American Adventure

So Vegas came to an end, that was completely incredible, we ate free every day, did awesome stuff etc. Me n brendan caught our flight out of Vegas at 8 in the morning, we arrived in san jose at about 10, only to discover that my bag didnt. That was a wonderfull feeling as im sure u can imagine but it all worked out fine as it got courierd to kims house later that day. We got picked up from the airport by kim and sara, yes dad another two female friends... it seems you were right!! we popped into saras house then over to kims. That day we hung out then we set off for kims friends place at college which is just outside nappa valley where all the californian wine comes from. They were cool and we had a good laught. It was a bit of a shock cos me n brendan went from sleeping on en suite rooms in a 5 million dollar house to sleeping IN a cupboard in student acommodation, it was all good though and we had a good laugh. We woke up the next morning and went to Ihop for breakfast, a pancake place, made the drive back and kim had dance so me and brendan had dinner with kims mum. She is really nice and we had a good chat for an hour or so. we also went to visit kims ex boyfriend who we knew from camp which was good. we went out shopping to buy clothes for the catilian, spent 100 bucks on shirt pants n shoes, so last night we went to the catilian which was great, it was a philapino girls 18th birthday so it was really nice, they did dances and speaches it was great. We then headed over to a friend of kimberelys and watched a movie, ended up getting to the couch t sleep at about half four. Got back to the house this morn and we are about to head over to breakfast at some place with kims friends. Still having an awesome awesome time. Glad dads now in the facebook world!! got to dash love u lots!!! xxxxxx

WOW! So yesterday me erin and brendan went to see her new house via her dads office. Turns out her dads a much bigger business man than i realised. He has personal letters to him from george bush senior on his office wall. Erins new house is like a palace, completeley amazing. We then went for lunch at one of her pubs, it was really nice, had a sandwich. erins dad then drove us up to the hoover dam, that place is incredible, found the little doggy plaque that nan was telling me about. Then we came back to the house, had pork chops from the bbq then some of erins mates came over and we hung out in the jaccuzi till 1 in the morn! This morn we got up and erins dad had pulled a few strings (he insures 60% of the hotels in vegas) and got us a pool side room thingy at the Madalay Bay hotel on the strip. These things usualy cost 500+ dollars a day and we got it allllll fro free. We then went to see the shark reef thingy in the hotel, its like a massive sealife centre but with loads more fish. That was awesome. We then headed back to the house after browsing round some casinos and erins dad told us that he had made us a reservation for dinner at the top of the stratosphere(the big tower thingy in vegas) Only thing is, its got a business dress code, so after many tears of laughter me and brendan got together a good outfit each from erins dads wardrobe. We headed out to the tower. This place took my breath away. Amazing food, THE most incredible view and awesome frineds. it was such a fantastic night. And to top it all, erins dad took care of the bill. we then drove down the strip, parked up at the belagio and watched the dancing water fountain show, walked round the casinos and headed back home via the "welcome to las vegas" sign. Today has been completely awesome. More of the same to follow tomorrow in our last day in vegas i thinks!!! great to hear all ur news mum n dad. Dad your story had me crying with laughter, and brendan for that matter! Sorry this may seem brief or abrupt, its late and its been a long long day!!!! Lots of new pics on facebook by the way!! LOVE U ALL!!! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sorry sorry sorry that its been so long since my last blog, it was completley crazy the last week, packing up and telling off kids etc, not to mention the fact tht the staff laptop blew up so we had to line up to use Jeffs, which wasnt ideal!! So camp is over, i cried my eyes out on a number of occaisions. We do this thing called staff serenade where all the staff walk around camp after the kids have gone to bed and we all sing songs. It was very emotional, really lovely though! So camp ended yesterday and half of my stuff has gone to LA with jorge and half has come with me and brendan to Vegas. We set off yesterday at about 12 and got to vegas at about half six. Erin lives in a gated community that looks like its fallen from desperate housewives. Her house is amazing, im going to take plenty of pictures! Including one of me in the drivers seat of her dads escalade, very exiting!! Im jumpoing back to camp for a moment cos i forgot to mention the last night, we had a big staff party in camp, Jeff cooked us an incredible meal cos he used to be a chef, beef wellington, shrimp etc amazing. Then we all partied the night away around camp, which felt really wierd but it was really great. Back to vegas now, we arrive at erins house to be greeted by her parents, both lovely, her dad owns an insurance company and 3 irish pubs in vegas, they look amazing. We had steak from the bbq in the gazebo next to the hottub and pool with music playing from the built in soundsystem that goes around the house. Its an incredible contrast from SKYLAKE. NRiche. Skylake is such an incredible place, ive had the most amazing summer of my life, i really do feel like ive made memories and friends that will last a lifetime. Im still in complete shock that its over for this summer, im feeling very "campsick" and compleltly disorientated, but we are all having an awesome time. Sorry this blogs so disjointed, im trying to get everything in but it seems to be coming out in the wrong order!! Missing you all loads, im going to buy a phone card today so i can give you a call and have a chat. I think we are about to head off into town now, but i will be sure to blog regularly from now on, sorry about the black hole!! new pics soon to be on facebook by the way! Ill put some on here too, just to cover all angles!! oKI DOKEY, love you all lots and lots!! speak soon! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mum!!!! Thankyou so so so much for my package, it is completely awesome, perfectly mad!! Loved every inch of it, as did everybody i chose as worthy eneough to show!! And massive congrats on your article mum, just skimmed it as time is tight but it looks fantastic!!! So wednesday night took us on the road to San Fran, we arrived at katies house at about 8, breifly met her parents then went out for a meal. Had a great meal then we got back and me n brendan turned on the charm! within minutes everybody was howling with laughter and we were very well liked!! We watched a movie and chatted some more before hitting the sack/floor. Not before brendan punched me in the face by accident!! Got up the next morning to the lovely smell of an american breakfast, had a huge feast then left for the city. We wnt onto pear 39 and walked around, looked at the seals and alcatraz etc then headed for golden gate, we drove accross it and had a photo session on the other side. We then headed back into the cuty and went into the biggest mall ive ever seen. It even had curved escalators carlos, i took a picture... A marvle of modern technology!!! We hung out in town some more then headed back toward katies house to say bye to our new mates!! Headed back to camp at about 7, got hideously lost and didnt get back to camp till 12. Slept in the staff room or "palace" without a duvet or sleeping bag or anything so had a really bad/ cold nights sleep. Got up the next day for another day of archery!! Today was fairly normal, i learnt a while ago that it was ok for me to drive in the US as the uk license is recognised and the cars are insured not the driver so its cool for me to drive. Jorge lends me his car now and then to pop into town etc and its all ok. Today we were going accross the lake to get some "love square" tshirts made and we got randomly pulled over by the police. It was so so scary cos even though i knew i was ok to be doing what i was doing it was still unfamiliar. But everything went fine, he checked my licence, the car documents and sent us on our way. It was v wierd, but it also backed up the fact that its ok to do it. Dont worry though, i keep it to an absoloute minimum!! Got another care pakage today from one of the kids in my cabin from last session, it was ver sweet, it had a tshirt in it, a famous stars and straps one, i have 5 of them now cos i love them and ive just kept buying them, ill explain properly when i get home! aniways, thats about all i have to tell, its holidays special day tomorow and me and jaqulin are cherubs up on the archery range shooting silver arrows at paper hearts. Its gona be awesome i think! Right, im going to bed now, thankyou again for the pakage mum. Hope alls well in wales pops? great to here u had an awesome time in wales mum n carl!! love to u all!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey guys, sorry its been so long since ive wrote to u all. Got new kids and had session break etc. Session break was fantastic, we all drove into Fresno, bought fancy dress outfits from a thrift store and went out for a meal dressed up. It was really funny, got pictures. We then went and booked into a hotel in fresno and then went out to this amusment place that had go karts, amusments, rock climbing etc, it was really good fun, they had double go karts and i nearly killed sara by accident, lol. So then we went back to the hotel and had a huge party, it was awesome, and didnt end till about 4 ish. Woke up the next morning and brendan had injured himself in the nights previous excapades so we had to drive him to hospital and get him fixed! Ill explain what happend later but he is sat here with me and hes getting a bit embarased!! So we got bck to camp later that day and i met all my kids. Ive got bears this sesion so they are 12 13 year olds. They started really boring, all goody two shoes etc which is really boring. But last night one of them had a fist fight with a guy from the cabin next door. Thats great cos it makes it loads more interesting and fun. I love bad ass kids! Im on archery now which is actualy really good fun, im getting loads better at it and its loads more chilled out than photo. My day off starts on Wednesday, me katie brendan erin and paul are all going to san fransico to stay at katies house. Its gona be so much fun! We are getting guided tours from katie, gona walk accross the bridge etc. Gona be so good!! very exited!! Right, its lunch time, cant think of anything else to report, but there will be lots more detail in these stories when i get home, this is just a coming soon and a reminder for me!! lots of love to u all.. xxxxxxxxxx Oh and mark, one of the guys i flew here with the other day for pushing kids and hurting them and for alleged sexual abuse. Unbelivable. anyways, i asked jeff if me and brendan could be hired next year, and he said yes!!

So today was my day off, we decided we would head off into Yosemite. That place never ever fails to take my breath away completely. We found a nice little beach on the merced river and decided to go swimming and hang out. We ended up jumping off a road bridge into the river which was really good fun, exept when we hit the bottom of the river, which hurt a bit!! A few of the other guys went with cher and her boyfriend to do this rope swing off el capitain. That sounded and looked completley crazy so we decided to go on a rengade day off and have relaxing beach picnic followed by a sneak in to Tenaya Lodge for a jacuzzi and heated pool. Had a really awesome day though. The end of camp is coming up really fast. I feel like camp is like a song that you love so much you want to listen to it again before its even finished. Im so exited about seeing more of the US after camp, ut at the same time leaving this place is going to break my heart. Feeling so torn at the moment. Im sure everything will work out just fine. Brendans gona try and come and get a job at the buck inn too, which will be completly wierd but also really really cool. I shall believe it when i see it but he really really wants to see the uk. Im gona go to aus with him sometime next year i think, should be awesome. Aniways, the q for the comp is growing longer and longer. Lots of love to u all... xxxxxx

hellllloooooo! How are you all?! So the days have been going by without me noticing much at the moment, its been pretty lazy for me and brendan as we are both on relief so we spend ALOT of time down at the docks just chilling out which is really great. Our travel plans are coming together amazingly, heres what it looks like so far:
11th august we head to vegas with erin
16th fly to San Fransico and stay with Kim
20th we go over to Berkeley to stay with brian in his apartment
22nd to Katies house to stay and see more of San Fran
24th In san jose with kim again
28th we are getting a lift up to LA with kims mum cos kims going to college there
3rd we are going to head over to New York city, and gona try real hard to stay with steve. I gather that he says its cool for us to do that, but im gona ring ahead obviously.
Home on the 10th, not sure how long we can stay at steves before it becomes cheeky/rude, advice on this would be great!!!
SO so far it looks so so great, of course its always open for change, but weve got alot of free transport and acommodation with that plan so that looks really great. I put a few pics up on facebook last night for u all to see, now u can see them my new found friend mum!! Not an awful lot to report on life here, just chugging along as i said. ALways with a big big smile on my face, still loving it more than ice cream. Gona head off now, love u all lots and lots and lots. xxxx

Hey all! was lovely to speak to u on the phone the other morning.. i was in need of a good chin wag with home! So todayl was my day off, after sleeping on the beach last night and hearing two bobcat like things fighting, which was actualy really really scary we were all pretty tired. We decided we were gona head up to a place up near yosemite called skinny dip, not sure why its called that, and no i didnt!! So we got up there at about 11 ish. Its an amazing place, a river flowing over huge stone slabs and a massive waterfall. We hung out there for most of the day, jumping off the waterfall etc. It was so beautiful, and cos it took about 30mins on a dirt track then 20 min walk it was also completely secluded and private. we had an awesome day there just hanging out. Then we set off back towards camp and stopped by at the lodge, the hotel we sneek in. for an hour or two in the hot tub. All in all a really great day off. Tonight we just crashed in the palace and watched a movie, notes on a scandle or something? Was great. Still cant find that password mum, but im gona keep on looking! sorry!! Hope all is still well at home? missing u all but still having a fab day. Lots of love to u all! xxxxxxxxxx

Hey all! Hope yor all still managing to find my page after they have up. I fell updated the website. im struggling a little! last few days have been pretty normal, nothing too exiting to hear! I saw the new harry potter before we went to LA, forgot to tell you! I fell asleep! Thanks pops for your updates, its great to hear about you all. Sorry about the password thing mum, i will defo get it. Its just i get whenever i can on the comp, and i dont have my little black book with me. SORRY!! i will defo give u it either next time or when i ring. Its my night off tonight, which is great. Not sure what im gona be doing just yet, im sure it will be cool tho. Hope everything is going swimmingly elsewhere!! lots of love to u all. xxxx

Hey all! so sorry its been so long since ive been on here, the last few days have been really really crazy. So saturday was the day when all the kids left, which was a great relief for me as my cabin had been slipping further and further out of control for the last week, to the point where one kid punched another in the face infront of me. not good, but it gave me an excuse to shout at them all and draw the reigns in a little! So saturday came, we had a mad mad tidying up session first thing in the morning. Then me and brendan found out we were going to LA, that day. Which was so so so exiting. So we travelled down on the bus with all the kids, two seperate busses, a mini bus, a pickup, and a SUV all went down cos there were so many kids with lots of baggage coming back. So we get to LA at about 6 oclock and meet up with all the other people from skylake and we went out and hit the town... with Jeff the directors credit card!!! he gave us it to cover all our expenses. So we had a really lovely meal in this place called the cheesecake factory. I had a pasta dish with prawns and chicken, it was so so nice. The bill came to $130 for 4 of us so it was pricey, but hey, jeff owes us! We then headed back to our hotel/motel. Which was ok, not the ritz but was great to have 4 rooms full of people to run around between. It was really great fun. We were meant to get up at 6 this morning to get to the federal building for 730, we woke at 645 by accident so we had a mad mad rush getting organised and getting all the kids on the bus and all the lawyer parents off the bus. But it was great, i had a great ride back, made lots of new kid friends who are already telling people im the coolest!! LA was fantastic, we did alot of driving round beverly hills area in the big skylake mini bus with me and brendan just junping about with excitment. It didnt really feel real at all. So we are defo gona try and put our names down on the list for next time cos its really great fun. So now im a relief counsellor, which means that i just cover for the cabin when the normal counselor is off. What it really means is lots and lots of free rest time for me, which is so nice, im really tired and ready for a really chilled out few weeks. The kids im relieving for are 13yearolds and ive spent tonight with them, they are completely awesome, had me laughing outloud all night. I bought a phone card the other night, so be expecting a phone call home at somepoint to mum and dad!! Anyways, im gona head off now, i think im going to sleep on the tennis courts tonight, just cos i can. Love to you all, hope all is well every where.. keep me up to date, i want to hear!! love to you all! XXXXXXX