Hey, remember the Titans?

Because i know you're all DYING to hear more about Sports camps. 

My second week was great again. 

my girls were 10-12 year old gymnasts and i LOVED them. they were sweet and loved me back, haha. 

the similar was very similar to that of my first week, and incuded LOTS of time to get to know my girls, which i loved. 

We decided the first night on our way to dinner that i would call them "Titans". 

haha and they decided that they wanted to give me a name, too. 

so i was captain. it was awesome. 

they all got along REALLY well immediately. blessings blessings.

i feel a little bad looking back, because you can definitely tell which girls are my favorite each week because the majority of my pictures are of them. ha. 

this little girl, we'l call "River" 

she was tiny, and ten, and had the sweetest little voice i'd ever heard. and THOSE CURLS, THOUGH. 

and in a few years i'm sure my prayers will sound something like, 

"hi, uhmm, remember little 'river'? yes, i'll take six just like her. k, thanks. "

ugh, she's straight out of a fairytale, that girl. 

the other girls were wonderful, too. and actually, i was pleasantly surprised that 3 of them were not mormon. they'd come with friends to sportscamp, and i'm SO grateful! we all got to have some really cool experiences because they asked questions and shared insights from their own religions (including one of the girls who is Hindu, and i LOVED hearing about that. super intriguing.) each night during devotional.

and whenever i said, "ready titans?"

they stood at attention with hands in salute and hollered, "YES, CAPTAIN!"

too good. 

so, summer, how do you like me?

I am lovin' you. in case you were wondering. 

I kept this sideways, because i like those shadows. 

also, this picture displays both of my redheads :) they were adorable.

Tuesday night i wrote this in my journal, 

"My girls this week are super fun and happy, but i felt bad because i didn't feel as connected to them as last week. and i actually felt really lonely yesterday. Derek and Rachel are so busy, i feel bad bugging them. and Shanna's out of town. And Dylan is counseling AND coaching this week, plus, his kids are way older than mine this week. I know other counselors, i just didn't feel like i could really go into their circles. ugh. i know that's stupid. 

anyway, that's how i felt. and then today after lunch i was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants about faith. man, Heavenly Father is really good about putting me in my place when i'm unnecessarily feeling crumby. ha. but really, i just need to chill out. i'm freaking myself out for no reason! NO FEAR, MELISSA HANSEN!"

it's true, i did feel pretty crumby, but at the same time, i knew that there was literally no reason for me to feel that way. and then an easy bake oven timer went off in my head i was like, "hey, dummy, remember that you're great and have tons of wonderful friends here? yeah, stop complaining." (no, my inner voice is not always so self-depreciating, haha. but that day it was necessary to shake me awake.)

so then i was fine. more than fine. Titan week was practically perfect. honestly. 

mah homie Rachel (she's my Boss/twin. so deal with it.)

also, i got a swimsuit. 

I repeat: I BOUGHT A REAL SWIMSUIT WITH REAL MONEY.

i know, i know.

let it be known that i have not worn a swimming suit since June 2012. 

JUNE 2012, people.

nor have i actually been swimming since then, really.

it's the result of a mixture of a lot of things.

1) why would i want to lounge in germy water, almost naked, with a bunch of other dirty humans? no thanks. i don't mind swimming with family, but other than that, no way, jose. 

2) i hate swim suits. i hate them. i hate them. i hate them. 

none of them look the way i want on me, none of them cover me the way i want to feel comfortable. wearing a swimsuits means permitting myself to be half naked. in front of people, which i don't like. 

"but melissa, you played Water Polo"

yup. i did. 

and i was way too comfortable with hanging around with no clothes on. 

i'm definitely not saying that all water polo players/swimmers are like that, because they're not. 

but i was. 

and i regret that. 

also, swim suits never fail to make me feel fat. which TICKS ME OFF BECAUSE I'M NOT FAT.

I don't think i'm fat. at all. i am a firm believer that as long as i'm not hurting my body or having a diet that consists solely of jelly filled donuts and pizza, it's okay that i don't run 5 miles everyday. 

i exercise, i just don't work out. 

and i am A-okay with that. 

anyway, i vented about this to Derek one night and he told me that we needed to get a swim suit that would make me feel cute and comfortable and confident. k, he's the best brother, ever.

so we got this one, which juuuuuust so happened to be the same as Rachel's:

haha. 

but it's totes okay because we've got the same mind anyway. 

Mytosis, y'all.

and in case you're wondering, i LOVE this swimsuit. i wouldn't mind the shorts being a little longer, BUT it A) is modest B) is flattering (maybe not in this picture, but in real life. promise. ha.) 

C) is aDORable and comfortable.

It's Lime Ricki. a little pricey, but honestly not as expensive as some popular mormon stores, and totally worth it!

the rest of the week FLEW by!

little favorite 'river' ran smack dab into another girl during practice one afternoon and got a nice shiner.

hashtag post Six Peaks Creamery run

one of my girls stole my camera and took the next couple pictures. i'm not complaining. 

'river' liked holdin mah hand. melted my heart. 

"CAN WE ROLL DOWN THIS HILL, MELISSA?!"

"sure"

"WAHOOOOO!!!"

Thursday afternoon one of the other counselors shared this and i thought it very nicely summed up my week, too, and my feelings of admiration for my girls, "My girls love showing me all the flips and things they learn in practice. so they flip all over the quad. and sometimes they fall, but no one judges each other. they have no fear. and they just love what they do. and when one girl lands a flip, all the rest cheer and laugh with them. When was the last time i did anything with no fear of falling? when did i last celebrate someone else's achievement so genuinely?"

amen.

"smurf" <- maybe one day, it will happen. ahahahahaha

the girl on the left, we'll call her ashley. one morning we were walking to the gym and another girl said, "whoever tkes care of all these plants does a pretty great job. but look! there's two weeds by that bush!" and ashley piped, "why are you counting the weeds when all the trees are so pretty?"

uhmm, hi, when did you get your doctorate in philosophy?

but really, it stuck with me:

"why are you counting the weeds when all the trees are so pretty?"

I loved these girls, if for nothing else, their ability to make me so stinkin' smiley. 

they were obedient and kind and happy, all week. and beCAUSE they were all of those things, we were able to have a whole heap of fun and we were all happy. 

thanks for helpin me see all the pretty trees, Titans.

I'll remember ya, titans! :)