Junior High has been great so far! Besides a few locker problems and trying to find my classes on the first day, it's been a pretty good week. It's been crazy, but good. I've already had a few algebra assignments, I'm working on a five-paragraph English essay about the villainization of snakes, and I've been assigned my term project for science. But even with all of this work, I'm determined to do as well this year as I have done any other year in elementary. I plan not to procrastinate my projects until the last second, discipline myself into working every day to do better, and also I want to get back on a regular practicing schedule (for piano and viola), though I haven't quite made myself do that yet. If you have any suggestions, please comment - I'm open to any tips on how to keep myself going even if I'm wading through piles of homework.
Anyway, my favorite class is drama, because we get relaxation day every Friday and we play fun games that build our focus (because the foundation of acting is focus). Our first relaxation day was amazing - one person actually fell asleep. We listened to soft, beautiful music while our teacher spoke softly to us about tensing different parts of our body and then letting them relax. It was wonderful. My favorite teacher is our CTE teacher though - he is so fun. And CTE is a fun class too, but drama is still my favorite.
To all of my friends - how was your first week of school?
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Beehive Camp
This is what I wrote in my journal each day of Beehive Camp, with a few changes:
Monday, August 10, 2009
Today was my first day at Beehive Camp! We've had a great time so far. There are so many camp songs and cheers and games to play. One of the first things we did was play this game where we all grabbed a rock or something that we could stand on with both feet. We didn't know that it would have been a very good idea if the rock was wide and stable, and so we had a hard time of reaching the goal of the game. In fact, we didn't reach it at all. We had to line up and pass rocks to the front of the line (which was standing on the rocks) and slowly moved our way toward the goal, a water bottle placed on the ground several yards away from us. But as I said before, we never reached it because we ran out of time. We learned a few lessons from that game though; how to work as a team and help each other out, trusting each other, and trusting the rock we were standing on. In fact, the theme/motto for the week is Trust in the Lord. And the fun theme was Christmas! One activity we did that had to do with Christmas was decorating our counselors as Christmas trees using red and green streamers. Our group also used pine cones and pine boughs to decorate our counselor, Bugle. Bugle is awesome - she's so fun. She and Gloria, another camp counselor, are in charge of Columbine cabin, where we and Gloria's campers sleep.
We've done so much in one day - it's hard to remember it all. And I don't have very much time to record it. I'll just list some things:
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Today we woke up at 7:30 (I was actually awake earlier, waiting for Bugle to come out). Finally Bugle came out playing her bugle. It was cute. After getting all ready, we went to scripture study meeting and then breakfast (with singing after). One thing I love about breakfast and lunch is that we get to BANG!!! BANGing is where we pound our fists on the table as we shout, "BANG! BANG! BANG! Thank you kitchen staff!" or something like that. We can comment on other people's BANGS as well. It's really fun.
Anyway, after breakfast, we picked up garbage and tidied things up (capered) the grounds. Then we went to do Mohawk Walk, which is balancing on a cable with spotters making sure you don't fall off and trying to reach ropes at several different points to hold on to. It was tricky, but with encouragement and advice everyone made it to the other side. After that, we went up a little trail to a place with a fire pit. We made home-made pizzas (using pitas with marinara sauce and string cheese and a topping - mine being pineapple) and wrapped them in aluminum foil to cook in the fire. Gonzo, one of the other counselors, joined us. I got to know her really well - she's funny and interesting and really sweet. It was great to meet her. After the pizzas for lunch, we did the zip line. It was SO fun - I LOVE zip lines. When all of us had had a turn, we went back to our cabin and ate snacks and talked and acted crazy and had a lot of fun. Then we went to the craft shack where I bought a camp t-shirt and a songbook. Then Amanda, Charlotte and I (they are a couple of my besties) made a Candy Gram for Bugle and one for Gonzo. A Candy Gram is a nice message written for a counselor with some kind of candy attached to it. The Candy Grams are then delivered to the counselors at lunch time the next day, along with a silly song about who gets and who doesn't get a Candy Gram.
Anyway, after the Craft Shack was flag ceremony and time to write in our journals after (though it really wasn't that much time). Then the dinner bell rang and we had a lovely dinner of cheese-and-cornflakes-covered-potatoes and cornbread, all of which I love. After dinner we sang songs in our cabin and then got ready for our next activity. I call it the Indian Thing, because first they told us the story of an Indian girl named Tashina, who went on a journey, and our faces were painted with a blue, green, and red stripe. Then we got a headband and at the end a feather was stuck in it as we repeated the words, "I am a daughter of God. I am an eagle. I will soar." because the story had an eagle in it that helped Tashina to find her way. It was a really fun activity.
Once we were ready for bed, Gonzo and another counselor named Numero came in to sing us a good-night song and tuck us in bed. They sang, "Walk Tall, You're A Daughter," which is my favorite song. I told Gonzo that, and she said I was sweet. I had a wonderful day!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Today we got up and ready and went to scripture study. Then we had breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. After we had breakfast, we had a little first-aid lesson with DC (Diet Coke), who is Charlotte's sister Brittney's best friend. I was with D and Naomi (two other girls in my unit) and we gave the other girls a lesson on shock. When we were done with the lesson, we broke down boxes and recycled them and swept the porch outside the kitchen. Then we got to take a 3-minute shower! It was great. After the showers, McKenzie, one of the other girls in my group, fish-braided my hair. Everyone says it looks so cool.
Then we had a picnic for lunch instead of eating in the dining room - and we ate burritos, Cafe Rio style!!! :) It was delicious. Then we all straddled the logs in the amphitheater and pretended that we were on the Log Flume ride at Lagoon. At the end the counselors sprayed water at us with a hose, and a huge water fight broke out. I avoided it though, since I'm not a fan of being wet unless I'm in a swimsuit.
When the chaos was all over, our unit went to do a ropes course called life line. We were blind-folded and had to hold on to a rope that twisted around trees and took a long time to reach the end. But when we reached the end, we were greeted with the words, "You made it. Welcome home." Then we talked about how we felt and how the activity relates to our lives. It was very spiritual. My thoughts were that it was so devastating not to be able to see where I was going. I tried to picture the trees and rocks and roots, but it was tricky. Life Line was my favorite activity besides the zip line.
Next we did another ropes course where all of the girls stood on a platform and there was a rope that we used to swing across to a tiny board about 1.5 feet by 2 feet. We were supposed to fit all 13 girls on it without touching the ground, but our highest number was 8 girls at one time. Our strategies didn't work very well, so we failed, yet we all learned something from the activity. After the rope course, we made ourselves dinner using dutch ovens. It was delicious. Then we came back to our cabin and had testimony meeting, where most of us shared our testimonies while squeezing the testimony bear for comfort. That was another spiritual experience. Then we had s'mores, sang songs, read a story, Gloria sang and played on her ukulele "Walk Tall, You're A Daughter," and now I must sleep.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Today I went on the Above and Beyond (A&B) hike. Bugle woke me up early to get ready and go to the cafeteria to eat and pack lunch. Then we left to hike seven peaks around camp. It took hours. By the time we got back, I was sunburned, parched, and exhausted. But it was an amazing experience. Standing on each peak felt like standing on top of the world, especially on peak #5. That was astounding. All around us were tree-covered mountains, a couple sparkling lakes below us on one side with the campground in the distance. On the other side was a large canyon and the Salt Lake Valley could be seen far-off with tons of houses and buildings clustered together. It was fantastic.
We showered when we got back, and then had dinner and Devotional. Several counselors shared testimonies, and we talked about mean people and "cool" or "popular" people (girls mainly), and who decides who is "popular" (us). It was a sweet lesson. Judy and Michelle (two of our YW leaders) came for the duration of the event, because they apparently could not wait to see us until tomorrow. :) Then we got ready for bed, and I'm writing this by flashlight.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Beehive Camp ended today. It's strange how soon it ended. We packed up, cleaned Skunk, the bathroom closest to all of the cabins, and ate breakfast. Since it is our last day, we get to know all of the counselors' real names. Bugle is Rebecca, though I'll always think of her as well as call her Bugle. We got papers with all of the staff's camp names and real names, and I'm happy about that. At first, I got last year's paper with all of the staff's names, and right before the bus left I realized that and quickly got a new one. The bus pulled away, counselors waved good-bye, and now I'm home again.
That's my record of Beehive Camp. Here's a little more:
GOOD things about Beehive Camp:
Monday, August 10, 2009
Today was my first day at Beehive Camp! We've had a great time so far. There are so many camp songs and cheers and games to play. One of the first things we did was play this game where we all grabbed a rock or something that we could stand on with both feet. We didn't know that it would have been a very good idea if the rock was wide and stable, and so we had a hard time of reaching the goal of the game. In fact, we didn't reach it at all. We had to line up and pass rocks to the front of the line (which was standing on the rocks) and slowly moved our way toward the goal, a water bottle placed on the ground several yards away from us. But as I said before, we never reached it because we ran out of time. We learned a few lessons from that game though; how to work as a team and help each other out, trusting each other, and trusting the rock we were standing on. In fact, the theme/motto for the week is Trust in the Lord. And the fun theme was Christmas! One activity we did that had to do with Christmas was decorating our counselors as Christmas trees using red and green streamers. Our group also used pine cones and pine boughs to decorate our counselor, Bugle. Bugle is awesome - she's so fun. She and Gloria, another camp counselor, are in charge of Columbine cabin, where we and Gloria's campers sleep.
We've done so much in one day - it's hard to remember it all. And I don't have very much time to record it. I'll just list some things:
- My group got to know each other by playing a game where we say our name and something that begins with the same first letter as our name. (EX: I did "I'm Bonnie and I'm bringing a billion bucks to Beehive Camp.")
- Had several meetings with ALL campers/counselors; sang songs/cheers
- Had a DELICIOUS lunch and dinner - it was SO GOOD!!! (And did more songs/cheers)
- The rock game (explained earlier)
- A game of making a circle, passing a ball of yarn around, and saying our name and what we want to contribute to this week. I said a good attitude. Then we talk about how the yarn made a web that was really strong, but when some people dropped their yarn, it was weak - so we have to work together if we want to be strong.
- The Christmas tree activity
- 2 counselors told us stories of the brownies (creatures as tall as fairies that live underground) and then we went on a hike up the brownie trail while things (brownie church, brownie stage, brownie hole) were pointed out to us. It was cute and fun. Then we sang songs around a campfire.
- BLC - Brighton Love & Care. WE picked up logs in the woods and carried them to a pile. I was quite scraped up by the end.
- Family Home Evening - we got a paper where we had to find one person to sign each thing (EX: Find one person who.....likes doing kind things for others) and then we talked about trust. Then we listened to spiritual music while we tried to fall asleep. I write this by flashlight.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Today we woke up at 7:30 (I was actually awake earlier, waiting for Bugle to come out). Finally Bugle came out playing her bugle. It was cute. After getting all ready, we went to scripture study meeting and then breakfast (with singing after). One thing I love about breakfast and lunch is that we get to BANG!!! BANGing is where we pound our fists on the table as we shout, "BANG! BANG! BANG! Thank you kitchen staff!" or something like that. We can comment on other people's BANGS as well. It's really fun.
Anyway, after breakfast, we picked up garbage and tidied things up (capered) the grounds. Then we went to do Mohawk Walk, which is balancing on a cable with spotters making sure you don't fall off and trying to reach ropes at several different points to hold on to. It was tricky, but with encouragement and advice everyone made it to the other side. After that, we went up a little trail to a place with a fire pit. We made home-made pizzas (using pitas with marinara sauce and string cheese and a topping - mine being pineapple) and wrapped them in aluminum foil to cook in the fire. Gonzo, one of the other counselors, joined us. I got to know her really well - she's funny and interesting and really sweet. It was great to meet her. After the pizzas for lunch, we did the zip line. It was SO fun - I LOVE zip lines. When all of us had had a turn, we went back to our cabin and ate snacks and talked and acted crazy and had a lot of fun. Then we went to the craft shack where I bought a camp t-shirt and a songbook. Then Amanda, Charlotte and I (they are a couple of my besties) made a Candy Gram for Bugle and one for Gonzo. A Candy Gram is a nice message written for a counselor with some kind of candy attached to it. The Candy Grams are then delivered to the counselors at lunch time the next day, along with a silly song about who gets and who doesn't get a Candy Gram.
Anyway, after the Craft Shack was flag ceremony and time to write in our journals after (though it really wasn't that much time). Then the dinner bell rang and we had a lovely dinner of cheese-and-cornflakes-covered-potatoes and cornbread, all of which I love. After dinner we sang songs in our cabin and then got ready for our next activity. I call it the Indian Thing, because first they told us the story of an Indian girl named Tashina, who went on a journey, and our faces were painted with a blue, green, and red stripe. Then we got a headband and at the end a feather was stuck in it as we repeated the words, "I am a daughter of God. I am an eagle. I will soar." because the story had an eagle in it that helped Tashina to find her way. It was a really fun activity.
Once we were ready for bed, Gonzo and another counselor named Numero came in to sing us a good-night song and tuck us in bed. They sang, "Walk Tall, You're A Daughter," which is my favorite song. I told Gonzo that, and she said I was sweet. I had a wonderful day!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Today we got up and ready and went to scripture study. Then we had breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. After we had breakfast, we had a little first-aid lesson with DC (Diet Coke), who is Charlotte's sister Brittney's best friend. I was with D and Naomi (two other girls in my unit) and we gave the other girls a lesson on shock. When we were done with the lesson, we broke down boxes and recycled them and swept the porch outside the kitchen. Then we got to take a 3-minute shower! It was great. After the showers, McKenzie, one of the other girls in my group, fish-braided my hair. Everyone says it looks so cool.
Then we had a picnic for lunch instead of eating in the dining room - and we ate burritos, Cafe Rio style!!! :) It was delicious. Then we all straddled the logs in the amphitheater and pretended that we were on the Log Flume ride at Lagoon. At the end the counselors sprayed water at us with a hose, and a huge water fight broke out. I avoided it though, since I'm not a fan of being wet unless I'm in a swimsuit.
When the chaos was all over, our unit went to do a ropes course called life line. We were blind-folded and had to hold on to a rope that twisted around trees and took a long time to reach the end. But when we reached the end, we were greeted with the words, "You made it. Welcome home." Then we talked about how we felt and how the activity relates to our lives. It was very spiritual. My thoughts were that it was so devastating not to be able to see where I was going. I tried to picture the trees and rocks and roots, but it was tricky. Life Line was my favorite activity besides the zip line.
Next we did another ropes course where all of the girls stood on a platform and there was a rope that we used to swing across to a tiny board about 1.5 feet by 2 feet. We were supposed to fit all 13 girls on it without touching the ground, but our highest number was 8 girls at one time. Our strategies didn't work very well, so we failed, yet we all learned something from the activity. After the rope course, we made ourselves dinner using dutch ovens. It was delicious. Then we came back to our cabin and had testimony meeting, where most of us shared our testimonies while squeezing the testimony bear for comfort. That was another spiritual experience. Then we had s'mores, sang songs, read a story, Gloria sang and played on her ukulele "Walk Tall, You're A Daughter," and now I must sleep.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Today I went on the Above and Beyond (A&B) hike. Bugle woke me up early to get ready and go to the cafeteria to eat and pack lunch. Then we left to hike seven peaks around camp. It took hours. By the time we got back, I was sunburned, parched, and exhausted. But it was an amazing experience. Standing on each peak felt like standing on top of the world, especially on peak #5. That was astounding. All around us were tree-covered mountains, a couple sparkling lakes below us on one side with the campground in the distance. On the other side was a large canyon and the Salt Lake Valley could be seen far-off with tons of houses and buildings clustered together. It was fantastic.
We showered when we got back, and then had dinner and Devotional. Several counselors shared testimonies, and we talked about mean people and "cool" or "popular" people (girls mainly), and who decides who is "popular" (us). It was a sweet lesson. Judy and Michelle (two of our YW leaders) came for the duration of the event, because they apparently could not wait to see us until tomorrow. :) Then we got ready for bed, and I'm writing this by flashlight.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Beehive Camp ended today. It's strange how soon it ended. We packed up, cleaned Skunk, the bathroom closest to all of the cabins, and ate breakfast. Since it is our last day, we get to know all of the counselors' real names. Bugle is Rebecca, though I'll always think of her as well as call her Bugle. We got papers with all of the staff's camp names and real names, and I'm happy about that. At first, I got last year's paper with all of the staff's names, and right before the bus left I realized that and quickly got a new one. The bus pulled away, counselors waved good-bye, and now I'm home again.
That's my record of Beehive Camp. Here's a little more:
GOOD things about Beehive Camp:
- All the fun activities we did (listed above)
- Great counselors like Bugle and Gonzo
- All of the meals plus BANGing
- Cozy cabins
- Fun songs and cheers
- The theme: Christmas!
- Finding letters from my mom in my toothbrush kit after thinking I wasn't getting any
- Making new friends
- Feeling the spirit several times
- The amazing experience of A&B
- Being out in the beautiful forest
- Showering twice
- Great weather almost the entire time
- Getting all smoky
- Mosquitos
- Cleaning Skunk
- Sunburns
- No email
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