Channeling my inner 12 year old

2 post in a row about me...what is this world coming to? (fear not, many many post of kids shortly to come)

First an foremost, all camp directs get a one way ticket to Heaven. Amen! A moment of silence for them. Amber, you are a saint.

Saint Amber and Me

Second, I never thought I'd spend my 9th anniversary at Girls camp or with Steve in Iowa for that matter. But none the less, the stars aligned and I found myself as the camp nurse to 90 Young Women recently.

One word. Hot.

No, two words, Flamin' HOT.

*A special note for all who attend girls camp in the future...the nurse has 1st class accommodations all the way. Air conditioned room, in shower suite, steps from the pantry, no duties but to nurture, etc. So least you've started feeling too sorry for me, you can stop now and save your energy.

I had been warned that my inner 12 year old girl would emerge. Maybe it's the whole "when in Rome..." syndrome or possibly mob mentality, but somewhere along the way I found my hair in pigtail braids, no make-up, a dew rag like bandanna on my head, prepubescent breakouts, a desire to jump in a lake, eating 5 midnight milky way mini's just before dinner (OK, maybe that wasn't a stretch from the Melissa we now know), making crafty necklaces out of bottle caps, etc. I regressed so far as to forget I had two young children at home and shimmied up a 20 ft ropes course, down a zip line, learned how to belay, and repelled down a 40 ft tower on more than one occasion.

Yes, this harness does make my butt look big, but very few escape it's wrath.

But it's all fun and games, until somebody gets hurt. Sure we started off with the mellow dehydration, heat exhaustion, and ticks. But as camp progressed, so did the injuries. Multiple instances of bee's being trapped beneath flip flops, head injuries from climbing mossy waterfalls (really, you didn't see that one coming?)

This is my "seriously guys" look and Amber's "monitor and adjust" look

but my favorite....glow stick juice to the eye. Unfortunately most of these injuries occurred during free time or after sunset, which meant I was actively treating until 1 am and my walkie talkie was always on.

The weirdest instance of all...me having a fabulous time! Aside from the constant sweat and lack of sleep, I came away rejuvenated from having a chance to use my nursing skills and tons of girl talk.

Check out my mad pancake flippin' skills.

This griddle will one day grace my kitchen.

Please note the fly strip hanging over my shoulder to the right...note all the millions of black flies.

You got used to them, sort of.

I do have one suggestion for next year...it's a month called OCTOBER!