how does your garden grow?

In the early spring my next door neighbor Beth had a dream. She dreamt of fresh home-grown tomatoes and peppers... and I quickly jumped on the opportunity to help make her dream a reality. We decided to start a garden. 

We are blessed with a good bit of property here at camp and we thought surely we could find a nook to create our garden. We researched the best plants to plant and when to plant them (we missed a few suggested planting dates)- we drew up plot plans and talked about where would be the best spot for the garden- we talked to other veteran gardeners for advice- and we conspired our plan to keep the zoo of animals (mainly deer, fox and raccoon) away from our precious plot. In the end we just spent a few hours on Saturdays preparing our garden and crossing our fingers, hoping for the best. Ben and I built a fence around the garden and it was terrible- so Beth and her husband remedied that and made it much better. Then we weeded and tilled our hearts out, and finally planted our plants.

We knew nothing about planting, really, nothing. We planted lots of little plants and felt good about that little step in the right direction. I figured I missed the dates for planting seeds so I just threw a bunch in a row to see what would happen. But... in just a few weeks I had a mess of vines all over half of my garden. Needless to say- things are growing, and I can hardly believe it!

Though the tomatoes seem to be perpetually green, we know they will be delicious soon.

We have eaten these peppers and they were fabulous.

Here's to more gardening!

pink hair.

One of the craziest things I have ever done was something I did when I was just 14 years old. I dyed my hair pink... not a tiny strand of hair behind my ear- but my entire head.

I have never really lived that one down. (You will notice we are dressed nicely in this picture... I am too embarrassed to tell you what function I showed up at with that hair...)

So, for camp's annual smoothie party (which always includes dressing up in costume) I thought I would throw back to my high school days of pink hair.

(Kaley made the "twilight" tee herself). My eyelashes were not pink in high school, and I have never worn hot pink skinny jeans before... but I thought, why not go all out? And don't worry, this time it was just that spray on pink dye that washed right out! 

Can you guess what the theme of the party was?

Ben just couldn't bear the thought of black eyeliner and punky clothing, so he stuck to his roots: an all-star athlete who didn't hang with the weirdos like me.

Ah, well... Here's to pink hair!

bermuda.

Home again. And well rested after a week-long vacation. I am so thankful for the uninterrupted time with my husband. Talking over meals and experiencing mini-adventures with him reminded me of why I like him so much. And we visited beautiful Bermuda. Overall, a fantastic vacation. Since I think stories are better told with pictures- here is our 'happy 2 year anniversary to us' cruise to Bermuda:

Our ship traveled down the bay so we got a pretty cool view of the bay bridge.

While we love relaxation, two rainy days on a rocky cruise ship caused us to become a tad stir-crazy.

We arrived in Bermuda, and even though I still felt like I was rocking back and forth when we finally got off the ship, I quickly fell in love with the town of St. George's.

Against my best judgement, we rented a scooter. You know, one of those little mopeds... the kind that if you got in an accident on one of them you would certainly be face to face with death or some other tragic injury at least.

Ben was a good driver and with the entire island having a speed limit of 25mph I found it to be more enjoyable than I had thought possible.

Later, on a small quiet road, I tried to drive. Within minutes I drove it straight into a huge hibiscus bush. That sucked. So, I didn't try driving again.

We found a beautiful remote little beach with the famous pink sand.

After enjoying about 15 minutes at our private cove, we found ourselves running from an enormous wall of rain that came on like a freight train. Seriously, torrential downpour. My husband (fan of the TV show Man vs. Wild) fashioned some palm fronds to create somewhat of a roof while we waited for the storm to pass. This picture was the calm before the storm... but we knew it was coming...

There was beautiful bermuda grass and people really did wear bermuda shorts. I fit right in with my stylish bermuda chinos.

It was a really great vacation- especially the days in Bermuda. It was just so wonderful- probably one of my top favorite places to visit. 

As always, it was good to come home. Although, I am a girl who loves some blissful island living...

pink beaches

I am going on vacation. That's right- a v.a.c.a.t.i.o.n.! in the summer! just me and the hubs! I am really thankful that the boss-man gave us a week off right smack dab in the middle of camp... and in spite the tiny insignificant amount of anxiety I have felt this past week about going away... tomorrow is departure day. We are cruising to the pink beaches of Bermuda and we will be back to camp in a week. It's our 2 year anniversary trip, just a month late. Hooray for vacation! See you in a week! 

remember that one time, when I blogged?

Of course, my excuse is camp... I really don't have time to blog or I am just too tired at night. I think about things to blog about a lot- sometimes I really enjoy recounting things on this blog. But there is little time in my day for the computer. Here is some of what I have been up to...

-My aunt made the final and permanent move to GA. It was a teary goodbye.

-I got to go to a ballet with Kristi where I sat in awe, staring at the beautiful dancers (I have always loved dancing) I also was surprised when the ballet included pirates and Arabian kings.

-Nick came home from Bahrain to surprise Kaley for their anniversary. It was so good to see him.

-I have spent a lot of time on the water, spotting on the boats while the kids are tugged behind on the "banana boat". Love that.

-I am enjoying the kids- there are so many returning campers who have grown up a lot. One particular day camper who has been here since our day camp program began- he used to run from water like a cat and never ever participated in anything. We accepted this about him, but this year he is actually an active participant in most camp activities. It's crazy! (Those of you who know Day Camp probably know who I am talking about...)

-This week is Christmas in July, which I love. I like having an excuse to play christmas music and to decorate a christmas tree in the heat of the summer.

-I have played lots of games, or maybe mostly watched as counselors play. Games like putting shaving cream all over the counselors, or scavenger hunts, or obstacle courses, or jumping into a big trough of water.

-I've been blessed to share stories with this week's chapel speaker about how great God is. We shared our amazement and thankfulness to the Lord for how he has chosen us to serve him. It is good to be reminded of what a privilege and blessing it is to work here at camp.