The big 'ol Big Bear group
Yeah...that's the graceful lookin' champ!(decided to delete this one;)
Oh wait...how did this pic. get in here? I bet you can guess!!! Now why in the world would I want everyone to see my great posing abilities right before I head in the water to do some bobbin'? Just an example of what NOT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE MY FRIEND!
But I gotta tell you...the bobbin' was fun!
Ummm...so my swimsuit is a little too tight - yeah I get it ok. But it was the 4th and I just gotta wear it! Go red hearts, white, and blue!
Some of us worked on our base coat at Salt Creek before the real party started.
Tessa, Alice, Me, Kieser
Now here's a great example of what I DO NOT DO.
This is where we ended up watching the lovely show of sparkles in the air!
Ohh to be young and prance around in your bathing suit...wasn't it grand?!!! I say was cause it sure ain't how I feel now! (Let me hear a "You can say that again Tris!") Who knows, maybe I'm the only one that not only has a sun phobia (Oh wait...if you look at any of the pictures with Steve or Mark...they apparently do as well!) but would also rather be in some shorts and a tank getting down and dirty rather than wondering what boob is going to bust out next.
Not to mention their always seems to be some sneaky little girl with her camera ready to record my PERSONAL physical history when I'd rather have a faked out photoshoped montage created for my posterity (and the rest of the judging world!) Yeah...sometimes I like to say to those that can't seem to get enough of me, "Hey take a picture...it lasts longer." But in this case...please stare...stare all the freak you want, but you best not bring out that freaking camera!!! What part of, "please don't take a picture of me in my bathing suit" don't they understand? It was like every other second they had to be reminded, when it would kind of be less of an attention grabber if they could remember my words of advice when I told it to them privately. But no....even at one point some lovely 'friend' (it seriously makes me question that!) yelled to the big group standing nearby, "Well, don't take a picture of Tristen cause she doesn't want one while she's in her bathing suit!" -Is she for real??? Was that necessary in the least bit??? Yeah...let me answer that for you... NO - it sure as heck wasn't!
Other than those horrible, and recorded memories (yeah...someone even got a few video clips of me showing my graceful abilities standing on the kayak) there were a few other highs of the weekends. (First Big Bear, and the next weekend was the 4th of July, can't wait to see what strip down this weekend requires!) So a few of us in the SC5 Singles ward headed off to a Katie Kieser retreat up in the mountains anticipating a good 'ol time.
And I gotta say the highlight for me was a few rounds of the envelope game. My specialty of course! Now obviously it's a game bursting with humor..mainly if you're able to laugh at yourself. Cause if you're not....then I'm first going to try and teach you how, and if that doesn't work then I'm going to politely ask you to go to bed and leave us mellow folk to ourselves. So with my 20 warnings of, "Now no one get offended - it's just a game. We know we all like each other so let's not take anything personal! Just find the humor in it and you'll love the game" we began.
The general idea of the game is for everyone to write a question on an envelope that can be answered with the name of someone within the group. We pass all the envelopes around the circle till everyone has had a chance to write an answer on a little piece of paper and stick it in the envelope. Then we go around reading one at a time the envelope question and all the responses inside it.
So the first round is always a little mellow cause the players don't quite get the gist of it. You get people writing boring questions like, "Who will travel the most in their lifetime in this group?" B-O-R-I-N-G!!! But of course I don't know how to write a boring question...nor do I know how to give a one worded boring answer! So believe me that the first round did have a few highlights. I mean...I guess I'll take the lead and get right to the good stuff with a group of 20-something single LDS adults.
So we threw in a little bit of, "Who do you want to kiss before the weekend is over?" (Dusty Monroe may have taken the cake on that one...and oh did his face redden! Not to mention he for sure was planning his moves after knowing the desire he created amongst us...yeah and apparently it wasn't just us ladies that were making a secret invitation!) We saw a few of, "Who's most likely to get married in this group?"(Yeah I believe I heard a 'Help that women - hopefully Tristen. This has just gotta to be her year!' and maybe even a 'Mark Scheif.? Nah...he'll play the mysterious wanted man a few more years. That boy loves breaking hearts too much." )
By round 2 we had taken it to the next level and everyone was in for the fun. Questions like: "Who's most likely to beat their children?" (Alice and her 9 little chiquitos she wants won that one for sure. But it was mentioned that she'd try to beat 'em -but by the age of 5 they'd all be bigger and stronger than her and they'd easily be able to toss her around instead.) Or how about this one, "If you were stranded on a desert island who would you want to be stuck with?" (My fav. was, 'Tristen...cause after 3 days with that girl I'd be motivated to swim for it!' ....ummmm...hello? I'd for sure be so fun to be stranded with. We could play a version of the envelope game and 'who would you rather' and maybe a little titch of '7 minutes in Heaven...Jungle style!', all day long into the lonely (or not so lonely) nights!!! - another favorite response to that question was, 'Steve, cause eventually I know a plane would come and rescue us.' Classic!!!) Another classic was, "Who's likely to be the first one to make a million?" (Many argued that Steve probably already had...i yi yi - but I will have to say Aubrey is a great sport and she proved it when my response was read aloud; 'I don't know - but whoever it is Aubrey will find out and marry them asap!')
I wish I could remember more - because we were all laughing a LOT for those 2 long rounds. And I'm happy to announce that no one left the room in a temper tantrum hating us all! Thank goodness!!! It was pretty funny when Dusty came up to me after the game and said, "Hey Tristen - you know all those really mean answers about you? They were all from me cause I knew you could handle it." Oh flattered I am, also impressed with his sassy wit directed at me as well as a few others.
It was a great weekend with tubing...I'm the ultimate champion!!!, basking in the sun, watching Steve apply 30spf at least 17 times throughout the day, looking at the stars as we all coozied on the doc, and eating together enjoying everyone's company.
The 4th was a hit as well at the Shazy's. Steve's mom was quite the hostess with her meals galore and his dad did a great job of chaperoning the 15 year olds. ( I was soo reminded of annoying my older siblings as I watched the youngest - Courtney - be a sassy little firecracker. Classic!)
So...I've already learned great lessons this summer. I think most of all the lesson of looking fab in a one piece! Alright...I'm on it. Get your dumb little cameras ready girls!
p.s.: Yo dudes..don't make me feel any dumber by leaving me gay comments like, "Oh Tristen...your not fat..you look so great in your bathing suit!" Come on now...I can't be handling none of that. I'm not fishing for any compliments...just wanna help you smile a bit at my expense.
