highlights

like everyone's week, i'm sure, this past week has had delightful times and yucky times. we had a full camp....with over 100 people from two different schools. i got sick mid week and felt terrible. i remembered how awful it is to be sick in a new place that doesn't quite feel like home yet. it made me miss my parent's house. my parent's couch. and knowing that someone familiar would be around soon wondering how i was doing. but i guess i am 26 now, so i should get used to not being at my parent's house when i'm sick! i'm feeling much better today...i'd say practically 100%.
i shadowed some more classes this week....ones that i think i'm really going to like teaching. bird lab and orienteering were great. we had the kids fishing one day...and one boy fell in the pond! while teaching pond and creek lab to one group, the kids found a trout that was stuck in the creek and couldn't get back to his buddies in the pond because it was uphill filled with rocks and logs. so a couple of the kids couragously, after many attempts, grabbed ahold of the fish and walked him back up to the pond. it was neat to see the kids cheering it on...and hooting and hollering when he was back in the pond. they ended up naming him loghead julio. it was great and funny. after each class, the kids have to write conclusions....that includes what they did, what they learned, what inspired them, etc....and nearly all of them talked about rescuing the fish! it made me smile.
i tried out a new church today that was about an hour away from camp. it was fantastic, and i'm certain that i will go back! there's a girl i met at camp this week who wants to try it out with me next weekend. it's quite similar to river valley...so i felt at home. when i walked up to the door, there was a woman there greeting. i put my hand out to shake hers as i said "good morning", and she said, "how about a hug instead." she was so cute.
after church, i decided to go exploring a bit. hey, it was a beautiful california day, i had a full tank of gas, a road map, and a free afternoon....so i headed towards the ocean! i ended up driving through LA and caught highway 1 for a bit up to malibu (alex and lori schwindt warned me that highway 1 was absolutely amazing...and i agree!!) it was a perfect beach day...there were a gazillion surfers out there...and i loved the smell of the ocean. i went through the streets of malibu looking for a place to grab lunch, but quickly realized that i was out of my league. the place smelled of money...everyone looked like wanna be famous people...and i'm certain that i drove past some movie stars homes. they were like castles on the side of the cliff. crazy.
so now i'm sitting at barnes and noble in redlands before i head back up the mountain for the week. we don't have students coming until wednesday, but have other "stuff" to do...i'm not quite sure what that is yet.
just for a critter update....we're still catching mice! just last night, i walked into the living room and saw a not-quite-dead-yet mouse still squirming around. i let out an "eewwww" and then i was fine. i have not had the wonderful opportunity yet to handle rosie. :) maybe this week. i did find out that we actually have two turantulas. fabulous. more to enjoy, hey? i guess they thought the second one, sophie, was dead....but low and behold....she's still moving! and apparently doing fine now.
alright...well...i'm off to get some groceries. :)