Camp Lutherhaven

One of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences of sixth grade is our Camp Lutherhaven trip. I started packing last Tuesday night, and after much anticipation, we took off after chapel on Wednesday.

The bus ride to Albion was long and hot. Thankfully, the trip was only about an hour long, so we didn't have to suffer for very long. Finally, we pulled into Camp Lutherhaven and unloaded our bags.

As soon as we were settled into our cabins (I was in Cabin 6) and applied gallons of bug spray to our already itchy bodies, we ate a quick sack lunch around the fire, and then divided into groups of three and set off on a scavenger hunt organized by the counselors. The real goal of the hunt was to help us grow accustomed to the whereabouts of camp. My group - not unlike any of the other groups - was tired, hungry, and a bit uninterested, so we were not very successful.

After we were somewhat comfortable navigating around the camp, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Albertin, insisted that we all take part in a baseball game. We grudgingly headed to the baseball field, but the game turned out to be quite fun. My team won, and I hit a few out of the park (this was super easy, because Mr. Albertin would throw us slow, underhanded pitches).

After baseball, we split into three large groups (I was Group 3) and went to our assigned activity. Our first endeavor was archery, a challenging but addicting pastime. I am very proud to say that I actually hit the target several times (something that most of my group couldn't do) and even thwacked an arrow right down the center of the target. Archery was probably my favorite activity of Lutherhaven.

We switched activities a few times and then assembled for lunch. We did more or less the same thing for the rest of the day, going from one station to the next, until dinner and devotions time. After our pizza dinner and devotions by the fire, it was a mad dash for the showers.

The showers were a nightmare. There were only 8 showers that we were allowed to use, so if you didn't reach the bathroom first, you either had to call a shower or wait. . . for a long time. Waiting wasn't half as bad as the actual showers. The water was lukewarm, and it smelled like eggs. Not to mention the bugs flying around the stall.

After showers, we got about half an hour of free time, which most of us spent down at the playground. I enjoyed playing tether ball immensely, and I dominated most of my class (I suggested to my dad that we install a tether ball pole in our backyard).

By 10:30, I was really tired, but unfortunately, my cabin mates were not. Lily, Katrina, Nicole, Timerah, and Lisa forced me to get in countless group photos and help them make human pyramids. Finally, after the boys in the cabin beside us started banging on our walls, our chaperon, Mrs. English, told us to get in bed.

Since it was so hot, I slept on top of my seeping bag, which also provided some extra padding on the thin, uncomfortable mattress. Nevertheless, I got a good night's sleep. It would've been even better had I been able to sleep in. Yes, we had to get up at 7:00 sharp, even though we were at camp.

After our delicious breakfast, Group 3 went to the orienteering station, where we located certain items throughout the camp using a compass and a bearing. It was really fun and interesting, but my partner, Jack, and I got lost in the woods and couldn't find the seventh item.

After orienteering, we got to canoe and kayak around Lake Muncie. Everyone wanted to kayak, but first we had to prove that we could listen to instruction and honor boating safety rules in a canoe. Unfortunately, I was partnered with Bryce and Jacob, who share the role of class clown and all-around goof. I would've passed our counselor's inspection easily if I had been with anybody else.

Bryce decided to play bumper boats with the other boys, Jacob flung seaweed at Lisa, and both of them drenched me by scooping up water with their paddles and tossing it backwards. By the end of our time, I was soaked, tired, and mad. However, my mood quickly improved when we went exploring through the woods.

The vast woods that surround Camp Lutherhaven are filled with paths, and one could literally spend hours trekking deep into the dark, lively forest. There is even a small marsh, where we caught a frog (Jack's entire foot was submerged in the green slime during the attempt). If you journey even farther into the maze of intertwining paths, you will find the enormous tree house built by the counselors a few years ago.

The gigantic tree house is actually four real sheds, supported by trees and connected with wooden bridges, about ten feet apart. There is a small fire pit, a slide, and a fireman's pole, and we spent quite a while in this amazing tree house.

After our forest adventure, we headed to the main fire pit for our cookout dinner. The hamburgers were superb, grilled to perfection by Zach, a counselor with wild dreadlocks (who is also, ironically, a vegetarian). The hot dogs, on the other hand, weren't as good, because we had to roast them ourselves over the fire (we either burned or barely singed our hot dogs).

After we finished dinner, we had devotions around the fire, and the race to the showers began once more.

When everyone was finished showering, most of us played a game of pickup basketball on the basketball court. Of course, the game was really fun, but C.J. managed to bump and bruise us all with his merciless physical play.

After our game (My team lost, but we demanded a rematch. The game is still unfinished), we said goodnight and headed to our cabins. Once again, my cabin mates kept me up until 11:45. I finally drifted off at about midnight, but was woken abruptly by the annoying, blaring noise of a fire alarm, which was coming from a few doors down. We didn't panic, because we knew that Cabin 4 had been experiencing difficulties with their fire alarm. Disgruntled and sleepy, we tried to get a few more precious hours of sleep before 7:00.

We woke up a bit grouchier than the previous morning, and our dispositions didn't improve when we found out that we were playing an early game of Predators and Prey, a continuation of yesterday's lesson.

Predators and Prey is a really fun game (but it's much more fun when played during the afternoon, and not immediately after you get up). The class split into two groups, one group of predators, and one group of prey. The object of the game is simple: the predators try to find and catch the prey. My group was prey first, so we got a few minutes' head start to hide. I decided to hide in the playground, beneath the giant tire half buried in sand. Luckily, I was never caught; in fact, I was never even found, and I got pretty bored just sitting underneath the tire for 15 minutes, listening to Predators chasing Prey around the camp.

At last, the bell sounded, which meant that the groups would switch from Predator to Prey. After the new Prey disappeared into their hiding places, we leaped down from the fire pit, madly sprinting around the camp, searching for Prey. Bryce and I scoured the woods, wandering aimlessly along random paths until we finally discovered Nathan relaxing in the tree house. Startled and amazed, we caught him unawares and proudly took him back to the fire pit. Next, I spotted Lily peering out from the eaves of the forest, and after 15 long, hard minutes of giving chase, I finally caught her.

In the end, Group 1 emerged victorious, but nobody really cared, since brunch was about to be served.

The delectable brunch consisted of pancakes, French toast, mixed fruit, sausage, and eggs. Needless to say, everyone was nourished and energized for our next project: service hour, the joy of Camp Lutherhaven.

Group 3 was appointed the delightful task of moving couches and chairs upstairs to make room for more tables in the cafeteria. After our grueling task was done, we headed to the devotions center to rake leaves from underneath the benches and place new mulch. We worked hard for a whole hour, and our reward was punch, Popsicles, and granola bars.

After the service project was over, we had a few minutes of free time, which I spent in the game room, beating Lily at Foosball.

Finally, we ended our Camp Lutherhaven trip with a closing devotion.

The trip home was uneventful for the most part, and everyone spent most of their time itching bug bites or singing a favorite song from devotions.

Camp Lutherhaven was (deep breath) sweltering, itchy, interesting, tiring, exciting, and sweaty, but most of all, it was unforgettable.

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2010

For the first time since 1992, the Chicago Blackhawks are in the Stanley Cup Finals. They haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1961, and hopefully they can end that streak. They will be facing the Philadelphia Flyers, and according to the numbers, which say that Philly is a 7-seed, this should be an easy victory for the Hawks, a 2-seed. However, we must disregard numbers, stats, and odds, and remember that the Flyers came all the way back from a 3-game disadvantage against Boston to win the series.

Jonathan Toews, obviously, will score some points for us, and Dustin Byfuglien, the 6 foot 4, 257- pound left winger scored a goal in every game of the Sharks series, including two game winners. The defenseman Duncan Keith, who lost 7 teeth in last Friday's game, will be huge in the series, as well as Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane, who've both been very useful and productive.

Some big threats on the Philadelphia line are Simon Gagne, the veteran left winger, Chris Pronger, the 6 foot 6, 220 pound hard-hitter, and Danny Briere. Their goaltender, Michael Leighton, performed very well in their last series against Montreal, but I think Antti Niemi is the better goalie.

GO HAWKS!

Tin Caps Game

Yesterday, after the Saturday night contemporary service, I headed to Parkview Field to sing the national anthem with my choir! There were some complications, though. The Tin Cap's game was rained out the day before, so they were finishing that game. It was a long, anxious wait, but finally the game ended in a 14-9 Tin Cap's loss.

The choir assembled outside to practice a few times, then stood by right field waiting for the teams to finish warming up. I was very nervous, and just wanted to get the whole ordeal over with, so I was relieved when we finally stepped onto the field and sang The Star-Spangled Banner.

I think the sopranos weren't loud enough at all, and there was way too much alto. Also, the baritones weren't loud enough (perhaps because we were missing our three best baritones). The only good thing about the national anthem were the small fireworks that went off in left field when we sang "and the rockets red glare". The crowd seemed to love it, and we got huge applause and a standing ovation, but I think we could've done much better.

After the national anthem, I walked around the new-and-improved stadium with Meron, Ashley, Nikki, Jessica, and Alison. There are so many things to do and see that we were never bored. In fact, the first time I sat down was in the bottom of the sixth! By that time, I had developed somewhat of a headache. I was uninterested in the game (baseball gets really boring, and the pounding in my head diverted my attention), but the Tin Cap's won.

Finally, the fireworks (which, for most of us, were the main event) began. It was a really good fireworks display, and it also was a loud one (the boys pretending to wield machine guns when a particularly huge boom sounded throughout the stadium).

After the fireworks, the kids got the chance to run around the bases on the field. After a long wait, Joseph, David, Luke, and Ben sprinted around the bases as if they'd hit a home run. I, on the other hand, did not run the bases, due to my head-splitting headache.

I was glad when we headed back to the van, and as soon as we got home, I popped an Ibuprofen into my mouth and went to bed with my head searing.

The Tin Cap's game was really fun (for the most part), and it was a great experience for the Junior Choir.

Wet Basement

This past week has been overcast, dreary, and rainy. The gloomy, wet days were just a taster for the thunderstorm we had last night. Lightning streaked across the sky, and thunder boomed all night long. Rain and a bit of hail came down in torrents, drenching all the toys we had left outside and destroying plants.

~ I don't mind thunderstorms. In fact, I rather enjoy falling asleep with rain pouring on the roof and thunder shaking the foundations of the Earth (as long as there's a roof above my head and I'm underneath a warm blanket). Luke is quite the opposite. He covered his ears the entire night, and constantly asked us, "Is there going to be a tornado?"~

While the kids slept, my parents discovered that our basement was soaked. They stayed up until 3:30 ripping all the carpet out to protect it from the water seeping in from outside. Good job, guys!

Last Track Meet

Sadly, this track and field season has come to an end, but not without the city meet, which took place on Thrusday.

The meet was for varsity runners only, so obivously I was extremely nervous (and I didn't really want to compete). However, I was feeling really confident about long jump, my best event, because I had recently changed my mark to 79 feet, which was producing much better results.

The city meet is so huge that there's time trials for the 100 meter and hurdles. I finished third in the preliminary round, and then came in third again in the finals. I improved my 100 meter time significantly, and I also jumped 13 feet, 5.5 inches in long jump, a new personal best. Long jump was by far my most successful event. I actually finished first!

I waited about an hour, and then came the 200. I finished third again, and unfortunately did not improve my time (I was .2 seconds from beating my record). Immediately after the 200 was the 4x100 relay. Our relay team is not the best, and we finished fifth. We weren't too disappointed though, because we improved our time by six seconds!

Also, Nathan smashed his 1600 time, and came .2 seconds from setting a new school record for the mile. Sadly, we won't have him next year. I have a feeling our cross country team is going to suffer.

After the meet, we went to Pizza Hut to celebrate a great season. Coach handed out ribbons and medals, and I filled up my corkboard greatly!

GO CRUSADERS!

Old Fort Wayne

Yesterday, Sydney and I rode our bikes to the Old Fort, where there was a reenactment going on. Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, because Sydney had a soccer scrimmage at 3:00, and we left at about 2:30.

As soon as we got there, we watched the blacksmith making a tong for a fire, which is a really cool process. I found out that the metal is about 1,000 degrees when it turns orange. Pretty dangerous occupation, if you think about it!

We also saw soldiers marching and loading their guns, women working on looms, a wigwam, and lots of other interesting, historical activities.

We got back to Sydney's house with time to spare, and I hurried home to watch the Blackhawk's game.

Komets Win Third Straight Turner Cup

Tragically, I did not see the Komets win their third Turner Cup in as many years, since I was stuck at home, babysitting, while my parents where at a card party.

I heard from Sydney, who attended the sellout game, that we took an early 3 point lead. I imagine the crowd (as well as the players and coaches) relaxed, sat back, and prepared to watch the Komets hoist the Turner Cup in the air. There was no way that the underdog Flint Generals could come all the way back and cancel out that three point deficit.

However, the Generals scored twice in the third period, and suddenly, the game was intense once more. If Flint won, a seventh game would be required to end the series and decide the Turner Cup champions.

Luckily, the Komets were able to hold them at 2 goals for the rest of the game, and we celebrated yet another Turner Cup victory.

LET'S GO KOMETS!