Well, we made it to Six Flags this weekend. I love what Josh and I do with the youth group. I know it is what he's called to do, and I love helping him. But, man, sometimes the logistics of youth outings make weekends less restful than weekdays! Oh well, we actually had a great time. As of Wednesday night we had about 26 people going on the trip. Friday night (before leaving at 7 am on Saturday) we added 4 more! So we ended up with 30 people headed to the theme park; 22 kids and 8 adults. A pretty huge group for us! We were worried about being able to get the extra concert tickets, since we'd only ordered 20 tickets! It's no big deal to buy extra theme park tickets, and since we had our reciept they even gave us the same group discount, but we knew the show was sold out except for standing room only tickets, and getting those usually involved standing in a huge line. But we got there, and Josh went the tent to pick up the tickets we had ordered at will call, and the guy told him "Hey, I have extra tickets to the show, how many do you need?" So just like that we could give the kids their theme park tickets, send them off, and we didn't have to wait in line! Amazing how God provides! It always cracks me up because we get in the park and the kids disappear, leaving the adults to walk around together. And that's pretty much what happened... It ended up being Josh, Charlie, James, Mark, Danette, and I walking around with 2 "kids"- Sam and Ruth. But we had a great time! We tried out some of the carnival/challenge games (see Josh trying to make his way up the twisty ladder), and only rode one ride with a ridiculous line: The Superman Tower of Power. It pulls you up into the air and then drops you straight down. The twist is that you don't know when you're going to drop- there are 6 little cars up there all at once and they drop in a random order. Not my favorite ride- I love roller coasters, but I hate the first hill where it feels like your stomach is going to exit your body through your skull, and this ride was nothing but that hill! Still, I'm glad I went, it was pretty fun. Danette, Mark, and Sam didn't ride this one with us, Sam and Danette don't like rides, and Mark doesn't do lines- certainly not hour-long lines! But they were great sports and didn't mind waiting for us to ride it (there's some great people watching at theme parks). We did get everyone on The Scrambler, though I think Danette almost had a heart attack, she certainly doesn't look very excited in the picture! :) Other then that, we rode The Ninja (old school roller coasters are still fun), played video games in the arcade, and tried in vain to win Sam a Yankees jersey. Josh was in heaven with all of the Superman and superhero stuff! We met back with the group at 6 to head to the concert, which was a little rough since some kids didn't make it until 6:20! But everyone did find us, and we headed to the concert in one huge group. It was at this time that I switched into "Border Collie" mode... have you ever tried to herd 22 youth in one direction as a group? It's not fun, although it was funny! Mark, Danette, Ruth, and I were walking behind the group, rounding up strays left and right! We'd be walking along, and the group would make a right turn, and suddenly 6 kids would simply go left... it was like herding cats through a forest! But everyone made it, and the concert was AWESOME! We saw
Casting Crowns, who I just recently started listening to, since we were going to see them. They are amazing! They are a group of youth leaders, and their music is very much message-based. I only have one of their cds, but every time I hear a new song it's my new favorite! My actual favorite is "If We Are The Body," which is all about reaching out to everyone, and not judging people, or picking and choosing who "deserves" to be a Christian or be in your youth group or church. Pretty powerful stuff. Anyway, after the concert, we headed back out of the park (in Border Collie mode again, which is much more difficult in the dark), got all of the kids loaded on the bus, and they headed home. Meanwhile, Charlie, Ruth, Sam, Josh, and I headed towards Illinois, because our weekend had just begun! :)
Well, we made it to Six Flags this weekend. I love what Josh and I do with the youth group. I know it is what he's called to do, and I love helping him. But, man, sometimes the logistics of youth outings make weekends less restful than weekdays! Oh well, we actually had a great time. As of Wednesday night we had about 26 people going on the trip. Friday night (before leaving at 7 am on Saturday) we added 4 more! So we ended up with 30 people headed to the theme park; 22 kids and 8 adults. A pretty huge group for us! We were worried about being able to get the extra concert tickets, since we'd only ordered 20 tickets! It's no big deal to buy extra theme park tickets, and since we had our reciept they even gave us the same group discount, but we knew the show was sold out except for standing room only tickets, and getting those usually involved standing in a huge line. But we got there, and Josh went the tent to pick up the tickets we had ordered at will call, and the guy told him "Hey, I have extra tickets to the show, how many do you need?" So just like that we could give the kids their theme park tickets, send them off, and we didn't have to wait in line! Amazing how God provides! It always cracks me up because we get in the park and the kids disappear, leaving the adults to walk around together. And that's pretty much what happened... It ended up being Josh, Charlie, James, Mark, Danette, and I walking around with 2 "kids"- Sam and Ruth. But we had a great time! We tried out some of the carnival/challenge games (see Josh trying to make his way up the twisty ladder), and only rode one ride with a ridiculous line: The Superman Tower of Power. It pulls you up into the air and then drops you straight down. The twist is that you don't know when you're going to drop- there are 6 little cars up there all at once and they drop in a random order. Not my favorite ride- I love roller coasters, but I hate the first hill where it feels like your stomach is going to exit your body through your skull, and this ride was nothing but that hill! Still, I'm glad I went, it was pretty fun. Danette, Mark, and Sam didn't ride this one with us, Sam and Danette don't like rides, and Mark doesn't do lines- certainly not hour-long lines! But they were great sports and didn't mind waiting for us to ride it (there's some great people watching at theme parks). We did get everyone on The Scrambler, though I think Danette almost had a heart attack, she certainly doesn't look very excited in the picture! :) Other then that, we rode The Ninja (old school roller coasters are still fun), played video games in the arcade, and tried in vain to win Sam a Yankees jersey. Josh was in heaven with all of the Superman and superhero stuff! We met back with the group at 6 to head to the concert, which was a little rough since some kids didn't make it until 6:20! But everyone did find us, and we headed to the concert in one huge group. It was at this time that I switched into "Border Collie" mode... have you ever tried to herd 22 youth in one direction as a group? It's not fun, although it was funny! Mark, Danette, Ruth, and I were walking behind the group, rounding up strays left and right! We'd be walking along, and the group would make a right turn, and suddenly 6 kids would simply go left... it was like herding cats through a forest! But everyone made it, and the concert was AWESOME! We saw Casting Crowns, who I just recently started listening to, since we were going to see them. They are amazing! They are a group of youth leaders, and their music is very much message-based. I only have one of their cds, but every time I hear a new song it's my new favorite! My actual favorite is "If We Are The Body," which is all about reaching out to everyone, and not judging people, or picking and choosing who "deserves" to be a Christian or be in your youth group or church. Pretty powerful stuff. Anyway, after the concert, we headed back out of the park (in Border Collie mode again, which is much more difficult in the dark), got all of the kids loaded on the bus, and they headed home. Meanwhile, Charlie, Ruth, Sam, Josh, and I headed towards Illinois, because our weekend had just begun! :) 
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