any given point. Not only did I tweet frequently, but the statements were a whole lot more "raw" than most of what I wrote in a blogs, mostly because they were published in the heat of the moment, not weeks later when I had time to "clean it up" or even forget the small details as time lapsed.

For this reason, I decided to do a blog "in tweets." What does that mean? Well, it's my creative way of giving you, the reader, an opportunity to have a more intimate glimpse into my world. Here, you will find tweets submitted from the time I left for camp on June 5th, through the day I returned home to Louisiana, on August 2nd. They're organized by month, and also by week or event, as appropriate. Oh, I should note that some of the tweets have dates/timestamps included; those without such information weren't indicated--use your imagination.

Here ya go!

June 2010
-packed for 2 weddings, bachelorette, & conference all at once! North bound today!
8:27 AM Jun 5th via mobile web
-lunch in shreveport. Back on the road now. ps: 41 mpg. Booya!
12:46 PM Jun 5th via mobile web
-made it to my favorite neighborhood in arkansas! Leingeree shopping for ash's party next fri then off to the counselor reunion at boys' apt!
5:51 PM Jun 5th via mobile web

Staff Training Week: June 6-11, 2010
-staff training starts today!
9:46 AM Jun 6th via mobile web
-miserably hot already! 95* heat index 98*
4:03 PM Jun 6th via mobile web
-1st go at being tribe chief and we rock the chant competition!! Go quapaw! 3 year streak to protect!
-highlight of my day: ability awareness training from a guy at the ntl inclusion project, which happens to be based in raleigh. Small world
11:36 PM Jun 7th via mobile web
-stoked about the lime cabin's skit at flag this morning! Trust fall!
7:56 AM Jun 9th via mobile web
-I am FOX-WORTHY. Totally pumped about all the awesomeness at archery this summer!
11:56 PM Jun 9th via mobile web
-40 hours off!!! Woot. Ashley's bachelorette shindig tonight!
-they're building a five guy's in little rock!? I hope its done before I leave in august!

Muscular Dystrophy Week: June 13-18, 2010
-camp! Camp! Camp! Kiddos arrive today!
-all here and accounted for: 6 counselors, 5 volunteers, & 7 campers in my cabin. I'm Quapaw chief again. Sounds like a good week ahead!
-one camper down... Only this place would have a 2 to 1 ratio with counselors in the majority. Lol
-archery was rocking today!
-wishing safe travels to @nahun and the idahoans! Be prepared, the LA humidity is ready and waiting with open arms.
-I heart archery!
-I'm up wayyyy to early, but hey--i'm going to louisiana today (after a morning of teaching archery, that is)!

Medine-Peters Wedding Weekend in Louisiana: June 17-19, 2010
-at LIT. First plane delayed already. Hope I don't have the stomach virus that has struck lime cabin...
-delayed again. Why?
-boarded for LIT - DFW.
-landed at DFW! I feel like such a traitor--flying American and sitting next to an Apple employee. Eek.
-boarded for DFW - BTR! Louisiana, I'm coming home (briefly)!
-twittering fail = friend fail: happy 20th birthday, @Mainer8! You're not a teenager anymore!
-baton rouge today! Going to joy's swim meet this morning! Swim fast!
-I found my wedding dress--now where's the lucky guy? ;-)
-on our way to @josiahpeters wedding with @sunriseiscool! Can't wait to see @Nahun, @jasondurand & everyone else!
-party!!! Why'd u have to end??? Boo!
-a going away and birthday party today! Louisiana is the place for celebrations!
-bummed I'm not getting to hang with the idahoans tonight, but feeling blessed to spend some time with dawn and annie. Its been too long.

Milwaukee Trip (for ALE Conference): June 20-24, 2010
-MSY - ORD.
-safe and early arrival in chicago. Heard my professor and fellow grad student are stuck between rdu and det. j, s, & I will make it...
-ord - mke!
-exactly 17 minutes later, we're in milwaukee!!
-67 degrees out this morning--welcome to milwaukee!
-touring the miller brewery--be jealous!
-I'm convinced that people in this state don't sweat. Ever.
-progressive dinner with milwaukee food tour. ... I'll always have a special place in my heart for tour guides!
-I see lake michigan!!
-no power at the hotel today, how interesting. But hey--i had perkins for breakfast!
-i dont wanna go to bed but i'm getting up for a flight in 5 hours. bah. it's so weird to be alone for the first time in weeks.
-boarded for MKE to ATL. Delta is great!
-ATL to LIT! headed back to my home away from home!

Return Weekend in Little Rock: June 25-26, 2010
-what a day: closing ceremonies for spina bifida week at camp, some relaxation, and toy story 3 in Imax 3D!
-@sunriseiscool it was so good! (coming from the girl who hates animated films)
-@mainer8 @Christyclary the five guys here in little rock opened sometime while I was gone last week! Can't wait to hit it up!
-headed out to Morrilton, ar for Ashley's wedding! Yay for another party!
-I've decided weddings are beautiful and fun, especially those for friends. Camp par-tay!
-@sunriseiscool @josiahpeters @nahun ''my wish'' by rascal flatts is the mother/son dance at this wedding!

Kota I Week: June 27-July 2, 2010
-kota 1 starts today! Will I be working with boys or girls??? still a mystery.
-they say ''kota'' translates to ''friends;'' I'm convinced it really means ''crazy''
-boys yesterday.. Girls today?
-um so the boy cabin I was in just lost a camper.....
-cajun spaghetti night at the apartment for 5-hour was a great success!
-making a list of counselor must-haves. So far: head lamp, memory foam mattress, mp3 w/ nature sounds...the list will go on.
-aaaand the rainy days at aldersgate begin... On the day my co-archer is sick. Staff dropping like flies.
-took two girls to five guys little rock tonight! yumm! @christyclary @mainer8
-today I learned: ''x.y.z.'' eXamine. Your. Zipper. Thank you, camp.
-july already?
-when I am here, I am the best me that I can be.
-got asked to work a daycamp for kids who are ventilator dependent! It shortens my week off but should be tons o fun! Yay.
-heading up an all-counselor lunch at 5 guys!! Its most of their first times!

July 2010

Break Week: July 3-9, 2010
-just a small town girl...
-girls' night with amber in Morrilton and first night in weeks I don't have to set an alarm, ftw.
-I do NOT want to get out of this bed. How strange it feels to be in a normal house, bedroom, and comfy bed...
-i saw Eclipse today!
-@mainer8 j'ai donne les bissous de quel'qun ce soir. C'etait pas une bonnet idee.
-I started watching LOST today...
-slept in, watched My Girl & 6 hrs of LOST, fireworks in LR, donuts, jason's deli. Lazy independence day = smiles for me!
-@mainer8 porquoi est-ce que je fais ca?
-@mainer8 C'etait un ami avec des... beinfaits?
-what are the consequences of refusing to write more of the thesis until august? i'm serious here, can i go be on strike?
-5 hours and 9 shopping stops later, we're all set with items for this 3-day, 15 ppl camp trip 2 MO. Now to cook dinner & prep 4 2morrow!
-8 visitors to the apartment tonight and another LOST disc down! Now time to rest for our big adventure!
-15 camp counselors all packed in 5 cars and on the road. Missouri or bust! (and meeting up to 5 more ppl there!)
-3 hours and several games/ conversations later...we're in misery! Missouri state line!
-heading out on the current river today! Leaving the phone at the campsite so don't freak out people
-safe return to the campsite. It was a glorious day for rafting!
-out for pizza tonight. Real food, air conditioning, and toilets! We're in heaven!
-on the road again! heading south toward little rock!
-@sunriseiscool I'm wearing the child life shirt today!
-finally, I showered for the first time since monday. YuM.
-I just did something u shouldn't have
-its 3 in the morning and we're STARTING a LOST episode. Now that takes some dedication.
-''kicked out'' of the apartment. Watching LOST at camp, 3 hours before I have to report for work.
-staff dinner and meeting lasted a whole hour, now off to play ladder golf at a park before tonights slumber party and fort building! :)
-had to pause the Lost season 1 finale in place of bedtime. That show is crack.

Vent Camp/Diabetes Week: July 10-16, 2010
-vent camp today!
-sushi belly.
-my blood glucose level: 100. hope you're looking forward to regular updates--its diabetes week!
-just tp'd the cabin for a camper's birthday surprise. About to do a midnight blood sugar check then up for more at 2 am.
-doing 2 am checks again tonight. This time I'm gonna watch LOST while waiting for the clock to chime. Party at the lime cabin!
-almost and hour after starting, checks are done. 2 alerts: one camper at 59 (low) and another at 360 (high). Docs came; all is good. Bedtime
-it's tie dye tuesday!
-just another whacky hair wednesday... With a little dash of iron chef america!
-tonight's blood sugar rate: 105. guess my pancreas is on top of things!
-oh hey! I used my child life skills during site changes (for insulin pumps) today!
-just did 2 am checks alone. Bad idea. The nurses had to come back 3 times. fail.
-I'm wearing a pump today! Carb counting, here we go!
-hit triple digit temps today. with you know something is wrong when it ''feels like'' 92 at midnight.
-stayed behind to clean and pack the cabin this morning... My pump told me that I missed breakfast. Good job, Candy!
-I got pickles today! Yay, @lendylou
-anyone felt the dc earthquake? How about u, @sunriseiscool?

CAK (Cardiac, Arthritis, Kidney) Week: July 18-23, 2010
-it's CAK (Cardiac, arthritis, kidney) week! we've got the youngest girls & probably the most medically fragile, Woot.
-oh, 2 am's once again. Night encore.
-I got my first silly band! It's a unicorn that glows in the dark! Plus, two mermaids. Baller.
-officially done with season 2, disc 2 of LOST! Only 4 more to go of this season.
-so instead of 2 am's tonight, we're gonna try a 1 am and 4 am ostomy bag emptying. Yay camp.
-it's a coffee kind of morning (this is a big deal). If we don't get some real sleep soon, I might just have to shoot someone. not pretty.
-my most medically fragile camper MIGHT receive a kidney transplant tonight--please pray that it's a match!! I'll let you know what happens!
-kidney was a No-go. I just took a sleeping pill (aka drowsy allergy) but I Gotta get up for the 4 am shift. Should be interesting.
-guH. Want sleep.
-word to the wise: don't take 2 tylenol and a benadryl 2 hours before u get off of work. functioning levels drop fast.
-yay, it's thursday!
-I sure am going to miss being ''in the club''...These kids touch your heart like none other.
-rubber ducky regatta at wild river country to benefit camp aldersgate!
-had a great time at the regatta. saw lots of camp family members--kids, parents, staff, etc! "we are family!"

Kota II Week: July 25-30, 2010
-doing Kota II for the first time; it's gonna be a wild ride
-it's my final week at archery...boo.
-fun story of the day: camper peed outside in front of everyone at archery...and that's just scratching the surface of kota crazy.
-camper quote from yesterday: ''what the barbie shit?!''
-a night filled with LOST, a clean shower, yummy dessert and minus crazy children? Yes please.
-just heard a camper ate sunscreen tonight, requiring an incident report. Oh kota.
-archery quote: kid, ''u better shoot or I'm gonna roll over u ;'' me, ''hey that's not nice;'' k, ''relax it's all psychological!''
-tonight, for the first time since I can remember, I had a conversation with fellow counselors that was unrelated to camp.
-goodbye bullseyes. :(
-emotional last night At camp; solved by 2 hours of good convo while laying in a hammock under the cabin. Heart happiness.
-closing complete. Chi released. Less than 48 hours left at this home...
-@justinecamille1 oh but i am so happy here. i hope you enjoy home.

Final Weekend: July 30-August 2, 2010
-last big shindig in the rock--going out to my first gay bar!?
-purple cow for the morning after! :)
-cooking at the apartment, apples to apples and a movie. Last night with the camp family. :(
-I'm convinced I've gained 5 pounds since yesterday. Gluttony. and we're under a
-was ''on a roll here in Little Rock'' but now I must go. Goodbye camp family, I will miss you...
-lovely louisiana!
-6.5 hours later (yes, my father is a speed demon), I'm home in cajun country!

I'd really like your feedback about the structure of this entry. Please comment with your thoughts about the idea to do a blog in tweets, as well as the structure or any other feedback you have for me about it. Also, I'd love to know of your favorite tweet or quote from the summer. (In fact, I'll promise to share my favorite one in my next entry, if you pick to share your favorite one with me!) So leave me some messages; I'd love to hear what you think!

Leave me something,
-Lauren

Kota Krazy, Round II

As promised, I'm writing again...this time about my final week in Little Rock. But before I begin, I want to apologize for the numerous spelling and grammatical mistakes in my last entry. I composed much of that entry in the hustle and bustle of hanging out with camp friends on my last night in Arkansas. I also want to apologize to Miss Lendy Grayce Yeaman Johnson; the reason you've waited so long for the letter I started writing weeks ago, is because I'm using an excerpt of your letter to describe part of my last week. Please forgive me? With that being said, sit back and enjoy one of the last entries in your summer reading program. (Ha.)

As written on July 25th:
Today we began Kota II, the second session for kids of all abilities and diagnoses. Everyone is short-staffed because some counselors have quit and for varying reasons, not enough replacements were found. In any case, I have 8 campers: 4 typical kids, 2 with some kind of Autism, 1 with Cerebral Palsy (CP), and 1 with some degree of Mental Retardation (MR). One of the girls with Autism has had some major suicidal/mental health issues for the last year, and two other campers feed off of each other's negative behaviors, so this will make for some interesting cabin dynamics. Other cabins are just as crazy with the mix of typical kids and those with CP or Down Syndrome. "Kota crazy," as they say.

It's actually pretty funny to observe activities because none of the counselors ever get to sit (kids run--fast!) and if they do, feet are strategically placed behind chair legs to prevent quick get-aways. Plus, there is an average of 1-2 kids running from an activity at any given time, so it's just really hilarious to watch it all play out. In fact, one fellow counselor made a comment about how interesting it would be to sit as a "fly on the wall" during Kota weeks, because everyone's physically there together, but no one's actually doing the same thing at once. I guess it's just one of those unique things about camp that one can only understand through experience.

--
Flashing forward, I'm going to continue describing Kota II by listing a few comical camper stories from the week. Since I spent most of my time at archery, two of my stories come from there. The first story took place Monday morning with one of our first groups out at archery for the week. An 8-year-old little boy who has a cochlear implant (not sure of his full diagnosis) and has been coming to camp for three years, decided to pee outside. Now, when I say he peed outside, I don't mean that he hid behind the archery pavillion or in a bush, and did his business. No, when I say he peed at archery, I mean, he peed at archery. This kid walked over to the edge of the cement, right next to the bow stations, pulled down his pants, and well...you know the rest. Everyone was right in the middle of "going get arrows," so Melissa and I were supervising this process, whenever I noticed one of the campers making a surprised face as he looked toward the seating area. I thought he was surprised at something else, but a few seconds later, I turned around and made the connection between the campers' surprise and my own sudden surprised as I noticed what was happening. By that point, there wasn't much we could do besides let the camper finish what he'd started and provide some distraction for the rest of the group--quickly redirecting from the behavior back to the appropriate tasks at hand.

Some of these kids are so intelligent; often times I wish "typical" people (including myself) gave them the credit they deserve. A day or two after our first "situation" at archery, one of the older campers made a really funny comment that I will never forget. This particular camper is one of those "old pros" we tend to get every now and again. He's super passionate about camp, and Aldersgate means the world to him. In fact, this camper was voted by the counselors to receive our camper of the week award this year. The best thing about this camper is his wise-cracking, though smart-aleck, hilarious remarks. A proud Quapaw, the camper cheered on his cabinmates as they shot for tribe points. In the spirit of friendly competition, the camper (who is uses an electric wheelchair because his CP makes muscle control difficult) yelled out, "You better hit the target, or I'm gonna roll over you!" Surprised by the threat, I turned around and gave some "Did you really just say that?" eyes, to which he responded, "Relax--it's all psychological!" After he said that, I had to turn away so he wouldn't see me laughing my guts off. These kids are great!! I can't say that enough, lol.

And the final story I'll share took place on Tuesday night during my 5-hour break. Myself, Kyle, Blain, and a few other people were all on the same break that week. Per usual, Blain and I spent most of the night watching LOST. (Hey, we were trying to make it through the end of Season 2 before I left!) During our last episode of the night, Kyle came in and interrupted us to read aloud a text that he'd received from a counselor in his cabin. It said: "Shower party, lost a tooth, swallowed toothpaste, tooth connected to braces, call dad in morning, ran around naked, mopped floor, was uncomfortable with, showering campers, peed while dressing him...all things from the past hour you missed." ...lol. I'm not sure there's much I can say about this one. I will say that a set of boy counselors in another cabin had to fill out an incident report regarding the consumption of sunscreen the day before. Use your imagination to fill in the rest.

I could sit here all day and try to describe Kota Camp, but there really is no way to do it justice...

A little about my final 48 hours in Arkansas... Between Friday and Saturday afternoon, Blain and I finished the last 5 hours worth of LOST, Season 2! I felt so accomplished, haha. On Friday night, a bunch of us (probably close to 20) celebrated Kelsey's, a new counselor's, birthday. It was a late night, but some good times with the gang. Per my request, we had a late lunch at the Purple Cow, one of my most favorite restaurants in Little Rock (clearly, for the atmosphere) on Saturday. Following a lazy Saturday, seven of us (Kyle, Blain, Me, Sydney, Morgan, Ashleigh, and Kevin) cooked a tastyyy meal of Cajun stuffed chicken, baked maccaroni, Caesar salad, and garlic bread. As usual, it was a lovely group/family effort. We ended the night with a viewing of Shutter Island. The next morning, I left just as everyone began showering, packing, and getting ready for their second to last week of camp (Oncology, then Asthma).

Goodbyes were easier than I expected this year, especially since I would be driving southbound alone for the first time since starting at Aldersgate in 2008. Without Allie, my Summer Sister, I was sure the drive would be even more lonely, sad, and depressing. However, I kept myself occupied by rotating through several cds, and my daddy met me in Alexandria, about 5 hours into the trip for the remaining drive home, so it wasn't too bad.

I've been home for 8 days now. My major professor at NC State said for me to go ahead and enjoy my final days of summer, so I've been doing just that. At some point, I'll write about my August in Louisiana, but for now I'm going to wait on that. First, I want to take some time to do a little more reflecting over the summer and my time at camp. Until then, though, I have a bit of a flash back for you. I want to encourage you to visit this link to an entry describing my first arrival at Aldersgate, two summers ago, in 2008. I thought some of you new readers might find it interesting to see pictures of the camp facilities--maybe matching a setting to all of these stories you've been reading over the last few months. If you're really bored, you may find subsequent camp entries from that summer to be of interest, as well.

And with that, I'm done.
-Lauren

Sleepy Southern Sentiments

Here I am, trying to get in another entry before we cross over the threshold into August and what will soon become the start of another school year. Since today is the last day of July, I'd say I cut it pretty close, but at least I made it. These last few weeks have been fairly sleepless, whether it be late nights on the float trip, 2 a.m. blood sugar checks, or 1 and 4 a.m. ostomy bag emptying experiences. Needless to say, the title of this entry sums up the month of July for myself and several fellow counselors. There's so much to say in recap of the last month, but I'll try my best to get it all in.

Beginning where I left off, a bunch of us counselors went camping in Missouri for two days during our break. We drove 3 hours to Donihpan, Missouri where 19 of us camped at the Rocky River Resort right on the Current River. We stayed in 7 tents on 3 camp sites, and floated the river on 4 rafts (2 tied together). It was my first time to Missorui, so I was thrilled about the opportunity to cross my 24th state off the list. Woot. Our group was diverse as far as old and new counselors were concerned. Everyone seemed to have fun, and there were no real mishaps other than two girls who got sick on the trip. However, traveling with 20 of your closest friends who happen to be medical camp counselors ensures that you are in good hands, lol.

I helped with "Vent Camp" on July 10th. About 10 of us (counselors and supervisors) from camp worked at this small one-day event, serving children and families who are ventilator-dependent. Friday evening, we headed out to camp for a short meeting and yummy pizza, planning for the following day's events. Eleven children were signed up to attend the event, yet only 5 showed up on Saturday. By the end of the day, we had only about 3 kids who were interested/able to participate in camp activities, so the staff had a pretty relaxing time and providing the camp experience. Despite the small turnout, the kids who came were great. They had great personalities and seemed to really enjoy their day at camp.

The next day, we kicked off the second part of the summer with Diabetes Camp. I was Senior Counselor tht week, which was fun and scary all at once, since I'd never worked Diabetes Week before. It all worked out great; the other experienced counselor really taught me a lot, and we all learned pretty fast. 2 a.m. blood sugar checks were finally checked off of my camp bucket list, and they lived up to much of what I'd heard them to be. I now feel like a pro at managing (Type I) diabetes now! Our girl were wonderful, we had an amazing time, and Diabetes Week is now officially one of my favorite camp weeks!

Oh, there were several other cool aspects of Diabetes Week. 1) We had several media and guest appearances throughout the wee, including George Canyon, a Canadian Country music sensation, as well as Amy, the American Diabetes Advocate. 2) Myself and a few other counselors had the opportunity to wear an insulin pump filled with saline for a day. It was really interesting to experience the life of a diabetic who uses an insulin pump. I really appreciated that opportunity and feel like it may come in handy in my future work, perhaps as a Child Life Specialist.

Two weeks ago, we hosted CAK Week (Cardiac, Arthritis, Kidney). Because of my roots at Heart Camp, this week will always have a special place in my own heart. It's also pretty interesting because we had some pretty fragile kids--transplants, dialysis, etc. Or, in my one camper's case--dialysis, g-tube, diabetes (insulin pump), and ostomy bag. Plus, many kids with Down Syndrome have heart conditions, so we had a few of those, and there are always the random ADD, etc. kids who pop up every week. CAK week is the one week where we dispense more meds than any other week, maybe even all the weeks combined! Honestly though, I love the medical kids, so despite the non-existent sleep (rotating between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. shifts), I was quite a happy duck.

A special story about CAK Week: My most fragile camper (the one with all of those diagnoses/needs that I mentioned) had a very unique way of showing her appreciation for people, especially the counselors and volunteers. She would rub our ear lobes and smile, saying "You're in the club, I love you." The first time it happened, we were confused and asked what the ear rub meant. Then she explained, and our hearts melted. It was such a special week, especially to feel that love expressed so freely by such a gracious and wonderful child. It's amazing how children cope with their challenges in life and the little ways they learn to express their appreciation for your time with them. I will remember this little girl and "the club" for always.

This past week was the second Kota session for the summer, which happened to be my last week at camp. We finished it yesterday, and I have been hanging out, enjoying my final moments with everyone before I leave for Louisiana in the morning. I'll take some time next week to write about my final days in Little Rock, but for now I'm going to stop here and get back to hanging out with friends. We're cooking at the apartment again tonight and I just really want to cherish these last moments. So, for now...

Ta-Ta,
Lauren

Kota Krazy.

~Happy Birthday, USA!~

Can you believe I'm back so soon?! I've got a bit of extra time right now so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to sit and write. Before I get ahead of myself, I want to go back and say something I forgot to mention last time.

While I was off trapeezing across the Central Time Zone, there were some big events going on in other friends' lives. First, 4-H University (formerly known as Short Course), the state competition for high schoolers across the state of Louisiana, was held at LSU on June 22-24. As usual, the delegation from Vermilion Parish was very well represented with more than 100 people in attendance (including delegates and chaperones). We brought home more than 70 Ribbons, with 14 State Winners, 15 1st Alternate Winners, and 40+ Blue Ribbon Winners. In case you haven't done the math, that's something like a 78% of our delegates receiving state awards. In the words of a certain friend of mine, "Hollar Baller!"

I also want to do a special shoutout to my brother, Austin, and his teammate, Matt Repp, who were selected as 1st Alternates in the Environmental Threat Resolution competition. Fortunately or unfortunately (however you see it), they lost to Dawn's younger sister Joy. What a shame, haha.

Also that week (same days, I think), the North Carolina State FFA Convention was held in Raleigh. I feel like I should take a few sentences to include this event since it's such a big deal to my counterparts back at school. I had several friends involved with the execution of the convention, and even an acquaintance who was elected to State Office. For that I say, Congratulations, all!

Now, back to my world. Ashley, a friend from camp, got married on June 26th (last Saturday). Several people from camp headed out to Morrilton for the wedding. Jay drove Matt, Wakie, and I, where we met up with Daniel, Ben, Madison, Kika, Cody, and Kyle Bost--all counselors or former counselors at camp. Ali and Bobo, also counselors, and Amber, Ashley's twin sister, were in the wedding. Needless to say, there was a very large showing of camp people which made for a very fun afternoon and evening of dancing at the reception. The wedding was beautiful; Ashley was a gorgeous bride, and everything was put together so nicely. We all had a fun time and I can't wait to catch up with Ashley once things settle down for her and Manvill's new life. Yay for the Allens!

This past week at camp was Kota I. In the Quawpaw Native American language, Kota means "friend." In this way, the Kota sessions at camp are designed for children of all abilities. Many of the children who attend camp this week have diagnoses such as Asperger's/Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrom, or other behavioral disorders. In addition, several campers with diagnoses bring along siblings or friends. With that being said, I'm sure some of you can imagine how insane a week filled with kids who have varying abilities and personalities that are even more diverse than usual, would be an interesting experience.

More specifically, I'll tell you what the week really looked like for me. Originally, I was assigned to work with the middle age group of girls (12-13, 17). However, on Sunday, my boss approached me to ask that I spend the day working with the middle age group of boys (11-13, 15) because one of the counselors was sick and they needed me to fill in for a bit. At first, I was crazy overwhelmed by the insanity that is a boys' cabin during Kota. There were two runners (meaning they would run from the cabin and disappear at the drop of a hat if they weren't under constant watch), a very enthusiastic, happy, artistic, sweet boy, and several other interesting personalities in the group. By Monday morning, I'd become accustomed to the group, and was sad to be reassigned to my original cabin at lunchtime that afternoon. In fact, I felt really disconnected when the cabin lost one of the runners during lunch time and I couldn't be there to help with the situation. (Don't worry, they found him hiding in the Commons building!) In the end, I enjoyed the opportunity to make friends with two cabins, and the girls really were a sweet group.

In any case, we were all thrilled when camp ended on Friday afternoon--not only because most of us were exhausted from several weeks at camp, but also because we're now "half-way" through the summer! This means...wait for it...WE'VE GOT A WEEK OFF!! Yay! To celebrate, a bunch of us went to the new 5 Guys (!!) that just opened here in Little Rock! I was thrilled to indoctrine everyone, since 5 Guys is a DC chain, and most people had never heard of it, much less eaten there.

Friday night, I met Amber and her friend Jennifer in Conway; together we rode to Morrilton to housesit for Amber's parents who were out of town. We had a nice, chill, girls' night. Amber and Jennifer stayed up pretty late, but by 2 am, I couldn't go anymore and collapsed into Ashley's divinely comfy bed. For the first time in weeks (a month?), I didn't have to set an alarm--it was a-mazing!

On Saturday, we had a lazy morning, but then Amber and I drove back to Little Rock (1 hr.) via Conway (30 min.) to meet her sister, Amy, at the movies to see Eclipse. Just like the book, the third Twilight movie wasn't my favorite, but I'm very much looking forward to the 4th movie, which will be even crazier than the previous three. After the movie, Amber and I went to Mass at Christ the King, then parted ways, as Amber returned home, and I came on over to "the apartment." Blain, Kyle, and I chilled out for a bit. Then Kyle went to meet up with some of his MedSchool friends, and Blain and I ended up watching School of Rock, followed by a bunch of random stuff before hitting they hay around 1 a.m.

Today, Sunday, has been the best day of all. I slept in (til 10 am, when Kyle got home), and then lazied around all day. Kyle brought home donuts, so although it's almost 6 p.m., all I've eaten today is three donuts and the leftovers from a little salad. (Yes, it's a fatty day, haha.) Also, I didn't even get dressed in real clothes until about an hour ago, lol. To add to the laziness, Blain and I watched My Girl this morning, and then he got me started on the LOST series. We made it through the first disc of Season 1 and now I'm hoping to make it at least through the first season before I go back to work next week. If not, I've got til August 1 to get as far into the series as possible. We'll see what I can do.

Tonight, Kyle has already left to hang out with his friends at a barbecue and the festival in downtown Little Rock. Blain went to Conway to visit his parents who are in town for the day, but when he gets back, we're going to go downtown to see the fireworks too. It's kind of a boring Independence Day, but I'm perfectly content. In fact, I'm pretty darn happy about it. :)

With the rest of my week off, I plan(ned) to do some thesis writing, but watching LOST and being lazy sounds way, way better! Plus, a bunch of folks from camp are planning a camping/rafting trip on a river in Missouri for Tuesday through Thursday. I kind of want to go on the trip, so that I can add Missouri to the list of states I've visited, lol. A bit selfish, perhaps. But really, who wants to write during their one and only week of relaxation from 6 weeks of working 125 hours each week? Really now. (This is a cue for you, the reader, to say..."No, Lauren, it's time to start writing! You can do it!")

Anywhoo, just in case I don't write again for a while, I'll look ahead for ya too. Camp is officially closed until next Sunday, when everyone returns for Diabetes Week. However, there is going to be a short day-camp for kids who are ventilator dependent on the Saturday before Diabetes. For that, only a few counselors were asked to work, and as of Friday, I'm one of them! Yay. I'm not really sure what the camp is going to look like (schedule, ages, abilities, needs, etc), but I'm super excited about this opportunity to work with a new group of campers. Staff who are working have to report to camp on Friday at 6 p.m. for an information session, then the camp will take place during the day on Saturday, and Diabetes training and camp begins Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Needless to say, I think it's going to be a long week back at camp, but I'm super excited about it all.

Everything looks like it's shaping up to be a great second half of the summer. Despite the fact that I wrote only about 10 days ago, I seem to have written yet another novella. I hope you all enjoy these entries in your summer reading experience, lol. Now, I am going to leave you with a quote from a letter that I wrote to Lendy last week. It has become my mantra for the summer and my time here in Little Rock...

"I will love every bit of fatigue and unpredictability...take in every laugh, joke, and smile--to cherish and hold, forever and always."

-Lauren

It's Scorching Out There!

Hello again!

I hope summer is treating you all well. Has anyone died from heat exhaustion yet? Gosh, I'm surprised I haven't. The temperatures are ridiculous!! Heat indicies in the upwards of 112*F range, much less regular temperatures ranging from 92-97 on a consistent basis has just been absolutely miserable! I can't believe it's been this consistently hot for almost a month straight, with absolutely no end in sight! It's crazzzy.

A lot has transpired since I last wrote, so I guess it's time for my monthly update right about now. During my final days in Louisiana, I did make a concerted effort to hound out some work on my thesis. In fact, I put together my first official draft of Chapter 1 (of 5) and sent it off for revisions to my Major Professor. She's been too busy to get anything back yet, so I'm not sure how it looks. I'm hoping to hear something by the end of next week, since I'll have a week off of camp to maybe get some more work done on it.

Oh, I also got to see the babies a few more times before I left. They were just growing SO fast; I can't imagine how big they'll be when I see them again in August!! Maybe their mother and uncle will send me some updated pictures soon enough. *Hint, hint. Wink, wink!*

Now, I'm here in Arkansas for the remainder of the summer, though I did jet away for a week. Backing up, though, I should say that I arrived in Arkansas on Saturday, June 5th; Staff Training at camp started the following morning (Sunday) and went through Friday of that week. As always, training week was a lot of fun. It's the one week where us counselors get to play at camp without any real responsibilities. The training sessions are very informative, and we spend a lot of time bonding with one another. One cool thing about training this year was that a guy from the National Inclusion Project (based in RTP!) came out and did a 6 hour training for us. His program was awesome—it was interactive, fun, and interesting. I really want to learn more about their organization whenever I get some time to aimlessly browse the interwebs...lol.

The following week, June 13-18th, was Muscular Dystrophy week here at camp. MD week was once again a great week. In fact, it's generally my second favorite week of the whole summer (next to Spina). The kids are always awesome, and we're way overstaffed. To illustrate, we had 6 counselors, 5 volunteers, and 7 campers in my cabin. We had the oldest girls, who were super sweet and fun. Oh—I was selected as Quawpaw Tribe Chief for both Staff Training and MD week, which was interesting. I'm sooo not Tribe Chief material, but I made the best of it and tried to represent the Quawpaws as well as I could.

Unfortunately, I had to leave camp early that week, because of other engagements. Right after finishing up at the archery range (Oh yeah, guess I didn't mention that I'm working there again this summer—yay!) on Thursday, Matt Eckess (former camper/counselor), picked me up at camp and brought me to the airport. I arrived in Baton Rouge later that evening, and spent both Thursday and Friday nights at Dawn's house in Brusly. Friday morning, she and I went to one of her younger sister's (Joy) swim meets at LSU. We ran errands around the city and then took a brief nap before getting ready for the wedding that evening.

Friday night, we went to Donaldsonville for Joey and Kim's wedding. The wedding was sooooo much fun!!! I had a GREAT time seeing everyone, dancing, etc. Annie and Jen, my college roommates, came to the wedding too; I hadn't seen Jen since we graduated a year and a half ago, and I'd only seen Annie a few times since then. It was just incredible to see everyone and really have time to enjoy each other. Among the Idaho folks were Jesse, Stew, Jason, Brin (all Joey's roommates), Juan, Jeff, and Derek. Other out-of-town visitors included Jess (PA/NC/ID), Bri (ID/GA), Nathan (ID/WA), two people from Montreal, and a guy from England. Needless to say it was definitely an intercultural experience!

Saturday, I crashed a going-away party for Dawn's college roommate who is moving to Virginia to work as an engineer for the Navy or something like that. That afternoon, we went to Luling to spend time with Annie for her 23rd birthday. Annie's parents made a yummy dinner and tasty ice cream cake; we had a good time visiting with her family and playing games, as game-playing is a Stewart Family staple. Although we planned to meet the Idaho group in New Orleans, Dawn and I ended up staying in Luling that night, instead.

Earlyyyy Sunday morning, Dawn brought me to the airport in New Orleans, where I met Jess, Jeff, and Derek. Because I hadn't gotten a chance to hang out with the group the night before, Stew and Nathan agreed to drag their butts out of bed in order to come see me at the airport before I left...how sweet. Jess and I flew to Milwaukee (through Chicago) from there to meet our professor and two other graduate students for the Association of Leadership Educators Conference.

ALE was held June 20th-24th at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. While there, NC State established their presence with several poster, research, round table, etc. presentations. By the end of it, pretty much everyone knew who we were and what our involvement was. (I will say, it didn't hurt to have your professor as Conference Chair and incoming President of the organization, lol.) While in Milwaukee, we toured the Miller Brewery and went on a progressive dinner (having each course at a different restaurant) in the downtown area, finishing with custard at a little kiosque on Lake Michigan. It was really cool to experience the German culture, and to see a brand new state. I'm almost half way, now!

Yesterday, I arrived back in Little Rock. Amber (twin of this weekend's bride-to-be) picked me up and we spent the afternoon running some errands to prepare for tomorrow's wedding. [Yes, I was invited to 3 weddings, in 3 states, over the course of just two weeks!] I was able to see both the afternoon and evening crew of counselors during their break time, and really got a lot of things done here around the apartment. Just last night, I did three loads of laundry (two of which were for Kyle), picked up around the apartment, and cleaned Blain's bathroom. I guess I have got to earn my keep somehow, haha!

Today, I went to the closing ceremony for Spina Bifida camp. I'm so glad I got the chance to see my girls, even if it was just for a few minutes. I hear camp was pretty insane this week (ask if you care to know the intense details). We also got paid today--yay--so I stayed after the cereony for the counselor meeting and picked up both mine and Amber's checks. Can't do with out those “megga bucks”........right? ;-)

Now, I'm sitting in the apartment, blogging (duh) and waiting for the crew to get back from lunch. I think everyone went to eat at Damgoode Pies (pizza) and predict they'll all be home soon for an afternoon of napping. Maybe we'll grill out or do something interesting tonight, who knows.

As I said before, tomorrow's Ashley's wedding. I hope I can find someone from Little Rock to carpool with me, as I don't want to drive all the way to Morrilton alone; me and unfamiliar driving territory is just a tad nervewracking.

This next week at camp is Kota I (I'll define that next time), and then we have a week off for July 4th. To date, I have no real plans for break week; unless the guys say I can't, I figure I'll just stay here at the apartment and bum around Little Rock. It'll be nice to be here without rushing around all the time, for once. Maybe I'll even get some of the thesis writing out of the way...one can only hope, right?

For now though, I think this third installment of your summer reading is about done.

Oh—calling all letter writers: send me some mail! Lendy and Kara have done a wonderful job of sending fun letters and cards, who's next? My goal is to fill the wall next to my camp bed by the end of the summer, so send some goodies my way! My address is posted below. Thanks in advance!

Stay cool!
-Lauren

2000 Aldersgate Road
Little Rock, AR 72205