Hi, this is Bree...Camp is Underway, so

You will just have to leave a message for about the next 2 months.

Orientation started yesterday, which means there are about 50 more people at camp now between the ages of 18-24, and Daniel and I are now working on communicating the logistics of Apostle to our counselors. We are hoping they'll catch the vision of what we've been working on the last few months!

I also realized that it's CRAZY now. Permanently. I have been home only to sleep since yesterday morning, and the only reason I'm on the Internet now is because I hurt my knee running trails yesterday and am not able to hike out for some training. I am okay, so don't worry. Just a little sore!

We are having fun thus far, but meeting 50 people in one day is exhausting!
I've already told the story of how Daniel and I met 3 times. The first kiss story--twice. The "how we found the ring" story--once. I've been talking a lot!

I must run, really...but I wanted you to know that now summer has officially begun, which means it will be difficult to communicate with me. I will try to update the blog as much as possible. Just don't be offended if I don't read your blog or call you back for awhile!!!

You have been informed :)

Much love from Cali,

Simple. Tristan. German. Reef. Robot. Love.

Romance: displaying, expressive of, or conducive to love

Romantic: my husband

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning on my birthday. I couldn't sleep because I was so excited.

What, am I 10 years old or something?

One of Daniel's favorite things is surprising me, and I knew he'd been up to something!

Daniel left for work at 7, and I had been laying there (so exhausted, but unable to sleep and feeling ridiculous because of that), so when he left I got up and made my way to the kitchen for some oatmeal and bananas (my new favorite.)

On the couch was a copy of Real Simple magazine, and a note saying I'd be getting a copy every month!

If you do not know what Real Simple is, please jump in the car, go to Wal-Mart or something and get a copy...it's' amazing.

I had mentioned in passing to Daniel that I love that magazine and if I was going to subscribe to one, that would be it.

Afterwards, I do Pilates. I write in my journal. I play guitar. I talk to Jesus...extremely relaxing, wonderful, peaceful morning.

I meet Daniel at camp, and we go up to the kitchen to say "hey" to some staff who's arrived already...

While in the kitchen I am bombarded with a song, a "happy birthday" wand, a hat box full of chocolate (everyone knew it was our last day of sugar), and a homemade 4-layer German chocolate cake, made by our resident Culinary Arts major Kelli...she makes amazing everything, and cake is no exception. They're even really really pretty. She needs to open a bakery or something. And she's 18.

I am thrilled!!! And also there is a fabulous Starbucks mug (all my fingers fit in the handle, which is key in a mug) from dear Lori and Andrew.

As you can probably guess, I am soaking all of this up.

When we get to the car, I find a gift in my seat--a new CD I had mentioned in passing to Daniel that I was really excited about getting when it came out.

This is time number 2 Daniel has been really perceptive and given me gifts he knows I've been wanting. Amazing.

We drive into San Jose and stop at a cafe for lunch. We take the cake and chocolate with us (you know we're pigging out all day on chocolate), and we eat cake for lunch. Sooooooo good.

Daniel hands me another gift, and when I open the piece of cloth in the box, he takes it and puts it over my eyes. I am blindfolded!

He leads me to the car (a very funny spectacle) and we drive...

Time out: when my parents were here last month, I had mentioned to them and Daniel in passing that all I really wanted to do before camp was stay in a hotel and watch tv.

Can you guess where we're driving to?

I don't know we're at a hotel until we reach the carpet on the 2nd floor...then Daniel takes me to our amazing room with a huge bed and bathtub and all this good stuff. Amazing!!

Time number 3 Daniel has really been paying attention to me.

He hands me a gift. It is 2 seasons of a cartoon we watched every single day on our honeymoon. A ridiculous, and ridiculously hilarious cartoon. He has brought a dvd player so we can watch it!

Time number 4.

The rest of the day is ours. Of course I want to shop. We're in San Jose! So, we shop. I get running shoes, and reefs, and some comfy summer dresses.

Aren't they cute?

We grab dinner to go at Cheesecake Factory, along with Chris's Outrageous Chocolate Cake. (chocolate, coconut, cheesecake..mmmmm)

This is what was left of Chris. We ate the rest later.

We spent the rest of the evening sitting in our king size bed watching Robot Chicken and pigging out on chocolate.

It was the most amazing birthday. I always knew Daniel paid attention to me, but he showed me in new ways this weekend how he really pays attention to me, my personality, my wants, my needs....and all the things he did for me were things I mentioned in PASSING. Details!

That is why my husband is romantic. He pays attention to me. Simple as that.

So when I woke up today, I was thankful for my amazing husband, I felt a tiny bit older,

and I feel ready to begin our year of no dessert...all that chocolate and cake yesterday kind of made me sick :)

Just Call me Oodalolli!

Once a month or so here at camp, the year-round folks get together at the Facility Director's house and eat dinner and play Bunco. I will not go into the details of Bunco, but if you have not played, you are missing out on some serious fun! It gets pretty intense. Last month I actually bled a little bit. And it's a dice game. so you can only imagine...

Anyways, so last night was Bunco night, with a little extra fun--our first camp Naming Ceremony! For those of you who don't know, at Camp Hammer, we don't go by our real names during the summer. Your first summer at camp, you are given a "Camp Name", and the goal is for the kids to go the whole week without knowing your real name. It kind of adds to the magic of camp, I suppose. For example, Daniel's name is "X"...so all summer kids and staff will call him that! It's really fun.

Alexis (Daniel's sister) is spending the summer up here and got into town on Tuesday night. Alexis nor I have camp names yet, so last night at Bunco it was decided that we would get our camp names before the rest of the staff arrives (for a number of reasons)

So...we eat dinner, and then we all gather in the living room (about 20 people). Then, Eric the Camp Director comes out of nowhere dressed up as a Texan-ish mechanic, and he has morphed himself into "Vern"--the mechanic who doesn't really know about cars, has a handle-bar mustache and a bald head. "Vern" then begins the naming ceremony. This is how it happens:

Those being named are first asked to sit in a chair at the front of the room.
That person gives a "Minute Memoir", introducing themselves and sharing all they can in one minute.
Then, the floor is open for naming. Anyone who has a good name can throw it out. BUT, the name has to come with a story about why that name is perfect for that person. The story can be 100% true OR 100% false.
The idea here, when you're trying to name someone, is to come up with a really good story and build up all the way to the end, when you say ....."and that's why we should name her..........(INSERT NAME HERE)!!!!!!!!"

If others like that name, they chant the name loudly. If you don't like it, you "ching" it, and make clawing fingers and say "ching, ching", etc.

Are you following me, here?

If the majority is chanting the name, that is your name. If the majority chings it, then someone else has the opportunity to tell a story and try to name that person.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about last night.

I sit there and give my minute memoir. And that wasn't hard for me because I like to talk about myself. I told how I just got married and like to play the guitar and was a pastor and like to run and all that. My minute was up really fast.

So then, the floor was open. Andrew (as in, from date night the other night) stood up and says he'd like to sing a song. It goes like this:

(sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
a b c d e f g, h i j k l m n o p....q r s, t u v, w x Y....and starts chanting "Y! Y!Y!Y!"

He wants to name me Y because Daniel is "X"...He thinks it's cute. I don't. :) Neither does anyone else, because he was immediately chinged. I don't think he really wanted to name me that, I just think he thought it would be funny.

Then someone else tells a story and then wants to name me "Swoosh"....he gets chinged too.

THEN Sarah stands up and starts talking about how I'm a Pastor and I like music , and Sarah, Lori, Frannie and I all go running together and we call ourselves a posse....and so she talks about that and how I'm in a posse and all that. So then she said she'd had Robin Hood on the brain and thought about naming me Friar Tuck b/c I'm a pastor, but that wouldn't work. So then she said she thought about Little John since he was in a posse with Friar Tuck...but that didn't work either. Then she got up and said she had a little song to sing:

I think you know it. It's the one that goes "Friar Tuck and Little John walking through the forest
.......and then it goes "oodalolli, oodalolli, golly what a day!"

and then she said "And that's why we should name her "Oodalolli!"
And everyone chanted it and it won, and now at Camp Hammer I am forever known as Oodalolli!

Cute, huh?

Then when Alexis got up there, Ellibella, Sarah and Eric's daughter, said "well, because she is going to be our nanny, and because there was a very famous nanny named "Mary Poppins", I think we should name Alexis "Poppins!"

So Alexis is Poppins. That's cute too, huh?

And now we are named....


In other news, it looks like I am kind of disconnected from the world from this point on for awhile.

Several of you have tried to call me, and I have been in camp all day since Monday. I don't know when I will be able to call you back, but I will....just give me some time!

In still other news, my birthday is tomorrow! I love my birthday.
I don't know what the plans are, though...Daniel is up to something, I just don't know what. He won't tell me, he won't let me look at the bank account online, and he won't let me in his office until he's given me the all-clear signal.

Look forward to a birthday blog.

Anyways, gotta run. Got some more work to do! Orientation starts on Monday. It's CRUNCH TIME!

love love,

Oodalolli

The Namesake

The Namesake is a movie we got on Netflix the other day and watched last night and this morning...it felt like the thing was about 4 hours long, and then when it was over, I looked at the package and it said it was an hour and 45 minutes. What?!



I don't think movies should be like that. Moving on.



I don't know what my bloggings will look like as the summer begins and also utter craziness, but do know that I recognize the faithful bloggers out there need to know what's going on, so I will try my hardest to keep the communication lines open.



Oh! So fun. Last Wednesday, Daniel and Andrew (the Program Director at camp) had to go to a church youth group to give a presentation about camp, and it was in San Jose. They invited Lori (Andrew's wife) and I along. I wanted to go, to get out of camp and I love San Jose, but I wasn't so much excited about the whole presentation thing. But, being the loving, caring, wonderful wifeys we are, we decided to join them.



Here is a run-down of the events of the evening:



4:30--Lori, Sarah, and I go running.....the hard core king. We ran 3 miles on trails through Big Basin. So fun. And soooooo hard-core.



5:30--We are done running and head home super-fast to shower.



6:00--The Proffitts meet the Bradfords and we head over the hill.



6:20--We get on Bear Creek, the windiest road in the mountains, but a faster road to San Jose.



6:25--All of us are car-sick. We have worked out hard and have empty stomachs.



6:45--Still car-sick, but we reach San Jose. Andrew says there is a Starbucks he wants to stop at before we go to the church. A good thing, considering we all are about to throw up. We need something in our stomachs.

The Starbucks happens to be in one of the most amazing malls around here. The eating place thing is right on the edge of the mall, so you can park and go to The Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs...much like malls in Dallas or Houston, for those of you who live in Texas.

6:50--We are driving around the parking lot of the mall aimlessly, trying to find a parking spot. But everyone else in San Jose also wanted to go to the mall. We have to be at the church at 7 aand it's still almost 10 minutes away. It seems hopeless. But Andrew is set on getting his Starbucks.

6:55--Still driving around. I'm thinking "we're definitely going to be late, but if you guys aren't concerned about that, then I'm not either". I say nothing. Lori doesn't either.

6:56--we leave the parking lot and go to the parking GARAGE (even farther away) to find a spot. On the 2nd level. We are now a million years away from the Starbucks and are walking there with 4 minutes until we are supposed to be at the church.

6:56--I am starving.

6:57--We are walking to Starbucks and we pass PF Changs. I look at Daniel and say "wow, that sounds soooo good right now." He goes "I know, doesn't it?". Andrew and Lori are leading the way, and then Andrew turns and heads towards PF Changs. I'm thinking "Um, Starbucks is the OTHER way"

6:58--We walk into PF Changs. Lori and I are like "what?" and Daniel and Andrew say "Actually there is no presentation. We just wanted to take you girls out to dinner!"

6:58--"What? Are you kidding? No way! Seriously? etc, etc...." (me and Lori)

7:00--We sit down to a wonderful dinner date at PF Changs!

The night wasn't over then, however. We then went and played miniature golf at the coolest course I've ever been to, complete with one of those windmill barn things. You know what I'm talking about?

Anyways, it was so fun! Then we went and got coffee/dessert and headed home. It was sooooooo much better than a presentation, and I have the best husband!

So, that's my fun story of the day.

Well, I am off to the pool. It's really hot here today, and I've been working with Daniel on the Apostle program all day...and I can't stand to stay in my house for very long right now b/c it's soooooo HOT in there, even with the windows cracked and the shades drawn.

Happy sun-tanning!

The picture is of the t-shirt my lovely friends made at my bachelorette party in Santa Fe. They staged it so when we walked into J-Crew, it was on a mannequin. Then I wore it. All day long.

It says "I love Dan the Man"

I do love Dan the Man...

Oh, but you can't call him Dan the Man.

Alicia was the first to call him that, and she is like, the only one who is ever allowed to utter those words. Per request of Daniel. Not Danny or Dan, but Daniel. Thank you. Not a reprimand, just raising awareness.

It has been super-fun to hear your reactions to mine and Daniel's no-sugar venture. Thank you for your comments, suggestions, and overall thorough support, regardless of what you are really thinking in your heads :)

We are still getting geared up for summer and are putting the finishing touches on "El Program de High School" otherwise known as Apostle. It's coming along, but it seems like every day Daniel comes home with a new thing that's come up and needs to get done before summer starts. There's just not that many days until summer starts, so things have to quit coming up!

In other news, last night I wanted to make bread. I wanted to make Challah bread. I bought all the ingredients and was really excited about it.

The yeast never rose. Never.

The bread turned out flat! But it still tasted really good, so that was okay. And Challah bread is Jewish, so we kind of likened it to Unleavened Bread, and had ourselves a Feast. The Feast of Unleavened Bread. I'm so punny.

But I still feel okay about it because it still tasted good, and then I consulted my good friend Lindsey, who is great at baking and cooking in general, and she said it more than likely wasn't my fault--she gave me a list of things that could have gone wrong (the yeast was bad, the weather wasn't right, etc etc...) so I have come to the conclusion that it was NOT my fault the bread didn't rise, and my efforts weren't completely wasted. Challah bread, you have met your match, mister!

Yesterday for lunch though I did make a successful meal: Corn Chowder. Soooooooo good. We ate it for lunch and dinner yesterday, actually. I'm telling you, I'm really in to this whole cooking thing. All I want to do is bake and cook. Weird, huh? It's going to look a little different once summer starts and this "no sugar" thing kicks in. We shall see. It will cause me to put my creative abilities to the test, I'm sure!

As you may know, Daniel and I are doing Netflix, which is wonderful. Last night we watched ANOTHER documentary (it's like they magically appear on our list, per Daniel, and then they magically show up at our door and we have to watch it before we send it back) Actually they've been really really interesting. We are not filling our minds with useless rubbish, but we are seeing different sides of things. Last night's documentary was entitled

"THE CORPORATION". DUM, DUM, DUM............

Complete with a creepy girl-narrator voice and thriller music. Wonderful.

It just gave background information on Corporations (where they came from, what they do now, etc.)

Did you know that corporations, by law, are considered a PERSON? Like, they have the same rights as people.

Did you know that in some foreign countries, corporations have bought rights to water and air, privatizing it?

And did you know that we are able to patent living things? (Like the breast cancer gene)?

It was really interesting. Afterwards, Daniel related his experience of working for Sam's Club, and he was surprised at how many of the things the documentary noted that he personally experienced while working for a corporation...like the overwhelming push for profit. Not Proffitt, but profit.

If you have Netflix, maybe try a documentary next time. You might be surprised. We haven't changed our opinions based solely on the view of a documentary, but it is nice to see the other side of things and to get different viewpoints.

Anyways, I must run. Literally. There are 4 of us camp wives up here who exercise together. This is what we do:

Bike 1.5 miles down to Big Basin State Park Headquarters.

Run 4 or 5 loops around the headquarters trail (.6 miles/loop), so on average 2.4 miles

In between loops, we do pyramid pushups and situps, or we just run the thing.

Ride back 1.5 miles.

It must be noted that although the bike is not far, it is really really hard on the way back because we have just busted our butts on the trail and on the sit-ups and the ride back is all up-hill.

It's quite a work-out, actually. We do that on MWF. On TTh, Lori and I do Pilates. It's amazing. If you have not tried a Pilates video, you must.

Off I go! Today my legs feel sort of like lead.....not good.