Wicked Quick, Wicked Fun, Here Come Fawl

No I didn't spell Fall wrong accidentally, I was just giving you a hint of an accent that some people use out here. I realize I get lazy with my tongue and I start using those words, my friends are sure to make fun of me for it. haha.

So, unintentionally I have left my blog on a dusty bookshelf this summer. I feel its sense of abandonment. I enjoyed this summer, marking it as one of my better summer's of my life. I had a job this summer, which I typically don't have during the summer and thus go through stress and frustration of not having one. So that was a huge help.

So many changes hit this summer. Quick recap: I quit my job at the daycare, graduated from college, went to Maine with the parents, moved in with Rachel, went to the Colorado to see my brother, started working at Wheeler Summer Camp, went through multiple job interviews for Americorps, got Americorps job, Wheeler Summer Camp job ended, and throw in a bunch of random, fun shenanigans and there was my summer! So essentially, you can stop reading now, unless you are intrigued and want more details, haha.

So I'm going to start with my Colorado trip! I went for about 10 days. We ran around doing all sorts of fun things from the Denver Zoo, a Lariat Loop which is a scenic driving route, to Golden, CO to the Red Rocks to the Butterfly Pavilion to a Rockies Game and so many other fun things. My parents also came out to see us and we had some good family time together. My brother had the fine opportunity to have his work wine and dine us and he treated us to making our desserts for dinner that night. It was a great opportunity to see his work.

After that, I went back to Providence and started my new job! Here's how a typical day would go for me. Arrive at Wheeler School and pick up Mini Bus (aka the short bus!) and drive it to a shopping center about 25 minutes away, pick up a bunch of kids, take them to the Wheeler Summer Camp "Farm" which is about 30-35 minutes away from the shopping center where I pick the kids up at. Then I drop them and the bus off and I join my group of 2nd graders. I had 2 co-counselors and a group of kids aged 6-8. My group average size was 17-25 kids which isn't too bad with 3 people. We as counselors would take our kids from activity to activity. Activities ranged from Sports to Performing Arts to Art to Nature to Swimming Lessons. In the afternoons, we usually had free swim and free electives (where the counselors put on a bunch of activity options and it gave the kids a chance to pick their favorite choice). On Wednesdays, we typically had a special guest come out and put on a show for the kids whether it be reptiles, a band, dancers, storytellers, a talent show, etc. On Fridays, we usually had closing camp activities for the week. Each week had a theme and activities in general throughout the week would revolve around that theme then on Friday we would have a big activity for it to wrap it up. Our themes included Safari, Alice in Wonderland, International, Summer Survivor, Top Chef, Talent, Carnival and Heroes vs. Monsters. After a day of camp, I would then load up my bus kids and take them back to the shopping center, drop them off, then drop the bus off at Wheeler School. Overall, it was a fun experience.

So after almost 7 long months of searching and learning to patiently wait and trust in the Lord, I finally got an Americorps job. Amazing how after I tried out for so many opportunities that the one job I ended up with was a job that I can not only see myself doing but also enjoying. So I'm excited to start that opportunity. My job will be working for Head Start (a daycare center) as a Special Resources Assistant. I will be an Assistant to a Special Resource Coordinator and together we will screen all new incoming kids (aged birth to 5 years old). If they have special needs we will set them up with therapy and lessons to help them out. I'm excited this job starts in September and will be a year long commitment.

So some random shenanigans of mine include......

Rachel and I went camping in New Hampshire, conveniently though it was thundering and lightening and pouring rain when we went to go set things up. Luckily it slowed down enough for us to set up our tent then we cheated and went into town to find supper. In the morning, we went kayaking on this river which was so fun.

A bunch of us ranging from 2-5 people at a time exploring new beaches in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Although, things slowed down when beaches in Massachusetts started closing due to shark sitings haha.

A group of 6 of us headed to Maine to stay at a friend's mom's lake house. We went on a 4 mile hike straight up and straight down a mountain, then we went swimming and kayaking although we only had 2 kayaks and 6 of us, so some of us were hauling dead weight around haha, then we played tennis, went for a walk and then we decided to wrap that day up, whew. On the way home, it was so random, we had packed a picnic, uncertain where to stop, so the lead driver pulls into a Lowe's parking lot because they saw a hunk of weeds for us to eat lunch at, however, I sighted a picnic bench, so thank you Lowe's employees for letting us use your break bench for lunch haha.

Going to the Wickford Arts festival which was fun to see so many oil paintings. Then after eating supper, we went to Smith Castle, a wicked old house involved in the colonial wars located on a swamp. The facility was closed but the grounds were open and we were on a photography mission in southern RI. After we hit up Smith Castle, we went to some historic watermill then we took random photos of the bridges of RI such as the Jamestown bridge and the Newport bridge then we saw the Jamestown Windmill then we went to Beavertail State Park where they have a lighthouse and rocks that you can climb on. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous, one of the best I've seen in a long time. It was amusing, Rachel was out on the rocks taking photos, not paying full attention to the incoming waves and the tide changed on her and a big wave barreled over the top of her. Luckily, her and the camera were both safe and did not fall in.