What I DID Do Over the Summer

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted. Sorry about that. I've been out of town for most of the summer...

So, what happened was like this...

For two weeks in June, I volunteered at Camp Charis in Pelham, Georgia (about an hour from here)! The first week there, I worked on the Activities Team with five others...we had an amazing time! This was our team... (Jon-Jon [upper left], Melinda, Daniel, Rachel [lower left], me and Elaine)

We had WAY too much fun that week...which is, actually, exactly what I needed...though all of the team was at least seven years younger than me, I had the greatest time I've had in MONTHS! We had the privilege of leading games and activities with the kids (and the top three are lifeguards), as well as just enjoy each other...lets just say, there was a LOT of laughing going on that week...And, you see, there was this animal war between Jon-Jon and Melinda...(pictured: Claire [left] and Elaine with Jon-Jon's rubber chicken, Sebastian Alowiscious Wesolowski, after we kidnapped him...)

But, I have to admit, the second week I was at camp was the best! I was the counselor for seven little girls! And I DO mean little...Unfortunately, due to Camp Charis policy, I cannot post any photos of the campers on the web (for the campers' protection!), but I can post some other fun ones... :)

I had 7 campers total...4 six-year-olds, 2 seven-year-olds and an eight-year-old! I have never done camp counseling with kids so young before! It was so much fun! I basically played Mommy all week. In fact, since we were in the Bobcat Hollow (our wagon [cabin]), they started calling me the Bobcat Mommy, and they were my little Bobcat Cubs... :)

Katie and Melinda certainly enjoyed watching the Bobcats...Here's a photo of them observing the little Bobcat cubs in their natural habitat...
And each morning, while having devotions, I was able to go outside to the picnic area and simply enjoy the beauty of the lake! (And I especially have a thing for fog on water, so I was happy! :))

And, of course, we had an amazing counseling team! (Katie, head counselor [top left], Kevin, Mr. Tom, Paul, David, me [bottom left], Jeremiah [counselor's assistant], Alicia, Carolyn and Kimi)

We were able to have a great time, and build some AMAZING relationships that will hopefully last a long time...(Melinda and me)

(Alicia and me)
(Libby and me)

(Paul and me)

But the MOST AWESOME thing about that week was that
SIX OF MY SEVEN CAMPERS ACCEPTED CHRIST AS SAVIOR!!!

Thank you so much for your prayers this summer!

And after Camp, my family and I went on vacation throughout the Southern and Western regions of America...We drove from here to the Bitterroot Valley of Montana (Corvallis/Hamilton, where Mom was born) for the McConnell Family Reunion (Mom's family), but made a few stops along the way... :) After the Reunion and Road Trip, Mom and Dad dropped me off in St. Louis to visit with my close friend, Nancy, for about a week and a half.

Here are a few photos from the trip...

(Painted Desert National Park, in Arizona)

(Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona)

(Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona--and Hey, we found it the first time we tried...unlike my music pastor, Robbin Kuder... :))

(Glen Canyon/Lake Powell, Arizona)

(Zion National Park, Utah)

(The Excalibur on the Famous Las Vegas Strip--Nevada)

(Reunion in Montana--and this isn't even the whole clan, just the few that showed up!)

(Waterfall up a road marked "Treacherous Mountain Drive"--Montana)

(River's Fork, Idaho--Salmon River, on which Erin [my sis-in-law], her mom, my dad and I went white water rafting!)

(Yellowstone, Wyoming/Montana--The Grand Prismatic Springs)

(Grand Teton, Wyoming--Lake Jenny, Grand Teton Range)

(St. Louis...with Nancy!)

(The Arch--St. Louis)

And, folks, THAT was my summer!