When I was 9 I discovered that I loved to read. I come from a long generation of readers, but had not yet fallen in love with it til I discovered…. The Babysitters Club Series. Jill had read them and owned a bunch of them. From the first book I discoved a feeling that I had never felt before... when you are out in a social setting and all you can think about was coming getting back to your book to find out what happened in your story. I would hide under my blankets at night with a flashlight to try to read just a few more pages when I was supposed to be sleeping. I ended up trading my pencil collection to "purchase" additional Baby Sitters Club books and read them constantly. I also discovered American Girl books around this time. At the time there were only Molly, Samantha, Felicity, and Kirsten, but I loved learning about history while getting caught up in an adventurous story.

The summer when I was 9 I was finally old enough to go to Camp Faithful's Junior Camp which was a week long over night camp. I know that my parents were on the campground because my dad was the camp director that year, but I never was one of the campers who would get homesick. Stacy was my counselor that first year and for somehow I convinced Justin's cousin Jackie to join the polar bear club with me where we would jump in the freezing pool first thing every morning. That was my last year for that! The last night of camp every year was the banquet and the big thing all week was who you were going to go to the banquet with. There was this one guy counselor who ALL of the camp girls LOVED named Todd who was 18. He wore cut of jean shorts and had a mullett and everyone thought he was dreamy! Well I was sitting in the snack bar line one day talking to Mams and Todd walked up to me and invited me to the banquet with him. I was SO embarrased that he had asked me in front of my mom, but of course I said yes. Oh the girls were so jealous. I, of course then, was way too nervous throughout the meal to even talk with Todd. Cute older boys have always made me nervous. : )

Camp Faithful ended up being the place for many memories and firsts. We had gone to Camp Faithful for a fellowship day that spring. I have always LOVED having my back scratched and would always try to convince people to scratch it for me, but that day it seemed extra itchy. My mom got suspicious and lift up my shirt and discovered it... I had caught the chicken pox that was passing around class. I was so relieved though because I had wanted to catch it since I had heard that catching it as an adult could be fatal. One day my mom had to run to the store to get more medicine for me and she left me at home by myself which was so exciting because it was the first time that I had ever stayed by myself! Towards the end of the week Danielle and Leslie came to visit me since they had already had the chicken pox previously and it was so fun to be able to play with friends even though I was sick.

I received the sad news that year that Leslie's dad had been transfered to GA so she was going to be moving. Her parents had 2 house options they were looking at that she got to choose if she wanted to move during the summer, or if she wanted to do half of 4th grade in Danbury. We had been so excited to find out that we had been put in the same class for 4th grade that she chose to stay longer in Danbury which I was thrilled about.

In 4th grade we had the option to join band at school. I decided I wanted to learn how to play the trumpet. I was the only girl who decided to play the trumpet. I remember bringing it home the first day and blowing it outside and one of the neighbors yelling out their door for me to "Shut Up!" The only problem with playing was that I HATED practicing. My brother decided to play trumpet shortly after he tried mine out and he was a natural. Me... not so much. I didn't bother to learn to read music so I just kind of played whatever note I felt should come next and I took great pride in my ability to do so. Then my mom bought her first video camera and videoed our concert at the local public library. I was mortified when I discovered I could hear one trumpet that never played the same notes as all the rest.