England Day 61: Last poster making day

I've posted about 4 blogs today (8/16) for last weeks stuff. I'm still behind by slowly catching up so work with me. lol.

I can’t believe in one week from today it will be my last day working with the kids. It’s so sad to think about and exciting since I will be going home. This Thursday was a fun day with the kids. We had to wake up early because I had to go on the field trip today with the preteen at 8 in the morning and we had to have a meeting with the flight chief before that. When we got to the youth center, we sat with the on benches in the lobby and had the flight chief and Mr. Gary talk to us. The flight chief presented us with a special coin from the base. It was truly amazing. Only a select few people get the special coins. We were truly honored. It was amazing.

After the coins, I got ready to go on the field trip to the swimming pool with the preteeners. It was a pretty good morning. We went to an indoor swimming pool and the kids had to do a lot of swim test stuff. It was mostly like a swim lesson the whole time which was kind of a bummer. I wish the kids would have had more time to play in the pool. They only got about 20 minutes of free time. Quite a bummer.

When we were done swimming, we went to the park across the street and had lunch and free play time. I had a lot of fun with the kids besides the fact that one child kept copying everything thing I did even though I told her to stop multiple times. She kept laughing like I was joking with her but I definitely was not. I was getting so frustrated. She later thought that I hated her because I was stern with her about the copying thing. I definitely did not hate her but told her that when she does thing that I don’t like and when I ask her to stop and she doesn’t, it makes me very frustrated and I don’t like it. Sometimes kids just push the wrong buttons sometimes. Ugh.

When we got back from the field trip, I was in preteen for rotating activities but we just had free time in there since it was raining. It was a really good day until the girl I’ve talked about before, S, came in and was picking on me like she always does. Normally it doesn’t bother me because she’s like a little sister to me and I am always messing with her too but today was not a good day. She thought it would be funny to kick me in the stomach. Not so funny. It hurt so bad. I got really upset with her and did the childish thing of ignoring her the rest of the day. I guess I didn’t really see her the rest of the day so I wasn’t really ignoring her but I was definitely upset about it.

After free time, we had closing and then headed home. We had our Thursday meeting and then started our LAST poster painting. It was so sad but also a relief since we wouldn’t have to make posters again. Lol. We had a lot of fun in the hall making posters and also came up with the idea to make a cd of all the songs that reminded us of our summer together. So we started coming up with a playlist and laughed the whole night. It was so much fun. We plan on making the cds on our last Thursday when we have our slumber party. It’s going to be so much fun!

After the posters were complete, we headed off to bed to prepare for our last Friday of the summer, since we will have the next Friday off. Woot!

Cheerio.

England Day 60: A night of luxury with Brandy. She is too good to us.

Wednesday was a much better day than yesterday. Those kids were off the wall but they did so much better today. It made blitz so much better and the kids seemed to have more fun. We then had clubs and I got to go to the CDC with the preteen kids. It was amazing! The kids did such a great job with the little kids. They read to the little kids and did an amazing job! It was the quietest I’ve ever heard the preteeners. It was like they were shy in front of the kids, but they did a really amazing job. I was so proud of them.

When I got back from the CDC, I got to take my lunch and break. It was of course productive as well as relaxing. After that, I went to the gym for rotating activities. I ran a game called What time is it, Mr. Fox. The fox stand at one end of the gym and everyone else is at the other end. The kids at the other end yell, “What time is it, Mr. Fox?” Then the fox yells back a time like 5 o’clock. The kids at the other end take five steps and then ask the question again. When they get closer, the fox will say LUNCHTIME and then chase the kids back to the line while trying to tag them. If they are tagged, they join the fox in trying to catch people. The kids had a fun time playing. They were so cute to watch. Lol.

We then went to free time and I heard over the walkie that I was going outside. I definitely threw a fit on the couch and Ms. Michelle just laughed at me and said, “Are you throwing a tantrum?” Yep. I was. And she told the hallway, Mr. John, that I was throwing tantrums. I went to the hall to fill my water bottle and he just looked at me and laughed and said, “You really threw a tantrum.” Yes. Yes I did. Lol. He also thought it was funny. They all of course knew it was fake because I really don’t mind where I go but it was just funny to do. Lol.

After free time outside and closing, the girls and I changed for our date with Brandy! Brandy decided to take us out to get pedicures and to dinner. It was the best night ever. We went to the nail place and got pampered and got our feet taken care of. It was so nice having a relaxing day away from the stress of working and programming. When our nails were done, we drove to Brandon and went to dinner at Jean Paul’s Italian Restaurant. The dinner was amazing! I had Chicken Roma with a salad and bread. For dessert, we got apple crumble with ice cream. SO GOOD! Brandy is too good to us. She paid for everything. Nails and dinner. We planned on paying but she wouldn’t let us. She spoils us too much. When we told her she spoils us she said that since she doesn’t have kids, she has to spoil someone. Too cute! Lol.

After dinner, Brandy dropped us off and we finished off our relaxing day watching movies and blogging. It was a wonderful day! Couldn’t have asked for more. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 59: Who put extra sugar in the kids breakfast and lunch today?! Not ok!

Tuesday was a hard day at the youth center. Blitz wasn’t going so well because the kids were not listening at all. We had to stop in the middle of our blitz and talk to the kids about respect and listening. It was so rude. We were up there singing songs for them to get them excited for the day and they were talking through the whole thing. It was ridiculous.

After blitz, I went to helping hands club. The whole group of preteeners had to join our group because there weren’t enough group leader outside to be in ratio so they were sent in. I was glad they joined the group. I think they enjoyed it as well. We wrote letters to deployed soldiers, hospice kids, and youth center staff. It was so great to see the kids working so hard to write letters that were really nice. It was so great. The cards were so cute too!

Then I went on lunch and break as usually. I always get so much done during my break. I’m either getting my activity ready for the day, working on homework, or writing postcards. It’s such a nice break in the middle of the day to distress and get ready for the afternoon. When I got back from break, I did coffee filter drawings with the kids. We had them make the planets on coffee filters with markers and then we sprayed them with a little water. They looked so neat after that. The colors expanded and blended together to make really cool designs. So neat!

After that, we had snack and free time. I got to hang out with the kids again before going to closing. Closing was just as terrible as blitz. The kids were not listening again so we had to have the talk again. I don’t know what was up with the kids today but they were off the walls and not wanting to listen at all.

After closing, we went to the commissary for the last time! So sad. We decided to get all the food this week that we would need so we wouldn’t have to buy any more next week and waste it. We then headed home and had a nice relaxing night. I worked on my blogs and the we watched a movie. Then I was off to bed.

Cheerio.

England Day 58: My week of programming!

This week's theme is Incredible Interstellar Mars Space Race. This was my week of programming. It was so much fun programming and I couldn't wait to see it put into play. I had a lot of cool new activities that I knew the kids would like so I couldn’t wait to get started on my week. We started off with blitz, of course. I then joke to tell the joke of the day and call of clubs.

I got to work in helping hands club this week. I planned this club along with writing and culture club. I thought they would be fun clubs this week. Not only did I like the idea of a helping hands club but so did the kids. It is the biggest club we’ve ever had! In helping hands club today, we walked around the youth center and neighborhood collecting trash. The kids got so into it. It was like they were on a trash Easter egg hunt. I was so proud of them for wanting to make the world a little cleaner.

After helping hands club, I got to go on lunch ad break. It was relaxing as always. When I got back, I got to run a craft for rotating activities with Carlie. We got to make alien puppets with the kids. It was so much fun and I made a really cool one. Lol.

After rotating activities, I got to spend time with the kids during free time. I really enjoy the free time with the kids because I always get to do something new and interesting with them. I also feel like I learn so much about the kids and get to know them better. I thought I would have a few kids that were my favorites when the summer was over but every day I learn more about another kid and I love them more. By the end of summer, I will want to take all of them home with me. Lol.

When free time was over, we had closing before heading home for the day. When we got back, we had our usually meeting and made pizza for dinner. We usually make pizza once a week and get the same kind but this week we got just pepperoni pizza. This kind did not agree with me. My stomach was upset all night. Ugh.

While I was still in the day room, Maryanne had gone to bed but had come back in. Apparently she had heard the mouse in her room! Her room is next to mine! I was freaking out and hoped the little bugger wouldn’t go to my room. A little later, we heard it in the kitchen in one of the kitchen drawers. Either there was more than one mouse or this thing moves fast. Either way, I was disgusted. Lol

When I finally went to bed, it wasn’t the mouse that was keeping me up. I could not fall asleep because my stomach hurt so badly. That pizza had made me feel so sick and I just couldn’t shake the feeling. But I finally got to sleep after tossing and turning. Definitely needed to get to bed.

Cheerio.

England Day 57: Another relaxing day at Feltwell

Sunday was pretty much the same as Saturday. I got to sleep in again and relaxing most of the day. I worked on my blogs, homework, and postcards and watched a few movies. And of course, saw the mouse again. Alix and Carlie got back in the afternoon and we all got to hang out in the day room for most of the night. It was nice to hang out and see talk about the weekend. These girls are truly amazing. I'm not sure what I will do without them when I am home. They have become like family to me. :)

After the relaxing day again, I headed off to bed to get some sleep for work the next day. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 56: Relaxing weekend on base

Saturday was definitely a nice relaxing day. Not a lot happened. Two of the girls, Alix and Carlie, went to Windsor for the weekend while the rest of us stayed home. We wanted to save money and we really needed a weekend off of traveling to relax and catch up on some of the homework. I definitely enjoyed sleeping in and relaxing for the day. I got up late, took a shower and then started my laundry.

I then went to the day room where I stayed the rest of the day working on postcards, blogs, and homework. During that time we watched two movies. We watched the Holiday, which I've seen a million times but love even more every time I see it. We also watched Young Victoria which is probably the most romantic movie I've ever seen in my life. It was a true love story. I loved every moment of it. It captured me from the moment it started, and I learned so much about the history of one of England's Queens.

After the movies, I worked on a few more things and saw a mouse again. I'm so used to them now that I just have given up on trying to catch them. I also think that they will never go away. lol. Oh well.

When the relaxing day was over, I headed off to bed. Such a nice relaxing day. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 55: Camp A for the win! Oh wait. You want a rematch? Talent show style? Bring it on, AGAIN!

Friday was a fantastic day. When we got to camp, our boss told us that Camp A had one the Blitz off! It was such a nice win. During our morning blitz, we told the kids that we had won. But after we told them, Carlie informed us that we had a note from King's Camp challenging us to a talent show. We accepted the offer and started pulling kids for the show. We had them practice their talents in the eight categories. We knew we could take them!

We then went to clubs and in cooking club we made muffins for Camp A presents. The kids loved making the muffins and it was a good last day in the club. We then had lunch and break. After lunch I had to go to open rec for part of the day before going out to the talent show!

We gathered both camps outside and the chants begin even before we sat down. Camp A was loud and overpowering and we did an awesome job getting ready for the competition to begin. It was a great time and the kids did so well. Some of the categories include best hula hooper, freak or unique talent, stacking cups, gymnastics, best cartwheel, and more. It was so fun to see the kids up their trying their best to win in each category. We had 3 kids for each category try their best to win. Towards the end, King's Camp was up 6 to 3. Our only chance was the most moving camp song which was worth 3 points. Our kids did the World's Greatest and signed the whole thing. We won that one and tied it up! It was a great way to end the competition. After the competition, King's Camp had the Camp A counselors stand at the front and wanted to thank us for the pieing yesterday.... by spraying us with water. lol. It was all in good fun and I just stood their and took it because I knew they were going to do something to pay us back. But it was funny none the less. :)

After the talent show, I went back to open rec for the rest of the day. It was nice to sit and hang out with the kids. I got to meet some of the King's Camp staff as well and they were all very nice. When open rec was over, we headed home to have a relaxing weekend. We rented a few movies for the weekend and watched the proposal that night before going to bed. It was a nice night.

Cheerio.

England Day 54: Bring it on King's Camp! BLITZ OFF!!!

Thursday, aka BLITZ OFF DAY!!! The kids were so excited and couldn't wait for the blitz off later that day. We did a lot of practicing in the morning which went really well. The kids did an awesome job and were so loud! We know that they will do an awesome job at the blitz off.

After the amazing practice, we went to our club. I ran cooking club again since Alix was on a field trip. We made something called Safari Sunrise. We made toasted tortilla shells with cinnamon and sugar and then put them in the oven for a bit. When they were all crispy, we took them out and put a scoop of ice cream on top. They were amazing. I love them! :) Glad I got to run cooking club this week.

When clubs were over, we went to lunch and then break. I looked up a few things for programming for next week and read a book for a while before heading back. I got to hang out in room 3 for a while and played a couple fun games with the kids before heading to the gym for BLITZ OFF!!!! We walked in and had a seat on our side of the curtain and started chanting CAMP A! When the curtain was pulled, both camps stood on either side of the gym chanting each camp's name. Then we started singing songs back and forth andthe kids were loud and did all the movements so well. I was so proud of them. The King's Camp did an amazing job as well and were just as loud, but I think our kids were much more involved.

After the singing, we pulled some of our kids while Carlie recognized the King's Camp counselors. The kids came with me and Brittany and grabbed plates of whipped cream and stood in front of the King's Camp counselors. We told them it was a tradition for Camp A that we got pied every Friday so we wanted to welcome them in. They were so understanding and did it for the kids, although they complained the rest of the day because they had to be sticky and smelled of rotten milk. I did feel bad because it smelled gross. lol. But it was all in good fun and they could laugh about it later. When the creaming was over, we had a dance party and did a lot of fun dances with each camp.

After all the fun, we went back to our camps and finished off the rest of the day. I was in open rec of the rest of the day so I hung out in there and played a few games with kids. We then were taken home at the end of the day and had a short meeting. We then made our posters for next week and had some heart to hearts in the hallway. It was a nice night. :)

When the posters were completed, we watched Pocahontas and then headed off to bed. It was definitely a fun and crazy day and one of the most memorable.

Cheerio.

England Day 53: Reminiscing of old times

Wednesday was another day like any other. We got to work and performed blitz. We talked to the kids about the blitz off again to make sure they were still pumped. They definitely are. They want to show King's Camp all they've got. We practiced the interlude again and made sure the kids knew the songs.

After blitz we headed to our clubs. I had to work by myself because Alix was working King's Camp but it went really well. We made Earth Dirt Cake. Pudding. Oreos. Whipped Cream. It was amazing! The kids definitely loved it too. It reminded me of when I was in elementary school when I would bring them every year for my birthday. All the kids loved them and I loved making them. So much fun. :)

When cooking club was over, we had lunch and then our break. We went to the BX on our break to get a few things. While we were there, we saw a guy painting with oil paintings. I think those paintings are so amazing and I really want to learn how to do them.

When we got back from the BX, I got to do my favorite rotating activity, color relief. It's where you draw on paper with a white crayon and then paint over it with water colors. It looks really cool and the kids had a lot of fun with it. At first they were concerned because they couldn't see their drawings but I told them the pictures would show up when they painted over them. They liked it a lot.

After rotating activities, we had free time and then closing. We pumped them up again about blitz off and then headed home. It was another relaxing night at home. Worked on some homework, watched movies and then headed to bed. Great day overall. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 52: The Interlude has made it to England!

Tuesday was definitely a fun day at camp. At blitz, we announced to Camp A that the King's Camp had challenged us to a blitz off and that we were going to be practicing the songs that they had been singing all week. Piece of cake. :) During blitz, we sang the songs that we would be singing and then did the interlude dance! That's right. We brought the interlude to England! The kids loved it and we said we were going to teach them the dance to show to the King's Camp kids. Camp A was super pumped about it.

After blitz, we headed to our clubs. We had a fun activity planned for the kids and they loved it. We had them make art out of vegetables and fruit. They loved that I told them to play with their food. They made some really great pictures and I was really impressed with their artwork.

We then had lunch and break before heading into our afternoon of rotating activities. I got to be in charge of teaching the interlude! Perfect for me since I went to the school where it originated. I told all the kids the back story of it and how a few guys from the dorm I lived in made it up and now the whole school does it at every sports event. It's so much fun. And the kids here really loved it. Glad we got to teach them something new.

During freetime, I got to hang out with S again. I told her she is the little sister I never had. She's always copying me, hitting me, poking me, and such. It drives me crazy but I can't help laughing about it sometimes. She's such a booger. We then went to closing and talked more about the blitz off. The kids are so excited for it so I hope we win! :)

After closing, we went to the commissary to get our food for the next week and then headed home. It was a nice relaxing evening at home. I got to work on a few more blogs and tried to get caught up. We also watched a few movies and then I was off to bed.

Cheerio.

England Day 51: I know another camp did not just come up on our turf. Oh heck no!!! :)

This week at camp our theme was Wacky Wild West Shenanigans. I'm not sure who comes up with the themes but they have the craziest names! :) Also this week at camp, ANOTHER camp is taking over the gym and outside areas for their camp, King's Fitness Camp. It's a week long program for kids outside of the youth program that want to have fun with fitness for a week. It would be a great camp if it weren't up on our turf. lol. Just Kidding! They are actually a really great camp and seem to run their camp really well. I think they would be a lot of fun to hang out with and learn from.

We went outside to do blitz for the morning and then headed to our clubs. I got to run cooking club with Alix this week. We went over the expectations for cooking club and also made Fruit Smoothies.The kids really enjoyed them and we had a lot of fun making them. When cooking club was over, we had lunch and went on break.

When we got back from break, I worked a rotating activity where the kids got to make sheriff badges. The kids really enjoyed making them and wrote their names on them and everything. It was super cute. It would have been nice if the kids listened when I asked them to clean up and when I give instructions to the kids. That doesn't really happen that often. lol.

During free time, I got to hang out with a new friend, S. She is so funny sometimes and I feel like she just copies me or pokes me because she wants to drive me up a wall. She is a super sweet girl though. I hope to get to know her more. I spent some of the time outside playing and watching the kids before getting them ready for closing. We had a great closing before heading home.

When we got home, we had our Monday meeting and then did major cleaning. We also decided to set up another trap since we couldn't catch the mouse. It worked well because we caught the mouse about ten minutes later. :) So glad. It made our day! After catching the moue, I started working on my blogs since, if you couldn't tell, I'm very far behind. But hopefully I will get caught up this week. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 50: The mice just keep coming

When we woke up Sunday morning, the girl was already gone and Paul was still passed out. We tried to be really quiet as we got our stuff together and got ready for the morning. While we were packing, Paul woke up and was surprised that we were already up. And he was surprised that he didn't hear us when we came in the night before. We felt like we were being so loud but apparently he was so tired from the day before that he was passed out the whole night. After our chat with Paul, we went down to have breakfast and then checked out of the hostel.

We did a little shopping before going to church. The service was definitely nice and the people were so friendly. We headed to the train station afterwards and then found out that our train was cancelled. It wasn't too bed because we were planning on taking the train one station over so we just took a taxi instead. We got dropped off a Conway Castle, which we had seen Friday night and it looked so gorgeous that we wanted to stop and see it. It looked like a legit castle. It was so cool.

After the castle, we headed to the train station to catch our train home. Of course, the train was late so we would be late catching our next one but lucky for us, that one was late as well. We had a bit of a wait after those two trains but we made it home around 830 which was really nice. We usually get back around 1030 so it was nice having extra time to unpack and then relax before going to bed. I was able to unpack and call my family and relax. While I was hanging out in the day room, I heard the girls in the kitchen scream. The mouse was back. They decided to get a broom and a bucket to try and catch it or kill it, not really sure, because while all of them were in the kitchen, I stayed in the day room. Didn't feel the need to go in there. lol. They, unfortunately, did not catch it. Darn mouse was too quick.

After the excitement in the kitchen, I was ready for bed. Another week of camp and a big week since King's Camp would be joining us.

Cheerio.

England Day 49: Hiking in Wales

Pictures from Wales HERE!!! :)

Saturday in Wales was simply beautiful. We woke up to a lovely sun shining day and went down for our continental breakfast. We then got packed some snacks and put on sunscreen and headed out to the Great Orme. We took a tram up to the top of the Great Orme where we got off and hiked around. We met a really nice older couple that told us a lot of the history of the Orme and chatted with us about why we were there. They were the nicest people. :)

After our chat, we headed out for our hike on the Orme. It was beautiful up there. Words can not even describe it. IT was so much fun walking up there and just relaxing. It actually felt like we were on vacation. We stopped on the edge and had a snack and took some cool shots. We then continued our hike and then took the tram back down the bottom. It was such a nice morning/afternoon.

When we were done with the hiking, we went to the pier and got some ice cream. We then walked up and down the pier and did a little shopping. While we walked along the pier and saw this placed called fab fish. It's a place where you get a pedicure from little tiny fish. It was the weirdest thing ever. The fish are tiny and they suck off all the dead skin on your feet. So we decided to do it. lol. It felt so weird on our feet, especially since a few of us our ticklish. I was freaking out for the first 5 minutes and then it was fine. It actually worked too! My feet were really soft.

After the Fab Feet, we went to beach to sit and relax and take in more scenery. We took some pictures on the beach and then headed back to our hostel to shower and change before going out for dinner. When we got back to the hostel, we noticed that one of the empty beds now had stuff on them but the person wasn't around. So one of our roommates was here but not around. While we were getting ready, another person came in that would be sharing the room. It was an older gentlemen named Paul. We were concerned at first being in a room with a guy but he was very kind and apparently goes to hostels all the time cause he's always traveling. So we finished getting ready and then headed out for dinner.

We went to this place called Weatherspoon. It was a beautiful restaurant that used to be an old theater. It was really gorgeous. And the food was cheap and really good. It was the perfect place to go for dinner. After dinner we decided to walk around town and stopped at a pub to relax and hang out. We sat around and talked for a while and had some heart to hearts before heading out again and going back to the beach. We decided to walk along the beach and in the water. It was a nice evening. We also took a lot of random jumping shots along the beach. It forever to get the pictures but it was funny trying to take them. lol.

After the jumping around, we went back to Weatherspoon to chill and get dessert. We meet some random guys that were interested in talking to us because they liked our accents. It was definitely interesting. And one of the guys told us that he loved the shows Sex in the City and Glee. Definitely funny. :)

When we were getting tired, we headed back to the hostel and quietly got ready for bed. Our two new roommates were already there and passed out so we went to the bathrooms to change and brush our teeth before crawling into bed. It was definitely a great day in Wales.

Cheerio.

England Day 48: God's Waiting Room (aka Llandudno)

Friday was a fast past, crazy day. We finished our last day of cheer club and added some half pyramids and perfected the routine. It went so well. I can't wait for them to perform again at Camp A Presents. They've been working so hard so I know they will do amazing! When cheer was over, we had lunch and then break. I always have a nice relaxing lunch and break and it makes the day go by faster with a little break in the middle of the day.

After lunch we had rotating activities and free time. During free time, I got to leave early and get the cheer club ready to present. Shekka and I helped the kids paint their faces and practice one last time. We had Camp A Presents early because we needed to catch a train in Ely so when everyone came out and got settled, we had our performance. The kids did great! I was so proud of their awesome performance. They worked so hard and it paid off.

When the performance was over, we had cream the counselor. I got creamed by two sisters that were in cheer club this week. I was like, really!? lol. They were so funny though so I didn't mind. After we got creamed, we were heading inside to wash up when the fire alarm went off. So we had to stand outside with whipped cream on our face while we waited for the alarm to be set off. Great timing for the fire alarm. lol. When it was over, we headed inside and got washed up and changed to get int he car to catch the train in Ely.

We hopped in the car and drove to the Ely station. It was a fast drive and we were on the train in no time. The train rides were only 4 hours so it wasn't too long. On one of the trains, we met a guy when we couldn't find any seats. We got to talking to him and told him we were going to Llandudno for the weeked. And he said, "Oh. You mean God's Waiting Room?" Apparently Llandudno has a huge hospice and is also the place where people go to retire. Oops. Oh well. We knew there were lots of places to hike and it had beautiful nature so we didn't care.

When we got of the train in Llandudno, we walked to our hostel to drop off our stuff and then headed out to get some food. Apparently nothing is open past 10 on a Friday night. in retirement towns. Who knew? lol. We walked into twon center and found a pub and as soon as I walked in, my glasses fogged up. Along with being really hot, it was really loud and full of older people drinking, singing karaoke, and dancing with each other. The song that was playing was La Baum Ba and that was stuck in our heads the rest of the night. Since the pub didn't serve food past ten, we left to find another place. Maryanne hadn't eaten in a while and was super hungry and getting very cranky so we had to find somewhere to eat.

We found a late night fish and chips place that had other food as well. We all got a little something since we were kinda hungry. Brittany order a side of mushy peas and the guy asked, "That's it?" It was the funniest thing ever. The couple that was standing in there was laughing along with the guy behind in the counter. Apparently mushy peas is supposed to be order with other things but Brittany just wanted to try them since we'd heard about them before. They weren't anything big, just mushed up peas. Makes sense right? lol.

We grabbed our food and decided to walk along the promenade while eating our food. It was gorgeous. So many lights and beautiful hotels. Definitely a nice night to stroll along the beach area. When we were done eating and walking, we headed back to our hostel and went to bed.We had a long day of hiking the next day so we wanted to be well rested.

Cheerio.

England Day 47: A day of emotions

Thursday was definitely a day of emotions. It started off well with a great blitz. We moved into our clubs and the cheer club had an amazing rehearsal. We were performing later in the day for Dessert Fest. Dessert Fest is a chance for parents to come and see their kids perform songs and skits that the counselors usually perform during the week. The kids will perform them and then desserts will be served after. It will be fun. By the end of cheer practice, I felt like they knew what they were doing. It was definitely nice to see them working hard and practicing with such integrity.

After cheer club, we hand lunch and break. It is always nice to have a little break in the middle of the day to collect ourselves and get ready for the afternoon of activities. When we got back, we had crazy afternoon of Dessert Fest practice. Carlie led most of it until she had to leave and then I took over. It was definitely crazy and hard to keep the kids quiet but we got through it.

After practice we had free choice until the performance. All the parents and kids piled into the gym and we got ready to start. The little kids performed first and it was super cute if not a little sloppy. But it was still so adorable. The middle aged kids went next and had an amazing skit. We then had the preteen go and perform. After they were done, the cheer club got to show off what they practiced. It went so well. I was so proud of them for working so hard. I had to step in and hold up one of the signs since we had someone that had to leave early. It was so much fun! Then the kids went to Room 3 with their parents and devoured desserts. I was surprised that I got any. There was only a few things left over. But it was so much fun and we had an amazing time getting the kids hyped up for it and practicing.

We cleaned up the room and headed home after dessert fest and when I got back, I had another package from home along with a few other girls. Apparently Brittany had emailed our families and asked them to send homesick packages and we'd have a homesick party. It was such a nice surprise and I couldn't wait to open it. We went one at a time and opened our packages. When it got to me, I was so excited. I opened it to find a ton of stuff from home. I got a few stuffed animals that were from my room, a coloring book, some snacks, pictures of the family and a princess book. I also got a deck of cards from the Quicks. So nice of them and I definitely can't wait to play cards with them when I get home. I also got a lovely card from Bev, a very nice lady from my dad's work that always calls down to my dad when I come visit him at work. I feel like I visit her more than I do my dad. She's just so nice and always gives me a hug and smile when I walk in the office. :)

After everyone had opened their packages, I went back to my box and pulled the princess book out again. When I first saw it, I thought it was really corny. Then I saw that it said recordable and I was confused. So I opened it to the first page and heard my family's voices. Well, then I started crying. All the girls gathered around and wanted to listen to it. I tried to close it because I didn't want to keep crying in front of them but we kept on listening. It was the best present ever. It was my parents and brother reading this Disney Princess book out loud to me and adding fun comments to it. It was definitely a great book, even if they did make me cry. I was doing so well being away and I hadn't cried once until I got the package. It was ridiculous, but I loved it. :)

After we opened our packages, we made pizza and then started working on posters. We had a lot of great posters and had lots of fun making them as always. After posters, I finally finished my programming for my week. It was so nice to have that all done and finished. After this hectic and emotional day, it was off to bed.

Cheerio.

England Day 46: Package with $30 worth of contacts is no longer MIA

Wednesday was a very good day. I had a nice relaxing morning and a fun energetic blitz. Our project coordinator, who is stationed in Germany, sent a co-worker to come by and check on us and see how things were going. Her name was Ebony and she stayed for the whole day. It was definitely a little nerve racking having her around at first but she was super nice and just wanted to make sure we were doing all right and that we were taking care of. She was so sweet and definitely made us feel like we could have a normal day and not stress about her hanging around.

We had a fun cheer club with the girls and Ebony stopped by to taking some pictures and record a little of our routine. She was really impressed with cheer club and had fun watching the kids learn the steps and cheers. We had a lot of fun and then heading to lunch. Mr. Marlon was back today! It was definitely a great lunch and I could tell he was back before I even saw him. :)

During our break, I got the package from my mom that I have been waiting for. It took four weeks to get here! I thought I was going to lose $30 worth of contacts. I would have been so upset and would of had to wear glasses for the last month of camp. lol. It had cookies in it that would have been good if the package came sooner but it's the thought that counts. I also got a lovely letter and some sweats and a jacket. It gets a little chilly over here. lol.

After break, I went to rotating activities where I was in charge of craft. The kids made these really cute lion masks out of paper plates and cut up strips of paper. They were adorable. I definitely loved this craft. When rotating activities were over, we had free time and then closing.

When we finished closing, we headed home where I once again went to programming for the week. I was also really tired so after programming for a while, I headed to bed. Wanted to be up and ready for Dessert Fest on Thursday.

Cheerio.

England Day 45: Tuck and Roll

Tuesday was also very hectic. I came to camp thinking I was going on a field trip in the morning only to find out it had been switched to the afternoon. So I wasn't prepared for blitz and had to learn the order of the songs quickly and get ready to walk out in about 5 minutes. It was craziness! I also had to practice a skit that we call Midget skit and perform it right after blitz. Also crazy! It was really funny though. One person was behind another and put their arms through the person in front so it looked like their arms on another body. Then they had to perform morning rituals like brushing hair and waking up and brushing teeth. It was so funny.

After a crazy blitz, we went to our Clubs. The kids did a lot better in Cheer Club then the day before. They were learning the steps quickly and starting to straighten their arms. I am having a lot of fun in that club and think the kids are too. We went to lunch after cheer club and then I was able to go to the BX and shop a little. I had a few things I needed to get during our break.

On the way back, I saw the kids and leaders had already started walking for their field trip to the bowling alley so I had to hop out of the car and catch up with them. I thought I was gonna have to tuck and roll to get out but she slowed down enough. lol. :) Brandy forgot they were leaving earlier then when I'd get back from break but it was alright. I had a lot of fun bowling with the kids and had a nice walk back.

When I got back, I worked in the gym and played a couple games with the kids before closing. We sang a few closing songs and then headed out for the commissary. I got all my groceries and headed back to the car to go home.I had a lovely dinner and after the hectic day, I was in a grumpyish mood so I put in the movie that always makes me laugh: Tommy Boy! Definitely love that movie and it can always put a smile on my face. When that was over, we decided to watch Cars before heading to bed. But after the crazy day I couldn't stay up for the whole movie so I went to bed about halfway through.

Definitely a crazy day and I hope the rest of the week turns out to be a little less chaotic.

Cheerio.

England Day 44: Lunch just isn't the same without Mr. Marlon

I just want to apologize right now and say that I had to program a week of camp over the past two weeks and have been unable to blog as much as I would like. I will be catching up this week and hopefully won't fall behind again. Thanks! :) If you want to see pics from Wales, here they are!

Monday was a pretty hectic day. We started off with a blitz and then went into clubs. I got to be in Cheer Club this week! I have never done cheerleading in my life so I'm glad Shekka had been one before. She was so great at teaching the kids steps and cheers. I caught on quick but I'm definitely not a cheerleader. But the little kids were so cute and worked really hard to get the steps. It was awesome.

We then had lunch which was not that great. Definitely miss having Mr. Marlon in the kitchen. Can't wait for him to come back. We definitely miss him and his AMAZING cooking!

After lunch, we had rotating activities where I was in charge of Dessert Fest practice. It was so stressful and hectic. The kids were off the walls and would not listen at all. I'm we rotated every 20 minutes but it was still craziness. When the craziness was over, I got to make a wax giraffe out of those little beads. I still need to finish it but it looks cool right now.

When we were able to go home, we went to our dorm and had our regular Monday meeting before cleaning the place down. It always feels so nice to be in a clean place. After I cleaned I worked on my programming that's due on Thursday. I get to plan for Outer Space week and I have found so many awesome activities and I can't wait to show the kids. After programming I headed to bed.

Sorry again for the late blogs. More to come. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 43: It all ends today

Sunday was an exciting day. WENT TO HARRY POTTER!!! Before we got there, we had some mix ups with the trains. Apparently the train didn't run to London King's Cross until the afternoon so we had to go into another London train station. But we eventually made it to London and took the tube to the O2 where we would watch HARRY POTTER!

HARRY. POTTER. WAS. AMAZING. That's all there is to it. I loved the whole thing. I definitely cried most of the movie. It was so good. I just can't believe the movies are over. They were so good. I don't want them to end. I was so excited for the last movie but sad at the same time. But the best ending ever. So great! :)

After Harry Potter, we decided to do some souvenir shopping. We all found some cute stuff for our friends and family back home. It was definitely a long afternoon of shopping and I didn't buy much until the end of the day. I found a few things for people back home. Can't wait to show them to everyone.

After shopping we headed back to the train to go home. We got back around 1030 and I unpacked and went straight to bed. It was an exhausting day. Got a lot to do this week so I needed to get to bed.

Cheerio.

England Day 42: Today I don't feel like doing anything...

Saturday was definitely a nice day. I slept in which was needed. nice and a half hours of sleep. :) Halfway point and I'm getting exhausted all the time. Sleep is essential. A couple of girls decided to go to Newmarket and see horse races and the rest of us stayed in. I wanted to go but I really wanted more sleep and wanted to save my money. Plus it was nice to stay in and relax and work on some homework and programming.

During our homework and programming, we watched a few movies. It was nice to just relax and not have to worry about money or travel. I needed a day to kick back and rest my body and brain. While we were watching one of the movies, I moved in my chair to get more comfortable and the mouse decided to run out from UNDER my chair to under the couch across from me. SO NOT COOL! This mouse needs to get the heck out of our house. It's driving me crazy.

When the girls got back from the races, it was almost time for bed and I was finishing up a movie. The girls walked in and sat down and the mouse ran by the TV. It just likes running around all the time. This thing is so brave. I was not happy with that mouse. But the girls had a fun time. They looked so fancy in their dresses and they said that everyone looked so nice. They met a few guys that were sitting in front of them and had a fun time talking with them and hanging out. Sounds like a fun time.

I'm definitely bummed that I didn't go to the races because I've always wanted to go but I needed the day to regroup and relax. And I had to be well rested for our day trip on Sunday to see HARRY POTTER 7 PART 2!!! So excited!!!! It will be amazing. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 41: Milton Maize Maze

Friday started off crazy but ending up being a fun day. When we got to the youth center, we found out that one of the chinchilla had gotten loose. Not good! So they had a few people looking for it and checking the cameras to see how it got it. Definitely a crazy way to start the day. Then I got to go on the field trip with a few of the groups and we went to a corn maze. I definitely love corn mazes. We used to go to one almost every year when we would go to Wisconsin for family trips. They were always so much fun and could last for hours.

On the way to the maze, I was in the weirdest mode. I sang Disney songs the whole way there, to myself. Not out loud, just to myself. I'm a weird one. lol. When we got to the Milton Maize Maze, we let the kids play on the cars and blowup castles and playhouses. They definitely had a fun time. We then had lunch before going on the tractor ride around the grounds. The guy driving the tractor was definitely a cutie and had the best teeth I've ever seen. So English guys can have nice teeth, Dad! :)

After the tractor ride, we started the maze. It would have been more fun if we could have wandered on our own without a map but we only had a limited amount of time before we had to drive back so we had to stay together. We had a girl in front leading the way for the whole group and after a while of being lost, I was told to go to the front to lead the way since I'm good with directions. Definitely worked a lot better and the group leaders weren't as frustrated. I think the girl that was leading was a helper from the high school and she just wanted to be at the front. But that changed real quick. lol.

When we got back from the field trip, I was giving a break before we had to go to closing. When closing started, each club presented what they did throughout the week and then it was time for cream the counselor. We each choose two kids to go this week, for a total of TWELVE kids creaming counselors. I only had one kid that was going to cream me but I asked if he wanted to cream one who wasn't being creamed. So he switched but another little girl said I had to be creamed too and switched to me so everyone would be creamed. Thought I was gonna get out of it. Oh well. It's lots of fun anyways and the kids love it so I'm happy to do it. :)

After cream the counselor, we headed back to the dorm for a nice relaxing evening at home. Maryanne had another date so the rest of us made dinner and watched some chick flicks, 27 dresses and Grease. Definitely a fun night and nice to sit back and relax. After the movies we realized the internet was down so I decided to go to bed early. I definitely went to bed at 1030 and passed our right away. This week had just been so busy and it was the halfway mark so I felt exhausted. I guess I needed the sleep. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 40: Who spiked the lasagna?

Thursday was a fantastic day. Started like any other with a fabulous blitz. We then moved to clubs and had a fun exploration club. We were a little unorganized when we started because we were switching our schedule and adding new things because the kids wanted to write in their journals about all the things they had found. So the kids wrote about their findings and then we had them do some coloring rubbings with the leaves. The pictures looked really neat. After that, we had the kids make some funky bugs with puff balls and pipe cleaners. The kids had so much fun with that and they looked so cute! I loved them!

After clubs, we had lunch and then went on break. After break I spent another lovely day in open rec. Got to play some UNO flash of course pool and video games. It's interesting to get to know the preteeners. They are so different from the younger kids. Worried about boys and how they look. This shouldn't be happen. Not until high school. lol.

When open rec was over, we headed home for what was going to be an interesting night. We made lasagna and started our normal Thursday meeting. I don’t know what was going on with us or if had spiked the lasagna but we were crazy. We kept throwing out ideas for the African Safari theme the next week like singing songs from the Lion King, out of tune might I add. We also picked a new song to sing one of the days but no one knew the tune so we made one up and we were adding crazy movements to it. It was a ridiculous night. We were all laughing so hard and we sounded crazy. I’m not sure if it was lack of sleep or if there was something in the lasagna but it was silly. Lol.

After our meeting and the craziness, we moved to the hall to work on our posters. We made some beautiful posters and had more fun chilling in the hall with each other listening to crazy songs. It was just a fun night with all the girls and we all got a little closer. I feel like by the end of this trip I will not want to leave these awesome girls. I have so much fun with them and they are becoming my family. It will definitely be sad saying goodbye. But we’re already planning trips to see each other so hopefully we’ll be able to do that when we get back to the states. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 39: Duck Pond

Wednesday was a pretty good day. We preformed our blitz and moved on to clubs. Clubs were a lot of fun. Exploration club got to walk to the Duck Pond. The kids really enjoyed it. We walked on base to the duck pond and had the kids look at nature and try to find things they recognized. We then had them walk around and pick a few leaves, flowers, and plants to bring back and put in their exploration journals. We quickly gathered some of nature and headed back to the program center.

When we got back, it was time for lunch and then I headed to open rec. I did the usual; played pool, watched kids play video games, and walked around outside. Pretty uneventful, although I did witness young love. A boy ran up and gave a girl a hug goodbye while all of her friends were watching. So cute. Lol. During open rec I got a banana with a note attached to it that said, "Don't spilt after closing. Meet me in the diner after camp." I was so confused as to who it came from. I had no idea what was going on. So after open rec I walked to find the other counselor and all of them had one. When we walked to the diner after closing, we found our group leader Brittany had bought stuff to make banana splits! It was such a nice surprise and definitely a nice treat. :)

When we got back to the dorm, we made dinner and put in the seventh Harry Potter part 1! I had only seen it once so it was nice to get a refresher. It is such an amazing movie. I have loved all the movies and I am quite sad that it will be ending. We are going to see the last one on Sunday in London. Excited, but at the same time sad.

After the movie, I did a little programming and then headed off to bed. We have another long work day so I had to get some sleep.

Cheerio.

England Day 38: Volcanoes

Tuesday was a pretty easy day as well. We got up and performed Blitz. We performed a skit about being a leader and not a follower. It was cute. After that we went to club. We learned about volcanoes in Exploration Club. They kids loved it! Seeing ingredients react like that. We tested it so many times and each time the kids were more and more excited. We tested using little amounts and big amounts. Also seeing if we added water if it would slow it down. We also tested it in a closed container to see how the pressure worked. The kids then wrote in their journals about everything the saw, smelled and heard and about all the reactions. It was so awesome to see how interested they were.

We then went to lunch and break. I went again to Open Rec and started learning everyone's names. I played pool again with the same kid and played a fun uno game with a couple kids. It was nice to get the kids away from the video games and play a board game.

After open rec, we came back and worked on some programming before heading off to bed. It was a pretty chill day and not a lot happened. Sorry so short. :)

Cheerio.

England Day 37: Halfway Mark

This week marks the halfway mark of camp. It does not feel like it all it. It's crazy. It feels like I just got here. Having fun makes the time fly. Although I definitely miss my family back at home. Can't wait to see them.

Monday was a pretty chill day. Blitz went well and we then moved into clubs. I am in Exploration Club this week. We had the kids make science journals to write down all of the predictions and conclusions and explorations. We had the kids test paper airplanes by making them out of different materials. They made airplanes out of construction paper, computer paper, and tissue paper. They had so much fun flying them around the room and testing to see which ones worked better. They wrote down what happened in their journals and said they felt like scientists. It was lots of fun.

We then had lunch and then went on break. For this week, I am working in Open Rec from 1-5. Open Rec is a place only for the preteen kids. They get o sign out from camp and go to Open Rec and then they get to do whatever they want the rest of the day. There are tvs, wii, xbox, snack bar, pool, crafts, outside, and computers. I am mostly there to make sure they all get along but the adults that work there mostly just get to hang around. I played pool with one boy and watched Harry Potter and video games for most of the day. It's a pretty laid back environment and it's nice to relax a little since it's the halfway mark. I can re-energize and then be ready to roll the next week when I'm back in full camp days.

After open rec, we headed home and had a meeting. We talked about getting in a halfway slump and staying energized. Brittany then had us write little notes to each other about what we liked about each other and how we love working with them. It was really nice to read all the lovely notes and from everyone.

After the meeting and notes, we watched the 6th Harry Potter. We are almost done with the movies and we plan to see the 7th part 2 on Saturday in London! It will be so much fun! Can't wait! When the movie was over we headed off to bed to get ready for the next day.

Cheerio.

England Day 36: A Spot of Tea

Definitely did not sleep well last night. The bed was super hard and I woke up a few times. The light from the bathroom was shining through a crack and reflecting off a mirror onto my face so I had to get up in the middle of the night and turn it off. Just a difficult sleeping experience but I was still happy to be in a hotel for the night. It was nice sleeping in though and definitely made up for the hard bed.

We got up and had a nice slow morning to get ready and have breakfast. We then hopped on the train to drop off our backpacks at Carlie’s parent’s hotel. Carlie and her parents decided not to go with us to the Titanic exhibit and were instead going to do a lot of shopping. So we dropped off our stuff and headed off to catch a tube to the O2 to see the Titanic exhibit.

The O2 is a huge complex of concert arenas, cinemas, and restaurants. It was huge! It was definitely an interesting place and we are thinking of coming back to see the new Harry Potter movie. WE went to where the Titanic exhibit was and went on in. It was truly amazing. I learned so much more about Titanic and how the ship was set up and such. It was truly amazing but it was also said. I knew what happened but reading about it and seeing some of the actually artifacts found from the Titanic was so inspiring.

After the exhibit, we had lunch at one of the many restaurants at the O2. We went to a Latin place La Iguanas. It was really yummy and very filling. It was the perfect lunch and it was pretty cheap. When we were done, we headed to the tube to meet up with Carlie and her parents and do a little shopping and have afternoon tea. We did a bit of shopping and then went to have tea. It wasn't at a real tea shop because we didn't have enough time but we plan to another time. It was still pretty good.

After tea, we headed back to get our backpacks and get on the train home. We said our goodbyes Carlie's parents and headed to the station. We had such an amazing time with them. They were so much fun and super nice. IT was nice having a few parents around to protect us and hang out with us.

When we got back home, Shekka was waiting for us with Chicken Alfredo! It was so yummy, probably the best I've ever had. It was so nice to come back and not have to think about making dinner. :)

When dinner was over, we started talking about a trip to Wales that we wish to do. I started looking up train times and tried to figure out how we'd get there. It takes about 5 hours or so to get there so we want to go a Friday after work so we can have all day Saturday and most of Sunday to see Wales. It looks really amazing. Hope we are able to get there. After train times, we headed off to bed.

Cheerio.

England Day 35: True England Weather

Woke up in the wee hours of the morning to take the train down to London. Only five of us went on the trip to London because Shekka had gone to Wales for a field trip last week and had fallen and twisted her ankle on Thursday. We didn't think it would be a good idea to walk on her swollen ankle and she wasn't up for it either. So we left her to the mouse infested house and headed to the train. On the second train, we all fell asleep which was nice because we had a long day ahead of us and needed the sleep.

When we got off the trains, we caught the tube that would take us to Carlie's parent's hotel. We dropped off our stuff and caught the tube north towards the British Museum. By this time it had started to rain so we all had umbrellas. We got off the tube and started walking the wrong way to the British Museum. That was my bad. Got confused with the map. But we got turned around and headed the right way to the Museum. When we got there, a huge line was waiting to get in. We decided that standing in the rain to get in was not something we wanted to do. So we did a little shopping and decided to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.

At this point, it had been raining all morning all our jeans and shoes were soaked. My shoes were soaked all the way through and the bottom of my pants were also soaked. The best part about the rain was seeing Carlie and her mom with umbrellas that were falling part. Both of the umbrellas were flipped in the rain and were then broken. It was so funny seeing them walk around with broken umbrellas trying to stay out of the rain. Definitely made my day. lol. :) By the end of the day, we were laughing the rain off because otherwise we would of been grumpy. We just had to be light hearted about it and figured we needed the experience of true England weather.

We caught the tube to Hard Rock and sat down for a nice lunch in the first Hark Rock ever made. Pretty cool to be in a historic place. They just celebrated their 40th anniversary. Pretty sweet. I had a really good meal as well. The food was delicious.

After Hard Rock, the rain had let up for a while so we decided to walk through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Hyde Park was beautiful and is comparable to Central Park in New York. It's big and had stands for food, a river, and memorial statue/fountains in the area. It was beautiful. One of the memorials we saw was for Princess Diana. It was a fountain that was in the shape of a necklace. We almost missed it because it didn't know what it was. It was very gorgeous though, especially by all the flowers.

We then went on to see the Peter Pan statue at Maryanne's request. She is a HUGE fan of Peter Pan and loves all the books and movies. I had wanted to see it as well because I knew it was a pretty famous statue. When we got there, it had started to rain again but that didn't stop Maryanne. She was climbing all over that thing, wanting as many pictures as possible. It was really cool to see.

When we were done there, we decided to head to Harrod's, a huge department store in London. Harrod's was definitely the biggest store I've ever been to. It was 5 stories high and even had a store guide to pick up when you walked in so you could find where everything was. It was quite ridiculous. We mostly just walked around to see what they had but didn't buy anything because it was ll super expensive. Carlie's dad and I saw a baby's leather jacket that was worth almost 200 POUNDS! Ridiculous! We also got to see puppies that were for sale. They were so cute, and expensive. lol.

After Harrod's, we went to a few shops that were in our price range. I found a beautiful ring that looks like a giraffe. I had seen it in Bury St. Edmunds but didn't buy it because I couldn't find the right size but I found it here so I bought it. I absolutely love it. :)

When we were done shopping, we went back to the hotel to change and go to a pub. We went to a pub called the Shakespeare. It was a really cute place. There were two guys sitting by us that kept whistling at us but we couldn't acknowledge them. They went on for about a half hour. It was really annoying. I mean really? If we weren't looking at you or acknowledging you, why would you continue? We aren't interested! We were glad when they finally left. lol.

After the pub, we headed to Carlie's parents hotel to grab our stuff and head to our hotel. We got on the train and then caught a cab to our hotel. When we got there, the guy at the front desk was in a bad mode or something because he was snappy with Alix about having her email confirmation. But we got it figured out and then went to our room. We had two single beds and a double. Not as nice as our last room from last weekend but definitely better than a hostel. So we headed off to bed and looked forward to sleeping in a little since we didn't have to be to the Titanic Exhibit until 11. Definitely another fun day in London.

Cheerio.

More London Photos

Here's more London photos from this weekend. Didn't take many but it was still an amazing time. Blogs to come. :)

England Day 34: Relaxing Friday with the girls

Today was a good day, although it didn't feel like a Friday. The week just flew by and I still felt like it should be the middle of the week. We had a fun time with our blitz songs and I couldn't help laughing during one of the songs. The kids were up on their feet and in our face for one of the songs. It was so cute and they were so into it. Loved it!

After blitz, we had clubs. I was in craft club again and we were going to make castles. They were fun and easy to put together and the kids enjoyed it. We then got the game boards back on for them to play with and finish. One of the boards was a preteeners and he realized right away that someone had drawn on his board. There were pictures in the middle of his board and he got so upset. I seriously wanted to cry. Those kids had worked so hard and for someone to just come up and draw on it after all the hard work broke my heart. I promised to address the problem during lunch to inform kids of the hard work that was put into it. He made a new one but he definitely didn't like it as much as the first one. He had spent 3 days on the it and then had to remake it in one. So depressing.

After clubs, we had lunch. When the kids had washed their hands and sat down, I addressed the problem. I told the kids that in craft club, the kids had worked really hard on making game boards and that one of the boards had been drawn on by someone other than the creator. I told them it really upset him and all his hard work was gone now. I asked them to please remember that when things are not theirs, they need to leave it alone and not mess with it. If they want to help, they need to ask permission. I then asked if they would want someone to ruin something they worked hard on and they of course said no. So I reminded them not to touch things that aren't theirs. I almost had tears in the middle of it because I just though about how well they had worked together on Wednesday and all the hard work. I was so upset for them and hoped I got my point across. The counselors said I did a good job at addressing the problem without outing anyone for ruining it or trying to get kids to fess up. I just wanted to make it known that if it's not yours, don't touch it. I hope it doesn't happen again.

After that, we had a yummy lunch and then I read books to a few kids. We went on break and worked on bucket fillers for the kids. When that was over, we had rotating activities. I got to work with the kids on making crests about themselves. It was divided into four parts and the kids got to draw pictures about things that were important to them or their favorite things. They definitely turned out really well and the kids had a fun time with them. They all wanted to show them to me when they were done and I learned a lot about all the kids.

When rotating activities were over, we had snack and then movie day. We watched Muppets from Space, which always reminds me of my brother and I when we were little because we loved watching that movie. We watched the movie and then I got stuff ready for cream the counselor. We had closing where the craft club presented their game boards and oragami, the Quidditch Club showed off their brooms and uniforms, and the counselor in training club performed a blitz and skit. They club were so awesome this week and the kids had lots of fun. After that, we had cream the counselor. I picked K to cream this week because he was so awesome and I wanted him to feel like all this good behavior does pay off and that good behavior makes others smile. He, of course, choose me to cream which I expected but it was worth it to see his face. He had so much fun and loved it. :)

When we got back into the room after closing, we finished the movie and they had another one after that. K's mom showed up and he told her all about creaming and we told her why he got to. She was so proud of him and we could tell that K was happy and proud of his behavior. His mom was so excited to be getting so many good notes and comments about K throughout the the week. Things were hard at home, she said and hearing all the goods things made it all so much better.

After closing, we headed home for a nice relaxing Friday at home. We decided not to go to London right away because we needed the sleep and wanted to relax. We came home, made dinner, and then put in Harry Potter. We only have 2 more movies to watch. The girls are getting caught up which is good. We definitely had a nice day and I was able to get caught up on blogs which is good. We are going to London tomorrow and seeing more of the lovely city. I will definitely keep up on my blogs when I get back. It sucks to write 3 in a day. So many details and I always feel like I forget something. But can't wait for the weekend and definitely have to go pack and get to bed. Can't wait for London again!

Cheerio.