Sweet Girls, Chemo, and Some More of the Tiny Island

On Saturday, the three little girls next door came over with a handful of flowers they had picked for my daddy.  I managed to keep from crying at this so sweet little act until they left.  They are so wonderful!!!

My dad is getting chemo right now.

Once we got to the youth retreat, we stuck our bags in the "Mator Gator" (a John Deere golf cart thing decorated like Mator from "Cars").  Then we went and were the first ones registered.  After that, we got whisked off on a tour of the campus.  We went to the dock (decorated as 'Finding Nemo') where a guy in a wet suit asked us if we had seen Nemo, cause he had lost the little fish.  We hadn't, and he jumped off the dock.  Then the rules of the dock were quickly told and we continued up the path.  We saw the soccer field and then went to the Lodge, where the girls stay.  The boys were told that that was as close as they would go to the girls' dorms while they were there.  After that, we went along the path and came across a 'Surfs Up' lemonade stand.  there was a homemade penguin surfing thing that you could stick your head into and get your picture taken.  Nobody wanted to do it.  So Jessie (a girl dressed up as Jessie from Toystory) grabbed one of the girls in our tour and stuck her in it.  Then we went to the boys' cabins.  The girls were informed that that was as close as they would get to them for the rest of the weekend.  We participated in the making of a 'movie', then went back down to the main part of the campus.  We passed the field of Smoochie the lama on our way.  Smoochie was at his fence, so Jessie and Woody informed us that he lives up to his name and we could kiss him if we wanted.  No one wanted to, so I was just like, "Sure, whatever."  I kissed Smoochie.  Then we finished up by seeing the Up Office, Guestou's (the dining halls, yes, plural.).  After that we were free to do whatever until lunch.  A and I found her sisters and talked with them for a bit.  We wandered around for a bit, then found A's parents a few minutes before the ferry left to take them back to the big island.  A's sister, J, was there also with a friend and I learned a secret that I can't tell ANYONE!!! ;)  Don't worry, it's a good secret.  Well, I'll finish up some more later.

Parades of People and Tiny Islands

*sigh*

Today there has been a parade of people comeing to my house.  Okay, maybe not enough to be a parade.  First off, Mr. &Mrs. S come over to visit.  It seems that no sooner do they leave than my aunt comes over!  I don't really like how all of a sudden my house is so interesting to everyone and they come over so often.

Now for the fun part.

I went on a ferry!!  lol, that sounds really childish!  Well, first off, my cousin invited me to a youth retreat at her Bible collage.  So I say 'yes' and I'm whisked off on a little adventure!

First item on my agenda: pack. 
Toiletries- check.
Jammies- check.
another pair of jeans- check.
capris that I never wear- check.
Undies and socks- check.
a couple tank tops- check.
and so the list goes on.  At the last minute I remember my camera, glasses case, and lip balm.  Then my aunt and uncle come with one of their three daughters and we drive and drive and drive for HOURS.  We make it in time to get on the BIG ferry (big as in, it has several parking decks, several passenger decks, and you can go on top if the weather is nice.  The ferry trip also takes two hours).  On the ferry, my cuz, A, and I played cards (Go Fish with three decks and Speed if you want to know) and walked around n the top most deck.  We leaned into the wind at the front with our whole weight and were pushed abck against a lump of metal that I suppose had another purpose besides being there to keep us from flying backwards down the ship.  When we got tired of the wind we went back down and I think we played more cards.  After the ferry, we drove a short distance to a hotel where we would spend the night.  A's sister, B, came over from a nearby island and spent the night with us.  We went swimming in the hotel pool for about ten minutes.  Then we went back to our room and went to bed.  In the morning B went back to her little island and A and I went for a walk.  We saw a sign that told us to be wary of flying golf balls.  Then at about 12:00, I think, we went down to a teeny ferry that would take us the rest of the way to the retreat on B's island.  That trip lasted 20 min and the ferry was your average 20-30 car one deck ferry.  We were the first retreaters to arrive.  We were the first retreaters to sign in.  A's other sister, J, registered us.  And thus began our crazy fun weekend.

To be continued....