It has been a few weeks since I have had anything news worthy to report. In that time, I spent a very early morning loading chickens (cheers for SAEs), had my wisdom teeth removed (now much less wise), and spent a week preparing for camp. Now for the excitement, we spent the last week at Deep Portage once again for SLCCL!
It seems like just yesterday I was an SLCCL participant (picture above is me at SLCCL 06 with my room) coming home with a new passion for the organization and a lot of new friends from across the state. I must say, two years later, I'm coming home with the same things. The conference was called "Mission Possible" and had a spy theme. Almost 150 participants made the week one of my favorites of all time. We were lucky to have visits from both CHS and Alliance Pipeline, who sponsor camp. I really enjoyed hearing why they chose to support FFA as well as what their respective companies do.
The girls in my room, Live and Let Die, (rooms were Bond movies) were always a blast and got incredibly creative with the bribes (poetry, starburst pictures, AND cell phone music) we left for the rec directors. Liz, Maureen, Salena, Calli, Brittany, Jen, and Tiana, I miss sharing a room (but not a mirror) with all of you lovely ladies! Thanks for all of your writing help too!!
Another highlight of the week was my small group/volleyball team. Officially we were the tape measure group (we were identified with tools) but we renamed ourselves Team Carlos pretty quickly. There isn't much meaning behind the name except the fact learning a large number of names really quickly can have some very funny results. Our group was always joking around and even had a nickname for everyone, but we had some really great discussions and even made a pretty amazing drawing of Mr. Carlos, the ideal advisor. The group was pretty insanely talented in the volleyball department as well (except me, but they let me play anyway). We lost 17-19 in a heartbreaking tournament final to Sydney's group, the Purplerz. To Krista, Matt, Brittany, Ethan, Nic, (Matt) Schuette, Jillian, Addie, Colton, and Carl, can you say convention reunion? 
In other exciting events, we held a service learning day with the help of Deep Portage staff. The entire camp split into groups to do a wide variety of tasks at the reserve. My group completed "campus projects" which is basically code word for "odds and ends" which basically ends up being FUN! Several people remade the volleyball courts, a few more spread hay to insulate the water system, and the rest of us worked hard at cleaning up the invasive species around the main building. Not only did we learn which plants were good and which were bad, we also saw about a thousand spiders hatching. Below is the most creative way to pull weeds I have ever seen. Below that, Nic proves that chivalry isn't dead. What a great way to spend a morning!
As the week drew to an end, there were a lot of sad goodbyes. Despite the tears, there were also a lot of members incredibly excited to take back what the learned to their chapters. It was incredibly cool to see all of you grow over our time together. Thanks to all who made the week so special and for reminding me what being an FFA member truly means! I can't wait to see all of you again throughout the year!
Remember your mission!
Bye for now!
also, just a general note: my zip code is incorrect of my business cards. It should read 56230. Thanks for catching that Salena!!
