Perks of Being a Wildflower: I don't even know where to start...

I wasn't sure what to title this entry because, like it says, I don't even know where to start. I guess a good place to start would be where I left off. And that would be...

-Worldview!!! Wordview was awesome. I had an amazing small group and small group leader. The faculty were spectacular (of course). We had Randy Sims, who is, I'm convinced, the world's BEST story teller. When he's telling them, you feel like you're really there. The way he describes things makes you feel like you can really smell, feel, and see everything. We also had Andy Frye, Nathan Pegors, and Josh Fairbaugh who were all awesome as well. I guess you kinda just have to be at one of their lectures to understand. That's why I think it should be mandatory for every high school student in America to attend a WVA camp.

-Triathlon! The triathlon was the day before we left for camp, and was so fun. We weren't here last year because of North Carolina, so it was great to be back. The have a kids triathlons for all different age groups, but once you're 16 you have to the adult. But a lot of people also have teams, and that's what I did. Because there ain't no way this girl could've done the whole thing. I barely could do the bike! My neighbor Rachel, swam, I biked, and my cousin Dorothy ran. And I think we came in last, but as Dorothy said, "We're doing it for fun, not the time!" But also, in my defense, I didn't know I was even participating, until the night before. Uncle Tom, decided that they were gonna head home early, but since he was a biker, he needed somebody to replace him. So being the good niece I am, I blondely said I'd do it. I say blondely, because I had to have been having a blonde moment, because only then would I volunteer to bike this mountainous terrain that I had never trained a single day for. If I had had time to train, I'm sure I would've done much better. But I had never biked miles the 11.3 to the Francis E. Walter Dam before, which was the bike course. And that hill (or should I say mountain of doom, death, and demise that uses up ever once of lactic acid in my body) by Knorr's bridge? It's a killer. But I made it. And even though ever time I come out on top of that hill and say I'll never do it again, I always do. And I'll probably do it again next year. Because in the end, you feel great and know it all was worth it.

-BCP! The Bear Creek Picnic was the day after we got home from camp. It was a blast as usual. But it was especially fun this year because some of our really good friends, the Youngs, came back. They had be coming to every picnic since I was 12. But they didn't come last year, and it just wasn't the same. They have three boys, Tyler who's 19, Stephen's 16 and Corey's 15. Then they have three little girls, Story's 3 and Journey and Eden who are twins are 2.
Every year Corey and I would run the three legged race together and we got so used to running together that we seriously were like one person. The only people we couldn't beat were Tyler and Stephen or Stephen and Anna, depending on who Stephen ran with because he just so stinkin' fast! But this year Corey had a hurt foot, so I ran with my brother Andrew. And we were good, but Anna and Stees still took first. But we beat Tyler at least:)

-The Dellies! In the beginning of August, our friends Erik and Liz Dellenback came for a visit. They are parents to three cuties, Blake (8), Tyler (7) and Emma (4). We always have fun and crazy times with them. I think the event that wins the crazy award this time is Liz running over a rattle snake. I had never seen one in my whole life and convinced Erik we wouldn't see any. (he doesn't like snakes) But of course we had to see one. Erik then proceeded the next day to decapitate it to make sure no one got near any venom and then Kate and Blake went ahead and dissected it, pulled a mouse from it's stomach, then skinned it. Blake said he now wants to be a doctor. He says if he can handle cutting open a snake, he can handle surgery. And Katie, if she doesn't become a track star, is gonna be some sort of medical genius.
So even though the rattlesnake was a big thing, we also just had a great time hanging out at the lake, sleeping over at the guest house, having dance parties on the long car rides, and having game nights. Erik definitely brings out my competitive side (yes, I have a competitive side). Oh, and the football game!! How could I forget the football game?!
So on Friday, August 9, the Eagles had a preseason home game against the Patriots. That's also Andrew's birthday, so he came with us which was fun. I told Erik as soon I we walked into the stadium, "I feel like I just stepped into a TV." Because it was my first time ever begin that close to the field. I've been to one other game and we were a lot higher up.
They pulled Brady pretty early in the game, and Ryan Mallett their back-up got hurt late in the first half, so Tebow was on to play. He did okay, but Erik said he's had better weeks. And personally, even though I'm not a big Pats fan, I really think he's gonna learn a lot and improve a lot while he's with them, because they are one of the best teams in the league and have a great coach.
But we were definitely in Eagles territory. Seriously, there was equal, if not more, cheering when the Eagles got a first down and when the Pats scored a touchdown.
On the way home, I said, "I was cool seeing Tebow play in real life. Normally we just see him on TV"
Mariah, "No, we saw him at the Jaguars game."
Me, " No, remember he didn't play?"
Her, "Ohhhh yeahhhh. I knew there was something magical about tonight!!!"
Hahaha oh that girl makes me laugh.

-New Baby! At 9:34pm on August 8, little Piper Naomi weighing 9lbs 3oz and 21inches long, officially made Andrew and Jen's family a family of six! Since Jen had the baby at home, Anna and I got to be there! Since she was born later at night, all the kids were in bed so neither of us had to watch them. Mom was there, and two midwives also.
After she was born, Andrew turns to Anna and me and says, "So did this prepare you?"
Anna, "No."
Me, "For adoption, yes."
Jen laughed, "adoption's the best option."

-Emma! Our good friend from Sanibel came to visit. And it was over Kate's birthday, which was great since they're such good buddies. It was Katie's 13th birthday. Now Mom has three teen girls, for the first time ever!

-School! SCHOOL?! school. As you can tell, I'm not sure how I feel about school yet. I can't complain, because I've got great teachers. But I just feel like it should still be summer. And now instead of being able to say I will be senior, I have to say I am a senior. But I guess even if I don't feel like growing up, high school can't last forever.

-On the 18th, we had a church picnic at our lake. It was a ton fun. Especially since I haven't gotten to see a lot of my Dickson City friends since the Wilkes-Barre campus opened. It also worked out well for Brynn, because she was leaving for Bailor in two days, so it gave her a chance to see everyone. It also worked out well for my friend Caleb, because it was his birthday. Leah slept over the night before and we made him a cake. It wasn't our best cake, but it's the thought that counts, and he loved it. I was just talking to him today and he said he still hadn't finished it.

-Velocity! During the summer, my youth group doesn't do normal gatherings at church. Instead, we'll meat at youth leaders house and go swimming or for example, during the month of July, we did a service project every Wednesday. This month, they went on a overnight 'Ropes and Rapids' trip where they did a high ropes course and white water rafting. The week after that we went to a baseball game. The local Railriders (don't ask me how they cam up with that name, and a hedgehog of all things for a mascot) against the Charlotte Knights. Last week was Day at the Lake. We went to Lake Wallenpaupack. Which was a ton of fun. There was swimming, tubing, wakeboarding, and water skiing. We were stationed on this awesome island for the day, which was really fun to explore. But we always have to remember stay in groups of three! I've lost count of how many times I've heard that from a leader.

-Today I went to the Morgan boy's cross country meet, which was so fun. And I'm not really sure why. Maybe because I've never been to anything like it and I just love that kind of atmosphere. Plus, I just love watching them run. Nathan is just a born runner. The morning we all met at church for Day at the Lake, he told me, "I ran 6 miles today in less then 40 minutes! I was flying, I don't even know how I did it." Then Caleb said, "Yeah, he lapped me. And I was thinking, "I'm doing this right??" Haha those boys make me laugh. But seriously, they're all really great runners and I love watching them race. Afterwards we went to Subway. And since I made their family six, it worked out for us all to split a footlong. I shared with Sammy, which I'm sure was weir for him, since I'd don't know him half as well as I do his brothers. But I'm not picky at all, so I let him pick whatever he wanted or just said yes if he asked me if I liked something. And it was really good, I guess we have similar taste:) And we had our normal, sometimes weird conversations, Nathan told me about the time he passed out in Subway, they made Brian Regan jokes(I swear I can't talk to them without them quoting one of his lines) and I just had fun being with them. It was my first time being with them without anyone else, like normally some of my other friends would be there. But it wasn't weird, and I felt like I fit right in. Oh, and Samuel and I decided (after eating the left over, cold, hard, soft pretzels from the concession stand) that soft pretzels are better when they are soft, warm and with cheese sauce:)

Mom and Dad are away this weekend this weekend in Nashville for a concert. I can't think of the singer though. Some country singer. Brad Paisley? No. Oh, he's the guy who's married to Faith Hill. Ah, why can't I think of his name! Anyway, I think he is having a Show Hope fundraiser at his concept, that's why Mom and Dad were invited/ are going.
Katie is staying with Anj and Jen for the weekend. So that just leaves Mariah, Nate and I at home. And my cousin Ben comes and staying with us for the nights.

And there you have it, another update from abby:) And since, in my opinion, a post isn't complete without some pictures, I'll leave you with some from the past month.