ward campout in NH ya'll!

 can i first say that i didn't think i was going to get to go camping at all this summer and i was SO sad. 

then all of the sudden i went camping twice within two weeks of each other and i was really happy about that. 

anyway.

ward camp out in new hampshire. happens every year apparently and i had been hearing about it ever since i moved to boston in january. a few weeks before i was told that each year the three different wards do skits and have themes. this year was pop culture (or something like that) and our two artists assigned to us were justin bieber and lady gaga. 

i was then told that i had been nominated to actually portray j. biebs. 

i didn't know whether to feel flattered or offended but i reluctantly said yes and then all of the sudden i was going to script meetings with curtis dressed in his dubai outfit and trying on bieber outfits in the church bathroom after institute. 

and then the day before i was stressed about finishing up work for the week, learning my lines, having time to exercise, pack, and shower all before we were supposed to leave. because of this i decided to just run to work (in my super cool vecna tie dye shirt that maybe i will tell you about someday) and practice my lines the whole way there and back so i didn't have to worry about exercising later. i was happy to be so smart at multitasking and it was just a bonus that when i got to work i was wearing the exact same outfit as my boss - wicking black leggings and all hahahaha

then the multitasking and looking way gross at work all day thing didn't even matter because john and i ended up eating at our favorite thai place and then felt tired and didn't want to go up that night anymore so we rented a movie instead and decided to go in the morning 

which worked out great because then natalie got to come with us and we had a great morning full of driving, stopping to eat at one of triple d's restaurants (sisters - be jeal!), and stopping by a thrift store where i bought a skirt that rang up as FIFTY CENTS. we were also de-virginized at the diner since it was our first time eating there. this consisted of our waitress ringing a bell and screaming that we were red arrow diner virgins - but are no more - and then everyone cheered. it was a great experience for everyone!

 upon arrival we grabbed another car to go pick up some bikers who rode to the beach so that was a fun detour. at this time i also gave john the vecna tie dye shirt i made for him. he liked it. 

i was real happy to be in the woods again! and the weather was perfect which was nice. 

look at those huge rocks! i liked those rocks. 

the afternoon was filled with practicing our skit (is that not the best place to put an amphitheater?) and ward olympics that i did not participate in because i was way too stressed about the skit - the success and laughs of the audience were pretty much riding on my shoulders and i could not relax. even worse than being in a ward skit is being in a ward skit that is lame. 

but i did watch the games/john for a bit and i would like to verbalize all 

of the awkward parts of this relay race photo

a. each person had to spin in circles 10 times. is john, instead, twirling friend filipe? 

b. filipe's twirling pain face

c. filipe's hand

d/e. boyfriend's wet clothes and rolled up pants. 

somebody forgot their swimsuit but didn't want to miss out on the canoe race fun. then capsized. 

i felt happy i needed to head back to my cabin to change into a few bieber items before dinner because first off, look at where my cabin was! it was definitely locked and someone climbed through the window to unlock it for us since the other cabins were full haha. and second, the sunset was beautiful. 

(and third, later on in this story, i leave my bathing suit in this forbidden cabin and the lady over the campsite refuses to answer my phone calls to this day or care that i liked that thing and want it back! i can see why she is mad but lady - get over iiit)

seriously, i'll say it again - best location for an amphitheater. 

i know people were taking pictures of our skit but none have found their way back to me.

 so all i have is this:

and this:

and these.

just me and ginormous lady g! and calvin in green, who wrote the skit. 

it was creepy how as soon as i had that outfit and wig on i had no problem getting into character and didn't even laugh one time (which kept happening in rehearsal because i was so embarrassed). we came in on a canoe, jake was the grossest lady gaga with size 12 heels, and i sang our revised version of "boyfriend" and made the girl i was singing to super uncomfortable so all in all i think it was a success! and the comments i received afterwards like "i had no idea you were a girl!" or "it is scary how well you portrayed a pre-pubescent boy" are all compliments in my book.

after the skits people usually just make their way back to their cabins but this year my friend chelsea started an impromptu dance party and it was seriously the best.  everyone stormed the dirt stage and began dancing with the pretty lake next to us and million stars and moon above us. at one point "baby" came on and since i was still dressed as bieber everyone turned to me and since i knew every word of that song we had a mini concert! it was so funny to me how everyone just went with it. afterwards i'd throw my wig to someone and then spotlight them with my flashlight phone app and they would dance and dance then throw it to someone else. bieber really brought us all together that night! 

warning: this part should be written in my journal but it isn't so i'm writing it here

as i was dancing next to john and observing everything going on around me i felt so content and happy with where i was and who i was with. i had a moment where i realized that a year ago i didn't know any of these people or anything about the east coast and i just felt so grateful that night for the experiences i've had in the past year. moving to boston was not easy and sometimes still isn't easy. i miss my family and utah and sometimes i miss what i thought i was going to have with a certain person that is no longer even in my life.  but. with all of that said-  i've learned lessons and grown in ways i couldn't have done elsewhere and i'm grateful God knows where i need to be better than i do. i'm grateful he led me to this place which is now such a big part of my heart. 

aaaand back to the campout recap. :)

since we were hot from dancing a bunch of us decided to jump into our swimsuits and get in the lake. i am usually the person who is like "noooo it's cold and dark" and a baby but i felt so hot that nothing sounded better. the water was freezing but getting used to it happened quickly since everyone already in the lake would just be like "oh! megan is here! hiiiiii megan" all the while splashing me/anyone to death. this happened to each and every person and i wish someone had recorded it because it was so funny to me!

we then stood by the fire for another hour or so until my body was too cold to handle being in a swimsuit any longer so we changed and probably should have gone to bed but instead went and had hot chocolate and ice cream with the other people in the mess hall (yes, i'm aware everything about this post makes it sound like we are at youth conference and not 25+ year olds). i mainly let it happen because i wanted to charge my phone and fell asleep while john talked to people about politics. as we left and he walked me back to my cabin it began to pour so we sat on the enclosed deck and listened to the rain and watched it fall into the lake for probably an hour. it was a perfect end to a perfect night. 

i woke up thrilled to see favorite friends rachel and mccall to my right and that pretty lake to my left. i wanted to lay there all day but instead we got up, got dressed for church (which no one else thought to do - i admit i got so judgy (unsurprisingly) as everyone partook of the sacrament in their pajamas), had a wonderful testimony meeting, and then packed up. 

then our really great 26 hour camping trip ended with austin showing us what he learned on the discovery channel about how to get a lobster to fall asleep (it really worked!) and soaking in the camping smells and trees for just a little longer. i was sad to head back to boston so early (if it were up to me we would have made pit stops along the way to enjoy various parts of new hampshire) but sometimes you date people with responsibilities (slash people who have to fly to new york every sunday) so you take what you can get. :)