More than 1/2 way ....

It's crazy to think I have been here for more than a month now.  It's taken this long to figure out how it all works.. Schedules are crazy there are so many different pieces to the puzzle. We have 14 day trips, 10 day trips, 7 day trips and 3 day trips and in the middle of it all is fun at Ogichi. The elder staff is actually "off " for 3 days and that ironically started yesterday on the 4th of July so last night we went to dinner at this amazing house of a friend that Bart golfs with.  Grilled steaks and enjoyed some wine it was really fun.. it made me less home sick for my fiends and family on the holiday.

 Feeling really luck to work with this wonderful group of mostly women and Bart.... Everyone is so kind and helpful and take they truly do make camp amazing for these girls !!!

However, it's also awesome to spend the summer with such good long time friends... god knows Peggy and I have shared more than our  fair share of wine together for sure !!!!

About a week in and Lexi and I are both having a great time ....

well now I am several days in to campers and loving every bit of it .... My days now have a rhythm I work in the office in the mornings and I teach paddle boarding in the afternoon ... Honestly, it's a dream come true most days. These girls for the most part couldn't be cuter if they tried !!! 

 And as you can tell I have so Yogis ... they are all better than me when it comes to yoga on the board but I think I am teaching them some paddling skills ... I have one girl who wants to look into racing when she gets back to Dallas and honestly she would do awesome if she is this good on the camp boards she'd be a rock star given good equipment. Let her take my board for a spin the other day and she loved it !!

Oh and then there is the fun .. the girls learn so much while having a blast and just being crazy... The just do it with such ease. It makes my heart happy to see them having so much fun. It's funny you make every effort to not have favorites but something happens and you find a girl or two that just might need your insight and like to have you listen. I have a few special girls that I really hope to keep up with and know how they do after camp !

These were the LDAC girls leaving on to go on a 14 day canoe trip.

Talk about inspirational ... they were the first to arrive at camp and are the oldest girls. Many have been here for years but some were brand new., most my little sisters age and almost all of them remind me of her as they have incredible spirit and kindness within. 

I really wish I had done something like this at there age .. I've had so many amazing things in my life and as I watch the friendships being forged I know I got that later in life as I have the MOST AMAZING girl friends ever and I am pretty sure training for a Ironman together brings the same amount of closeness but I can only wonder what my life had been like had I had this type of a experience at the age these girls are now.                                             

I have catching up to do .. My computer was down with a virus for about 4 days but thought I would end today with one of the amazing sunrises that I have seen at camp. It's simply stunning !!

The calm before the storm.... tomorrow we get the rest of first session girls !!!

Today is the last real day to take in the quiet ... we will get another break at what is called intersession but  today we got to sleep in and relax because tomorrow we get the remainder of first session girls ... the older girls that we call LDACs have been here for almost 2 weeks but they have been off on several trips ..white water training and a paddle / canoe short trip to get them ready for the 14 day trip they will leave on this week .... 

having time to paddle is a special treat and I am looking forward to much more of it between now and when I leave.

  I went on a little adventure today to pick up the LDACS  I will post some pictures later in the week it was really fun !!

It might just be all about Lexi ....

So I realized today that I probably average 10-15 pictures a day of this silly dog of mine !!!

But how can you not when she is so stinking cute .

 Lexi is truly loving camp life. She might like it more if I would give in and give her free rein to roam but the main road to camp has a lot of car traffic and were not far from the main road into town. My fear isn't so much that she will get lost but that she would get hit by a car so she does get free roam time with Pippa but she doesn't get it all the time... as summer goes on I am sure I will get more and more confident that she will stay on campus but for now she has to deal with the leash.

We got a care package this week with all kinds of fun things including as you can see a toy for Lexi.... I'm pretty sure that it lasted about a hour and when I got back to my cabin this was Lexi face ... Like uhhhhhh am I in trouble ?????

She is getting closer and closer to the water .. she goes out on the docks and she is checking things out however she has yet to really touch it. At least not on purpose !
Enjoying camp though her as much as on my own for sure !!

Oh how the water touches my heart and reminds me to reflect on all the good things I have in my life.

I

Finally some time on the water and oh how I missed it the feeling you get when your in the middle of the water .....

It's funny how you can be in the middle of know where and still get caught up in things and not find the time to just do something you love... tonight was my first time on the water since arriving at camp and it was so awesome .. It's Saturday night and I'm relaxing in my room with both Pippa and Lexi next to me (this is a daily occurrence) 

taking some time to just reflect on  how awesome it is to just do nothing ..... Starting to believe that camp truly was a gift from God. A chance to stop the crazy and just appreciate all that I have been given and all the great opportunities that I have had over the past several years.

Personally, this weekend brings a little sadness but that is something that I am working through and putting in the place it needs to be. It was a year ago this weekend that I choose to take my life in another direction and trust that it was time to move on and three years ago that I basically lost my position with an organization that met the world to me .. I'm not so sure I have completely moved on but I make a effort every single day to take a step in the right direction .... it's not always easy but I'm giving myself credit for doing the best I can each day.

Tomorrow is a new day and it's Fathers day a day to THANK GOD that my dad is still the most important person in my life and for giving me some time to prove it to him.

The Elders get some time away ..

So one thing I've been ask over and over is are you at camp all day and night the whole time ??

The answer is,  I'm really lucky I get to go in to International Falls periodically on what we call town runs. Now I can tell you there is not a whole lot to see or do in IFalls but it is still nice to get off campus now and then,

helmet and all !!!!

Yesterday was one of the funny trips to town and I can't not post this picture .. I was doing a quick stop at the grocery for the kitchen and all most got run over by a bike in the isle of the store .. now I know you'd find this hard to believe ( and because I had to send this to my dad and friends ) proof is in the photo !!

Other than my errand running we do get out once in a while for drinks at a few of the local places.
One is called the Thunderbird the other Sha Sha both are fun local joints and most often we get to mingle the older counselors from Ogichi and Kooch.
Sometimes we have a reason to celebrate like a birthday and others it's just taking a break.

Is is Monday ?

So the one thing I really can't believe is how easy it is to loose track of days at camp ... I am sure that lots of that has to do with no television or not a ton of outside contact but it's funny how many times a day I find myself wondering what day is today ????  Today is Monday and now that we have girls at camp we are somewhat on a schedule. However, the LDAC campers are the older girls and there are only a fraction of what will arrive next week. Most of the girls have been coming to camp for a few years at least and they all seem to have a connection. I'm like the new girl at camp. I don't know everyone, I wasn't around to be a part of all the stories but thankfully I still enjoy hearing them.

Lexi and Pippa have become fast friends however Lexi still has issues listening and not taking off so she is being reined back in over the next few days. It's way too stressful when they take off and not as much because I am worried they won't come back but more I am worried they will wonder into a road and get hit by a car .... If the girls camp were on a Island like the boys camp it would be much easier to relax and let her go but because we are not and Elder ridge where we call home is somewhat close to the major road it is really stressful for them to take off.

I am sure as more campers arrive and Lexi starts to realize that when she listens she gets to play that she will get a chance to free roam more.

As far as exercise I am getting about 6 or more miles in a day walking and I have ridden 2 times however my back tire is flat AGAIN so I am going to take it to the bike shop today and see if I can't find out whats up .. maybe get a little cleaning as well !!! We have a little 5k in I Falls I plan to do and I am hoping to get on my board this week as well.  Between the dog, the cold and trying to get a schedule I haven't been paddling yet ...

What's next ??

I had a wonderful conversation with a new friend over the last 24 hours and the theme of it was living in the moment of what is next. We talked about the shift in your belief systems and when you start to believe that "god" who ever he might be to you has a plan.  When you realize it's not your path to create and let it happen on it's own something awesome happens and the journey becomes a much easier one.  For me this is just starting happen or I'm just getting stronger in my faith.

My aunt has always said "God has a purpose and a plan." Over the past several months I have been trying to embrace this sentence and let myself trust. For me the real word has been  faith and I have made it my mission this year to have faith in the path that I am on.

Camp really is an opportunity for me to truly put this message to the test.  I have been given a chance to stop and smell the roses and I pray that I do just that every day I am here.

I wake up everyday with a Lexi walk and almost everyday I take a picture of these amazing sunrises. Some of them look pretty much the same and some of them are so vastly different and each morning when I get back from my walk and look at the picture on my phone I think "WOW" this doesn't suck !!!  I'm not saying that the sunrise walks in Nashville are not special to me but I think the overall quiet and calm of my mornings here sure have a way of setting the mood for my day and I hope that in the time I have left that I can truly learn to keep that feeling inside of me no matter where I am.

Today's food for thought. "Nothing is impossible. The word it self says I'm possible."- Audrey Hepburn  ( stolen from a friends FB page this morning ! )

The girls start arriving tomorrow and Lexi has a new friend

I haven't written much this week ... we've just been in the get camp ready for campers mode but tomorrow girls start arriving so things are picking up. It has been so great to have this time to get to know the staff. I love these girls that are funny, energetic, engaging and all so smart, I think back to when I was there age and wonder what the "elders" at camp would have thought of me if I had been here. I'm pretty sure I didn't have nearly the vision of my future that these girls have and I am really looking forward to not just the summer with them but hopefully following there successes over the next several years.

Lexi got a friend at camp last night Pippa and has been whinning to go find her since 5:15 this morning. We went out to walk and she went directly to her door.  I'm super excited to have a dog on campus for her to hang out with and I Know she is going to enjoy it for sure.

Starting week two ......

Well a week in the books and I think both Lexi and I are settling into a routine ...
She wakes me up at 5:15 -5:30 and head out for a morning walk.... it's so quite here in the morning .. it's such a easy time to reflect and think about what is on the schedule for the day. This past week was filled two nights out to celebrate birthdays, several trips to I Falls to pick up supplies and lot's of project to get camp ready for the campers. I have mowed the lawn, stained & painted, hung blinds and sanded a floor... Everyone here pitches in and does what ever needs to be done. I'm humbled by these young girls and their spirit. I think they will teach me a ton this year.

Lexi is getting the lay of the land .. and loves to check things out she still wants nothing to do with the water and it is amusing to watch her around it but she seems to be very content to just check out camp say Hi to anyone who will pet her and hang.



Last night after dinner we were in my cabin and just chilling on the bed when she jumped up and started growling at the window. When I looked out there was a huge fawn just standing about 10 ft away ... she had no idea what to do but she was certainly intrigued by it all.

- I'm pretty sure things will start to settle this week and I will actually start to have a job but until that happens I am enjoying just doing what needs to be done !!

Fist reaction to it all

We are off !!!!

What a whirl wind few months it has been that have lead me to 9 weeks of what I hope will be an amazing adventure for both Lexi and I  at Camp Ogichi in International Falls, Mn. 

Getting here was pretty uneventful .. we had a great night in Indy and you can see by the photos that Lexi made her self right at home at Joan's house. I enjoyed a awesome dinner with Joan, T2 , Chad and Shawn and also got a nice ride in before we got back on the road.

Day two on the road was rainy most the way to Madison but we settled in just fine and had a relaxing night with pizza and some wine at the hotel. 

 

The sun was out for day three of travel and we pretty much just cruised into camp in with very few stops,  

Arrival at Ogichi and my first thougts ... 

- Am I really going to be here for 9 weeks ?

- It's so beautiful but so in the middle of know where ... 

- It's so quiet ... so so quiet..... 

- I can't believe I'm here followed by Holy $H&* I'm really here 

- No turning back now girl so make the best of every moment you can ..... 

Our cabin is so cute and truly all you could ask for .. I'm attaching pictures of it on day 2 and will update as we add things like curtains which I have been told we will be getting soon.  Not that I feel like anyone will be looking in my windows but it stays light til 8:30 and the sun is up at 4:30 ish so it could truly be a challenge to sleep with out them.

Day 3 at camp ... yesterday it rained hard most of the day and staff was arriving throughout so out day was pretty uneventful.. this morning we started what I hope will become our routine.. up at 5:30 and a long walk around camp ...  it is so silent here in the morning the pictures show the beauty but they just can't capture the serenity you feel when your one of the only people up and walking ....