July 4th - this year the 4th fell on a Monday, so we had a 3-day weekend and worked the "Bash at the Beach" event on base on Monday evening. It was a fun time, the interns were in charge of the water play this year, which was fun as we got to see a lot of the kids we work with there with their families. I really love seeing the families come out and do things together, our only 'family' time at work is when the parents drop off their children & pick them up each day, so it's nice to see the families have time to do things together.
The only downfall to this year's event was that it was on Monday. Last year the 4th was on Sunday so we were able to watch the fireworks and hang out late on Sunday night while still having Monday off. Not that we were out too late or anything, but it was a bit of a bummer that we had to go to work the morning after the fireworks. But I'm glad it was on a Monday and not in the middle of the week. :)
Here's a picture of our Camp A group for this summer at the end of the event.
Work has been busy, typically I only go on the pool field trips with the day camp (every Wednesday & Friday), but this week the Tuesday/Thursday trips were to the beach. Per Camp Adventure policy we need a supervisor on any aquatics trips that are off-base, for extra supervision & such. I don't mind though, because this was my schedule for the week:
Monday - day at the centers... observations, paperwork & such
Tuesday - beach field trip with the 8-10 year olds
Wednesday - swimming pool trip with the entire camp
Thursday - beach field trip with the 5-7 year olds
Friday - swimming pool trip with the entire camp
Although my 'one-piece-tanline' isn't going away as I'd hoped & I'm a little behind on paperwork, I can't complain about that schedule! :)
This week has also been busy as I had some visitors to the keys! My sister Mary Anne & her husband Joe came to Key West for a week's vacation.
Sunday we went on the Fury's Ultimate Adventure, and the title describes it all. We went parasailing, jet skiing, swimming/inflatable rock climbing & snorkeling. It's pretty much an all encompassing trip for any water sports you'd
want to do in Key West.
Here's a picture of our view while parasailing.
The rest of the week was just as busy, I was able to spend a lot of time with them, show them around the island, do a few touristy things & enjoy a sunset cruise. Here is a picture of the dolphins that visited our boat during the sunset cruise. We joked that they must've escaped from Theater of the Sea or Sea World because they put on a little show for us :)
Mary Anne & Joe left last night & overall I think they had a nice relaxing week. As for me, I've got 4 more weeks here in Key West that will prove to keep me busy. We're planning our big 'dessertfest' for August 10th with a circus theme, so it'll be fun prepping & planning for that. Still no word on where/what's next come August 13th, but I'll keep you posted :)
Today's quote is from a book I received as a graduation gift from my roommate in Iowa. It has a positive quote for each day, I really do enjoy reading them. Some of them make you think or reflect while others just remind you to appreciate what you have. Here's one that'll get you thinking.
"Ideals can be like the stars; we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them." -Carl Schurz
My thoughts- Sometimes it may seem like nothing will ever be ideal, or that we'll ever be able to accomplish anything. But we still need those ideals/goals to keep us going, to chart our course by them so we know we are on the right path & stick to it.
