the weekend

So it was a packed weekend...but I feel more excited coming out of it than drained...which is pleasantly surprising.

Friday we took 58 girls and 12 leaders to L.A. for the day. We went to Ripley's Believe it or Not, ate at a fairly sketchy McDonald's (some went to a much more sketchy Burger King), then we did a photo scavenger hunt (Becky Pogue ended with a stealing-home-in-the-bottom-of-the-ninth-tie-score-world-series slide in to the 'home base' table...it was very well received, though she did lose the competition...sorry Becky), then some free time to shop, bowling at Lucky Strike, 2 hours in freeway traffic, dinner at the Foothill Food Court...Elizabeth and I shuttled borrowed vans back to their owners until about 11pm...It was such a great day. Elizabeth's going to run it next year and it's gonna be even better!

Saturday morning we (Elizabeth, Alanna and I) met at 7:15 to drive up to Irvine to a staff retreat. The morning was really refreshing. Rick talked about the working through discouragement...the importance of resting and replenishing your body and mind. It was so much more than I thought the morning would be.

Then Wildside had a beach baptism. I wasn't there, but I heard we had a great turn out. 13 students and about 75 family members. So cool! I stayed behind and had an amazingly productive afternoon. Have you ever had one of those days where you feel as though time must have stopped because there is no way you could have done so much in so little time? That was what these 3 hours were like. Such a load off of my mind to have that piddly stuff done.

Then off to band practice. We had 2 new 7th grade boys singing with us this weekend. They were actually really good. They sang well and had the beginnings of some good stage presence. And plus, you just wanted to squeeze their little faces they were so cute singing.

Saturday night I watched 3 episodes of FRIENDS and completed about 5 sudokus...and still went to bed at 9:45!

Sunday morning, more services. Good turnout of volunteers...especially at the 9am. When a boy hit the impossible shot, a bunch of the guys ran around the room cheering...it was cool to see how many yellow shirts we really had there. Oh, and I sang "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley...it was a fun experience (the bass player with a giant head-banging afro made it even better).

Sunday afternoon I went to a wedding shower. I love practical wedding gifts: blenders, toasters, waffle makers, cereal bowls. GENIUS! I'm all about practicality with gifts.

Sunday 4:30 service was actually filled with some participation. Not 100% participation, but maybe 65-75%. Which is great for that service.

We gave out Hostess Snack Cakes this weekend...they were sitting on each chair when students walked in. A sign was on the screen saying "please don't eat your snack cake until the end of the service". Kurt spoke on self-control, to wrap up our 10-week Fruit of the Spirit series. Students (most) actually had enough self-control to wait and eat them at the end. Very cool.

After all of the services, I went to my mom's. We had dinner and talked about the weekend. I made some goody bags for my friend's birthday party (well, her 7-year olds party)...we watched the Emmy's. Then I went to Matt's and he worked on homework while I brainstormed some weekend stuff.

Good things are coming. I promise.