nauvoo. session director. the robleys.
i love the robleys. love them. they were our session directors last year in kentucky when i was having a really rough week. there was one day i remember being outside of morningside just crying because i couldnt handle the week. (i cry a lot). and sister robley was out there- later that week she came up and said "i can tell you are going through something really hard but it will be okay" it was just what i needed. i remembered her but i highly doubt she remembered me. on sunday night she came right up to me and asked me how i was doing- she said i remember you from last year and have been thinking a lot about you. she then went on to remember everything from the year. i felt so loved, and like i mattered. i love love love that family.
before the session started we went to the temple. it was an amazing experience to be in the Nauvoo temple which has such a history. also the nauvoo temple holds a little piece of my heart because when i was little i went and helped people put booties on before the open house when i was in 6th grade. during the week i was able to just sit in the temple for four hours while the youth did baptisms- it was absolutely amazing! i just read my scriptures and then got to be baptized as well. it was really special.
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| the group after the temple. |
over the weekend rachel got sick, and so on monday we left right after orientation to go to the doctor. if there is one place you dont want to get sick it is nauvoo because it is in the middle of nowhere. the nearest place that accepted her insurance was an hour away. it was a fun road trip though. we talked about what we wanted from life, and different counselors that had impressed us. before we left i had been joking that we were going to the doctor because i was pregnant. well low and behold urgent care and the maternity ward just happened to be at the same desk. unfortunately we had forgotten a camera- but we laughed pretty hard. after a long wait, rachel was finally helped and we were on our way home. we couldnt help but stop by DQ for some comfort food and we got the cookie jar blizzard...oh my goodness, so delicious. it hit the spot.
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| our fearless health counselors TNT |
games night was perfect. the weather was great! ivan and i were on tug of war and it was the best thing ever. i tried my very hardest to yell loud enough to lose my voice but it didnt work. but it was worth a try.
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| eliza and her bonnet at games night. |
i was on pizza deals this week. which is a little tricky because the nearest dominoes was 20 minutes away. i called before the week started to get the deals so i could be on top of the game. everything was perfect- counselors called in their orders on time and i got all the money set. the 8 30 rolled around and they werent there- 15 minutes later they still werent there, so i called. they were just about to leave. i wanted to cry. to make matters worst when they got there the pizza's werent organized and a few were missing. it was a mad rush to get it organized and im sure the counselors all hated me. i may or may not have had a break down to morgan after all the pizzas were picked up. it was such high stress in such a short period time i couldnt handle it. even though there was nothing i could have done, and it wasnt my fault- i was still in charge. no bueno.
on wednesday night we went to sunset on the mississippi. it was the bestest. the whole BC team sat by each other and we were crazy. i swear if we werent in Nauvoo and at Sunset on the Mississippi people would have thought we were drunk. after sunset Vocal Point performed. i got paid two dollars to ask if they were single. note i was standing up on the chair trying to get them to call on me. i have no shame. mom, im sorry.
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| yay money- i was distracted by something. |
on wednesday and thursday i had shuttle duty. it ended up totaling 10 hours. that is 10 hours of driving up and down the same road over and over again. i never wanted to be in a car again. i was talking to morgan about it later and realized i had been on a road trip, up and down the same road. it was awful.
missouri. session director. the condies.
just get through wednesday. do you ever have those weeks where you look forward to wednesday because after wednesday it just flies. if you can make it halfway you can make it. meet missouri. our wednesday. the midway point.
the dorms. amazing. the auditorium. AMAZING (it was straight out of the phantom of the opera) the cafeteria. not the worst. the walk between everything. awful.
i was on musical program. and was terrified. i have done choir and love music, but directing a choir and getting them ready in 2 1/2 days with very little practice time...no no. and then add in the walk and you have even less practice time. but miracles of miracles- it all worked. i had amazing helpers who did everything- all i did was soloists. it was so fun to get to know the kids through musical program. i felt like the all knew who i was. i think thats the hardest thing about being a BC is the fact that you dont have kids of your own, and you could go a week without getting to know any of the youth- but the weeks you get to know them it makes all the difference. and this week i felt like i knew a lot of them.
the musical program itself went well- the video that goes along with the musical program. not so good. our session director liked to do all the AV from his computer which would have been fine, except everything always got messed up. i had everything set up on his computer and then he changed it- so we had to fix it in front of everyone, and then halfway through the musical program his computer went blank so the pictures stopped rolling. i had a brief moment of panic. but the singing was great. i was so proud of the kids.
there were a few youth that i got to talk to more than others and i just loved them so so much. at our young women's breakout we ended up talking about how we shouldn't steady date in high school. it was a really cool moment in the lesson where girls shared personal experiences. later that night one of my counselors said they had a girl who wanted to talk to me. that night we talked about how she was dating this boy but knew she shouldn't be. we talked about how its hard to end things. and how it takes faith. we talked about college, and what to look forward to. we talked about applying and just everything. it might be my favorite memory from the summer. or one of them for sure.
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| sami was the cutest. she was a midget, and had the greatest attitude in the world. aka she was sassy. i loved her. |
the week definitely had its crazy moments. there was one night we only got 2 hours of sleep because of being up with a youth. another night we had to search for a youth who was missing. the session director sent the kids running through the beautiful auditorium looking for a golden ticket, and did a slide show of his own. we had to deal with the 30 minute walk in the blazing heat, and a cafeteria line that was crazy. even though the week was crazy- it was amazing. and topped the list of favorite weeks.
also it was the fourth of july while we were there! party!
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| i experienced my very first sprinkler sunday during co counselor planning. so fun! |
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| happy fourth after fhe games. we tried to be as red white and blue as possible. and the building in the background made us feel like we were in dc. |
yay for efy.
