Roadtrip

Guess who is officially being called out of retirement and resuming the role of a camp counselor for a week?

That'd be me :)

I have SO much that I want to talk about: (love gifts, staff closing, Zach's 22nd birthday, etc.), but all of that will simply have to be postponed as I prepare to help lead the Mountains to Beach to Bay Adventure Trip!

No doubt that this is going to be one of the best weeks of the summer---and no doubt that I'll have at least a dozen epic blog posts by the time I get back!

Goodbye, Blogworld. I'll catch up with you later :)

Baby Blog is Growing Up

Guess what?

My baby blog is turning one year old! How crazy is that?

It's come a longgg way in the past year:

When I started blogging, I initially didn't share the link with anyone. After a couple of weeks, I told my two closest friends from high school... just as an easy way for us to stay in touch when the demands of college life inhibited us from getting together as often as we would like. Eventually, I told some people from camp...but that was all.

When a few more people found out about my baby blog, I freaked out. I never intended for it to go beyond my close circle of friends. In fact, I think I changed the url for a few days so nobody could find it. I've always been an incredibly private person---I keep to myself and don't like putting myself in situations where I can be easily criticized or judged. Blogging doesn't exactly follow that mentality.

But people liked it!

Everyone was so supportive and encouraging, and before I knew it, I had hundreds of comments and tens of thousands of views. I had followers---many of whom I've never met. I had visitors from every state in the US, and from dozens of countries throughout the world.

Insane.

Blogging is a rather insane concept, actually, but I've quite enjoyed being the author/designer behind Simply B for the past year. I've made new friends and grown even closer with others. I've discovered talents that I didn't know I had. I've gained more self-confidence and don't worry as much about what others think. I've been more intentional about enjoying the little things in life and capturing beauty in every day things.

And to think that I never had any intention of writing a blog for real.

I love reading your comments and hearing your stories. I love the satisfaction of clicking "publish post" after spending a while editing pictures and compiling a draft. I love being able to share things that make others think or smile or feel encouraged.

And I love that my baby blog turns one year old this week.

To celebrate (yes, we're celebrating blog birthdays. The blog freak flag is waving high today), I've compiled a walk down memory lane: a series of posts from the past twelve months. From such humble beginnings with early morning cell phone calls... to graphic design projects, Duke University art studios, Marine Corps deployments, sushi nights with friends, summer camp memories, and my insanely sweet boyfriend... I've loved sharing a little slice of my world over the past year with each and every one of you.

Feel free to look around and reminisce along with me, and if you're feeling particularly festive, I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts about Simply B in the comments below. What do YOU like about my not-so-baby blog? What has been your favorite post from the past year? What would you like to see featured on Simply B in the future? Comment away about whatever your heart desires, because as Kelle Hampton says, "I am shamelessly in love with the sweet little words of readers like you."

[click on images for post]

Thank for all the love and encouragement you've shown my baby blog since day one, and thank you for stopping by to celebrate with us :)

Words To Live By

- Mother Teresa

I promise a much longer post when I'm better able to collect/organize my thoughts.

Until then, this sums everything up pretty nicely.

Reminiscin' & Fishin'

I spent the day paddling down the James River in a canoe as part of our "Elementary Adventure: Float Fishing" camp. We had a 1:1 camper-counselor ratio, so each kid was able to fish out of the front of the canoe while a counselor paddled in the back. Not exactly the most thrilling of all adventure trips, but I enjoy being on the river, so I was excited for our day.

An hour or so into the journey downstream, the boy in my canoe decided to take a break from fishing. Not a single camper had caught anything, and everyone was becoming a little disheartened.

I picked up the rod and asked if I could try, since he clearly wasn't interested in continuing. Thirty seconds later, I was reeling in the first fish of the day--a decent-sized redeye bass. No lie.

[All of a sudden, everybody was really excited about fishing again...]

Anyway, as I reeled in my fish, I was greeted with shouts of, "how did the ONLY GIRL here catch the first fish?!"

Um, excuse me? After making sure that every single boy was well-aware of the fact that girls can do anything just as good as boys can, I sat back and smiled.

I may have a little bit of experience when it comes to fishing...

Oh yes, Kacey & Amy---I just went there. How's that for a blast from the past?

You're my best friends, remember? You simply can't get mad at me for these horrendous photos :)

In high school, I spent a couple of summers at the beach with the loves of my life... and learned a few things: (1) my friends wake up earlier than any human being ever should [although I already knew that], and (2) my friends can fish. Who knew?

It didn't matter that I had zero fishing experience. Every day, Kacey & Amy would literally drag me out of bed before the sun rose and we'd go fishing on the dock for HOURS.

And every morning, Kacey and Amy would each catch multiple fish.

And every morning, I would catch absolutely nothing.

But it wasn't really about the fishing to begin with. It never was. It was simply being together, no matter how much I complained about them waking me up or my inability to catch a fish. It was about sunrises and dangling feet and watching dolphins and endless giggling and a time in our lives where we couldn't imagine not seeing each other every day.

And now? Well, now I'm spending my entire summer in little ol' Fincastle, Kacey has spent the past two months traveling all across Europe (her plane left the country the exact same day as Zach's!), and Amy is leaving in a couple of weeks for Kenya.

That doesn't leave much time for fishing these day

Fortunately:

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.

-Elisabeth Foley

As I continued paddling down the river today, I thought about my best friends. I thought about caramel apple suckers and 99 Red Balloons and chiggers and bump ball and Pat and everything else that our summers at the beach encompassed.

I thought about how blessed I am to still be so close with these girls after all these years. I thought about all the times in my life that I couldn't imagine surviving without their support and encouragement. I thought about how I can't WAIT for all of us to finally be reunited in a month or so.

But mostly, I just thought about fishing :)

Deployment: Week 8 & 9

"Z, tell me a story."

I used to play this game with Zach almost every day on the phone while he was in the States. It's my favorite. Zach pretends like it's not his favorite, but it secretly is.

Sometimes he goes back into the archives and pulls out a "once upon a time, there was a girl who loved Skittles..." or some other random story from our early days of dating.

Other times, he completely makes up a story, like "once upon a time, we drove all the way to Alaska..."

Let's be honest---the majority of the time, he changes the subject enough to distract me and manages to get off the phone without telling a story. Hmph.

Anyway, it's been over two months since we've seen each other, so I asked him to tell me a story while we were emailing this week. This was the response I received:

Once upon a time, there was a boy who joined the USMC and got deployed. His princess stood by him even when he was gone. Even when he was deployed, she loved him, and everything she did was amazing and perfect. She was so strong and patient through everything, and little does she know---because he doesn't tell her a lot---but he is so so so so proud of her.

I may be biased, but I think that's one of the best stories I've ever read :)

To top it off, I received flowers at the camp office less than 24 hours later. Ladies and gentlemen, let it be known that this is the VERY FIRST time in 3+ years that Zacharie Jones has not spoiled a surprise. He always gets super excited and tells me whenever he is sending ANYTHING. I love that boy.

Yep, we did get our first official half-a-heart hand picture: from Afghanistan to Fincastle, Virginia.

As far as the deployment goes, the Lieutenant Colonel sent out his monthly email this week. Here's an excerpt (that does not violate OPSEC in any way, shape, or form, because it's actually the most generic email possible):

This past month has been a significant one for Task Force 1/9... I genuinely wish you could see them everyday as I do and marvel at their tolerance for a difficult mission and harsh conditions. The months of hard training and education that went into preparation has certainly paid dividends...

[Afghanistan] is rural and contains mostly farmlands, dotted by clusters of mud compounds that are used as homes as well as storage and work areas... Livestock is prevalent and it's common to see young children herding the family's goats, sheep, or cows along the narrow roads that line the canal system. The wheat harvest just finished and the corn is already shoulder high. They also produce delicious watermelon here.

The overwhelming majority of the population are simple farmers who want nothing more than to raise their families in peace. They can be generous to a fault and enjoy sharing a cup of tea (chai) and telling stories. Your Marines live and work amongst the population... [They] are all doing well and I'm proud of them; they have earned an excellent reputation in very short order.

Zacharie may claim to be so proud of me, but seriously---I am SO proud of him! No matter how many days in a row it gets above 120 degrees or how many nights in a week he stands guard duty at the armory, he remains the most positive person I know. It's crazy to think that 9 weeks have passed already!

This week, Zach is doing a LOT of traveling outside the FOB, checking in with all the other companies scattered throughout the region. He's already made it safely to his first destination, but there's still a lot of movement in the days ahead, so say an extra prayer or two this week if you think about it :) Thank you, again, for all of your love & support, letters & packages, prayers, sweet comments, and words of encouragement. Y'all are the best, and we love sharing our journey with each of you.

Slowing Down

I'm well aware of the fact that I rarely have time to stop and think these days. My mind whizzes constantly: go-go-go, full-speed ahead. I often find myself so caught up in the craziness of life that I neglect to actually live it. I think that's one of the things that I enjoy most about photography and blogging. Capturing & documenting my life forces me to be present. Live in the moment. Pay attention to the little details. Soak it all up.

And this summer, I'm noticing the simple things more than ever before.

It's not because I have a nice break from school and have all this free time to sit back and relax. Heavens, no. I'm busier this summer than I've ever been! I work at least 14 hours a day, oftentimes more. Yet throughout the summer, I've become so much more aware of my surroundings, the blessings in my life, the opportunities I've been given. I have such a renewed appreciation for the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs and flowing creeks that harmonize together as I'm writing this little blog post. I notice dew drops on spider webs and sparks dancing in the fire, and laying in the field at night hoping to catch a glimpse of a shooting star never gets old. My body is covered in mosquito bites and the lingering smell of smoke from tonight's closing campfire... and I am happy.

This week, I biked seventeen miles on the Virginia Creeper Trail in Southwest Virginia. Upon starting the trek down the trail, the counselors split up---three in the front and three in the back, with all of the campers filling in between. Since I haven't really ridden a bike in a good ten years, I volunteered to bring up the rear, especially considering the fact that I spent the first mile of the trip shrieking at any drop larger than three inches.

However, by mile two, I was zipping along with all the confidence in the world.

(Please check out that awesome "riding a bike with one hand while taking a picture and still managing to stay on the path" skill. Do not attempt at home.)

And as fun as zipping through the woods was, once I stopped focusing on completing the 17 miles as quickly as possible, I had all the time in the world to think. To observe. To absorb. And to appreciate.

Slowing down---it's good, it's necessary, it's beautiful. Yes, there's something beautiful about intentionally living in the present, taking in the sights and sounds and smells that we so often neglect and do not appreciate nearly as much as we should. Something beautiful about seeing God through nature. Something beautiful about letting go of the "full speed ahead" mentality and soaking up everything right here and now.

There's something even more beautiful about experiencing it all with one of your best friends :)

Camp Bethel SPC

"What exactly do you do as the Summer Program Coordinator at Camp Bethel?"

I hear that question quite frequently, and I never really know what to say. There's obviously a lot of not-so-thrilling office work that must be done every week (unit/counselor/cabin assignments, bunknotes, copying health forms & filing registration forms, etc.). There's the occasional sick (or homesick) camper that needs a little extra attention. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that most people don't realize goes on.

But let's be honest. I pretty much have the best summer job ever.

[Yep. I live here. And see this almost every day. Be jealous.]

Because when I'm not in the office, I'm singing crazy songs with even crazier motions...

...and being in ridiculously silly skits...

...and running and screaming and playing...

...and leading Bible studies...

...and planning worship...

...and somewhere in the midst of it all, I'm striving to show these campers a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source.

That's definitely the best job description I've ever heard :)