9/15/2006 - Summer Wrap-Up: The Party & the Cowboy Camp
Well, true to my word I'm continuing from the last entry with the birthday party from crazyland. (I may not be the fastest writer, but at least I get it done eventually.) :) So my friend was having a birthday party, turning the big 21. The plan was to invite people over to a house and hang out. Innocent enough, I think, but it ended up being a treat not just for him but for ME because I got to people-watch (one of my favorite past-times!)

This party was like a skinny jeans fiesta, and I did not get the memo. No, no, I did my best to dress hip but seriously, slap your arm with your hand and then let it stay there...that's how tight these jeans were...on the guys, especially. Not to mention the angled, side-swept bangs and faux mullets. My sis was sporting the bangs as well, and they do seem inviting, but I guess I'm just against the grain sometimes...or you know, you try straightening huge, curly hair! But on to the party festivities: there was "foxy boxing" or girl boxing, to clarify, which quickly got disbanded by the cops because, um, it was conducted in the front yard after midnight. Pretty fun to watch, though. There was a ring and everything. Someone turned on music in the garage that you could not dance to, and when I made my way to the living room, someone put on the Spice Girls movie. I strangely kinda enjoyed it...for pop culture reference, of course. :) And then there were the triplets. Imagine 3 girls who are almost identical because they've all dyed and cut their hair differently (can't blame them.) They walk in as balls of energy with lots of giggles and take over every room. It was kinda overwhelming, kinda special. And where was my birthday friend? Sitting on a couch in the back room, wearing a derby hat, probably thinking the same things I was. And to top off the random night, I was still driving the dang rental car from my wreck and ran out of gas at 3am on the lone highway home! My best friend at the party was too tired to come rescue me so who came?...the birthday friend! Oh, I still think that's funny. And a note to car rental companies: you should really warn people which cars can't go past the E!

And for my final camp of the summer, I spent my time 9 hours away at a cowboy camp! Man, Texas is big. I mean, you can really drive that far and never leave the border. Anyhow, this camp was crazy. It was founded in the 1800's by 5 cowboys (I think this is right), and to this day, people have been coming every year with their families...there are a lot of descendents to the original cowboys! Crazy, I know. Pretty much you have to assume out of the thousands of people there, that everyone is related. :) So Chase, Lamar, and I pull up to what looks like shacks...literally, shacks (and some motor homes.) They keep this whole place up all year but only use it for the camp! I'm not spoiled by any means, but I am used to staying in hotels at these camps. And for this one? Yep, I got my own shack where for mere survival purposes, you MUST check your shoes & sheets every morning & night! Every night you eat the same meal at the "cook shed" and basically, you camp out all week with family. Ok, it's Texas and it's August so naturally I brought shorts and flip flops and the like. Within an hour after I got there, it was like the season changed to mid-fall. It dropped like 30 degrees and rained like crazy the whole week...and the thing is, not only were we 9 hours away from where I live, but we were at least 2 hours away from a city, a store, a anything...and I think all I packed was one hoodie. (oh, it was cold) Week highlights: Chase & Lamar had a resident mouse in their shack and named him Rosco, I had a dripping faucet for shower pressure so I took one shower (hey, don't judge!), we sang outside and from the stage I had a perfect view of the mountains and daily sunsets, Lamar congratulated a girl in front of him in the cook shed line on being engaged and she turned around and asked, "Are you my cousin?" (I'm telling you, everyone is related), we discovered Marfa, TX (look it up), and for the lovely 9-hour drive to and from, I got to cram into the back cab of Lamar's little Toyota truck...I laid down and closed my eyes to try not to think about how claustrophobic it was. But you know, it was a good week to clear my head, love on people, and sing...however, next year I'm bringing my own food and some more bug spray!

7/16/2006 - Camps & Coughs with a Purpose
3/16/2006 - The EP & My Top 10
12/22/2005 - Christmas Time & Weddings..
10/14/2005 - ACL Dust Bowl
8/25/2005 - Summer Lessons