camping '13

i have to say first and foremost, that i have one of the best group of friends a girl could ask for. this whole trip was about them, being with them. one last hoorah to summer. every single one of my friends is very much their own person - with their own unique qualities that stand out in any situation, and when you have that many personalties coming together all at once - it's like a spectacular firework. one would think it might implode, but not this group. we've been together for so long and it's truly an amazing thing, having such a large group to call my own and feel like the most me i've ever felt in with a group of people. it's so rad - we know and love all the same songs, and we sang them loudly over the fire at night. and we love to pick on each other too, like one big gigantic family. one of my favorite memories of this trip was right at the end of it, when tara rode around on ashley's bike, jeering us, kicking over people's things as we were trying to pack up to leave for home.

camping is one of my favorite things to do, so when we got a solid twenty or so of us to go.. i knew this was going to be crazy fun. most of us drove out friday night, set up camp, cooked dinner, and drank an assortment of whiskey, amongst other things, well into the night. the next morning i woke up at the crack of dawn, just as the boys were getting ready to leave for fishing. maddie also awoke then, because her tent mates kicked her out for snoring. she slumped musingly over a grill, waning her hangover. slowly as the morning went on, more and more emerged from their tents. i tried to get what images i could of them in their sleepy eyes. luckily for us, the weather was wonderful. slightly hot and sunny during the day, chilly at night. made things close, made the memories sweeter.

towards mid-afternoon, after spending some time at the lake, a few more friends showed up for night two. the camp was already deep into an intense game of sloshball - it's like baseball except you have to always be holding a drink in your hand. i happened to look over at the right time to see dirty dan try to jump over matt barr, the tallest person i know, running from base to base. needless to say, he didn't quite make it over him. despite dan's potential life altering injury, we couldn't stop laughing. i won't forget it.

driving in the day prior, we saw a sunflower patch just outside of the park. as the light started to fade towards dusk, we made our way to it. we ran through fields of tall grass to get to them, legs itching, laughing at it all. "probably should have worn pants.. and underwear," i said running in shorts, trying my best to steer clear of the bigger patches. i wish we had such places closer to omaha.

all in all, it was a wonderful trip. much needed, as i always tend to say. i need my friends. i crave their spirits. i am so sad some of them, cough cough tara and drew, are leaving us soon to continue their educations - but happy that they are following their dreams. thank you for the trip my darlings. thanks to lee and josh for getting this going, her belated birthday camps. and thank you for putting up with my constant desire to want to plan every little thing out, even though we never do and it always turn out marvelously anyway. i love you all.

coop raising the speakers up - our neighbors must have hated us

and the whole gang the next morning - sans drew who left the morning before, loser.

personalErin PetersenJuly 29, 2013Comment