Retreat

So the retreat has been a lot more packed than I had originally thought. I apologize for my tardiness with the blogging my 5 faithful few followers. We are at a beautiful resort town outside of Bend, called Sun River. It reminds me of my childhood days when the game night crew would all pitch in to rent a big house that seemed to fit a million people so we could enjoy the skiing and the good company. 

The house was suppose to come with 11 bikes, there were 2. Luckily, Grasshopper thought ahead and brought 4 from camp. The downside was we were not able to complete out all staff bike ride. There are paved paths that loop around the "resort city" as I call it. My first adventure was a bike ride with Mango to check out the little shops. For those of you that know me well know that I am not fond of bike riding unless it includes a rather large gel seat for my tush; needless to say there was no gel what so ever on the seat. Dang you boys mountain bikes with your non existent seats! 

Everyone was scheduled to make a meal for the rest of the gang during our 2 day retreat. Mango and I made breakfast this morning. I called Mom up to get her amazing "monkey bread" recipe. The original recipe calls for a bunt pan to make the magic happen, but i forgot to check to see if we had one at camp. So I was forced to pull a remix and do without a bunt pan, it turned into monkey bread in a brownie pan. I was nervous but low and behold it turned out great! Everyone loved it and I breathed a big sigh of relief. To accompany the monkey bread, we also supplied ingredients for breakfast burritos. I was in charge of making the hash browns because Mango is from an island where hash browns apparently don't exist. 

Today I also went on a girls trip into Bend with Mango, Blizz, Hushpuppy, and Poppy to check out some stores. We found a used book store where I purchased "A Separate Peace" for $5. My high school English teacher should feel very accomplished because I read the book in high school and remembered liking it so much I bought it all over again. Can I tell you what the book was about? Nope. Not a clue. But I guess that is a good reason to re-read it. 

Tomorrow afternoon we head back to camp. To get ready for new campers on Wednesday. On the way home we are stopping at an Army surplus store. Everyone is super excited, I'm not exactly sure I have been to one before. I expect to see a lot of camouflage, guns, and mullets.  Also, I'm pondering getting a pocket knife, not one of those red Swiss Army ones, but a Leatherman or some single blade thing the folds out. I know that is a vague description, but you know what I mean. In a nutshell, something that has a safety lock so I don't slice myself. 

All in all, the retreat has been wonderful. I'll miss the awesome hot tub conversation and frequent showers that I don't have to walk outside to a bathhouse to take. Most of all I feel like I have better bonded with the staff and directors. Two thumbs way up!

P.S. As I re-read though my post I see that I said "on the way home," during prayer tonight I said "Lord, I thought I didn't have family in Oregon....I was wrong." These people have opened their arms, homes, and lives to me. They are a true blessing from God.