Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Final Week of Camp & Wasilla!

The final week of camp -- fifth- and sixth-grade -- is over, and I cannot believe how fast it went. And not only the final week of camp, but so much of the trip already, too! I am just so amazed at how blessed I've been to see such amazing things, have such a great witness opportunity at the three weeks of camp, meet lots of wonderful people, and have my eyes opened to a lot more of the world. I could definitely say I have experienced a different culture, and I really enjoyed learning about it. I LOVE Nome, and I will admit, when we flew out, I felt really sad leaving it. I felt like I was leaving an old friend...and that was just after three weeks there! I have already found the answer -- I will be going back, someday, somehow, one way or the other. Definitely! Anyway, following is my review of the final week, plus yesterday, which we used to get ready for flying (camp was only Monday to Wednesday). I apologize for not blogging last night, but from now on, I should be able to post every night. Thank you SO much for all your prayers, and please continue to keep us in your prayers for safe travels and our witness opportunities. Thanks! Have a great weekend, and enjoy the Olympics. God bless you all!

Sunday -- Slept in until 10:30, quickly got dressed, and went down to church -- a very nice service. After church, we had fellowship hour -- Kool-Aid, peanut-butter brownies, cookies (I baked them!), Snow-Caps, pudding, and crackers. Plenty of sugar! Then we packed up, headed out to camp (saw a mama fox and seven babies coming out -- so cute), settled in, relaxed a bit, and had supper (salad, fried potatoes-and-onions, leftover Sloppy Joe mixture without the bun, carrots, leftover peanut-butter brownies, Jello, Pringles, crackers, and apple juice). I got a fire going in the dining hall, plus one in our cabin, because it was 47 degrees and raining. We relaxed, played some Skip-Bo, read, and went to bed at 11:35 PM. Right before going to bed, I went to the outhouse, and when I was coming back, I heard a bull moose calling off in the distance. I didn't see him, but that's definitely what it was, so that was exciting!

Monday -- Woke up at 9:30, got ready, went down, and visited with everyone for awhile. A lot of the kids got in around 2 AM, so they sleep in very late. I helped Grandma set the canteen up, too. Around noon, we had lunch -- tomato soup, various kinds of crackers, apples, and milk. I made brownie "dump" bars for the snack, where I dumped all the ingredients together, mixed, mixed, mixed, and mixed some more, poured into a pan, sprinkled chocolate chips on top, and baked. It was so fun and easy to make! While I was baking, all the kids were enjoying beach time -- canoeing, swimming, and just having fun playing. It was a GORGEOUS day with wispy white clouds, blue sky, sunshine, and about 47 degrees. It was absolutely a perfectly beautiful day. After beach time, all the kids did a canteen run before supper (hot dogs, chips, carrots, salad, and juice). Once again, I was a counselor for a team. This week, my team was the Pesky Polar Bears. Our chore after dinner was to sweep the floor. After chores, there was a session, then another canteen run, then Capture the Flag on the beach, and finally songs and snacks. I loved every song we sang, especially "Onward, Christian Soldiers" -- one of my very favorites. It was so beautiful to sing. And every single snack disappeared, which is always a good sign of my cooking. :) After I got ready for bed, I was standing on the porch brushing my teeth, and I just had to stand there and gaze in awe at the beautiful scene before my eyes -- all surrounding me was pretty mountains, and straight in front of me was a snow-capped mountain with clouds dusting the top. Above all that was a beautiful sunset with so many different colors -- purple, orange, yellow -- all reflecting in Salmon Lake. It was breathtaking! I got to bed at 12:45.

Tuesday -- Woke up at 9:30, quickly got ready, went down to breakfast (pancakes, oranges, bananas, and milk), did chores (my team set the table), had staff meeting, had a craft session, did cabin inspection during session, helped Grandma get the canteen set up, had lunch (moose chili with rice, apples, and milk), did chores (my team did dishes), had beach time, another session by Grandma, shirt-signing, supper (moose stew, salmon, fruit salad, carrots, and milk), chores (my team hauled water), another session, canteen, games, and songs and snacks (I baked peanut-butter brownies, a big hit). We sang great songs, I cleaned up for awhile, and finally (happily) crawled into my sleeping bag at 1 AM.

Wednesday -- Woke up at 9:20, got ready, went down, had breakfast (French Toast, apples, oranges, and milk), chores (my team swept the floor), session, cabin inspection, set the canteen up, had lunch (it was sack lunches of salmon salad sandwiches, chips, Skittles, and juice -- the kids went to Pilgrim Hot Springs), baked a Poor Man's Chocolate Cake, relaxed awhile, had supper once the kids got back (ham, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots, and juice), watched the talent show (many funny skits), beach time, a bonfire, roasting marshmallows, and finally songs and snacks for the very last time. I tried to hold onto those songs and those memories -- it was so special to be with all the kids, singing, joined together as one voice. I went to bed at 1:45.

Thursday -- Woke up at 6:45, quickly dressed, and hurriedly got all my bags set to go. Then we loaded all of our stuff up and hit the road at 7:30. Coming into Nome, we saw some muskox and I finally got a couple pictures! Around 8:30, we pulled into Nome, unloaded everything, got a little organized, and then I headed out for a walk and to get some information papers from the Visitor Center. Matthew then left for camp again to help haul bags back while I had breakfast around 9 AM (oatmeal and milk). After breakfast, I went down to AC's to get a few little treats for our flight, came back, read, relaxed, and got my suitcase all repacked. I had a late lunch of Vienna sausage and American cheese on crackers, a beef jerky stick, chocolate pudding, and apple-berry juice. I washed the dishes, and then Matthew and I went out for a walk and some shopping. We also drove up Anvil Mountain and saw the whole city of Nome and many more beautiful views from the top. Finally, we came back and had a great supper -- stuffing, asparagus, Jello, garlic-cheese biscuits, and water -- followed by dessert (ice cream with brownie crumbles on top). We were celebrating Matthew's 18th birthday (today!) the night before, so he opened his gift and we sang "Happy Birthday". Our little Nome party was good. Then I showered, got all ready for bed, finished getting everything packed for flying today, and went to bed at 11:30.

Friday -- Today I woke up at 7:45, had a super-fast breakfast (oatmeal, a hard-boiled egg, and milk), and then helped load up all the bags into the car. The pastor from Nome drove us to the airport, we checked our bags, said good-bye to her, and waited until the plane touched down (it was almost an hour late). We didn't take off until 10:15 or so. The big bird flew off into the air and I sadly waved good-bye to my precious Nome, then sat back and rested until Anchorage. We got all our bags, went back to Grandma's friends' home, loaded her car up, drove out to the Native Heritage Center, and had a great time there -- we took a tour around a beautiful lake, looked at many replicas of the native homes, watched native dancing/singing/sports, and visited the gift shop. It was a good investment of time. After the center, we drove to Wasilla, where we are spending the night at a very nice hotel. We had dinner at Hacienda Mexican Restaurant after driving around for awhile and looking at Palmer and the rest of Wasilla. Now I need to go get my shower and get to sleep. Tomorrow, we have a very special day -- we get to see Mt. McKinley. Check back to see how it goes. Below are some pictures from the past week. Thanks, everyone!