Only 1 Week Left!

So it just occurred to me that the last time I posted I was talking about being here for 1 month, and now I am down to (almost) 1 week left! Needless to say I am very excited to head home and then back to school! Not a whole lot has been going on here, just taking life one day at a time. For our last week together I have "encouraged" the kids to behave by promising to take them mini golfing and out for ice cream on Friday. We've been spending a lot of time at the park these days, but it has definitely made time pass a little quicker! Here are some pictures of my life the past few weeks!

1 Month Mark

Well today marks 1 month of me being in Maine, which is crazy to think! It has definitely been an interesting experience, and one that I am learning a lot from. Though this job wasn't exactly what I was expecting to find when originally looking for a nanny job, I think it is teaching me a ton about being a teacher. I am definitely having to practice my patience, multitasking abilities, and setting boundaries. I am also learning why practicing teachers always joke to us education students about the "not smiling until Christmas" rule - kids will without a doubt take advantage of you and test your limits like none other!  I think the kids and I are finally getting into a groove and they are starting to catch on to the fact that I am definitely not a pushover :)

So far this experience has been a bit of an adjustment, as any new job half way across the country would likely be, but we are half way through the first session of camp and have one month down! I am starting to really fall into the schedule and lifestlye here, but I'm not gonna lie...can't wait to sleep in my own bed again! :)

Other than spending a lot of time on the lake, there hasn't been too much excitement HERE, but there has been some excitment at home: one of my best friends, Meredith, got engaged over the 4th and has asked me to be her bridesmaid! So happy for her and excited that I get to help her celebrate! :)

(Here are a few random pictures of my daily life here...no stories to go with, just thought I'd share!)

(Why yes, I did make the adorable shack poster - the petals say all the girls' names on them and the leaves say the counselors' names)

(My "lovely" accommodations)

4th of July!

As you might expect from a summer camp, the 4th was celebrated in style! The day was surprisingly hot (92º!) after 4 days of constant cold and rain, which made the celebration even better. The theme of the day here was that the camp was divided into two large groups: the Americans and the British, and there were competitions going on all day. The campers, and Tori, participated in a lot of fun games at various stations in smaller groups within their "country". (Rian got to try out the shaving cream slip and slide.)

We enjoyed a cookout for lunch and had British and American flag fruit-decorated cakes for dessert...very festive! After lunch there was a huge 29 leg relay race throughout camp between the Brits and the Americans,  which coincidentally ended in a tie :) We finished the day with a campfire down at the beach (even though it had started to rain a little and had to actually sit inside the boathouse) roadting marshmallows and playing with sparklers.

It was a fun, hot, busy day!

(Although I am a little sad I missed the Village Northwest fireworks for the first time I think ever...oh well, this view is hard to beat!)

First Day Off

On Sunday I got my first day off since I got here - and to make it better...all counselors had the day off too! Because of this rare event, one of the directors arranged for a van trip to Old Orchard Beach, Cape Elizabeth, and Portland for the day. It was a little concerning when I woke up to rain that morning, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day at the beach (even though most of the pictures look like it was cloudy and crappy out).

After a few hours at the beach, we went to Cape Elizabeth to visit the Portland Headlight. It was incredibly beautiful, and we were able to go all the way down by the rocks which eventually turned into ocean.

After the sightseeing was done, we headed to Portland for supper. We had a great time bonding as a staff group, and luckily there are a ton of really cool people on staff this summer! 

Wrapping up Week 2

Hello real world! Another week down, and I feel like I have been completely removed from the real world for the past week (although I'm not sure I'm missing much). Anyway, this evening I finally moved into the shack I will be living in for the rest of the summer, which was literally right across the path from where I had been staying so it felt a little pointless. I will be in the first shack, which is the youngest group of campers, and the three other counselors that I am living with are great, including a girl from England who is hilarious and super nice. (Pictures of my luxurious living space yet to come)

Aside from moving, there hasn't been much excitement here. The weather has been wonderful here (upper 70s/80s and sunny) so we have been spending plenty of time at the beach and on the water, which is lovely! Lucky for me the kids love to spend time playing in the sand, and they play great together (most of the time), which is extremely helpful.

Overall the happenings this week have been much better than the week before. I think the kids are glad to be back at camp and the nice weather has helped. Today Tori got to join about 20 local girls here at camp for a test run day. She was so excited to finally get to try archery this year, and she did awesome at it (hit the target 29 times apparently). She also rode horse, and reached the top of the very large rock wall and we got to hear her ring the bell. :) 

Thank you all for your prayers over the past week...I can definitely tell God is listening and making things more comfortable and running more smoothly here, which is greatly appreciated! I learned yesterday that my grandma (mom's mom) is in the hospital with health complications, which has been kind of hard to deal with being half way across the country, but my mom is working hard at keeping me in the loop, and it sounds like she is feeling pretty good and staying in good spirits, so I'm praying she gets to go home soon! [Love you Grandma! :)]

Tomorrow I will be heading to Old Orchard Beach and Portland for my first day off (alll counselors and I get  the day off tomorrow...woot woot!), and I am super pumped to hang out at the beach/ocean, explore Portland, and go out for a waterfront supper with a bunch of other counselors! I'll post again soon...thanks for reading :)

-B

PS we had a mock Thanksgiving meal for supper tonight so that our international staff could experience an American Thanksgiving....this is what we cooked up for Rian to wear to dinner :)

End of Week 1

Well I've officially survived 1 week in Maine! Already this experience has been much different than I imagined, but I'm learning to take it all as it comes and continue to pray and hope for the best. Yesterday we moved to camp and I've got to say, it's a tad more outdoorsy than expected. I understood from the beginning that I would be staying at a camp with a lot of history, but I guess I expected the housing and facilities to have been updated a bit since it started running in the 1900s... no such luck. Anyway, as I'm coping with being a princess essentially living outdoors, I have had the chance to check out the lay of the land a bit. The waterfront is absolutely beautiful, and the kids and I have already spent a lot of time down there, which is perfectly fine with me - bring on the tan!

 

Other than that we've done a lot of exploring the lay of the land, (...being crazy...) and today Tori and I were asked to be in a practice lesson the horse riding staff were putting on. It has been awhile since I've ridden a horse at all, and then to add on top of it the fact that I would be riding English style instead of Western was a bit nerve-racking, but after the hour-long beginner class was finished, Tori and I survived and had a lot of fun!

        

        

        

The kids and I actually drove back to their actual house this afternoon to stay for a few days because they have school yet until Tuesday, after which we will drive back to camp for the rest of the summer. This week has proven to be quite long, and I'm hoping the rest of the summer speeds up a bit (which I'm sure will happen once the campers arrive at camp and the kids start their summer activities). I've got 2 very "independent" (as their mother likes to call them) children on my hands this summer, but I'm sure I will be able to whip them into shape in no time. ;)

Until the next time I have internet access...

Brandi

Field Trip

I know I said I wasn't going to post again until we got to camp, but I had quite the exciting little adventure today...I got to go on a 2nd grade field trip! :) So maybe it wasn't the most exciting adventure spending a few hours with 50 2nd graders at a state park, but it was the first time I have left the house since Monday so it was exciting to me! A note had come home earlier in the week asking for more chaperones, so Alex signed me up knowing I would probably be pretty bored sitting at home all week. Luckily it stopped raining for the day and it turned out to be a gorgeous day for the beach/playground/trails. The kids seemed to have fun, and Tori was a monkey on the playground as always! :)

Side Note: Alex couldn't come to the field trip because she was volunteering at school for Rian's art party, so she sent me along with 2 of her best friends who had kids in 2nd grade as well. They were a riot, and afterwards we all went back to one of their houses - which was super nice - and sat around with coffee rehashing the events/stresses of the day...probably the best part of the day :) 

Whirlwind

Well...I MADE IT TO MAINE! After 12 long hours of travel on Saturday, including a 3 hour layover + an hour of delays in Chicago, I finally arrived in Portland, ME around midnight. A, the mom, met me at the airport, and we got to their house around 1am. Since the kids are still in school this week, we won't be moving to the camp until this weekend, which means I'm crashing in T's bedroom where I found a lovely welcome sign and balloon to greet me when I arrived. :)

After getting to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning, the parents ditched me and the little ones and headed off to their oldest daughter's high school graduation. 8 hours of "being thrown to the wolves" (as A said) - what a way to get to know the kids you'll be spending the summer with! It all went well though - they are very active kids and will definitely be keeping me on my toes this summer! T, the little girl, is 7 and in 2nd grade. She is very artistic and creative, and always likes to be busy doing something. R, the little boy, is 6 and in kindergarten. He is crazy energetic and talkative, and teeny tiny (the kid hardly eats anything). They were great tour guides, showing me around the house and all their toys, but once they had showed me everything at home they wanted to take me to Rattlesnake Mountain...so we went on a 2 hour hike to the top of the mountain and back!

 I'm pretty sure R, the little boy, never stopped talking the entire day - man can that kid chat! Anyway, since Sunday there hasn't been too much excitement around here since the kids are in school all day yet (from so many snow days this winter). Yesterday A and I went to Portland (about 45 min away) to stock up on some grocery items for the camp house, and to pick up another girl at the bus station. Since I didn't get to see much on the drive back from the airport, it was nice to get to see the area a little bit, and to visit Portland (which is the biggest city in Maine, but it's about the size of Sioux City). The house is crazy busy with different camp staff coming this week, which meant I had to share "my" room with another girl last night - thank goodness for bunk beds! It's a dreary rainy day here today, which means no visiting the camp as previously planned, but it sounds like Saturday we are moving up to Camp Runoia in Belgrade Lakes. I'm definitely ready to head to camp and get settled there for the rest of the summer! I'll give an update again once we head to camp!