Bugging Out At Camp Falling Waters

Hello future readers!

When Vivienne and I got to day camp this morning, I was really excited to show Laura that I could fold the flags with Vivienne the right way, and put them on the flag pole without letting them touch the ground. We practiced for over an hour with a pillowcase last night. And Vivienne's dad even pretended to be the flag pole! I even recited the rules to Laura:
1) Always display the flag w/ the blue union field up. Never display a flag upside down, except as a distress signal.
2) Always hold the flag carefully. Never let it touch anything beneath it; the ground or floor, water or merchandise.
3) Always keep the flag aloft and free; never carry it flat or horizontally.
4) Always keep the flag safe and clean; never let it get dirty, torn or damaged.
5) Always dispose of a worn flag properly, preferably by burning it.
6) Always treat the flag with respect.

Laura said I did a terrific job, and I could raise the flag with Vivienne this morning! Dynamite! As soon as all the kids were seated, Vivienne and I carried out the flags, attached them to the line on the flag pole, and led the kids in the Pledge of Allegiance and the "Star Spangled Banner". I think I was even more nervous than I was when I led Color Guard at my school for the first time!

When we were finished, all the kids told me I did a good job, especially since I didn't even take the class. I told them that Vivienne and her dad gave me a crash course! I was so proud of myself! I can't wait to tell my mom about this!

After the ceremony we checked the daily schedule.

I asked Laura what "Buggin' Out" meant. She that we were gonna hunt for different kinds of bugs today. Hunt for bugs? EWWW! We had to pick them up and everything? YUCK! Laura said we could use tweezers,  jars and nets. We all sat down in the Rec Hall and she explained the rules. We had 1 hour to find all the bugs on the list. If we could do it, we'd all get a special treat.

I teamed up with Betta, and she said she'd hold the bug house. It kinda reminded me of a hamster cage.

Marcie teamed up with C.J. and Vivienne teamed up with Lydia.

We all walked all over the camp grounds looking for bugs.

"There's one on the potted plant!" I called to Betta. It looked so ....icky!

C.J. and Marcie almost missed this one. It's the same color as the flowers!

"Hey Lydia watch out!", Vivienne yelled. "You almost stepped on that one!"

"Blecch!", said Lydia. "How would you like that thing stuck to the bottom of your shoe?"

Evelyn was a bigger chicken that I was. "Oooh Kevin!  Could you pick that one up? I don't wanna touch it!"

I decided to not look like such a baby and pick up at least one bug with the tweezers. But I almost dropped it!

The hour was up so we all raced back to the Rec Hall, and put our bugs all together in one bug house.
They don't look so icky when they're not crawling around on the ground.

Laura said we all did a groovy job, so after lunch we could all have a treat. As we were walking to the Mess Hall for lunch, I didn't know it at the time, but Kevin was sneaking up behind me!

That turkey had a spider in his hand, and he put it on my back!

I could swear I felt that thing crawling down my shirt! I started running around and screaming like a crazy person, "Get it off me! Someone get it off me!"

Kevin dropped to his knees on the grass, just laughing his head off!
"Hahahahaha! Oh Julie! You're such a weenie! It's only a fake spider!"
He pulled it off my back, and sure enough, it was a fake spider. As a matter of fact, it was the same spider me and Vivienne put in the cookies when I was visiting last February! I screamed "You jive time turkey!" and started to chase him!

I'm pretty fast, but Kevin was faster. He ran all the way to the Mess Hall, and when he got there he hid behind Laura. Talk about being a weenie!
"Laura, Julie's gonna beat me up!"
"Only because he tricked me and put this fake spider on my back!"
Laura told us there would be no fighting, and that Kevin  had to be benched for 10 minutes and he'd be the last to get his lunch and his ice-cream! Serves him right, the big dope! Kevin Fleagle, before the end of my visit, ooh, are you gonna get it!

After lunch, we got to pick some ice-cream out of the Mess Hall freezer on the porch.

 Usually the ice-cream cost 20 cents a piece, but since this was a prize from the bug hunt, we got them for free!  All right! I got a strawberry ice-cream sandwich and Vivienne got a chocolate ice-cream bar.

 We took our ice-cream over to the pecan tree and ate it while Laura read to us.

Hmmm.... I have "Horton Hears a Who" at home, but I don't think I've read this one before.

After a few more stories, it was time for me and Vivienne to take the flags down before we went home. All the kids sang "Taps" and while Vivienne held one end, I very carefully folded the flag so that the blue field with stars was on top.

Laura said it looked perfect and we did it just right! I told Mrs. Walton all about it when she came to pick us up. She said how proud she was of us and how proud my mom would be when we called her later! Outta site!

And I whispered to Vivienne that we needed to come up with some way to cure Kevin of his practical jokes once and for all!

Until tomorrow, future readers,
Your friend,
Julie Newman