Cannon Beach.

Caleb, Caeli, Hannah, me, my sister Alexis

Olivia, Angelo, me, Benji, Kevin

Rachel and me

Bri and me

Hello everyone!!

The past week and a half has been a pretty busy for me. I mentioned in my last blogpost that I was going to Cannon Beach, Oregon, and now I'm here!! I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I have worked at a summer camp before, so I thought it would be similar, but I didn't really know. I didn't know exactly where I'd be working or what I'd be doing or what the area was like or who I'd be working with. I figured that even if I didn't have fun, at the very least, I'd be on the beach!!

So far, my time here has been amazing. I love it here so much, I'm already sad for summer to end. I love the area, I love being in a Christian environment with so many other believers, I love being near the ocean. There's a candy shop here with a sign that reads: If you are lucky enough to live near the beach, you are lucky enough. I couldn't agree more!! I've walked the brownie-sand nearly everyday. I've seen some beautiful sunsets and my feet hurt, but it's worth it!

I've met some amazing people, including those in the top photos. Pictured in the first photo is Caleb, Caeli, Hannah, me, and my sister. Next is Olivia, her brother Angelo, me again, Benji, and Kevin. Next is Rachel and me and then in the last photo is Bri and me. Honestly, it's the people we are with that make an experience memorable. The two things I am most excited about this summer are growing closer in my relationship with the Lord, and the friendships I have made/am making. There are over 100 staff here this summer. I cannot possibly hope to get to know each and every one of them, but I am grateful for this group of friends I have been getting to know.

When I read a good book, sometimes the characters are so full of life, I think to myself, "I wish this person was real." I would love nothing more than to have that character as my friend or just be able to spend a day with them. Am I the only one who does this?? XD

Well, when I'm in large groups like this, I tend to think of the people as book characters. Pretty much everyone I've met so far would make a great character, each offering something special, unique, and interesting about them. It's weird to think that I've known them only two weeks because in a way it feels like I've been here much longer. Maybe because we've already done so much and hung out a lot? I'm not sure.
After some antics by Benji, myself and 2 other girls started laughing and shook our heads, saying, "Classic Benji." It was then that we realized that we had only known him a few days, yet it still seemed so - him. We decided that the reason locks and passwords exist on phones is because of people like Benji (no offense Benji). 

Sunday, June 4th, my second day here, I went to the movies to see Wonder Woman with a small group of the other staff (btw, the movie was so good!). On the ride home, myself and a few other girls began discussing the film and then the topic of guys slowly came up. Not much was said, but I could tell that some stories needed to be told. After a brief discussion, the four of us girls in the vehicle decided that we were "strong independent Amazon women who don't need no man!" Maybe you had to be there to find it funny - or at least see the film to understand our declaration.

One evening, while having dinner on the beach, Caleb put on a great show for us. He thought it would be a good idea to chase the seagulls towards us. Instead, they swarmed him and ate all the food off of his plate...and then he somehow ended up with sand in his eyes, flushing them out with my water cup, and then asking, "Is it ok if I drink my tears?" as he proceeded to then drink the water to rinse his mouth out which was also full of sand. ;D He previously told us that his spirit animal would be a sloth because they're slow and dumb. I beg to differ - he's a golden retriever. He's happy and energetic and dumb (Sorry Caleb, I had to throw that out there!).

Haystack Rock is about 1.5 miles away which I have walked to a number of times. It's a cool rock - if you like rocks. One of the most impressive sights I've seen is the shipwreck. I'm not sure why it's so cool, but it is. It ended up on North Beach on June 8th. That's been a super popular sight the past week. There's a river which separates North Beach from Cannon Beach, so the walk to see the ship is super short if you cross the river. OR there's a long 20 minute walk down the road and across the bridge. Naturally I've been across the river twice - but I've yet to actually walk across it - or swim across for that matter, assuming it was deep enough. Which it's not. :D

Honestly, one of the most fun and memorable things I've done since being here took place just last night. Side note: I've always been in love with the idea of dancing, but I can't dance. Like, at all. Unless I'm playing Just Dance and it tells me I'm "energetic" or "creative." Being in a dorm with a lot of girls, and walking to the bookstore and looking at every single picture in a book on dancing puts one in the mood to dance. Am I wrong here?
Point being, after dinner last night, a small group of us walked to the park and began to swing and then somehow that lead to wanting to dance, but none of us knew how, which is great because then we can all look like noobs together. I decided to grab my laptop and hook up my speakers and play Just Dance outside by the loading dock. It's not as public as some areas, and it seemed like a nice big area for us to set up. The four of us began dancing. Slowly people walked by and one by one, we ended up with about 10 people dancing. Some people stopped to watch, others glanced as they passed. Many joined for a few songs and then left. But it was a hit!! We were panting and sweaty and tired, but we all had so much fun. It was decided that we should plan a repeat at least once a week and get more of the staff involved. Maybe have 40 of us dancing. All we need is a larger screen. My laptop got difficult to see after about 6 people. XD So if any of you are reading this, you should totally join next time!! You know you want too. Kevin, it's our (the girls in Old Ecola) personal summer goal to get you to dance with us. 
Afterwards, we all cleaned up and got dressed up for the Sunday worship service we were required to attend as part of the Cannon Beach Conference Center Summer Staff of 2017.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. Most of them are mine, but a thank you to those of you who let me use the ones you took also. Shout out to Bryan, Benji,  and Kirstie!! I've also been posting some photos and videos on Facebook if you'd like to check those out. As always, thank you so much for reading and I look forward to sharing more with you in the near future!!

Yours truly,
Me