about the MSO retreat

Whew...am I glad that I have a good 12 years or so before I am a parent to a middle schooler. I love our middle schoolers, don't get me wrong, but I'm not ready to take one home with me.

Our fall middle school retreat was a lot of non-stop fun. We left last Friday evening, and after traffic, a dinner stop, and rain, we rolled into the Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, NC around 9:00pm.

By the time the kids were sorted into their rooms with all of their luggage, it was 10:00pm. Baby Bauer and I were done for the day and opted out of the campfire that was supposed to last until 11:30. A shower and bed sounded like wise choice for us instead.

The next morning, I felt much better, and it was so nice to wake up in the mountains.

Aaron and I walked to breakfast and ran into a groundhog/gopher/beaver thing on our way. He let us get so close before he ran away. Sorry for the blurry picture.

After breakfast, we had our morning session. The plan was for everyone to go on a four hour canoe trip that afternoon, but the weather had other plans. Thankfully, Asheville has this amazing land of fun called "Fun Depot," and I think it more than made up for the missed canoe trip.

I, on the other hand, played my pregnant card again and decided not to spend four hours playing lazer tag and video games and mini golf indoors. I found a fun organic pizza place down the road for lunch instead...

...and followed that up with a three hour nap.

The elusive second trimester energy boost has yet to strike, but thank God I have not felt sick for a whole week.

By the time everyone got back that evening, I was well-rested and joined them for dinner, an evening session, and a movie night (since it was still raining).

Sunday morning, we woke up and packed up. After breakfast and one last session, we headed back to Raleigh. 

The retreat was short and sweet, but I think they all felt like they had been there for a week. Nobody except me got any rest during their non-stop days! (And I still took a nap when I got home on Sunday so I imagine they needed one for sure.) We have amazing leaders and I am thankful that they are willing to spend a weekend on little sleep with 30 energetic middle schoolers.

And I'm thankful that I got to go with them, even if I had to skip out on some of the fun.