Teen Attack Group Camping

It was his shift and he was listening to his Ipod when he heard the zipper from the girls tent open.  The prank the girls had been planning was going into effect.  He sprang up and saw Christian already in position waiting at the tent opening with water spray bottle in hand.  Nothing.  The girls walked by the tent towards the bathroom.  Perhaps the prank wouldn't be pulled after all but the boys still had theirs to carry out.

When going on a weekend youth camping trip as the female counselor you have to be ready for anything.  My recruitment into the weekend trip occurred less than 2 weeks before and I since I love camping, I thought it would be fun.  My brother needed a female, non-parent, to come and hang out with the girls.  He had everything planned including food, tent, campfire songs and a hike. I didn't know what to expect and I learned a lot interacting with 5 teenage girls and 5 teenage boys.

Shortly after arriving at the campsite I was asked to have a meeting with just the girls.  We walked to another site where there were no boys and started planning the prank.  Feminine products colored with red marker to throw in the boys tent when they went to bed was the plan.  They also wanted to zip tie the boys into their tent but I didn't want to find a way to cut the boys out and we settled on duct tape instead.  Two girls decided they would be the ones starting and that included becoming moody, which they carried out a little too well.  Off we went to Walmart (trip #1) to buy our products.

Teenage girls are interesting eaters.  They won't eat the meal because of a variety of excuses.

• I don't like that (although they could eat other things besides just that)
• My stomach is upset, which is like a spark that catches and spreads to the surrounding grasses
• I'm not hungry (which is followed up with candy, chips, smores and even Jack in the Box)

On my run this morning I was thinking of ways I could have taken that opportunity to explain about eating and counting smart calories.  I remember what it was like eating a candy bar for lunch and not wanting anything else for fear of putting on weight.  Now, as an adult, I love eating but make much better food choices.

The first night we had smores (those are so yummy) at the campfire (which the boys patiently waited until the girls got back from their long Walmart trip).  Quiet time started at 10pm and we got ready for bed (not very quietly). Boys never change and I would hear one of them fart loudly and the rest of the tent moan in agony over the terrible smell.  It was quite humorous.   I thought the girls would pull their prank first thing in the morning and didn't realize until almost 11:30 that they were trying to stay up to pull their prank then.  I explained that they had been talking too much that the guys would still be awake despite the couple loud snores coming from the boys tent.  Keep in mind that the girls had not done any prep work for their prank and I was ready to sleep and told them they could do it on the next day.

The hike to Tonto National Bridge was one I had never done and was amazed at how cool it was under the bridge, how much water there was and the fact it was actually raining in there.  Huge water drops came down making the already smooth rocks slick.

After the hike while we lunched everyone wanted to know what we'd be doing in the afternoon.  Isn't camping about sitting around reading, eating, playing cards and doing nothing?  Hmmm, maybe just in my world.

After lunch we went for a short hike and climbed into the car to go to....McDonalds and Jack in the Box.  My car went to McD's and we had ice cream. The other car had Jack in the box and we were going to meet at the campsite.  The first car got back first and we starting playing cards at another site where there was shade. Not too long after a horrible noise is heard and Rusty's car comes along dragging the front part of his car.  I guess a water puddle a couple weeks before pulled down the plastic and it had come loose again.  A quick repair with duct tape and the car was all "fixed".

During our afternoon free time, the girls showered and prepped for their prank, which included putting red colored pantyliners inside of the guys sleeping bags.  When the guys discovered that and the rocks placed inside the tent; the boys took the pantyliners and stuck them to the outside of the tent.

After the car repair and more card playing we went to Walmart (trip #2) to play sardines and allow the boys to buy their prank stuff.  Walmart is a huge store and playing sardines is quiet challenging but let me share that hiding behind boxes of diapers is a great location and it was fun seeing people walk right buy us.

Unfortunately one of the girls started feeling bad (attack of Jack?) which lead to a couple other girls also not feeling well (ultimate compassion for a friend...if they don't feel good then I don't either).  After a conversation with mom and whether mom should drive the 2 hours to pick her up, we decided on gingerale which required the third trip to Walmart within 24 hours.  I think I get a frequent shopper discount there now.

The boys prank was carried out in the morning when the girls were getting up.  Poised with their squirt bottles they sprayed the girls inside the tent and me, outside the tent.  I grabbed on of the bottles and chased after them getting them back.  Despite the drama, it was an entertaining trip with lots of laughs and good food and fun music in the car.