Zanzibar, Zanzibar, Zanzibar is very far

So the other night I took a long trip down memory lane.  As a kid, my brother and I LOVED Bill Harley.  We had a few tapes of his, which we listened to a lot.  He's a songwriter/storyteller who is beloved by a lot of people because of his humor and ability to make stories fun.  Anyone around my age who grew up St. Louis remember the kids' station?  Back before 95.5 was an R&B station, it played songs geared to kids, and there is where I heard a lot of Bill Harley.  I loved that station.  When I was a Brownie Scout and my mom was our leader, she arranged for a field trip to their station and I got to talk on the radio and meet the DJs.  Good memories.

Anyway, this particular story-song has always been in the back of my mind.  It's a story about procrastinating on homework.  He had to write a report in sixth grade on Zanzibar and instead wrote a song about it.  I can't for the life of my find an MP3 link to post on here, but I did find it on iTunes.  The whole tape.  It's two stories and a song and it's only $2!!!  I was very excited to find it.

Here are the lyrics to the song, in case you remember, like me:

Zanzibar, Zanzibar,

Zanzibar is very far

You can’t get there in a car

It’s too far to Zanzibar

Zanzibar, they don’t have tar

To put on roads to drive their cars

Men and women smoke cigars

There’s no tar in Zanzibar

In Zanzibar, they grow cloves

What they’re for, I don’t know

Maybe they put ‘em between their toes

In Zanzibar, they grow cloves

In Zanzibar, they grow ground nuts

People who grow them live in huts

In Zanzibar there’s sugar cane

To grow it they need lots of rain

In Zanzibar, they grow tea

Far away across the sea

Off the coast of Afriki

In Zanzibar, they grow tea

Zanzibar, Zanzibar,

Zanzibar is very far

You can’t get there in a car

It’s too far to Zanzibar

Happy Birthday Makenzie!

Oh my goodness, where does time go?  I cannot believe that Makenzie is four.  She's not mine, but I love her so much.  Doesn't hurt that her momma is my bestest friend, either, LOL.

Here is baby Makenzie, only one day old:

Here she is shortly before turning one:

And on her 1st birthday:


April 2008 (one of my fave photos of J, BTW):

June 2009:

And June 2010:

So big and so BEAUTIFUL!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAKENZIE MARIE!!!!

You would THINK

That with youth group ending for the summer that I would have more time on my hands. Nope. Not at all. The problem really lies in the fact that I can't say no, LOL.

Revolution (sr. high) ended the Monday before Memorial Day. In that time, I have taught 2 CPR classes (will teach my last one till next June tomorrow), helped with three night of VBS, and I'm still working both jobs. Exhausting? Definitely.

I am certified to teach CPR, AED, and First Aid so I help out at camp every year. On the 3rd I taught the staff at Cedarledge, last week I taught the CITs, and tomorrow I will teach at Tuckaho. These are 9 hours each, mind you. In the HEAT since there's no A/C. Last week was fun, though, because I got there early enough to enjoy breakfast, stayed for lunch, then went out with a friend on her night off. (We went to Diablo McGee's, in case anyone is wondering...) Lots of fun, but I didn't get home till almost 11.

Our church teams up with the church that uses our facility in the evenings - Mercy Road - to do VBS. Their children's ministry is slightly bigger than ours, but we have a lot more adults will to help out, plus they can split the cost, which you know is always a good thing. This year we went with Group's EGYPT package. It's the story of Joseph and how God gives us hope. They used the story of how Joseph was sold into slavery and then got thrown in jail, but still ended up becoming one of the rulers of Egypt. Jeremiah 29:11 was one of our theme verses. The kids had a lto of fun, and it's easy for me because I'm just a shepherd, leading the kids to each of the three areas (snack/craft, game, story). But after a day full of wrangling two year olds? I'm exhausted!

Speaking of my favorite kids. Remember my last post when I talked about the girl who cried all the time? She came back today (the first time since that post was written) and she only cried for about five minutes in the morning and for just a little bit right before her dad was supposed to come and get her! Like, I didn't even recognize the kid! It was splash day, which are always fun. I mean that literally and sarcastically. I love watching the kids play around in the water, and spray the with the hose, but getting them in and out of their suits is a hassle. Today we had 16 and they were nuts -- especially since two of the younger boys decided they hated each other recently and were being major bullies to each other, and to the other kids. Insanity. Here's a shot from Splash Day:

Technically it's from last week, but they're stll cute.  Those are my "problem children:" very independent, very headstrong.  Thus, they are two of my favorite kids.  (I blurred out their faces 'cause you get pretty good looks at them and I want to protect their privacy... you understand...)

AND I got to see Miss Makenzie for the first time in almost a year!  (I took her to the zoo shortly before she turned 3... she'll be 4 on SATURDAY!)  Not only that, but Jen and Rob too.  Sunday was very exciting for me.  She played with the boys while J, Jen, Rob, and I chatted in the kitchen.  I let her play with my camera and she actually took some decent shots.  I think we have a budding photographer on our hands!  Observe:

And here we are being the responsible adults that we really are, LOL:

So far it's been a good summer, but I'll be glad when our mission trip is over in July because that's also wearing me out.  Didn't realize how much planning went into that!  BTW, if you're looking to Rent a Teen, let me know!  =)