#when i was in the year above them one of our counselors played baby shark to wake us up on our field trip

[outfoxt]

subjected my cos to šta bih ja today ^_^

[writingfandomfeels]

Scott McCall - Stories From Camp

Every kid always has stories from their times at camp. They get excited sharing them and they almost always include something adventurous and amazing. Not you. The idea of being stranded in the woods with strangers telling you what to do, when to eat, what to eat, and basically giving you chores, sounded a bit like the definition of prison, just in the wilderness. But apparently others found that very appealing. You figured once you’d passed grade school the question of summer camp was no longer there, and yet, here you were. All in the name of college applications. Volunteer work looks good on college applications and since you liked kids you thought you’d try out this camp counselor business. Quick into the gig you found yourself having a lot of fun, especially when it came to another camp counselor: Scott. He was amazing with the kids. You’d already had quite a few shifts with him, each one leaving you grinning like an idiot. At the moment you were on your way to conducting arts and crafts with him and his friend, and honestly, you’d been looking forward to it all day. 

You stood at the head of the long table where the group of small children were talking and playing around with the craft supplies in front of them. 

“If everyone could… if, I could have your attention… if you could please listen…” You stuttered, trying to get the attention of the young group to give the instructions. 

“Hey everyone!!! Let’s all listen to what counselor Y/N has to say and then we’ll make our crafts, okay?!!” Scott projected his voice above the many others and the children quieted down for you. 

“Thanks” you smiled at him then proceeded to give the instructions on the craft. The kids were given the option of either making a card for someone, or making caterpillars out of cut up egg cartons and decorating them. 

“What’s your caterpillar’s name Stiles?” A little boy asked Scott’s friend who was decorating an egg carton next to the child. 

“What? It’s an egg carton.” Stiles replied. 

You saw Scott (who’s face was covered in stickers a little girl had put on him) give Stiles a look, seeming to ask him to be nice to the kid. 

“Uhhh, Jimmy.” Stiles named the carton. 

The boy inspected the carton before shaking his head. “No, I think his name is Randall.” 

“Okay, fine, then it’s Randall.” Stiles begrudgingly gave in. 

As you helped a kid with the glitter glue, you overheard Scott and the little girl he was sitting with. 

“Wow! That looks amazing! What do you think it should say inside?” Scott asked her. 

“Ummmm, well she has really pretty hair. Maybe you should say her hair is pretty.” The little girl suggested. 

“Thats a great idea!” Scott encouraged. “You should write that down for me.” 

The little girl spelled it out loud as she wrote it down with a marker. 

“I gotta peeeee!!!” 

Your attention was quickly stolen from Scott and the girl as a boy stood in front of you, grabbing his crotch and dancing a little. 

“Oh! Okay, let’s go now.” You responded and quickly got up to escort him. 

When you returned, the group was cleaning up. The little girl Scott was with ran over to you and handed you the card she’d been working on. 

“Scott wanted me to help him make it” She beamed. 

“Thank you!” You accepted the folded, bright red, construction paper. 

On the front was a glitter glue flower and a heart that was still drying. Flecks of extra glitter fell off the card with every touch. On the inside it read: 

TO: Y/N. YORE HAIR IS RELY PRITTY. With a few of the letters written backwards. Then it had the word “love” scribbled out and replaced with FRM: SCOTT MADE BY MARIE

You felt a blush heating your cheeks. “That was very sweet of you.” 

The boy that you’d returned with from the bathroom grabbed at your arm to try and pull it down for him to see the card too. 

“Ewww.” The boy grimaced. “Is Mr. Scott your boyfriend?” 

Well if your cheeks weren’t bright red before, they definitely were now. Your eyes darted up, seeing Scott smile from across the room. Quickly you shot your eyes down, trying to hide your embarrassment. 

“Umm, no, he’s, he’s not.” You replied awkwardly. 

“Oh. Well he should be. People don’t get gross like that unless they’re in love.” The boy informed with a shudder that made you giggle. 

Once the craft supplies were completely cleaned up, you found yourself leaving the art cabin at the same time as Scott. You smiled at him bashfully. A moment passed as you were trying to get up the courage to say something to him, when a boy ran by yelling. 

“OHHHH, AHHH, OH NOOOOO, IT’S… HAPPENING!!!!!” The boy yelled and fell to the ground, seeming to be in pain. 

“Are you okay?!” You worried, rushing to the boy’s side. 

“IT’S, IT’S THE FULL MOON, AHHHHH” The boy continued to scream. “I’M. I’M. I’M A WEREWOLF!!!!! AWWOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” The boy howled. “RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

Unimpressed, you frowned at the child. You really thought something had been wrong when he was, quite literally, just crying wolf. Meanwhile Scott just grinned at him. 

“Actually kid, if you get practiced at it you can control when you turn into a werewolf despite the full moon.” Scott disclosed. 

“Whoa.” The kid stared at him in disbelief. “COOL!!!!” Then he ran off continuing to howl and growl at other kids, occasionally pretending to eat them. 

“Into mythology I take it?” You questioned, relieved to have finally found something to say. 

“You could say that.” Scott nodded. 

A silence fell on the two of you again. Apparently your conversation starter only scratched the ice rather than breaking it. 

“I, uh, I’ve got canoeing next.” Scott gestured behind him to the lake. 

“Oh, that must be nice. You can cool off in the water.” You replied nervously. 

He smiled. “Uhh, not so much actually. You, don’t really get wet. That’s… kind of what the boat is for.” He chuckled a bit. 

“Oh. Right. Yeah, of course, I don’t know why I-” You were cut off when another counsellor called Scott from a distance. 

“Scott!” 

“Yeah!” He responded. 

“We need you at the lake now!” 

“Yeah! I’m on it!” Scott replied. “Sorry, gotta run.” 

“I-right, yeah, that’s- okay, see you later!” You called after him as he ran off. 

***

You didn’t see Scott again until the next night when you were sat across the fire from him. He had brought his guitar and was playing classic camp songs for the kids. After it was discovered that you have a knack for roasting marshmallows, you turned into The Official Best Marshmallow Roaster to most of the kids, receiving many requests to ‘pretty please roast my marshmallow for me Miss Y/N’, and of course you happily complied. 

“Alright, who wants to hear me write a song right now about anything you want?” Scott asked after finishing Down By The Bay. The kidlets cheered. “What do you want to hear a song about?” Different kids began yelling out ideas. “BUGS!” 

“CATS!” “MY GRANDMA!” “BOOGERS!” “MISS Y/N!” The last one caught Scott’s attention. “Ahh, I don’t know.” he responded. “WHO WANTS COUNSELLOR SCOTT TO SING ABOUT COUNSELLOR Y/N?!” Stiles stood up and asked the kids. “YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” All the kids yelled in response. “The jury has spoken.” Stiles stated and sat back down. “Um, okay,” Scott smiled nervously then fiddled with his guitar, trying to find a certain chord. He then proceeded to play an awkward but extremely cute song featuring how nice you are to everyone, the color of your eyes, how you like to eat toast for breakfast in the mess hall and so does he, and how great you’ve been making the summer for everyone. When he finished there was a brief silence which was rare with so many kids around. A little girl approached you and tapped you on your knee. “Miss Y/N, will you please go out with Mr Scott?” The girl asked politely. You pressed your lips together in an attempt not to smile and blush even harder than the song had made you. “Oh c’mon you guys! What, you don’t think I can get my own dates?” Scott teased the kids before smiling back at you. 

“Noooooo!” The kids answered. Another counsellor then changed the topic by starting to sing Baby Shark. Your eyes were still locked with Scott’s, both of you smiling at each other. “Do you want to?” Scott mouthed over the many singers. You nodded your head. All you ever wanted was to go on a date with him. And after that song? It was dumb to say but you were melting. “Okay” He mouthed again, nodding excitedly too. Then he jumped in with his guitar and playing the music for Baby Shark. 

***

Just after the campfire was disbanded, a very young child handed you a paper then disappeared without saying a word. You unfolded the note and read it. 

Meet me on the dock at 10:30 -Scott

You grinned at the paper before slipping it into your pocket. Once your cabin was tucked in and fast asleep, along with all the other cabins, you walked down to the dock. You found Scott sitting on the edge of it, his feet hanging into the lake. Taking a seat next to his flip flops, you joined him. “I liked your song.” You said, your eyes fixed on the lake, too nervous to look at him. “Thanks,” You kicked your feet in the water a little bit. “So, uh, what brought you to camp this year?” You asked, attempting to make conversation. “My mom suggested it. Volunteer work makes it easier to get into colleges and universities and Stiles and I could use all the help we can get.” He answered. “Where do you want to go? Or, what do you want to do?” “I’d like to be a veterinarian. I’ve been working at a clinic for a few years now and I love it.” He smiled. “That’s so cool! I love animals. Although I guess I don’t really know anyone who hates them… I mean who can look at a puppy and hate it, that’s just inhuman.” You babbled a bit, making him laugh. “No, it’s true.” Scott agreed. Suddenly your stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl. “Are you hungry?” He asked. “Yeah,” you admitted, “I’m used to snacking a lot at home so I haven’t really gotten used to the set meals and things here yet.” “You know, I have a key to the mess hall. You wanna sneak in and check out what leftovers are in the kitchen?” “Sure!” “Okay, let’s go!” He stood up from the dock, and took your hand, leading you up to the mess hall. Your stomach fluttered in excitement at the feeling of his hand holding yours. He unlocked the door and you crept inside. Unsure of where the light switches were located, Scott used his phone to light your way. Once in the kitchen, the dim light from inside the fridge illuminated the room. “Now what do we have here, chicken, apples, macaroni salad, ooh!” Scott reached in and pulled out an already cut into blueberry pie. “How about this?” “Looks delicious.” You replied, staring at the pie. He cut a slice for both of you and grabbed forks. You stood next to the preparation counter to eat. While eating, the two of you discussed your hobbies, your friends, and your last year of high school approaching. “It’s all happening so fast, you know?” He agreed. “Yeah, in some ways it feels like high school didn’t start all that long ago. But then you remember everything that’s happened since then. All the changes.” “I hate change.” You stated, shaking your head a bit. “I know I’ve been working towards Harvard, what feels like my entire life, but now… I don’t know it just seems so soon. I don’t want to leave my friends and have it all be different.” “Sometimes change can be good though… right?” Scott said, putting down his fork. You shrugged, still eating your pie. “I guess. I don’t know… it depends.” He took a step closer to you and gently brushed a strand of your hair so it was behind your ear. “What about this?” he asked softly. You looked into his sweet brown eyes. “This… is good…” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “And this?” He leaned in, pressing his lips to yours, his hand cupping your face. Your heart pounded inside your chest as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Fingers tangled into his hair as you kissed him back. He moved his hands to your waist, his tongue gently grazing your bottom lip, seeking entry. Opening your mouth for him, you felt his tongue glide across yours, you replied back in a similar motion. The kiss was broken too quickly though as you felt him suddenly pull away and the lights flick on. You opened your eyes to find a boy in his pyjamas standing in front of the two of you. “What, uh, what are you doing out of bed?” Scott questioned the boy. “What are you doing in the kitchen so late when you’re not kitchen staff?” the boy replied. “That’s… that’s a good point.” Scott paused, looking at you. You gave him a sheepish grin. Scott looked back to the kid. “I won’t tell if you wont?” “Give me a slice of that pie on the counter there and you got yourself a deal.” he bargained. Scott handed over the last slice in the pie plate to him. “I was never here.” the kid said, leaving with his pie. You giggled when Scott turned back to you, breathing a sigh of relief. “We, uh, we should probably get out of here before that happens again.” he suggested. You nodded your head, stifling laughter at the situation. 

That was definitely your best camp story.

[hamfamilyblog]

Weekly Update October 5, 2019

This week on Sunday, I hosted a “Mommy and Me” book club at my apartment with the theme being the alphabet. “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” is one of the kid’s favorite books (especially Flynn’s).  We read this book and another ABC book. Then I had different stations for the kids. I had a sensory station with dried beans inside and the kids had to search for alphabet letters in the beans and then place them in a puzzle.  Then I had a stamping station where the kids could stamp different letters.  I also had a watercolor painting station.  I wrote the letters on white pieces of paper with white crayon, and then the kids had to use the watercolor paint to reveal the letters.  For the older children, I had a station where the kids could practice writing their letters on a special letter tracing white board.  Lynie, my helper, made paleo bread dough with almond flour and then the kids formed the first letter of their name.  We cooked the letters and then everyone could take their letter home or eat it at my apartment.  I also got a gummy alphabet letter of the first letter of all the children’s first name, and put it in a little bag for them to take home.  It was a hit.  About 8 children came and everyone had a good time.  

We went to the beach for the first time today since the summer.  It is finally cooling off and the water felt amazing.  The kids had a birthday party of a co-worker’s of Mitch on Friday after church, so it was a busy weekend. We typically come straight home from church and rest, but we went straight to an indoor play area. The kids had a good time, but we were all so tired by the end.  

I am the first counselor in the Primary Presidency, and we have been busy preparing the Primary Program this week, which will be in November.  I have also been busy planning for a Halloween party that Mitch and I will throw for our friends. When we lived in Pleasant Grove Utah, a friend in our ward use to throw an “Amazing Race” theme Halloween party every October where we had to collect item for the witch’s brew.  We loved it SO much and looked forward to it every year.  It was so nice of our friend to plan such fun puzzles. I decided I wanted to try to throw one here in Dubai. It will be on Saturday, October 26th.  Several couples have already RSVP’d; I’m excited.

Mitch had been working long hours lately at Meraas.  Meraas recently fired a bunch of people, but Mitch’s department, in funding, has been super busy.  He doesn’t think anyone in his small group of 4 will be let go.  He’s been working on re-financing bank loans, among other things. The largest ferris wheel, “The Dubai Eye” is coming along nicely. We shall see if we still live in Dubai in time to go on it. It is suppose to be completed in time for the world expo, which will start in October of next year. Mitch currently teaches the 8-11 year-old boys at church and he is also an Activity leader for the boys. He is currently trying to plan an activity for Activity Days, because he has one for this coming Tuesday.  General Conference will begin this weekend, but since it’s going on during a work day for us (Sunday), we will watch it next weekend, on our Friday, instead of going to church.  

Ellis is 4 ½ and he is loving church these days. He is a sunbeam in Primary, and he has the most amazing primary teachers.  Tamany and Jared Brown; they really go above and beyond to prepare lessons for the kids and show their love for each of the children. They are going to throw a swim party at their house on The Palm just for the kids in Ellis’s class. His class has all boys ages 4-5.  Ellis seems to be liking preschool some days. Other days, he prefers to stay home with the rest of us.  I wish I could find him a small preschool with 4-6 kids, but something like this doesn’t exist in Dubai. The school he goes to is very nice, but I feel it’s a lot of sitting and indoor time. Now that the weather is improving, I hope he will start having more outside time.  Ellis and Flynn have swim lessons every Thursday, and Ellis has made some amazing progress with swimming.  He is starting to enjoy putting his head under water and feeling more confident swimming for short spurts on his own. Today, at the beach, he was practicing with his snorkel mask, and he did a good job on his own.  Unfortunately, there is VERY LITTLE sea life to be seen here since Dubai has moved so much sand to build islands, etc.  We have been listening to primary songs in the car lately so Ellis can better learn the songs for the primary program.  Lately, he is really liking the primary songs, “I’ll walk with you,” and “Smiles.”

Flynn (2 ½) LOVES the water and has figured out swimming so quickly.  In swim lessons, he can now float on his back on his own, and he swims around like a “nemo fish,” as we tell him. He is still learning his limits though on safety, so he needs to be watched closely. This week we started making some Halloween crafts, which both of the boys enjoyed, but Flynn loves painting and crafting even more than Ellis. He kept wanting to free style paint after he stamped orange pumpkins using a large white carrot as the stamp. He also stamped black spiders using a toilet paper roll cut down with legs. Both boys love reading books and being read to. We read books to them every night before bed.  Flynn has been loving the song, “I’m Trying To Be Like Jesus,” and we’ve listened to it in the car several times when driving this week. It’s so sweet and cute to hear him try to sing along. Mitch also recently introduced the theme song from “Ninja Turtles,” and the boys have loved that. This week, Flynn has turned into the bag-man hoarder. He has taken any bag he can find and loves filling them with little toys, balls, books, etc.  He does not like to take anything out and put the items away at the end of the day. He walks around holding his bags, or placing them in the shopping cart or the wagon we have.

Ryker (14 months) is so close to walking. He has taken a few steps when he is able to quickly grab onto something. This week, he daily walks around with his little shopping cart. It’s the cutest thing. He likes to put items in it and walk around the apartment, using the shopping cart as a walker.  Ryker seems like he may be teething again. I believe he has 7 teeth already, but more feel like they are coming in. Ryker enjoys music daily and he has been singing the song “Baby Shark” on his own almost every day this week, several times a day. He always starts dancing when he hears music.  He still has a temper and will get quite angry at times. Ellis had the little car you sit in and drive one day this week, and Ryker decided he wanted to ride in it as well.  I tried to place Ryker in so he could get a ride with Ellis, but they both didn’t fit very well.  So I took Ryker out of the little car and Ellis continued on riding in it. Ryker did NOT like this and he started shouting and swinging his arms in the air trying to hit things and kick his legs. He also hit the floor at one point. I was shocked to see this little guy have such a temper. I hope he outgrows it as he starts talking more. He’s saying “Mama,” “Dadda,” “More,” “Hello,” “Ok,” and “Uh Oh.”

Mitch and I are really enjoying the stage of life we are in right now with the age of our kids. They are all so much fun. Super busy but fun. We are SO VERY blessed and life is good. I’m so grateful for my family and the chance I have to be a mother to my beautiful children.