back in Thurgoona

Back from the trip... was heaps of fun and hard hikin'... it was entertaining to see how the group dynamics changed when we added a few folks at the last minute who happened to be male... funny stuff, some of the girls were in a little competition for Simon... I had a really good time... some of the weekend highlights:

-hugging that accidentally turned into a tackle and ended with Alana getting a nasty bruise from Anne's "hug"

-Simon "stepping on ducks" constantly

-8 people in a 2 person tent playing cards... then getting cleared out with one tiny fart by someone who wishes to remain anonymous

-cuddling around nalgene bottles of freshly boiled stream water in the evening to warm up before bed, sitting them outside to cool down before the next morning's hike

-waking up to snow after hiking to the campsite in shorts

-Colleen and Lil seeing snow for the first time

-Anne's way of talking that turned every response into a joke... for example:
"My husband is being an umpire tomorrow" -Colleen
"Really? Well...I'll ump your pire!" -Megan (in Anne's style)

"My camera's finally taking pictures but they show up pink on the screen" -Megan
"That's nothing that photo shop couldn't work out" -Simon
"I'll photoshop your workout" -Anne to Simon

... give it a try if you're willing to get some strange looks, it's both addicting and amusing

-eating peanut butter mixed with honey on ginger snaps... mmmm... (the pb and honey trick is from the kt mag herself)

-zip zip, boing!

-playing "big booty"

-Penny, Simon, and myself making a pair of shoes for Lil that didn't rub her blister so we could keep walking instead of camping at our first campsite... the shoes consisted of two pairs of thick socks, two garbage bags, and my chacos for tread, all duck taped together

-"Can you say that into my good ear?" I woke up the first morning and couldn't hear out of my left ear at all... this was the source of much amusement Saturday, especially because it was my turn to lead the group most of the day and I couldn't hear most discussion

-the great North American exchange student eat-off... Anne (who is Canadian) and I constantly competed for everyone's leftovers this weekend trying to earn the title of the biggest eater (and because I ended up sharing my food with my cooking partner, Damien, who didn't pack enough)

-Anne and I giving up our eating contest and sharing all leftovers... even the smallest scraps... then eating a lovely chocolate cupcake and ice cream creation together

-"So what did you guys think about the magnetic anomaly on Mt. Jim?"-Penny to the group after our hike to the top of Mt. Jim
"We knew we were forgetting something"

-Watch out Anne, it's an Aussie hare!

-Penny and I waking up to little critters in our packs... and one completely flattened (rest his soul) like in a cartoon... none of his innards were outside, but his little beady eyes were popping out of his head

-finding a "frog"... err... human turd... which we laughed at, then buried

-my "tough man" injury from stepping on a stick and cutting my shin....because of this rad looking scratch and bruise, I gained many cool points

-eating handful after handful of ripe blackberries

-singing random songs at the top of our lungs on the bus ride home, convinced that we indeed had the best time out of all of the groups... some of our best hits included: I say a little prayer for you, Lean on me, These are a few of my favorite things, Take me out to the ball game, and Hakuna Matata among others....

Needless to say it was a hoot... quite a hoot!

Things I'm really thankful for today:
-the tiny rainbow we saw on the way home
-a shower!
-chocolate
-my bed
-no more snow
-to have my boots off my feet (although, they were great this weekend)
-mountains
-toilet paper
-laughter
-that I didn't get blisters
-the picture of Ava and the Easter bunny
-an e-mail about the state of one heart I care deeply about