Rule #1: Don't Let Nikki Near Objects With Wheels

Well, I have a few spare moments so I thought I'd take the time to update you all on my life!

This is our SECOND half-week of campers! My cabin from Sunday-Wednesday was great. There were ten 5th grade girls, and only one got homesick, and her only for a few minutes before she calmed down. They were all pretty talkative and good-natured, and got along well. The only problem was that they all came with someone else, and so it was hard to get them to "mix" with each other. They were real good kids, but I was still glad when the last parents minivan pulled away on Wednesday - I was getting a little sick of singing the same song every time we stepped out of the cabin. And hey, variety is a good thing.

We had about an hour off before the next round came storming through. These girls are mostly 6th graders, and seem a little more mature. I only have six this week, and I'm still trying to read their personalities. Sometimes they are SO much fun and I'm just laughing like crazy, other times, I'm like, "Dude, you're a brat. Stop talking." Well, in my head at least ;) We'll see how it goes. There's one that I will have to pray and pray for patience with. She's a ... different? ... child. Very ... imaginative. And talkative. And okay, downright weird. But, this too will pass. Luckily, like last week, I have a Great junior staff (Stephanie Geske). They have been such a big help! I'd go crazy without those volunteer highschoolers to keep me sane and provide intelligent conversation (i.e., conversations not centering around your mom's sister's best friend's cat's gastrointestinal infection ... Gah!). Kids are funny ...

It's great to be surrounded by such great staff. We've been having such a good time lately, because we've been longing for each other's company. So everytime we get together is ultra crazy and hilarious. But, I'm not gonna lie, I've gotten some good teasing lately. And believe you me, I deserve it! Why?, you ask? Well, let's just say I will soon have another scar to add to my collection on my forehead. In a scene only possibly made up with a Carow girl, I completely crashed on my friend's bike on my way to go visit Jamie Tuets for a massage. Let me tell you, handlebars driving into your temple do not feel good! I didn't realize how good a gash I got until I got to Jamie's and she told me I was like, thisfar away from needing stiches. I felt like a child, with sand and gravel in my hands and elbows and knees. I may have had a minor concusion as well, as I was pretty out of sorts the rest of the night, with a pounding headache and a seeming inability to communicate with clarity or sense. Once again, thank goodness for amazing junior staff! I've got some pretty solid bruises and I'm still a little sore, but luckily nothing was majorly hurt. At any rate, I've come to the conclusion that bikes and my family were not - in any way, shape, or form - made for each other. (Jen, Jamie especially appreciated my condition, openly laughing with me about our complete lack of biking skills ... )

Aside from my now widely acknowledged clumsiness, all is well at Camp. I need to get cracking on working on some stuff, but I'm wishing you all happiness and fall-free bike rides!