Youth Retreat. . .

I went on my first Youth Retreat the other weekend.  It was an eye opener to say the least.  This is my first retreat as an adult.  I went on youth retreats as a kid in the Church I grew up in.   We went to our Church camp and stayed in a cabin more like a dormatory.   The ride up was very twisty turny and made me a little weak in the knees.  I don't do well on buses.  Once we arrived we unloaded the bus and picked our rooms.  I decided that the kids and I would stay in one room together.  There were four beds to a room.  I won't make that mistake again.  My kids talk in their sleep.  Jack was screaming in his sleep that first night.  I think he was fussing at Thomas but I am not really sure.  Thomas grumbles and groans in his sleep.  They were both so loud I did not sleep much.  We got up the next morning and two of our adult leaders had begun breakfast.  Now Moravians know how to eat.  They were fixing:  bacon, sausage, biscuits, sausage gravy, and cinimon rolls with a variety of cereals and fresh fruit.  Now is that a breakfast or what?   After everyone had stuffed themselves completly we were off on our mystery trip.  We drove to the Mass General Store.  If you have never been to one you should go.  It is a really neat store.  They offer a wide variety of candy at $5.99 lb.  You would have thought my kids had a blank check.  They walked in and began filling their buckets full of all sorts of junk.  They came to me and said we're ready to go, each with a bucket full.  I pulled out a few items they could keep and I told them the rest would have to go back.  What were they thinking?  We went up the road a ways and had a picnic in a park with swings and slides.  Fun was had by all.  Once we got back to the camp some of the kids  wanted to go on a hike to a grave yard.   Thomas and Jack were in this mix.  The hike was about an hour or so and pretty intense.  I am thankful for the adults that had gone along and for the one older child that went.  I will call him Big Z.  Big Z was a great help that weekend with the kids.   I have never seen that side of him at Church.  He usually very quiet and never says a whole lot to anyone.  But he took charge on the hike and took care of Thomas.  He and Thomas were first to the grave yard and the first to retrun.  I did not make the hike for fear that my back would go out.  Jack was the last one to come in from the hike.  I thought that was strange he is usually first in everything.  Well, Jack ended up getting sick that night and I had to call Mark at 9:30 to come get us.  He was not very happy but he loves us so he came.   That is true love there.  He was supposed to fish in a tournament that next day but instead he was on the road in the wee hours of the morning to pick up his sick little one.   We are all better now.  I think the candy got to Jack.  What a weekend.