Playing summer catch-up

Hello, faithful blog readers! (I'm pretty sure there are two of you.) I have been quite remiss in my blogging duties lately, so I'll try to catch you up on what's been going on with me lately...which isn't really that much, now that I think about it.

This is the first summer that I've had a real job. I'm working at the local middle school doing a day camp-type program. Some days I hate it, and other days it makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a spoon. I like my two co-workers, and a few of the kids are sweet, but I really hate the middle school age group, and I really can't deal with all of the disorganization and lack of people explaining things to me in advance. I keep being told, "Well, you know we're in a new room this summer and we're all busy and sometimes you've gotta just roll with the punches".....but come on, it's well over halfway through the program. I shouldn't still be searching through haphazard piles to find the folder for the old attendance sheets. It pays well, and I occasionally get to see my good friends who work at one of the elementary school sites, but my hours keep getting cut because we don't have enough money to pay two staff people when we have seven or fewer kids. At this point I'm just trying to grit my teeth and get through it, but August is going to be killer: a trip to King's Island and an overnight lock-in at the school. To be perfectly honest, I was grateful when I woke up this morning and threw up multiple times, because it meant I didn't have to go in to work.

This summer hasn't been all bad, though. I've gotten to see two wizard rock shows with my sister and our friend Maddy. We saw the Parselmouths, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Lauren from the Moaning Myrtles and The Whomping Willows (who together make up Armoured Bearcub), and ALL CAPS play in Akron, where I got to meet Kristina and Hayley of YouTube's Five Awesome Girls. Barely a week later, we drove down to the world's largest YMCA in southern Ohio to see Skyway Flyer, Tonks and the Aurors, the Remus Lupins, and Witherwings, who happens to be my friend Mandala. In addition to Mandala, I got to see several other wonderful friends from the HP-Ohio group, whom I hadn't seen since the Crystal Ball in January. In other Potter-related news, I'm all registered for LeakyCon 2011!! Maddy is registered too, since I'll be her chaperone, and my sister will register soon. Now we're just trying to figure out the rooming situation so we can book a hotel room!!

The best and most exciting thing that's happened lately is the Wilson family reunion that took place this past weekend!! It only happens every other year, so it's always a true joy to get together and catch up with everyone. We had about 40 people this year who came in from across the country. It was my branch's turn to plan it this year, and since central Ohio hasn't really changed much in the past eight years, we went to a state park lodge down in Hocking Hills. There was a nice swimming pool, a beautiful lake, hiking trails, basketball courts, and more. We had a campfire one evening and made s'mores, and we all sat around and talked for hours (and rearranged the furniture in the lobby multiple times!). I had so much fun catching up with all of my cousins. I talked all about B-W with my second cousin Anna, who was up there in June for a music theatre workshop, and I know I'll be seeing her in November when she comes up to audition for the MT program. Other events included analyzing "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly"; obsessing over Major League Baseball trades and making postseason predictions; having fun with physics on a see-saw with my sister; measuring the precise distances between horseshoes (and making up the rules for "cornshoes"); singing Beatles songs with my honestly brilliant two-and-a-half-year-old cousin; looking at scrapbooks of family photos that go back to the 1800s; and hearing the story of how my aunt and uncle met. I am truly blessed to have such an incredible family!!