Greetings from the Gulf!
I’m at the beach! Yes, for the second time this summer, I on the gulf with the family. This time we came to Gulf Shores with some family friends. There are 3 families here in this rented house this week for a total of 13 people. We arrived on Saturday and have had a blast so far. The other parents that are here have been friends with my parents since they were my age. This got me thinking about all of the friends I’ve made, and who I would go on a family vacation with in 30 years. It’s crazy to think about.
I have had an awesome 2 weeks since I last posted. Church camp was so awesome. The theme was “Upside Down” and focused on Daniel. The lessons were about turning our lives upside down for Christ and how Daniel did that his whole life. We got to see the band 33 Miles and the comedian Tim Hawkins. I got to play a lot of volleyball, but we lost in the tournament. I also got to eat camp food all week. I love me some camp food.
I got back on Friday and spent the rest of the weekend finishing up my classroom for Vacation Bible School. It was an Olympic theme, and I had the country China. My sport was volleyball because my lesson was about teaming up with other Christians and focused on Paul’s life right after he became a Christian. The next week was spent working in the Student Life office by day and VBS by night. I had a different age group each night. The first night I had the oldest group at the beginning and the youngest group at the end. It was quite a difference. I let each group play volleyball when they came in there to show them the value of teamwork. I let the preschoolers play with balloons. We had a fun time.
Saturday I loaded up in the truck with my mom, my dad, and my friend Jason Kay to head to Gulf Shores. So far we have chilled at the beach, played some Rock Band, swam at the pool, got stung by jellyfish, gone shopping, and most importantly, have eaten A LOT. Each night the parents cook. We’ve had hot wings, brisket, spaghetti, and boiled shrimp. The dads have played and the girls have gotten a lot of sun. Yesterday the waves were crazy high and we couldn’t get in the water, but I sat in a beach chair on the edge of the water for 3 hours as the sun was going down. It was perfect.
I’m driving back on Friday because I have to take my Praxis on Saturday morning. That should be a lot of fun. I have to pass this one in order to student teach. I’ve been studying the whole time I’ve been at the beach. That has not been the most fun part of the trip. Hopefully it will pay off though. I hope everyone is having a good summer. Live it up, it’s almost over.
Peace out,
Ashley
