the birthday bash

yes, we went camping this past weekend for my birthday...despite the cold weather. however, we didn't get to waterski. that was prolly a smart move...considering it was only 53 degrees and windy all day.

becca and the tech girls didn't get here to pick us up until about 3:30 saturday afternoon. becca claimed that her driving time was over, and gave me the wheel to the suburban. well, the back was packed with camping equipment, sleeping bags, pillows, and duffle bags for seven girls and it was pretty much impossible to see out the back window. starting off, i had no idea how to get to the interstate...in a nutshell, we basically drove an hour and a half loop in the wrong direction just to pass the exit we would have passed if we went the right way. a little frustrating, but oh well. we didn't get there until 7 (and we should have gotten there at 5:30).

christina was a pro at setting up her ten (wo)man tent that she brought, so it took us no time to set up before it got dark. while a few of us set up the tent (and i gathered firewood), the others made a run to get little ceasar's pizza and breakfast food. we about devoured the pizzas in five minutes. it was starting to get pretty cold, so we tried to start a fire.

its crazy how hard it is to start a fire. we had all those leaves and wood and they just wouldn't catch on fire. i find it odd that dry wood and leaves is so hard to intentionally set on fire, but those wildfires out in california can spread so fast through lush green forests. the people on the other campsite had a bonfire going with all the lighter fluid they had. but us? nope...we were doing it au natural...using only matches and a lighter. in the words of carina..."the way the indians do it". finally, we got the thing going...with a little aid from the torn up carboard from the pizza boxes. of course, camping just isn't camping without s'mores...which we had.

our entire tent was filled with blankets and sleeping bags to keep warm for the night. i also wore about five layers, which helped me stay warm. however, most of the girls about froze to death. the combonation of high winds and 35 degree weather is no match for thin tent walls and the body heat of 9 girls. the weather definately won.

even though we didn't get any waterskiing in, we still had fun! the next morning we woke up and i immediately began collecting firewood to get warm again. i spent about fifteen minutes trying to direct megan and jamie to the campsite, since they couln't make it for the camping part. we played catch phrase and my parents eventually showed up with lunch and goodies. we did our best to light the candles on the cake before the wind blew them out...as you can see in the pictures. i finally got a desk lamp to replace the one thats been burnt out on my desk for the past three months. megan and amy got me an awesome arm strap thing for my ipod...so now i don't have to carry it when i workout!

i'm most excited about my new DIGITAL CAMERA...which is something i've been wanting for the past three years! beware: there will be lots and lots of pictures on this blog now!

thanks to everyone who made my birthday so wonderful...and sticking around even though the weather was pretty rough! i love you all so much!