Officially the LAST Weekend

Saturday~

Where do I even begin?? So much happened this weekend!!

First of all, Danny and the Kattermans went back to Indiana, secondly, Anna stayed at camp (so I got to sleep in the comfy lodge beds!), thirdly, the waitresses (really, all the crews, and counselors) had a party on Saturday, and fourth, Sunday was going to be a staff appreciation banquet. 

Well, after saying good-bye to Danny, I was finishing up my job and decided to update Will on our sisters' current counselor predicament. He said he would take care of it....     

                         _____________________________________________

After July 4th, I had been trying to set up Heather and Chandler. At first, Heather wasn't really interested, but as she got to know Chandler, she became interested. :P Chandler would talk about her a lot, but never tried to pursue it much (guys...) During our saturday cleanup, I asked Chandler if he knew that the banquet the next day was a dating activity. He was like, "What are you trying to say?" 

Me, "Never mind...." and I started walking away; I hate when people act like they don't know understand. 

Chandler, "Wa-wa-wait! Do you think I should ask her out?" 

{Ugh...guys...}

Me, "Yes, I do."

Chandler, "Well, what should I say?" 

Me, "I don't know...you're the guy. Isn't this something that's like built into guys?" 

Chandler, "Well, how would you want to be asked out?" 

Me, "Whoa. First of all, I'm not going to tell you because you're not the one I want to ask me out; secondly, I'm not telling you because you need to be original. Be unique; it has to be you and you have to want to." 

By this time I decided to ask one of our other friends for help. 

Jordan, who's also dating a waitress, decided to help Chandler so I walked away. 

_____________________________________________

After finishing up my job, I hung out with Anna for a little while, told her I was a little worried about who her counselor would be and if her and Charlotte would even room together! I knew that I was going to be gone most of the day with the waitresses and was sorry that Anna had to be in the lodge alone. Found out later that David had invited her to watch a movie with the rest of the counselors (at their party). 

After a little while,  all the waitresses left for our "Party". 

Our first stop included *Looking Glass Falls* 

It was beautiful (like most of North Carolina)! We even saw other guy counselors who were on the trail over the falls. 

Me, Lindsay, Catie, and Heather 

It was a beautiful, sunny day!!

Mackenzie & I 

After trying for almost a month to encourage Chandler to talk to Heather, he Facebook Messaged her on the way to our picnic!!!! Of course, all her closest friends knew, and we were trying to give her advice- "Don't text back right away!" "Make him wait like 15-20 minutes, because if you respond right away, it'll seem like you do nothing but play on your phone all day." "Answer his question, and then ask a question." and so many other words of wisdom! :) It was super fun and we were all involved with and reading the messages between them. :)

Heather is one of the blondest, but sweetest girls I have ever met!
I really enjoyed getting to know her better and being roommates. :) 

After taking pictures and enjoying the sight, we got back in the vehicles and headed towards our first destination. We came to a very well hidden picnic/park area. We had so much food!!!!!! And of course, we needed to play volleyball. :) 

Emily, Hannah, and I

After good food, lots of fun and laughter, and roommate pictures, we were on the road again to our second destination; Black Balsam. Yup, my second time here!! :) But I can't complain, it was still gorgeous! This time, not only was it not raining, but I also got to watch the sun set.

In the woods heading up the trail 

Once we got the almost top of the mountain, most of the waitresses were tired and wanted to stay there. Well, I really wanted to go all the way to the top, so about three other waitresses and I ran up there, took more pictures, and then came back down. It was breathtaking!! The first time I had come, I hadn't gone all the way to the top.

It's blurry, but it's beautiful. 

Pictures cannot capture how beautiful it looks in real life. 

When we came back to everyone else, we all sat down, sangs songs, and gave testimonies about how amazing God is and different attributes of God that became real for us this summer. 

We ended testimonies as the sun went down, singing "How Great, Thou Art" 

We had to get a picture because we were all wearing Wilds hoodies!
{Heather, Lauren, and I} 

On to our third destination. We can't really have a girls party without Ice-cream can we? So we decided to stop at Dolly's and get a treat!

By now, Heather and I were tired and ready to head back! It was almost curfew and if we were going to socialize with other people, we would have to rush back. :) 

We came back around 10:45. I figured I would just get ready for bed, so I did! I got to stay with Anna in those comfortable beds!! :) 

Sunday~ 

We got to church and went to our regular Sunday School Class!

This was our last Sunday here 

During the preaching, the pastor told our group that they would miss us on Sundays. We would miss them too... the church was small so we got to know a lot of the members.

After the service, we went out to eat at the same place we had gone our first Sunday! 

We couldn't just take a normal picture-we had to take a crazy friend picture as well. 

After 10 weeks with this crazy group, it was almost bittersweet, realizing that our summer was quickly coming to an end. 

After this picture, while we were heading back to the car, Chandler {finally} asked Heather to the banquet that evening!!!!! Of course I heard the story from Heather's side, but I also got to hear it from Chandler's side as well. :P 

That evening, we had a required service, and all the waitresses were required to sit together (unless they had a date) because we were going to have to help with the banquet.

Hannah, Emily, Audrey, and I

After the service, we all ran to the dining hall, set the dessert, salad, and ice and grabbed good seats.

The banquet food was amazing!!!! 

Our table was fun and full of laughter. 

After we were all done eating, they announced the winners of this summer's they announced the people who won best cabin cheer.

Is this another selfie? 

After that, they announced the winners of the Sparkplug Award. This award went to a male OP staff, female OP staff, male counselor, and female counselor who best represented the spirit of the wilds.
Then, Connie was rewarded for being at the Wilds for 25 years, and also honored because this was her last year working here.

When it ended, we called all the waitresses to the front; old as well as new ones.

Waitresses then and now

After we were done with cleaning up, Anna and I went over to the Tracy's and watched the Food Network show. David was at a movie night for all the blue counselors.

Rode with the Tracy's to their house. 

And just like that, our last weekend at the Wilds was over. Six more days to go......

The Week the Siblings Came to camp

Week #9 

Teen Speaker: Morris Gleiser 

JBC Speaker: Mark Herbster/Big Bob 

Prayer Partner: Rachel Hicks 

Monday~

Usually on Monday's we have brunch for about an hour. It's usually some sort of sandwich with soup, lots of fruit, a salad bar, waffles, pancakes, bagels, and cereal. For some wonderful reason, this particular Monday, we had a parfait bar!!!!!! :D If you know me, I am a parfait-type of person. Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola will make my day 10x better! :) I knew that this was going to be a fantastic week!! :) 

My wonderful meal! (^_^) 

I was really hoping that Danny and Anna would get to camp before I had to be at work....but of course they didn't. While I was setting tables and preparing for dinner, Bro. Katterman walked in the dining hall. Apparently, Anna had forgotten her phone in his car! I had requested to serve Anna and Danny while they were here, so I knew I would just give it to her when she came in. I requested to serve David at the beginning of summer, and I still hadn't gotten him! I was a little annoyed because all the waitresses wanted to serve him (because he cleared fast and always bought them a gift) and many of them did serve him. When it was finally time for me to serve second shift, I saw that I got to serve Anna (and her cool counselor, Abbie Fant), Danny & Noah, Brooke Montgomery (Danny's sister counselor), AND David!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was definitely going to be a great week!! :)

First meal came around, and not only was David the table furthest away from the kitchen, but this was PIZZA night, which meant that everyone always ate sooooooo much!! Which means even more refills. All that to say, the first night, David thought I was a slow waitress (which I totally was not). After the meal, Connie asked me if I was enjoying my aisle, I told her that my brother called me slow. :P She told me that if he says anything again, she would move him. :) Of course she was kidding. :)

Tuesday~
Danny and Anna wanted to play volleyball in the afternoon, so of course I went to find them. I felt a little bad because I knew I should probably be spending time with my prayer cabin.

Love this kid! 

One of Anna's CITer's took our picture! We didn't end up playing because by the time I found them, I had to start heading back to work, and it was also extremely hot!

I have the best siblings! :) 

Wednesday~
At the beginning of every week, waitresses always worry about who their aisle buddy will be.  I was lucky to have Catie for the second time. We could almost read each other's minds and were always done really fast! Sometimes we could read each other's minds too much and ended up matching three times this week!!

Matching Aisle Buddies! 

Sometimes working in the outside snack shop can get boring...for example, if it's raining, or way too hot outside, no one even bothers to buy something. In those cases, we like to keep ourselves entertained. :) This evening, Emily made a chef's hat out of our empty nacho chip bag. :P

Emily, our nacho chip chef. 

After Fun Time, I went to give devotions to my prayer cabin and after I finished, my prayer partner, Rachel, told the girls the Vanessa Jenkins story!! I would tell you, but we would have to be at camp, or it won't be the same. :) Rachel and I clicked! She was sweet and funny, but also kind of quiet. Her brother was on my clearing aisle this week, so I would talk to him a few times about how Rachel was doing. His cabin was the Salty Dogs (that was David's first cabin when we came as campers). 

Thursday~

On Thursdays, all the churches meet for "family time". After that, the girls go on a hike. I got off work around 2, and met with the fam for a few minutes. The whole week, everyone kept getting David and Danny confused, and Anna and I confused too! It was pretty comical to watch people do a double glance when we were together. :)

I'm so glad they were able to come!! 

For every single meal, all the tables on my aisle would do a little cheer for me! They were the best! A few of them are: 1. "C-I-N-D-Y without you we would all die" 2. "C-I-N-D-Y you are as sweet as pie" 3. "C-I-N-D-Y your voice is like a lullaby" 4. "C-I-N-D-Y you're gonna get one lucky guy." and 5. "C-I-N-D-Y you don't even have to try."
That night, I gave devotions at Abbie Fant's cabin...which was also Anna's cabin.

Friday~
Because Anna was staying an extra week, I requested a certain counselor for her, and Will requested one for Charlotte...because the whole point of them coming next week was that they would room together. Anyway, I checked my mailbox-expecting to see a confirmation note, but my request was denied!!!! Not only were they not able to room together, but I did not even know who their counselor would be! :( So I figured we would all find out on Monday.

I only worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and  Friday night this week. Because I worked on Friday night, I wasn't able to go to the fireside service. Afterwards, I chilled in the staff lounge and talked to other OP staff who weren't able to go to the service either.
When the service was over, I took a picture with these cool siblings. Their parents work on staff and the two oldest did CIT with David and Anna. There are six kids total. I think it would be funny/neat if our siblings get to do CIT with all of them! I really enjoyed getting to know them (the three eldest work in the kitchen, and Matthew is on cleanup).

Matthew (14), Joshua (18), Caleb (16), Caitlyn (19), and me :) 

After that, I went back to my room and then went to my prayer cabin and heard their testimonies/devotions. Then, I stopped by Anna's cabin for a little while. :)
It was a great week....the realization that summer was ending soon, started to hit me.......

Weekend Well Spent

David had a few s'mores and firewood left from when he went with his JBCers, so he wanted to get a small group and hike to one of the waterfalls. We decided to ask the Brantley siblings! After our Saturday cleaning jobs, staff meeting, lunch, and a quick nap, we started heading over to the 2nd falls. The s'mores were really yummy and sticky and we were all wet from sitting under the falls. It was definitely a bonding time full of laughter and new memories. After that, the boys decided that they wanted to hike over to the third falls observation deck. It wasn't too far away, so we went over there and took pictures and talked some more. :) 

Siblings at the 3rd falls observation deck 

It was fun, relaxing, and much needed. I think we were all starting to realize that our days spent here were getting shorter and this would be one of our last weekends at the Wilds.

Sunday~ 

After church, we were all very hungry. Personally, I was extremely tired of eating fried chicken!!! David and I had an idea...We should just drive over an hour away (to Ashville) and get Chipotle! :) Of course this seemed like a great idea because neither of us had to pay for gas money. :P 

Everyone else wanted to go, and Chandler didn't mind so we went! 

The boys wanted our traditional Sunday selfie.... 

That evening at Anchor, the Pastor told us to go to the storage and take as many things as we could carry! I took granola bars, candy for my prayer partner, and candy for my tables on my aisle. : )

It was a great, almost last, weekend!! 

JBC once again

Week #8
Teen Speaker: Dave Young
JBC Speaker: Andy Gleiser
Prayer Partner: Bethany Davis

Nothing out of the ordinary happened this week. Nothing life changing or extravagant. At least, I don't have pictures to show for. :P
Monday Meeting was like every other Monday...

Selfies on my phone 

Because it was almost the end of summer, and we have already heard everything and anything staff is going to say anyway, our waitress meeting started half an hour later. Audrey and I decided to go to Cool Beans and grab a quick treat!

Wednesday, we got new grill buddies!!! 

And that's it for that week.... 

Weekend at Black Balsam

I love the weekends, because it usually means I can socialize with people other than waitresses. :P Connie planned something for all the waitresses almost every weekend, but most of the activities were not required. This particular day, they were going to Ashville to go shopping at the outlet malls. I did not want to go because 1. I didn't want to spend money 2. If I did spend money, I knew I would not have a place to pack it and 3. I didn't want to spend another day with the same people.  It turned out great because I ended up still going to Ashville, just not to go shopping. :)

A bunch of people had decided to go to a nature trail/hike called Black Balsam. It was a little over an hour away. As soon as we were done with our Saturday jobs, we took a little break and left. 

What can I say? It was simply too sunny!

The view was spectacular!!!!! We made it there a little bit before it started to rain. In this picture, you can see the clouds beginning to gather.

It's amazing how the same God Who opens eyes and changes hearts, reveals Himself though His creation!! 

The top of the mountain, was a 360 view of the mountain range around it. I could only stand in awe.

The elevation was 6,214 ft. 

Here comes the storm! 

If you look really close, you can spot a bright yellow spider in the middle of the flower that David got for me. :)

Right before it started pouring! 

Sunday~
The next day, in between services, David and I went to the Taylor's house and did our laundry. While we waited for our laundry to finish washing, we decided to watch NEMO with the Taylor boys.

Matt Taylor might like the Chicago Bears & Chicago Cubs a lot. :) 

Week Seven with the S.S. Navigators

Week #7
Teen Speaker:
JBC Speaker:
Prayer Partner: Rachel Hollandsworth

This was the first week, when we didn't have orchestra, choir, or even OP staff meetings!! It was definitely relaxing because the first required meeting was at 12:00!!
Connie had planned a slumber party at her house. I didn't really want to spend the night, so I just went over with other waitresses for brunch. :)

We all squeezed in one vehicle. :) 

Brunch was really good! We had tons of fruit, chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, egg and cheese casserole, donuts, muffins, chocolate milk, and orange juice. Then, we watched Anne of Green Gables, at the end, there weren't that many dry eyes.

After our large staff meeting, we have a waitress meeting, where we memorize verses, give testimonies, have food, and fill in accountability sheets. :)

Yes, another selfie. 

For some reason, I took a picture of my snack shop schedule this week...I think it was the first time I thought about it, and it really helped me remember what days/times I was working. :)

Tuesday~

Every morning at exactly 6:30, I was on my way to the staff lounge to grab a cup of coffee. It wasn't strong at all, but it somehow made me a little more alert. :) 

Before lunch, these cool kitchen people were just chillin' on the sinks....well, that's not something you do every day, so Alexis and I joined them and we just sat there and talked (until it was time to head to work) 

Me, Josh, Caitlin, Jonathan, Dillan, and Alexis 

Wednesday~
This Wednesday, we were able to wear our black Silver Crew shirts. We got these for Connie because it was her 25th year being a hostess and we were her 25th crew. :)

Every Wednesday, we get a little worried because it can either be a really fun day on the grills, or a really annoying/long one. Elise & I were happy because we got two crazy/talkative guys as partners.

Grill buddies: Me & Dalton and Elise & David 

For some reason, we all take a whole bunch of pictures on Wednesday! I don't know if its' because we can actually have our phones while we work....or what. :)

Hannah, Lauren, Audrey, and I
I love these girls!! 

Thursday~
That evening, after dinner and during the service, we had a silverware party....only it wasn't exactly a party. We had to washed and polish every single piece of silverware we had in the dining hall.

Look at all that silverware!!!!!

After we were finished, we celebrated with ice-cream and pictures! 

Selfies for days.... 

Blurry, but we had fun! 

Although it was a long day, and lots of work, everyone had a great time!! :) 

Friday~

Every morning at 6:30, my friend, Monica, and I would go to the lake and have devotions there. It was always really peaceful and quiet. On our way back this particular day, we found a piece of paper on the ground. It turns out that it was a note between two JBC campers. :)

Kids are the best!! :)