Week 1 brought Annie back to us for a week to fill in for our blazer cabin. It was so much fun to have her back in action as I've been trying to bring her back for years now so she could get her green jacket. Sadly, I only had her for a week but trust me, I tried so hard to convince her to ditch her internship. As is the case, week 1 brings lots of jitters and nervousness for both the counselors and myself. I know my counselors were overwhelmed and wondering if they would remember everything. Well, they didn't, but I didn't expect them to! I honestly felt a little like I was going "through the motions" for the week and I wish I hadn't felt like that. There was a lot of work and stress going into week 1 and Amie and I had been going hard core for about a month with no days off just to lead to this one moment. We may have been working on activities up until the last minute but we always got them done before the campers got there, even if it was just minutes before. ;-) My first two trail rides of the season went well and the third got rained out due to the monsoon that hit us Wednesday evening. It was still so wet Friday morning that I still didn't take Iowa out for their ride. My class of five had a fun time and I found that I worked very well with Marrigje which was fun. The magic school bus was an absolute hit with Abby and her bearded dragon and our horse costume for Friday night brought tons of laughs! While I may not have been as into it as usual, week 1 was a success and we did it!
Week 2 took us to only two EQ cabins as we had 21 girls and 5 boys signed up. Still a lot but not enough girls for 3 cabins. Donica went to Iowa and Taylor swung to resident camp. It's a tough transition but they did well and learned to go with the flow. Taylor still got to come up for all three periods of horsemanship so she still got barn time which is good for the soul. Marrigje and I only had three kids in our class and it was time for me to step out of the way and watch her work this week. She did a great job with the jumping aspect of the class. Taylor's birthday was also on Friday so Kylie and I conspired and she and Donica helped decorate her bunk and I made gluten free brownies. We dressed her horse in a birthday hat and she got to ride him on the trail ride. Success all the way around! Closing campfire was in Kampen so no horse parade but still a horse costume made it's appearance.
Week 3 brought us back up to three EQ cabins and this time Jess and I were teaching the upper level english class. This time Liz Demoss helped us out by filling in for our last counselor spot. It was crazy and ridiculous and draining that week but I can't remember too much specifics. I do remember that my class was very difficult. We took on 7 kids but that wasn't the hard part. The most difficult thing was having three different levels within that class with a kid who never should have been passed the earlier level. We made do but it wasn't easy and the kids weren't always happy with the lesson. We finished up pretty strong and made it. It was country hoe down night and my barn assistants dressed up english style just to be funny. The horse parade went out and was a little rough but we made it. I was a bit stressed out by the end of the week and had to pick myself back off the ground Sunday and keep fighting through the funk until I was able to get passed it by Tuesday or Wednesday of the next week. Glad that funk doesn't come often.
Week 4 is independence week! My favorite horse parade of the summer where I carry my grandpa's flag in the horse parade and then up on stage for the playing of the anthem. It's so cool because the anthem starts to play and then I'm coming up the side with the flag and I don't know what people are thinking when I ride behind the sign but all of a sudden I'm riding up on stage with the flag on a horse! Then I take off at a canter when I leave the stage. All very cool as they are chanting "USA USA USA!" Week 4 started off in a bit of a daze as I got myself sorted back out...."It's going to be okay"....that was my mantra. I had a class all my own and they were pretty fun. My barn assistants dressed up as the musketeers for the campfire and had a ton of fun. Week 4 was pretty good. Oh and Brooke came back and joined us for the week as a fill in counselor. Yeah!
Four down, five to go.
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