puff daddy and the family camp

tomorrow is family camp. I'm scared. SO many people. SO many hungry people. SO many people congregating and talking and looking at books written by Joshua Harris.

The Counsellors have all arrived. It is fun having more people around, although we still haven't played "bump". We have however played on the floating dock. If anyone has any good "dock" games please feel free to let me know. We were trying to come up with some but they all ended up being dangerous or lame. In other news, our floating dock can float...in fact with heavy winds she can float to the other side of the lake. sha la la!

Anna put out her shoulder a couple days ago. Wow can that girl swear a bluestreak when she is angry! only kidding. I am sure the worst word she used in that moment was "oh geez, there goes my shoulder out of its socket. Jim-in-nee."

anyways...that is all. tune in for info. on the ever-so-studly "hunter" boys. Some of the girl counsellors have already called dibs on Dusty...or was it Brock?....or maybe JJ??

"what's up dock?"

holla.

Well last friday we took the dock that the boys' made and put it into the water. With only minor scrapes and bruises, and the loss of one anchor it was a success and it is sUpEr fun! We were just out there and it is sure a good time. I wish I could be out there all day,perhaps I will quit my job and become "dock coordinator". Anyways..the counsellors come tomorrow which is great, the weather is hot, and in only a few short days...the HUNTER BOYS will be here!!! There is truly nothing else to say today except that there are some people in this room who think that computers are human beings...

here is a picture of the dock makers. They are quite proud in this picture.

I think we are going to watch "the sisterhood of the travelling panties"...i mean pants, whoops, wrong movie series...

check ya lader

"happy birthday to lou"

Yesterday was Luke's 25th birthday. Luke doesn't make a big deal out of his birthdays...but we sure wanted to make it special for him... so we made him a special birthday bin with some treasures...a juice box, euchre cards, a sucker, a nakamun t-shirt, a surprise bag and a couple other things which I cannot remember. Then we all went to Barrhead to celebrate his b-day with Mrs.Wolgien's which is COINCIDENTALLY the same day! Wow.














Today we were outside for the majority of the day running activities for a LOT of grade sixes. They are pretty cute...(and maybe teachers too? Kris?) So we all have great tan lines. We are warning Kayleen about how this is only a glimmer of what Family Camp looks like. It would be funny...but it only scares us too. However...it helps to know that though the first family camp has a whopping 450 registered (gulp)...at least we will be blessed with a singing group of hockey playing boys who wear white t-shirts and big grins! Amy has her hopes set on one of them..and she is also hoping for a wet t-shirt contest after their grand finale.
Well nothing else new really, we are pretty ready for camp to start, I'm not gonna lie.
OH ya..the boys (Kris and Luke) built a floating dock so we will be able to swim off of it, which is big and exciting. We also went swimming off the barge tonight and Luke did 2 #1's in the water. (just kidding. i think. i actually don't know if he was joking.)

ferrrrr shizzo.

silent tears and sweaty pits

Well team...we were so close...it was within reach...and we got second place...and that hurts, let's face the music folks.

In other news...Amy Plompers is FINALLY out here which is wonderful!! I have already received one of her pain-instilling yet weirdly satisfying back massages. It is great to have the whole team together now..let the trust falls begin!

and....Caleb actually has some exciting news of his own...but I don't want to go "behind his back" and just share it...I mean news like this shouldn't just be written on a blog...that is why I am not saying ANYTHING about what this news could possibly be...I am not secretly writing about it on here while Caleb is sitting right beside me...that is not my style folks, so you are just gonna have to ask him..got it? ok.

put pork on your fork!

A visit to the Zoo

Well today seemed like just any ordinary rainy day to me. That meant a day jammed packed with us sitting in our cozy little office. On most occasions I think that we would have cracked and gone completely crazy, but we didn't. Well at least I want to believe that. We did however get quite a bit accomplished today. We finished the Gideon's New Testament sized Counselor Handbook today. I'm not really sure what else was accomplished, but that's because I was so focused on my task. I think we got some work done on scheduling and planning for the week when the counselors do finally get here. The only other excitement of the day was when Michelle dared me to eat some pudding. The pudding itself was fine, but the quantity might have been a bit overboard. When was all and said and done I had consumed more than 3 heaping giant-sized serving spoons full of it. I may never want to eat Caramel pudding ever again.

Well Luke, Kayleen and Michelle are all off again tonight and tomorrow, as they all have weddings to attend to. I must admit, I am a bit sad to be left alone (yes I will survive). So back to the title of this blog, "A visit to the Zoo", yes that is right, tonight I visited the zoo. Many of you are asking what Zoo? Does Barrhead have a zoo? is there a petting zoo where they keep the miniature horses? The answer to both questions is no! I was not a guest at this zoo, I was one of the animals. The Gym had sprung a leak and had flooded. Being the only staff member still here it fell upon my shoulders to mop it up. (Please don't mistake me, I'm in no way complaining about the work). As I spent the better part of an hour mopping, I had quite a few people come down and peer through the windows at me. Many of them staying for several minutes to watch this trained bear do a few tricks. Now I also realize that mopping isn't much of a trick and that you could probably train a monkey to do it just as well as a bear like me. I did however for a little while understand how animals at Zoos feel. To understand what it is like to be trapped in a room or cage with nothing more than a few windows or bars where guests may come and peer into a unnatural reality. As it also seems to fit my personality, I would like to take this time to announce my new camp name. For those of you who formerly knew me as RHNNNNN (or some version of that) it has now become BEAR! Yup, well that's all for now.


GO OILERS GO!!!!

20.5

Well today i am officially twenty and a half. gulp. It's all down hill from here.

Today we woke up bright and early and went to the outback. The Nakamun outback. Quite similar to Australia we think. We had to clean it all up as much as we could. It was a big job and i have scrapes, Luke almost lost his leg to a chainsaw, Kayleen got stabbed with a nail and Kris almost murdered the weedwacker. Me and Kayleen enjoyed driving the gator, in FACT we were almost stampeded by the horses but thanks to her whispering and my bridle skills we cantered our way to safety without any 'foal' play. (sorry bout that) There was a scary moment on our way back when we thought the trailer with all the junk wood was gonna break...but thank GOODNESS for the Corbinator who used his killer instinct and burly muscles to save the day.

After lunch i had a dentist appointment (cavity free for year 20. phewf. oh mommy and pops
Mrs. Brulotte says hi and that my gums are healthy) The rest of the crew worked, but I don't know where. We had pizza for supper and this is where the evening picked up...

1. we played bump (which was far more friendly than yesterday's games!) Kevin was new to the game but presented a shot that will keep him in the runnings. Although we told him if he lost the lamb on his shoulders his b-ball would improve....
2. we had pool time
3. The oilers WON
4. we watched "so i married an axe murderer"


GO OILERS!

crashing down......

Well today started out as any normal day would, breakfast made by Mel. Yes that is right Pancakes again. Unfortunately there were no more mickey mouse pancakes for Michelle. First up on our agenda today was taking down the scaffolding at the wall. Both Michelle and Kayleen proved that they were beastly women. (Not my words here folks, Kayleen should take full credit). Following a short break Kayleen, Michelle and I returned to the wall, while Luke lifeguarded for a group. While at the wall we had the privilege of working with a group of French students from Legal. Michelle and Kayleen seemed to have an gut busting time practicing any and every french word that they knew. Oh my!

From that point in time, my day got worse and worse. We lost two trolleys to an accident (no nobody was hurt) but in some ways this was good as they both needed to be replaced anyways. Upon returning to the Lodge we were making ourselves lunch when Kayleen and I ran into each other causing me to drop a glass bowl on the ground, sending shards of glass to every corner of the kitchen. Later I somehow broke a flowerpot that I was not even close to. (Just not my day I guess). Michelle also seemed to be having a rough day as she is struggling with a personality conflict. She doesn't know who she is. This is one crisis that we all hoped would never come. Well I, for one, still like you Michelle.

On the most positive note of the day, Jesus came to camp. Oh wait I mean Kevin Guenther. Yes he has returned and he looks a little bit like Jesus, with long hair and a beard. It will be nice to have someone else out here. Oh yeah and Amy will be here very soon!!!! We are so excited, maybe we won't go too crazy after all! Well we are off to outback in the morning to do some good ol' fashioned manual labour. Hopefully its not too wet! Peace.

monday? funday.

sup beautiful.

the score is 1:1. But i anticipate greatness. Why? Cause check out the Oilers brownies I made today in some spare time I found...


As far as size goes it is no Luke Henkelman creation; however, I think it will suffice all things considered.

Me and Kris were the only ones out today. It was a pretty easy day (as you can probably tell by the brownies). Anna is back after a friggin' extended holiday. She was gone for a week and then she has Wednesday and Thursday off. It is so hard to find good help around here. I wonder if Camp regrets hiring Anna. I mean as far as skills go... and that attitude? yikes. Just kidding...Anna is as close to perfect as they come, and if it weren't for Ashley Olson I'd say she was.

Well I don't know what is up for tonight. I hope some bump, i may or may not be addicted to that game. And then maybe I'll call up my buddy Ryan Smyth for some post-game talk. He and I are pretty much cronies, now that my dad is a pastor at his church and all...

go oilers go.
go ryan go.
go beulah go.

"no no honey, don't drink the poison."

Well it's official. We are going squirrelly out here. Maybe it's the shotty weather, maybe it's the office. Maybe it's the food. Hmm..noo..the food has other effects, mostly physical...annnyyyways..

June 8. WOW. Funny that a week ago we burnt our bodies..and today it is like -40 outside with rain. Me, Kayleen and Luke ran wall for a bunch of kids and by the end we were chilled to say the least. Kris has been working on the Bible-sized counselor handbook. I hope they like to read...and I hope they love safety protocol cause this thriller is packed. Kayleen had a good time in Ontairio (she sends a shout-out to Leanne...."holla")

honestly people..we have cabin fever. Kris keeps talking in a dutch accent, I am reacting to everything and am ridiculously easily distracted and




Congratulations Brock and Karmyn! I suggest taking this time before your wedding to read a)the bride wore white *karms and b) wild at heart *brock. And it would never hurt to read "the purpose driven couple" (fresh of the press)

go oilers go?

haircuts

Well today was another pretty boring day out at Nakamun. We only allowed 2 campers to die while Michelle and I were on watch at the waterfront. Ok so it was more like only 2 people tipped into the water and they were supervisors at that. On a much funnier note, we put up Rob and Deb's wedding picture in our office. Rob got a good laugh when he saw it, one could only wonder how we came upon it(Thanks Joel!)

So really today was a boring day. Neither Michelle or I could think of anything special to write about. I know its a shame, there were no more eating contests....Michelle tried to get one started, but none of us were in the mood for sausage. Well time to go watch a movie or kill some wasps, The choices we have out here, if anyone finds our sanity, please let us know, it is missed!!!

"as our lives change...come whatever..."

Well I wasn't going to write a a blog on account of nothing exciting happening and the fact that the Oilers lost. But just now something blog worthy happened...without seeing it coming, i was enticed into a Kris Corbin eating contest.,,no it wasn't pizza...no it wasn't freezies...it was....



vitamin c.

I believe the grand total was...

Kris:27

Michelle:19

Luke:17

Our kidneys loathe us right now. But it is dang good vitamin c. I know mom..you're saying "michelle that isn't good for you"... but hey... would you rather it was the sausage?

accident prone

Well today was a crazy day. What was supposed to be an easy day turned out to be a bit hectic. Don was taking a group out on the barge, while Caleb, Carrie and I were working the zipline/climbing wall. As we returned to the lodge for Lunch I was met by Carol who informed me that the prop on the barge had broken and that Don and the barge were stranded on the lake. Spending the next 2 hours I shuttled guests back and forth from the barge on the motor boat. Needless to say Don was not too happy when we finally got the barge back to shore. The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the wall. All of us spent quite a bit of time in the sun and as a result most of us have some pretty good burns. I would like to take this time to remind all of our readers that it is very important to apply copious amounts of sunscreen when going outdoors





As most of you will realize the barge breaking down is a complete lie. And yes I do realize that my lies are not quite as believable as Michelle's, but I'm ok with that because I know that I'm at least appreciated for the fact that I can fix the internet and for my biceps. In reality I just needed a way to spice up an otherwise incident free day. GO OILERS GO!!

ohh..i thought you said burritos

June 1. was hot. we worked. outside. all day. tan lines? we got em'.

If anyone ever complains this summer about being outside for too long..boy can we top that. Today and tomorrow there is this humongo group of kids out (220) and so today we had over 5.5 hours of climbing wall/zip. By the end..we were all so fried and tired. However, I have mostly enjoyed the kids. It is a largely multicultural group of kids and Stanley Woo could make anyone's day brighter.

I think tonight we will probably all go to bed early. We are all quite fatigued. Kayleen is flying home tomorrow for a few days to visit her BF. Godspeed my friend.

OH but i do want to share the great thing I found at "dollarama." (if you have never been..make haste my friend, it is incredible).. You have probably seen those "gummy hotdogs"?? Well there is much more than that people...

yes..that is a sprinkled gummi donut.

well take it easy.
p.s. in defense of the "michelle checking e-mail" insults in previous blogs. Unlike some people, I do not see my family and friends everytime I have a day off. I am lonely and miss them. so sue me.